Save & Close
Sign-Up for Your Library Card this September, Experience the Extras Waiting for You at SCLSNJ
About Blog Post
Aug 25, 2021
by SCLSNJ
Today’s modern Library is so much more than just books, especially when you are talking about the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey (SCLSNJ). The executive staff at SCLSNJ is excited to share their favorite “extras” with you in support of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Library Card Sign-Up Month initiative.
First stop, exploring the world of digital collections.
“Librarians love to read, right?,” said Brian Auger, county library administrator. “So many books, so little time; you know the drill. The great thing about Libby is that it lets me read while I’m driving. Libby is the award-winning interface that brings audiobooks and ebooks straight to your phone or tablet. Think Audible audiobooks - only free! It’s super easy to use, all you need is your Library Card. Books you’ve placed on hold are automatically downloaded when available, so you’ll always have a book to read while you’re driving. Download it now and you’ll never look back, except to back up safely.”
Next, discover all the news you will ever need, all the news you never knew you needed, and maybe even your next favorite book.
“My favorite electronic resource is Newsbank,” said Brian Morgan, director of finance. “It is a collection of current content as well as archives of thousands of news sources throughout the United States including New Jersey’s own Newark Star-Ledger. It’s important to have access to a variety of reliable sources.”
“My favorite Library resource is Flipster,” said Deanna Rivera, director of human resources. “The variety of information that can be found in the thousands of magazines is endless and it feeds my curiosity and interests from crafts, travel, current events, health, and the list goes on. I find inspiration from the articles, photos, and thought-provoking opinion pieces - which often leads me to other Library resources. How exciting is that?!”
“My favorite Library electronic resource is NoveList Plus,” said Christopher Korenowsky, director of public services. “NoveList Plus is a database of book recommendations for staff who do readers' advisory. The expertise and passion of library staff for books and reading means customers will always be able to ask for personal reading suggestions. This resource helps connect the mood of readers to the material they might very well not know they needed.”
Lastly, learn something new, for free, with your library card. Connect with technology, art, marketing, design, architecture, leadership and personal development skills, and so much more.
“I use Gale Presents Udemy all the time,” said Lynn Hoffman, director of operations. “It has a really impressive array of learning resources for all kinds of subjects, taught by knowledgeable instructors, and I use it for work and for my own interest. I use it two different ways. When I need to do something technical that I don't do very often, I dip into a course and watch just the short lesson that covers the one thing I'm having trouble remembering to get a refresher. When I want to add something brand new to my skill set, like a new programming language, I'll look for a complete course and go through the whole thing, piece by piece, as I have time.”
“Whenever I feel creatively blocked, overwhelmed, or just in need of a break, I love to log into Creativebug and watch one of their artistic videos,” said Carolann DeMatos, director of marketing and public relations. “My current favorite arts teacher is Missy Dunaway. Dunaway teaches classes on acrylic ink painting. I don’t even like acrylic ink paint as a medium, or own any ink, or want to own any ink, but I still love watching the tutorials. Then, when I am done watching a tutorial, I usually log into our catalog to take out a companion book on whatever arts medium I just learned about. For example, after I watched a journaling course, I checked out a dot journaling book from our print collections. Our Library never disappoints, we’ve got it all.”
Are you still not sold on getting an SCLSNJ Library Card? Email an SCLSNJ staff expert at ask@sclibnj.org and they will have many more reasons to share about why #LibrariesRock.