Digital Resources for Those With a Library Card

Because we are closed to the public through May 18th, this week’s blog features the digital resources available to our patrons and to the general public who have a library card. You will need to go to our homepage: https://wcvpl.biblionix.com and scroll down the page until you find the following resource links on the left. We are proud to be able to offer these services especially in times like these.

If you happen to have a library card and know your PIN, you may wish to take advantage of our RBdigital resources. RBdigital offers audiobooks, eBooks, digital graphic novels, and magazines. You can also check out Acorn TV (which contains shows from Great Britain, Canada, and Australia) for one week at a time, The Great Courses for learning and personal development courses, Hoonuit for video-based software learning, and Artistworks which offers video-based art and music instruction. 

RBdigital is available as an app on both Apple and Android devices. When you go to our page https://wcvpl.biblionix.com, you will need to login with your library card number and PIN (password) in the upper right-hand corner. Then scroll down and select the RBdigital resource on the left side of the page. This should take you to the RBdigital homepage where you will choose “Register” in the upper right corner if you do not have an account. Follow the instructions for setting up your account and then download the app onto your phone or tablet.  The only downside to this is that if your library account has a fine or needs to be updated, or if you are having trouble setting up your account, you will have to wait until we reopen to clear up any problems. 

hoopla is a digital app that allows you to check out up to 3 e-audio books or e-books per month. There is a wide selection of adult fiction and nonfiction as well as juvenile and young adult titles. Some of the juvenile titles also have a read along function allowing your child to follow along as the story is read to them. hoopla is easy to use. Set up an account with your email address and library card number.

One last thing, we would like our patrons to remember that we will not attach any fines to the materials you have checked out for as long as we remain closed. Please remember that audio CDs, DVDs, Playaways, Playaway Views, and any learning games and toys checked out from downstairs cannot be put in the book drop. Hang on to those and we will be happy to take those once we re-open.

Digital Resources. No Library Card Required!

Because we are closed to the public through May 18th, this week’s blog features the digital resources available to our patrons and to the general public who may not have a library card. The only thing necessary to access these resources is an internet connection and a computer, tablet, or smartphone. We are proud to be able to offer these services especially in times like these. 

First, I would like to cover those resources that do not require a login and can, therefore, be accessed directly from our catalog page: https://wcvpl.biblionix.com. As you scroll down, on the left side of the page, you will find a list of resources available. The following items on that list do not require a library card to use: AudioBookCloud, RomanceBookCloud, TeenBookCloud, TumbleBooks, and TumbleMath. (These resources will not require a login through August 31st since the parent company has decided it would be a good idea to make them open to everyone during the COVID-19 crisis.)  

AudioBookCloud is on online collection of audio books available for libraries and schools to have access to classic literature, nonfiction, young adult, new titles, and Spanish language audio books. You can search for your favorite author or title as well as browse through the various genres. There is no software to download, because you stream directly from the website. The downside is that you cannot listen while offline. 

Both RomanceBookCloud and TeenBookCloud are like the AudioBookCloud in that there are multiple genres to choose from and they must be read online. RomanceBookCloud has a core collection of more than 1700 eBook titles from the various romance sub-genres—Contemporary, Inspirational, Historical, Regency, Paranormal, and Sci-fi. TeenBookCloud is a collection of eBooks for grades 7-12. The selection includes graphic novels, enhanced novels, classic literature, National Geographic videos, and audiobooks. It also includes a Common Core portal for grade level reading. 

TumbleBooks is an online collection of animated, talking picture books which help to teach young children the joys of reading. Some of the titles even have a read-along function that allows your child to follow along as the story is read to them. TumbleBooks also has a variety of Story books, read-alongs, eBooks, graphic novels, nonfiction, videos as well as some puzzles and games to keep children engaged. There is also Accelerated Reader information so that your child can keep up with their AR reading. 

