Our free access to World Book Online (WBO) continues through April 30th so you still have time to take advantage of this great resource. WBO is a place to find so much more than just help with your school assignments.
With your library card, you can access WBO’s Activity Corner which has a huge collection of projects and crafts. You can filter your search by age, type of activity, culture, etc. You will find projects that involve jewelry making, drawing, woodcraft, knitting, writing, science, construction . . . the list goes on and on.
So, if you are feeling creative but need inspiration and instructions, be sure to visit the Activity Corner at World Book Online.
Tumblebooks has made their database available during the COVID-19 emergency. You’ll find an enormous selection of animated picture books, read-alongs, ebooks, games, lesson plans, and quizzes at the click of your mouse!
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.
Chester County Library now has online instructions for Basic Microsoft Word and Excel available for you.
While the library cannot currently provide our popular in-house classes and 1-1 tutoring sessions, we can provide you with our Basic Microsoft Word and Basic Microsoft Excel instructions. These are instructional documents only. You will need Microsoft Word and/or Microsoft Excel available on your computer to follow the instructions.
We miss you and we hope to be back soon with in-house workshops. We are in the process of developing virtual computer training. Please stay tuned. We hope these instructional documents will help with brushing up your skills or help you learn something new!
If you have questions related to Microsoft Office, staff from John W Jacobs Technology can try to help you. Please email us your questions to ccljtc@ccls.org. We will respond your emails.
To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day, earthday.org is live-streaming Earth Day messages, performances, and calls to action. Tune in and enjoy: http://earthday.org/earth-day-live
Maybe you’re finding yourself with more free time now that all of your social events and outings have been canceled. Maybe you just need a break from it all. Either way now might be a great time to pick up a good book, and we still have you covered with our digital collection on Libby.
If you’re new to Libby, need a refresher, or have a specific question, join us on Friday afternoons at 3 PM for virtual learning sessions. Registration is required.
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.
With the current pandemic, most of the workforce across the globe are working from home. This brings a whole new set of challenges for organizations to mitigate, from productivity issues to information security, and business continuity is becoming the primary problem for many organizations.
Tesseract Learning wants to help in any way they can. They are releasing free eLearning modules to help you maintain employee wellbeing, productivity, and business continuity.
Open Hearth’s Goal Achievement Program (GAP) is their homelessness prevention program that provides short-term, decreasing level rent payment assistance to those who are at risk of becoming homeless due to an unforeseen, short-term financial crisis.
Thanks to the Phoenixville Community Health Foundation, they have an additional pool of funds to help those impacted by COVID-19 to keep them stably housed during this health and economic crisis.
Eligibility:
Renter residing in Northern Chester County or Western Montgomery County
Must have an active lease agreement
Must have a source of income or guarantee of imminent income (this could be a layoff letter or an unemployment compensation letter) – proof of income for entire household from past 30 days required
Eligibility Screening:
Contact Housing Programs Manager – Rebecca Rush – at (610) 792-9282 x. 207 or rrush@openhearthinc.org
Have a favorite book? Wishing you could find something like it to read next?
Here are a few ways to find find new books to try, based on a favorite book title:
NoveList Plus: You can start your search for title read-alikes here! Access NoveList Plus through the Library by visiting chescolibraries.org, selecting “Tools and Research” from the ribbon of choices at the top of the page, selecting “All CCLS Databases,” and then NoveList Plus. Enter your library card number when prompted.
Once you’re in NoveList Plus, use the search box at the top of the screen to search by title (hover over “Keyword” to select “Title”). Enter the name of a favorite title, select “Search,” and you’re on your way! From the main page for your book, you’ll find:
A list of “Read-Alikes” (other titles you might enjoy) on the right-hand side of the page. Select “View All” to see the complete list, along with reasons why NoveList Plusthinks you might like those titles.
“Lists and Articles” related to your book, to connect you with even more reading ideas.
A “Search For More” option (towards the bottom of the page) that lets you create a customized search for more title ideas, based on criteria you select.
Want to know more about a title that NoveList Plus suggests? Search for your new title idea in NoveList Plus, and then scroll down that title’s page to read professional reviews and more.
Here’s a brief video from NoveList for a helpful recap of how to find both Title and Author Read-alikes.
In addition to NoveList Plus, many libraries publish their own read-alikes on their websites, and no two lists are likely to be the same! Here are examples of the types of Google searches that can help you find more lists to peruse.
In these search examples, the titles are in quotes so that they’re searched as a complete phrase:
