Library Remedies for Cabin Fever

As I write, we don’t yet know what the groundhog will have to say about how much more winter to expect, but the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention warn that flu season could last another 11-13 weeks and that the disease is especially virulent this year.  Along with schools and workplaces, public gathering places like our building can be hubs for flu germs, so we urge you to avoid the Library as well if family members are feeling under the weather.

Did you know that when you can’t come to the Library, the Library can come to you?  You can listen and read along to TumbleBooks online selection of illustrated children’s books.  More eBooks and downloadable audiobooks for all ages are available from OverDrive – take advantage of downtime to check out Libby, their new user-friendly app for reading/listening on your phone or tablet. Hoopla provides instant access with no waiting lists to streaming music, movies and TV shows as well as audiobooks and eBooks.  Chase away cabin fever with their great selection of your favorite comics!  There’s lots more, so stop by www.ridgefieldlibrary.org even if you can’t come to 472 Main Street.

Introducing Kindle Fires for Kids

Just in time for summer leisure time - the Ridgefield Library is pleased to bring you six Kindle Fires for Kids! Released in June, this new Kindle tablet is available to our patrons at the Children’s Services desk. These supplement the LeapPad devices we have had available for some time.

There are four Kindle Fires available for in-house use in the Children’s Library, and two that can be checked out and brought home! One Kindle Fire can be checked out per family for 7 days with a current Ridgefield Library card.  They cannot be reserved or renewed and must be returned to the Children’s Services desk. For in-library use, you will need to leave keys or other valuables as collateral.

Each of the Library's Kindle for Kids is equipped with Amazon’s FreeTime Unlimited which offers unlimited access to over 13,000 kid-friendly books, educational apps, games, movies, and TV shows from top brands like Disney, Nickelodeon, PBS, Amazon Originals for Kids, and a child-safe web browser. There are three age profiles for children to use: Ages 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.

Stop by the Lodewick Children’s Library to bring Bumbersnoot or Bilbo (yes, your children’s librarians named them) home with you! 

Contributed by Head of Children's Services Kristina Lareau

WSJ Article from Home with your Library Card

Did you miss the Wall Street Journal coverage of the Super Bowl?  Want to read Gear & Gadgets reviews or just curious about a WSJ article you heard about?

Did you know that you have free access to full text Wall Street Journal articles?  The Wall Street Journal from ProQuest is a research resource available on Library computers, from the Library’s website, ridgefieldlibrary.org and from researchitct.org.  It covers the Wall Street Journal Eastern edition from 1984 through current, and includes same day coverage.

This Wall Street Journal research product is different from the wsj.com online product in that photographs and illustrations are excluded, but the complete text of each article is available and it is printable and free.

To find the Wall Street Journal link on the Ridgefield Library website click on Research & Reference and then on Magazines & Newspapers or on Databases A-Z to find WSJ listed alphabetically. You will need to enter your Connecticut library barcode number. To help find your articles, we recommend doing an “Advanced Search” to search by keywords, subject headings, names of companies and people, and by publication date or a range of dates.

We hope you make use of this Wall Street Journal resource!

Contributed by Adult Services Librarian Christie Mitchell

Trick or Treat @ the Library

Calling all young goblins and princesses! Drop by the Library during the downtown Halloween Walk on Saturday, October 29^th from 10:00 AM – noon, show us your costume and get a special treat – a book provided by the Friends of the Library (while supplies last).

Seasonal books and other materials fly off the Library’s shelves ahead of each holiday, but now we can offer an alternative if you miss the boat for these special occasions.  Hoopla offers a wealth of downloadable and streaming content for all ages that can be enjoyed on computer, tablet or phone.  For Halloween they offer scary movies from Stephen King to Disney; TV series such as Dark Shadows and the animated Sabrina; Walking Dead and many other comics; spooky songs and sounds to provide a soundtrack for your Halloween party; and audio and eBook versions of many favorites from picture books to Goosebumps to adult horror thrillers.  Check our website or ask at any service desk to set up your account.

Our fall School Scrabble Tournament takes place on November 5^th, but keeps up the Halloween spirit, with costume contests and themed activities.  Scrabblers in Grades 4 through 12 are invited to send in their registration forms, available at the Library or online at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.

On the Road with the Ridgefield Library

I’m getting ready for a vacation trip to Canada, and the following services from the Library have been a great help.

