Free Resources

New Reads – Straight to Your Inbox

Looking for new titles in your preferred genres or by your favorite authors? Get lists of titles added to the Allegheny County Library collections straight to your inbox with Select Reads!

Sign up for receive free monthly email notifications so you never miss another great pick. Choose from a variety of topics like Fiction, Non-Fiction, Entertainment, Graphic Novels, Home & Garden, Large Print, Romance, Teen, Age groups (4-8 & 9-12) and so many more.

This resource is great for both library staff and patrons alike! Staff can opt-in to all of the newsletters to boost your readers advisory repertoire or select specific areas of interest. Share this resource with your patrons so they can be up-to-date with the latest titles and authors that are available in the library catalog.

Find this resource on the county’s eLibrary page at elibrary.einetwork.net.

– Richelle Klug, Sewickley Public Library

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Free Legal Documents for Library Users

How many times have you been asked to help a library patron download/print a legal form, only to hit a paywall? While many sites advertise legal forms, few of them offer any for free. (And can patrons even trust the ones that are free??)

Fortunately, Gale Legal Forms provides FREE, TRUSTWORTHY forms specifically for Pennsylvania residents.

What forms can you find?

  • Wills
  • Affidavits
  • Rental Agreements/Leases
  • Contracts of Sale
  • Healthcare Directives
  • Power of Attorney
  • Divorce
  • Invoice Templates
  • and so much more!

You don’t have to have a law degree to know where to find trusted forms! Gale is your go-to for US Legal Forms.

Richelle @ Sewickley Public Library

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Get More Content with hoopla’s BingePass

A few years ago digital content provider, hoopla, introduced their BingePasses. The concept allows users to borrow a full collection of movies, books or magazines to stream for 7 days straight, using only one checkout credit. Since the introduction of this borrowing format, the collection has grown.

Get ready to hit that Hallmark demographic hard when I tell you that they now offer 7 day access to the entire Hallmark Movies Now catalog! That’s over 1,500+ hours of ad-free content from Hallmark Channel and Hallmark Movies & Mysteries.

And parents will love the “Read-Along 2 Learn” collection of engaging, non-fiction titles for school-age children to help prevent the summer slide. Learn about bugs, animals, dinosaurs, engineering and emotions – all of it using just one checkout.

There’s also the GoKidGo podcast collections, The Great Courses collection, Highlights magazine collection, digital magazines and many more.

View BingePass Collections

But how can you promote these collections to your users you ask? With hoopla’s BingePass marketing resources! They have everything you need (flyers, social graphics) to spread the word about these great collections.

Marketing Resources

Enjoy sharing this wonderful resource with your patrons!

-Richelle at Sewickley Public Library

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It’s (Always) a Great Time for Consumer Reports

Seasonal purchases. We all have to make them some time. A new string trimmer in the spring, a new air conditioner in anticipation of a hot summer. Don’t forget that you’re in need of a new grill and *BAM*, you’ve already made a list of big commitment purchases.

But this isn’t an advertisement for your local hardware store, oh no. This is a little friendly advice: use Consumer Reports to perform your due diligence before you buy.

As consumer advocates, Consumer Reports publishes their own product testing and consumer-oriented research. Which means you’ll find:

  • Product overviews
  • User reviews
  • Ratings
  • Prices
  • Where to buy
  • Reliability standards
  • Performance scores
  • Safety features
  • So much more

You’ll get all the information on product features and specifications you could hope for. Consumer Reports will be the perfect tool for comparing value and quality among the many brands and styles while in search of that new string trimmer.

If you’re thinking: “Prices and specifications are neat and all, but I’m not an expert in buying lawn care equipment. I don’t even know what to look for in a proper string trimmer!”

Consumer Reports provides a buying guide for every kind of product they review. This is where they explain how they test products, what you should look for to find the product to fit your needs, and things to consider before you buy.

Example of a consumer need: Some people just prefer the smell of two-cycle first thing in the morning.

If you’re wondering: “Is it just appliances n’at?” Great question.

Once you start browsing Consumer Reports, you’ll also notice they have a report on just about everything your money can buy. And I mean everything. Athletic shoes, cars, car wax, diapers, glues, smart watches…

“Are you going to make a joke about Consumer Reports even having a report about the kitchen si-“

Thanks for setting that up for me.

The bottom line is: Consumer Reports will help you save money. It will help you find something that lasts. It will help you find the right product to fit your needs. Of course, if you ever need help using Consumer Reports, reach out to your local library!

— Derek, South Park Township Library

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