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 

Continue ReadingBeyond Mango

New BingePass Alert

Hoopla recently added a brand new BingePass to it’s growing selections. The Ken Burns Collection is now available to borrow for all hoopla users. As with all BingePasses, you only need to use 1 borrow credit to get hours upon hours of content!

Over 40+ years of great documentaries including The Civil War, Jazz, Country Music, Prohibition, The National Parks and more can be borrowed for an entire week. That’s prime bingeing material.

If you aren’t already familiar with hoopla’s BingePass offerings, now is a great time to check them out!

Happy watching!

-Richelle @ Sewickley Public Library

Continue ReadingNew BingePass Alert

Time to Check Our Links!

With the official (yes, really this time!) sunsetting of the classic Overdrive app at the end of January, the word “Overdrive” is slowly slipping away from our library vocabulary. We anticipate the classic Overdrive website also (eventually) going away, replaced by the already existing Libby website. And since the Overdrive website no longer has MP3 download capability either…well there’s no real advantage to keeping it around. So now’s the perfect time to check our links!

If any of our websites still link out to acla.overdrive.com, go ahead and update to libbyapp.com/library/acla. The Libby website still gives a preview of what’s available including recent curated collections, but it definitely more easily prompts users to log in. It also has the much simpler, “plain English” sign in process which reminds me of TurboTax vs. tax form lingo (“Did you earn money this year?” instead of “Form 1040 box 3, less withholding blah blah…”). Plus the simplicity of the website and similarity to the Libby app itself should help with the transition for those who haven’t yet downloaded Libby on their mobile device. The more things “look” like each other, the more easy it is to take the next step!

– Heather Auman, Western Allegheny Community Library

Continue ReadingTime to Check Our Links!

Marketing Tools from hoopla

Looking for a way to share more library resources? hoopla makes it easy!

hoopla offers an abundance of marketing and outreach resources that make sharing the collections with library users simple. Visit the hoopla Resource Center to find lists of featured collections, digital and printable marketing assets and even suggested post content.

View the Editorial Calendar for tools pertaining to upcoming holidays and themes. Find more general marketing materials in the Marketing & Outreach portion of the site.

Use this chance to schedule some posts highlighting online collections during the holiday season!

Hanukkah for Kids

Don’t forget to check back throughout the year to discover more resources and collections to share!

Wishing you & yours a happy holiday!

– Richelle @ Sewickley Public Library

Continue ReadingMarketing Tools from hoopla