• A dedicated section of travel books and DVDs, covering destinations around the world, has hints for where to go and what to do.
• I can brush up on my French with language learning materials on CD and accessible online with Mango.
• Luckily, my travel documents are in order, but if I needed passport processing, the Library is a very convenient and friendly alternative.
• A long train trip will allow me to catch up on months’ worth of The New Yorker downloaded through Zinio without having to haul a lot of paper copies around.
• Thanks to eBooks from Hoopla and Overdrive, I will be able to keep up with book group assignments, again without carrying weighty tomes.  With selections like Vanity Fair and Huck Finn, this can add up to a lot of pounds of baggage!
• Lists prepared by the library staff have given me some great ideas for themed reading.  A pamphlet on “Crime in a Cold Climate” has some perfect suggestions for a trip to Canada!

Wherever you may be traveling, make the Library your first stop!

New Access to an Old Favorite

Consumers Union has checked out some 155,000 products in their test labs since 1936. These include the highfalutin’ and the ho-hum. Sports cars and sneakers. Computers and corn poppers. Cognacs and colas. CU's engineers and technicians eyeball, heft, measure, weigh, taste, use, and abuse those products. They take them apart, leave them out to weather, drop them, crash them, and put them through accelerated-wear tests to assess their durability. All this to determine the best, and sometimes worst, products for all of us to use.

For many years, the Ridgefield Library has offered Consumer Reports monthly magazine and annual index. This heavily used resource has been a boon to redecorators, those with ailing appliances, those needing new cars or suggestions for good used cars and a multitude of things from computers to insect repellent.

Now we are very happy to be able to provide online both Library and home access to this great service. You will find the trusted articles, ratings and even more on the Library website ridgefieldlibrary.org.   Click the Catalog and Collections button and choose Magazines and Newspapers. Keep your Ridgefield Library card handy as the barcode is needed to log in, and read your way to great products and services in the comfort of your home!

Contributed by Adult Services Librarians Victoria Carlquist and Christie Mitchell

New Digital Magazines Available

Have you tried Zinio yet? This online service gives Ridgefield Library card holders access to several dozen popular magazines in a convenient downloadable format for reading anywhere, any time, on a computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet.

The full content of every page of the magazine is reproduced, in full color and with added interactive navigation features. Once you have downloaded them, there is no due date, so you can continue to enjoy them indefinitely (great for cooking magazines with tempting recipes!).

While not all publications are available for library subscriptions, we have tried to select an appealing and diverse selection.  Joining perennial favorites like The New Yorker, Cook’s Illustrated, Newsweek and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance are new selections including Clean Eating, Entrepreneur, ESPN, Every Day with Rachel Ray, Harper’s Bazaar, and Rodale’s Organic Life.

Zinio also has a commercial interface, so make sure you are signing up for Zinio for Libraries for free access courtesy of the Ridgefield Library. Instructions on setting up and using your account are available at the Adult Services desk or on the “Library on the Go” page at ridgefieldlibrary.org.  Happy reading!

First Stop on Vacation: The Library

Hitting the road for vacation?  Make the Ridgefield Library your first stop!

Check out the Library Store for roomy book bags to hold all your gear.  Pick up a blank journal to record your travel impressions.  And don’t forget a portable power bank for emergency re-charging of electronics.

Booklists, displays and staff recommendations will help you fill up that bag with great leisure reading choices.  If you are away for some time, many borrowed items can be renewed online (as long as there is no waiting list).  And don’t forget you can log your Summer Reading online while you are on the road, then come in to claim your rewards when you return.

If all the members of your traveling party can agree on a title, the Library has many wonderful audiobook recordings on CD and Playaway, as well as downloadable material available from hoopla and OverDrive which can be played through many car stereo systems.  If your companions have different tastes, you can enjoy individual choices of downloadable and streaming offerings such as eBooks, audiobooks, TV, movies and music – each on your own personal device. 

Just remember to pack your Ridgefield Library card and check in at ridgefieldlibrary.org!

June Is Audiobook month @ the Library

On the go or on the track? In the car or in the kitchen?  These are just a few of the places you can enjoy listening to audiobooks any time.  And the Ridgefield Library can help you find a wealth of titles for all ages available at no cost to you.

Almost every kind of book is now available in audio format, from romance and science fiction to memoir and non-fiction. You can learn a language, catch up with a favorite series character, explore the ideas of great thinkers, sample a new author or re-visit a beloved classic.

