Build your skills with Cisco Networking Academy

~ Sam Bardarik ~ Leave a comment

Take advantage of the Cisco Networking Academy! Available for free through Chester County Library, these online, self-paced courses will help you explore potential career pathways, develop technical mastery, and build critical thinking and problem-solving skills needed to succeed.

Get Connected: Learn how to use a computer, connect devices and access search, email, and social media. This is a self-paced, beginner level course.

Entrepreneurship: This course teaches business and financial skills, attitudes, and behaviors to help students develop an entrepreneurial mindset that can empower them to improve their lives.

Introduction to Cybersecurity: Learn how to protect yourself online and in social media while discovering careers in cybersecurity. This is a self-paced, beginner level course.

Cybersecurity Essentials: Develop an understanding of cybercrime, security principles, technologies, and procedures used to defend networks. This is a self-paced, intermediate level course.

Introduction to IoT (Internet of Things): Learn how the Internet of Things (IoT) and the digital transformation of business create new value and new job opportunities. This is a self-paced, beginner level course.

Introduction to Packet Tracer:  Learn the basics for using Cisco Packet Tracer to simulate network configurations. This is a self-paced, beginner level course.

Packet Tracer Mobile: Learn how to use the Cisco Packet Tracer Mobile software. This is a self-paced, hands-on course.

Take flight with these virtual rides

~ Book Club Mom ~ 3 Comments

Photo by C. Cagnin on Pexels.com

Do you feel like taking flight during these stay-at-home times? If you love the feel that the freedom of the skies offers, take a look at these virtual rides. Experience the cockpits and controls of the earliest airplanes, ride over Manhattan in a helicopter and join a fighter jet crew over the Swiss Alps.

Virtual Cockpit Tours from EAA Aviation Museum

Experience NYC by Helicopter from youvisit.com

360° cockpit view | Fighter Jet | Patrouille Suisse | Virtual Reality

And here are some eBooks for you to enjoy after you land – available now!

Fight or Flight by Samantha Young

First Flight Around the World by Tim Grove

The Flight Girls by Noah Salazar (audiobook also available)

Hornet Flight by Ken Follett

Star Flight by Phyllis A. Whitney

Kids’ Update: Baseball for Everyone

~ clancygirl1 ~ Leave a comment

We don’t know yet if there will be a baseball season this, but while you wait you can learn more about the game from Duckster’s Baseball. Read about Little League Baseball or dream about the Major League Baseball. After all, Opening Day will come someday!

Here’s a baseball story for you — Catching the Moon: The Story of a Young Girl’s Baseball Dream.

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

Kids’ Update: On Your Toes

~ clancygirl1 ~ Leave a comment

If you’ve always wanted to take ballet class with a famous ballerina, now is your chance. Tiler Peck, principal dancer at New York City Ballet, is teaching daily ballet classes every day at 1 pm EST via Instagram Live. Throw on a pair of ballet slippers and join in as she takes dancers through basic stretching and ballet positions. She even throws in some pointe work at the end for more advanced dancers. Tiler Peck Ballet Class.

You won’t believe who becomes a dancer and a hero in Lotus and Feather.

The Youth Services Staff at the Chester County Library and Hankin Branch are presenting Virtual Storytimes beginning April 27th. They will be for three different ages groups — 0 to 2 Year Olds, 3 & 4 Year Olds, and 5 & 6 Year Olds. Registration is required via the Events Calendar at https://chescolibraries.org/. Virtual Storytimes are not registered as multi-week sessions; you will need to register for each storytime individually.

Virtual English Conversation Groups

~ Jamie ~ Leave a comment

We will resume holding English Conversation Groups virtually twice per month beginning the first week of May. Please join us to practice your English in a fun, relaxed atmosphere. Participation is free. Registration is required in order to receive the Zoom link for the meeting. Please register here for the first meeting on Wednesday, May 6th from 7:00-8:00PM.

A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants 2 hours before the program starts. Make sure to check the email address you registered with to receive the link. You do not need a Zoom account to attend the virtual program.

Virtual Program: Introduction to Genealogy

~ Jamie ~ Leave a comment

Please join us virtually on Thursday, May 14th, for Introduction to Genealogy with Ancestry Library Edition from 7:00-8:30PM. Take advantage of the Ancestry Library Edition database being available remotely until May 31st with this program.

Registration is required (you can register at the link above). A Zoom link will be emailed to registrants 2 hours before the program starts. Make sure to check the email address you registered with to receive the link. You do not need a Zoom account to attend the virtual program.

Learn how to use the library database Ancestry.com for family research. Get genealogy searching tips, research guidance, & more. Genealogy researcher Mike Sheldon will demonstrate introductory methods used to research a family tree, using Ancestry – Library Edition and FamilySearch.org. Ancestry.com – Library Edition can currently be accessed remotely through May 31st. A librarian will be available to answer questions about the database.

Resume Writing Workshop to resume virtually

~ Sam Bardarik ~ Leave a comment

In conjunction with the United Way Financial Stability Center, Chester County Library will resume our monthly Resume Writing and the Job Search workshop in a virtual format starting May 12. This workshop reviews fundamentals of writing a resume: format, content, tips and tricks, required and optional sections, etc. We’ll review example resumes and discuss online and print resume resources.

For more information and to register, click here.

For more upcoming virtual programs, click here for Chester County Library’s calendar and here for the United Way’s calendar.

Parfait au chocolat

~ Sara ~ Leave a comment

While the oldest recipe named “parfait” was published in an 1869 French cookbook (it was coffee flavored), the chocolate parfait was created in 1894 in France.  Parfait literally means perfect in French!  There are a couple of ways to make parfaits. The traditional French-style uses sugar syrup, eggs, and cream. The American style layers parfait cream, ice cream, and flavored gelatin in a tall, clear glass topped with whipped cream, fruit and liqueurs. The parfait has recently taken a healthier approach using yogurt layered with nuts and fresh fruits, instead of ice cream and sugary syrups.

Today is all about the chocolate parfait because it’s National Chocolate Parfait Day!  That doesn’t mean you can’t experiment with other flavors. Fruit and cream go quite well with chocolate as well as crunchy favorites like pretzels or cookie bits. A delicious chocolate parfait would be a perfect way to end (or start) your day. Try this versatile recipe at home today.

Read some chocolate mysteries while you indulge in your chocolate desert:

Chocolate Cream Pie            The chocolate thief

Also learn French !

Mango Languages User Guide