Tips & Tricks for ACLA Databases and Downloadables

🌍 Discover Little Pim: Language Learning for Young Minds

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Are you looking for a fun, engaging, and educational tool to recommend to families with young children? Let us introduce you to Little Pim, the award-winning language learning resource designed specifically for kids!

What is Little Pim?
Little Pim is an interactive database that introduces children ages 0–6 to foreign languages through short, themed videos. With its playful panda mascot and engaging visuals, Little Pim makes learning a new language both fun and effective. It’s perfect for early learners and families looking to incorporate language skills into daily life.

Languages Available:
Little Pim currently offers instruction in 12 languages, including:

  • Spanish
  • French
  • Mandarin Chinese
  • German
  • Italian
  • Japanese
  • Arabic
  • Russian
  • Hebrew
  • English ESL
  • and more!

Why We Love It:
✔ Kid-Friendly Format – Each video is just 5 minutes long, making it ideal for short attention spans.
✔ Research-Based – Developed using the Entertainment Immersion Method®, Little Pim helps children retain new vocabulary naturally.
✔ No Ads, No Worries – A safe, ad-free space for kids to explore languages.
✔ Parent-Friendly – Videos are organized by everyday themes like “eating,” “playtime,” and “bedtime,” helping families incorporate learning into their routines.

How to Access:
Little Pim is available for free with your library card via https://learn.mangolanguages.com/explore/littlepim. Patrons can stream content from any device with an internet connection.

Great for Outreach and Storytimes
Little Pim can also be a great tool for children’s librarians during bilingual storytimes or early literacy programming. Consider highlighting it during cultural events, language weeks, or in partnership with schools.

Staff Tip:
If you’re helping a patron who’s looking for screen-time alternatives or ways to support bilingual households, suggest they check out Little Pim. It’s an accessible starting point for kids to become curious about other cultures and languages—right from home.

Gabi B. Robinson LIbrary

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Beyond Mango

We all know Mango Languages is fantastic. If you don’t, you can get up to speed here. But did you know about our other language learning tools? 

Let’s say you want to learn some Greek, so you head over to Pimsleur, a trusted name in quick and impactful language instruction for over 60 years. The Greek program alone is $19.95 a month! The Pimsleur method is effective, of course, but you’re going to be spending more than $20 getting the hang of the language. 

If you are set on Pimsleur, you can head over to Hoopla, where “each lesson provides 30 minutes of spoken language practice, with an introductory conversation, and new vocabulary and structures.”

In fact, Hoopla has a fantastic array of Pimsleur options, including English instruction for native speakers of a variety of other languages (English for Arabic speakers, English for Norwegian speakers, etc). 

You don’t have to limit yourself to Mr. Pimsleur, either! Hoopla has lots of options for audiobook language learning.

And it’s not just Hoopla. And it’s not just Greek! You can find similar content in our Libby collection. 

You can also head over to Udemy for language instruction!  

Whether you want to brush up on a new language in time for an upcoming vacation, or you have new neighbors who speak a language new to you, there are so many ways our eResources can support your language learning goals.  

-Mary, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh 

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Final Papers Made Easier with Gale OneFile: High School Edition

As the school year comes to a close and students work on their final papers, don’t forget to remind them that they have access to Gale OneFile: High School Edition.

This helpful research tools provides more than 28 million of articles on topics ranging from social issues and current topics to history and medical research.

For students or researchers who have a broad topic idea but might not be sure how to move forward in their search, the Topic Finder option is a good place to start.

This tool uses an algorithm to turn broad topics into term clusters which can make breaking-down a topic more palatable for students. You’ll see your term broken down into related topics in a tile or wheel view.

This overview is a great tool for discovering topics and following leads. Each section links to articles about the identified term with easy options to download, find citations, highlight and take notes.

Whether students are starting a new project or refining a research paper, the Topic Finder is a powerful tool to guide their thinking and connect them with the right resources.

– Richelle, Sewickley Public Library

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Tutor.com University training update

This is a quick update to let staff know that completing this training will provide 1.5 hours of CE credit! You will receive a completion certificate at the end of the course that you can send along to your administrators.

Tutor.com University is a self-directed course designed to give staff greater insight into the patron experience of the learning platform, and provide deeper knowledge of and skills with the resource. If you haven’t yet, you can read more about the training here. You will need to register through the Tutor.com form to enroll. You can click here to sign up.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to Hilary Lewis or Mary Phillips.

Hooray for continuing education!

-Mary – Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

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