Adults

Holidays on Hoopla

We’ve been posting a lot about Hoopla recently – and for good reason! There’s so much available with no wait for library patrons! It’s all FREE for them with their Allegheny County library card.

And with Holidays on Hoopla, users can get great content to make their season merry & bright. From heartwarming Thanksgiving stories to enchanting Christmas adventures and the radiant glow of Hanukkah traditions, Hoopla has the perfect mix to entertain all ages and spirits high throughout the holiday season.

The Holiday Food & Entertaining collection has recipes, tips, and hosting inspo.

Holiday Entertaining

There’s kid-specific collections for Thanksgiving, Christmas & Hanukkah!

All collections

And what romance lover can resist the Countdown to Christmas Hallmark+ BingePass collection?!?

Hallmark+ BingePass

This is just a portion of the holiday & winter collections available! With these resources, you’ll find social media assets and flyers to spread the word about these great collections.

And if you’re looking for additional Hoopla promotional materials, you can find those in the full Hoopla Resource Center. There’s great content to share all year long!

-Richelle, Sewickley Public Library

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Family History Month with Ancestry.com

October is Family History Month, which makes it the perfect time to begin researching your family’s heritage using Ancestry.com. 

The database, available for in-library use, allows users to search census records, birth, marriage & death records, military records, newspapers, and other documents. There are billions of records available to search from all over the world. 

To get started, click Begin Searching, then enter in as much information as you can about your relative. 

The results will return a variety of formats, and numerous results that meet the criteria that you entered.

If the results that appear are not what you’re looking for, you can narrow down your search by using the filters along the side. These allow you to specify the document type that you are interested in, the location of the record(s), and the date that the records are from.

Some records have a family tree attached to them which can lead to other family members. This is not available for all records. Ancestry does allow for some documents to be printed, such as family trees and Census records. For others, printing of the original document is not available, instead users can get a print out of the information that was featured on the document.

Happy searching!

Erin, Bridgeville Public Library

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Gale LegalForms

Have you ever had a patron inquire about legal forms? Well, there’s a database for that! Gale LegalForms connects patrons to the Pennsylvania Legal Form Library and offers access to a wide variety of templates.

front page of Pennsylvania Legal form library

Patrons can browse by category or search for a specific form needed, and all forms are easily available and specific to Pennsylvania. For most topics, there are also multiple forms to choose from, allowing patrons to find the one that best suits their needs. The documents come in MS Word format, allowing patrons to easily edit them. Best of all, there are no fees!

Erin Weaver, Bridgeville Public Library

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RAD Pass: Summer Staycation

Summer is almost here, which means graduation season and the end of the school year. If your library is like mine, this is when the phone starts ringing with questions like: “What’s this RAD Pass thing?” 

Here’s what you need to know to help your patrons: 

What is RAD Pass? 

RAD Pass (found at radpass.org) offers free and discounted tickets to a variety of regional attractions, thanks to support from the Allegheny Regional Asset District. It’s available to any Allegheny County resident with a valid library card and PIN. 

How Does It Work? 

Patrons can log in using their card number and PIN. Once logged in, they’ll see a list of available attractions. Venues and tickets change periodically, so encourage patrons to check back often. 

If tickets are available for an attraction, a message on the right side will say “Show first available offer.” If not, it will display “All reservations have been reserved at this time.” 

To reserve a pass, click “Show first available offer.” The pass details and requirements (e.g., mobile or printed format) will be listed. If the patron prefers a different date than the default, they can scroll to the bottom and click “Reserve a different date” to choose from the available options. 

Important Notes for Patrons: 

  • Patrons may only reserve a pass to the same attraction once per calendar year.
  • Each library card may hold up to two active reservations at a time. Once the date of the earliest reservation passes, a new reservation can be made.
  • Ticket availability refreshes often, so checking back regularly is a good idea.

-Erin, Bridgeville Public Library

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