Jot this down

Happy back to school, everyone! Do you remember how to divide fractions?  Me neither!

Have you ever had a student ask you for help with their essay or, even worse, a math problem? We do a lot in our roles as library staff, but some things are best left to the pros! Things like algebra. Or chemistry. Or pretty much anything other than library and information science. 

Or maybe you have a school group visiting, and you want to provide tutoring and homework support but, again, you are a library worker not a formally trained, subject-specific tutor. 

Or maybe you have ambitious programming goals and want to be able to support after-school tutoring without the gnawing fear of having to field pre-calculus questions.  

Good thing Tutor.com is here for you! 

Look at all the options on this JotForm!

The team at Tutor.com has deployed this quick form to reserve specific time slots for multiple tutors across a variety of subjects. This allows you to bring Tutor.com into any after school homework hours that you may have, host a Tutor.com walkthrough, or even hold resume/cover letter workshops for your adult community. It’s essentially like having a small army of tutors at the ready to support learners of all ages. Once a user experiences a tutoring session for the first time, they are far more likely to return and take advantage of other available resources. 

If this sounds like a good deal (it is), all you have to do is fill in this JotForm at least three days in advance of your program date.

-Mary, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

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BookFlix

Have you heard about BookFlix? This resource, provided by the state, is a wonderful tool to recommend to parents and teachers. BookFlix offers a fun way for young readers to practice their skills and gain confidence in their reading ability.

The resource, created by Scholastic and geared toward readers in pre-K to grade 3, offers a variety of categories to choose from such as Animals and Nature, People and Places, and Music and Rhyme. Within each category, there are a variety of books to choose from, and there are multiple titles offered in Spanish. Each picture book is paired with a related non-fiction book. Young readers can either watch the story or read the book. Included are activities to reinforce comprehension such as Word Match and Which Came First.

For more content, parents and teachers can click on the Resources and Tools button to view the Title Library, which lists books by Grade Level, Lexile, and GRL. The Title Library also offers links to lesson plans with learning objectives, important vocabulary words, and before- and after- viewing activities.

-Erin Weaver, Bridgeville Public Library

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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.

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

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

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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