Our newest offerings are downloadable audiobooks from OverDrive and Hoopla, two subscription services available to Ridgefield Library cardholders.  Learn how to access these from most computers or devices by asking at the Adult Services desk or visiting our Digital Library Page at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.

Many listeners are partial to the convenient Playaway format, which incorporates a playback mechanism into the packaging of each title, so you don’t have to have yet another device.

And, of course, we also have the traditional book-on-CD format featuring adult, teen and children’s titles, along with read-along kits for youngsters including a book and an audio narration.

Happy listening!

Digital resources for Kids Now @ the Library

The Library’s digital collection isn’t just for adults anymore.  Along with audiobooks and eBooks for children, the Library also offers literacy resources to support emerging and reluctant readers.  BookFLIX is a new addition to our digital offerings that is specifically designed to support a child’s interest in reading.  It pairs classic fictional video storybooks with related nonfiction books to strengthen a love of reading and learning for children in PreK to 3^rd grade.  The digital library is quite extensive with 110 popular video storybooks paired with a related nonfiction eBook, such as the popular “Click Clack Moo, Cows that Type” storybook video paired with a nonfiction eBook about cows.  BookFLIX will help early readers develop and practice essential reading skills while introducing them to a world of knowledge and exploration.  Tumblebooks is another digital resource offering hundreds of popular storybooks and chapter books.  Both of these quality resources allow children to read the eBooks on their own or choose to read along.   Some of the benefits of the audio component include helping all children build fluency skills, improve sight word recognition, and build comprehension.  These digital resources are another way of introducing the love of reading to children.  

Contributed by Gayle Pulley, head of Children's Services

Get Outside the Lines @ your Library

September 13-19 is the week when libraries around the country are showcasing how they help their patrons get “outside the lines” – and the walls – of the traditional library building.  In Ridgefield we are using this as an occasion to launch our latest digital collection.  hoopla digital is an online service, available anywhere with your Ridgefield Library card for login, which offers music albums, movies and television shows to stream or download, as well as audiobooks, eBooks and even comics.  It is easy to use and works with both Apple and android apps as well as on most PC browsers.  You can get all the details on our website at ridgefieldlibrary.org.

To cap off the week, Friday the 18^th is International Read an eBook Day.  All you have to do is download one of the thousands of eBooks available to Ridgefield Library patrons through the OverDrive service. Then post about it on social media with the hashtag #eBookLove, and our library will be automatically entered into a drawing for $2,500 of credit towards additional eBooks for you to enjoy.

September is also Library Card Sign-up Month – what a great time to make sure you can take advantage of everything in the Library – and outside the lines!

Opportunities for Lifelong Learners

Ridgefield students head back to school soon, but youngsters are not the only ones who can expand their horizons with new academic challenges.  In addition to our myriad scheduled programs, we invite adult Ridgefield Library card holders to explore two self-paced options for lifelong learning.

Thanks to the Friends of the Library, we continue to add to our collection of “Great Courses” audio CDs, featuring popular and highly respected teachers from the best colleges and universities in the country.  Each set consists of a complete series of course lectures, along with printed study guides.  Recent additions include 1066, After the New Testament, Art of War and Skepticism 101.

The Library has also served as a “meet-up” site for several Massive Open Online Courses, or MOOCs.  This summer several dozen people, from preteens to senior citizens, gathered each week to view and discuss excerpts from a course entitled “The Rise of Superheroes and their Impact on Popular Culture.”  Those who missed taking the full course online will have another chance, when it is repeated starting August 12^th.  Stay tuned for announcement of future opportunities to join with fellow scholars to take part in MOOCs on literature, art history or other topics.

June Is for Audiobooks

June is a perfect time to celebrate National Audiobook Month, as family vacations get underway and folks spend more time in outdoor pursuits like gardening.  At the Ridgefield Library, we offer an extensive collection of listening material on CD, mp3 and Playaway and in several digital formats. Options include fiction and non-fiction for adults, favorite children’s and teen titles, recommendations for family listening, language learning material and even lecture courses by celebrated college professors.

Audiobooks are a great boon for commuters who want to put their travel time to good use catching up with the latest bestseller.  They can also be of great benefit to beginning or reluctant readers who need a helping hand.  Playaways in particular, with their self-contained player and simple one-button operation, are popular with those whose vision or dexterity may be less than 100%.