Finally, we have TumbleMath which offers math picture books, lesson plans, and quizzes in everything from counting, addition, and subtraction to graphing, probability, and finance. The picture books have subtle animation and narration to help your child learn to love math. The quiz section has quizzes just for TumbleMath, but also a selection of Common Core based quizzes. 

One last thing, we would like our patrons to remember that we will not attach any fines to the materials you have checked out for as long as we remain closed. Please remember that audio CDs, DVDs, Playaways, Playaway Views, and any learning games and toys checked out from downstairs cannot be put in the book drop. Hang on to those and we will be happy to take those once we re-open.

What I’m Reading

Author Craig Johnson introduces Sheriff Walt Longmire of Wyoming’s Absaroka County in The Cold Dish. Johnson draws on his deep attachment to the American West to produce a literary mystery of stunning authenticity, and full of memorable characters. After twenty-five years as sheriff of Absaroka County, Walt Longmire’s hopes of finishing out his tenure in peace are dashed when Cody Pritchard is found dead near the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. Two years earlier, Cody has been one of four high school boys given suspended sentences for raping a local Cheyenne girl. Somebody, it would seem, is seeking vengeance, and Longmire might be the only thing standing between the three remaining boys and a Sharps .45-70 rifle. With lifelong friend Henry Standing Bear, Deputy Victoria Moretti, and a cast of characters both tragic and humorous enough to fill in the vast emptiness of the high plains, Walt Longmire attempts to see that revenge, a dish best served cold, is never served at all.

 In Hollow Kingdom by Kira Jane Buxton, S.T., a domesticated crow, is a bird of simple pleasures: hanging out with his owner Big Jim, trading insults with Seattle's wild crows (i.e. "those idiots"), and enjoying the finest food humankind has to offer: Cheetos ®. But when Big Jim's eyeball falls out of his head, S.T. starts to think something's not quite right. His tried-and-true remedies -- from beak-delivered beer to the slobbering affection of Big Jim's loyal but dim-witted dog, Dennis -- fail to cure Big Jim's debilitating malady. S.T. is left with no choice but to abandon his old life and venture out into a wild and frightening new world with his trusty steed Dennis, where he suddenly discovers that the neighbors are devouring one other. Local wildlife is abuzz with rumors of Seattle's dangerous new predators. Humanity's extinction has seemingly arrived, and the only one determined to save it is a cowardly crow whose only knowledge of the world comes from TV. What could possibly go wrong?

 In honor of National Poetry Month, I’m reading Unseen Poems by the widely beloved medieval Persian poet Rumi. Rumi (1207-1273) was trained in Sufism--a mystic tradition within Islam--and founded the Sufi order known to us as the Whirling Dervishes, who use dance and music as part of their spiritual devotion. Rumi's poetry has long been popular with contemporary Western audiences because of the way it combines the sacred and the sensual, describing divine love in rapturously human terms. However, a number of Rumi's English translators over the past century were not speakers of Persian and they based their sometimes very free interpretations on earlier translations. With Western audiences in mind, translators also tended to tone down or leave out elements of Persian culture and of Islam in Rumi's work, and hundreds of the prolific poet's works were never made available to English speakers at all. In this new translation -- composed almost entirely of untranslated gems from Rumi's vast ouevre -- Brad Gooch and Maryam Mortaz aim to achieve greater fidelity to the originals while still allowing Rumi's lyric exuberance to shine.

AARP Tax Preparation Help Sessions for April

Documents and Helpful Information that you will need to provide:

· A copy of your 2018 Income Tax Return

· All income documents for 2019 (W2 - 1099 - Retirement - Pensions - Social Security - Unemployment - etc) . 

· 2019 Mortgage statement showing interest and property taxes paid

· All 2019 Tax Receipts from Tax Collector's Office (Home, Land & Tags)

· All Social Security Cards (Taxpayers & Dependents)

(Please note : Volunteers will NOT be doing Tax Assistance on April 15)