Audiobooks and ebooks Available Through Overdrive Libby App for Mobile Devices

By Amber Covington  Rowan Public Library

Rowan Public Library has many e-Resources available for library cardholders that like to read on the go. If you like reading digital books or listening to books instead of physical books, consider downloading materials using Overdrive Libby App. Libby is the latest, redesigned app, to help make it easier for users to search and download digital content with ease.

As a member of the North Carolina Digital Consortium, RPL offers audiobooks, ebooks, magazines, and videos that are compatible with Android, iOS, Windows 10, some Chromebooks, and web browsers. Libby is a free app downloadable from your mobile devices Apple App Store, Google Play, Windows Store, or web browser. Once you’ve downloaded the app, start the app to login with your library card information.

Our resources available through Libby have endless options available- fiction, nonfiction, and magazines. Users have the ability to place themselves on hold for an item or filter content to show only the available items. Trending magazines includes a variety of topics including technology magazines such as Macworld and PC World; automotive magazines including Car and Drive, Motor Trend, and Popular Mechanics; and business and finance magazines such as Newsweek, Entrepreneurs Startups, and Inc.

Need help getting started with using the Libby app, visit or call your library branch. Want to try at home, visit help.libbyapp.com.

Quick Printing Service Available at the Library using PrinterOn

Quick Printing Service Available at the Library using PrinterOn

By: Amber Covington

Need access to a printer? Not sure where to get a document printed at short notice in Rowan County? Rowan Public Library offers wireless printing at all three branch locations in China Grove, Rockwell, and Salisbury. All you need is an email address or internet access to send your print job to one of our printers.

Do you have to be in the library to send your documents to the printer? No, all that is needed is an email address you have access to on a mobile device or visit our website and upload your documents there. Once your print job is accepted by our printer, a confirmation email is sent to you to confirm your print job is ready to pick up at the printer. I know you’re thinking that will lead to our printer printing all night? Not quite, your documents will only print once they are paid for and released from the print station in our library.

To retrieve your documents please visit during our hours of operation and remember to use the email address used to send the print job. However, you can send your documents anytime of day and pick them up when we are open. If this sounds a little confusing, feel free to stop by any library branch and staff will be available to help you with wireless printing or visit our website at www.rowancountync.gov/1440/Wireless-Printing. If you like using mobile apps, consider downloading PrinterOn and searching for Rowan Public Library to send your documents directly to the printer.

This service can be a lifesaver for anyone in need of printing a document and their printer has run out of ink. Before panicking, next time consider visiting your nearest library branch to print your documents. Currently, we charge $.15 per page for black and white copies and $.75 per page for colored copies. Don’t hesitate to call or visit your library for help on using our wireless printing service.

Community Resources Available for Job Seekers

By: Amber Covington Rowan Public Library

Job searching requires computer access, computer skills, time, and money for job seeking candidates. Rowan Public Library is dedicated to ensuring our community has access to information including; materials for their personal reading interests, educational resources from birth to college, and connecting job seekers to online classes, technology resources, and information to attain employment. The recent announcement for upcoming job opportunities secured by Rowan County Commissioners shows our local economy is growing. Job expansion in the last year in the county has included Chewy and New York Airbrake. The library is a place that will assist individuals seeking to further their work experience by registering for online Gale courses at no cost or visiting the library to increase their technology skills with free computer access, online job searching, resume and cover letter writing assistance.

Job seekers in our area have several local organizations committed to helping them with their jobs searches; NC Works Career Center, Goodwill Rowan County Career Center, Bonney Staffing, Onin Staffing, Mancan, and R3 Career Services. Each of these organizations have partnered with Rowan Public Library and participated in our 2018 Job Fair and previous programming. NC Works Career Center helps individuals create online job profiles and assist them with locating jobs specific to their skills and interests. Various online resources are available to the public at no cost and our local office located on South Main Street, often has employers onsite conducting interviews for job openings. Goodwill Rowan County Career Center staff members are available to assist job seekers with career planning, mock interviews, online and paper application assistance, job searching, Adult Basic Education program, Project Re-entry program for former offenders seeking employment, and Veterans Services to assist veterans and military families obtain stable employment. R3 Career Services provides services to help adults gain skills for a career with dedicated staff to assist with resumes, computer classes, and workplace certifications.

Rowan Public Library collaborates with many local organizations to ensure Rowan County citizens have access to resources for locating jobs or advancing one's career. Everyday, our library offers computer labs at three branches- Headquarters in Salisbury, East Branch in Rockwell, and South Rowan Regional Library in China Grove. Our staff assists people daily with accessing and navigating online websites for job postings, creating and editing resumes, printing work related documents, and free online Gale Courses to enhance work related skills. Rowan Public Library encourages everyone to sign up for a library card and use the free resources available to all wanting to advance their career, beginning a job search, or seeking online coursework to help increase their skills. In the near future, Rowan Public Library looks to partner with local businesses and organizations to offer job fairs and employment seekers programming.  