Some listeners seek out audiobooks read by particular narrators. Some readers are such a perfect fit with the material they present that they add immense pleasure to the listening experience.

Look for audiobooks in physical formats in the adult, children’s and teen areas. For a quick start to using digital audiobooks, just click on the square blue “Download Audiobooks” icon on our homepage at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org.  

Get Magazines on the Go

Looking for the latest issue of a magazine? Zinio is an online resource offering beautiful full color, interactive digital magazines accessible from computers and from a wide range of smartphones and tablets.   Ridgefield Library cardholders can now download current and back issues of 48 magazines including National Geographic, Newsweek, The New Yorker and a range of specialty magazines such as Cooks Illustrated, Eating Well, ARTnews and The Family Handyman.   Some titles offer enhanced elements such as audio and video that bring content to life.     

These magazines are available from anywhere with an Internet connection and, once downloaded, can be read offline.   The Zinio interface has just been updated, streamlining the process for checkout and reading on a computer, and the new Zinio for Libraries app has been redesigned to improve ease of access to magazines on most mobile devices.   Select as many current and back issues as you like and retain them for as long as you like.

Drop by the Donofrio Technology Center on Thursday, May 7th between 1 and 3 PM or on Wednesday, May 20^th between 4 and 6 PM for a demo and one-on-one help in getting started with Zinio or visit our website for more information. 

Contributed by Head of Adult Services Dorothy Pawlowski

Digital Magazines Now Availalble

The Ridgefield library is pleased to announce the availability of Zinio, a new online resource.  Now Library cardholders can read complete full color, interactive digital magazines on computers or on a range of mobile devices.

Getting started with Zinio is easy.  Just go to our website to browse our Zinio for Libraries collection and follow the instructions for setting up your Zinio account with a username and password. Select from 46 magazines covering a wide range of interests including Newsweek, O the Oprah Magazine, Eating Well, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, and Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.   Current issues are released simultaneously with print versions and available for instant browser streaming and app-driven offline viewing.  Check out as many issues as you want and keep them in your account as long as you wish with no need to worry about due dates.  Recent back issues are also available for most titles.

Zinio’s stunning interface recreates a magazine page for page, including full color pictures, intuitive navigation, and key word searches for articles.  Some titles such as National Geographic also offer enhanced elements such as audio and video that bring the content to life.   

The Library’s Adult Services Staff is happy to provide assistance in getting started with this convenient new way to access your favorite magazines.

Contributed by Head of Adult Services Dorothy Pawlowski

Look for LeapPads @ the Library

The Ridgefield Library has introduced a new way to amuse and educate our younger patrons! Thanks to the Friends of the Ridgefield Library, a number of LeapPad2 handheld computers have been purchased and may be borrowed from the Children’s Services desk for an hour at time. Children ages 3 to 9 will enjoy exploring all they have to offer, from taking baby’s photo with the camera feature to listening to the educational music. Young budding artists may dabble with the art studio or create their own pet with the PetPad. And, yes, we did manage to make sure there was a fun game to play as well! The LeapFrog company takes pride in producing educational toys with kid-proof durability. In the future, we will be buying some additional cartridges to enhance the enjoyment and educational value.

If you haven’t been able to visit the Lodewick Children’s Library yet, we would like you to know that it also has a wonderful selection of puzzles, blocks and wooden toys on wheels (like a giraffe and a fire truck), encouraging learning and creativity through tactile as well as digital tools. We look forward to seeing you and your family soon!

Contributed by Kathy Cherniavsky, Acting Head of Children's Services

Digital Media Survey Underway

Do you use the Library's OverDrive downloadable audiobook and eBook service?  Have you come to one of our Tech Topics sessions on e-readers?  Do you stream music or video you find on the Internet? The environment for content creators and consumers is in a constant state of change, with new delivery systems and devices coming on the market almost daily. Here’s an opportunity for you to help shape the future of digital content at the Ridgefield Library.

We are fortunate to have been chosen as the site for a research project on digital media use in libraries, undertaken by graduate student Dawn Zimmerer, who is completing her Masters in Library Science at Southern Connecticut State University.  We invite you to participate in the brief survey she has put together and look forward to learning the responses of our patrons on this very timely topic.

Thank you for considering this request.  To participate, you may pick up a paper copy of the survey at the Library or take the survey online at www.ridgefieldlibrary.org. Average completion time is less than 15 minutes. The deadline is June 18th, so do it today. Thank you for your input.