Don’t Slip into Summer Slide: RPL Is Here to Help

by Sydney Hamrick Rowan Public Library

            Any teacher or educator can tell you it’s an especially exciting time of the year. Our students are itching to take a break from school, and the sweet release of summer is only a few short weeks away. The warmer weather wakes up our students’ urges to get outside, take vacations, and spend lazy days with friends and families without the stress of schoolwork. While the approaching summer break is an exciting time for students, their teachers can tell you a major concern they feel as they watch their students leave the building for an extended period away from school: the dreaded Summer Slide.

            “Summer Slide” is a term coined to describe the slippage in reading ability and other academic skills students may experience during extended leave from school, such as summer break. When students aren’t actively engaged in their normal, regular classroom routines, the academic skills they worked hard to build during the previous school year can show decreases when they enter a new school year. Daily practice of a variety of classroom skills, such as reading and writing, will improve steadily over time when a student is actively engaged in practicing them on a daily basis. However, long breaks from regular instruction and practice threaten the loss of that growth. Summer break sings the promises of relaxation, but also the possibility of academic skill decline before entering new classes in August.

            Never fear: As worrisome as Summer Slide sounds, there are many ways to combat it by engaging our students’ minds during summer break. Rowan Public Library offers a variety of awesome, free resources and events to keep our students (as well as our patrons who may no longer be in school) thinking and problem-solving all summer long.

Encouraging students to continue reading lots of great books from the public library is a fantastic way to keep those literacy skills sharp throughout the break. Rowan County students can use their district-issued ID numbers to check out physical books from all three branches of Rowan Public Library as well as the eBooks and eAudiobooks from the NC Digital Library. The ID numbers can also gain them access to the library’s computers and a variety of other online databases and programs at no charge.

Rowan Public Library also hosts an array of Summer Reading programs to keep patrons of all ages engaged in exciting, meaningful learning experiences during the schools’ summer break. The many programs are geared towards all ages and offers a little something for everyone, from infants to adults. The opportunities for programs for each age group also occur weekly during the summer, which is a great way to keep minds actively engaged on a regular basis during the break. This year’s theme for Summer Reading programs is “A Universe of Stories,” celebrating the anniversary of the Apollo moon landing. If you’re interested in an out-of-this-world way to combat Summer Slide, Rowan Public Library will serve as an excellent resource for students and patrons of all ages this summer.

           

Becoming a Superhero at the Library

By P.L. Stiles  Rowan Public Library

     Sometimes life brings gnarly problems, uninvited and unwelcome guests that dampen a happy-go-lucky demeanor and darken the day.  Problems can roll in like boulders, refusing to budge until the riddles they pose are solved.   

     No worries, a deep breath and a trip to the library can help transform those problems into a valuable experience instead.  No matter the dilemma, there are few problems that a good book, a helpful website, a kind hand, or a few moments of quiet contemplation could not change for the better. 

Discover some of the more unique problem-solving resources available from Rowan Public Library:

AutoMate:  Got car trouble?  There is no trouble like car trouble, like that weird light that comes on or the scrapping noise that is hard to locate.  These symptoms might be listed in AutoMate, a free online car care database available 24/7 in NC Live that has repair and troubleshooting guides for 38,000 vehicles.  Need to purchase a car?  The same database offers the blue book value, and shows the common automotive problems of that little sports car the neighbor is selling.

DIY manuals:  House repairs looking difficult?   Someone has faced it before.  From electrical to plumbing to roofing, there are DIY (do-it-yourself) guides to solve most every handy problem that might be encountered.  Even if DIY is not an option, knowing what needs to be done can assist in finding a good repair person and might even prevent  getting taken for a costly ride.

Health and Legal Databases: Have a scary legal or medical problem? Available in NC Live online anytime, the Merck Manual Professional and Consumer Health Database provide informative articles on medical conditions and procedures as well as self care.  Criminal Justice Database and LawHelpNC.org are available anytime through NC Live online, offering legal definitions and walk-through help for veterans, divorce, and other legal difficulties.

Career Development and Job Hunting:  Need career help?  Rowan County Library offers a host of free online and in-house resources such as website listings and links to local papers and job boards free software and software training .  Cypress Resume or Microsoft Word is on offer to create a resume in minutes.  If certification is required, Testing & Education Reference Center, in NC Live, offers study guides and practice tests for vocational exams for virtually every industry including real estate, cosmetology, ASVAB, civil service exams, courts, and many others.   Gale Courses offer online classes to help build skills in software applications, health/ medical certifications, or to develop personal interests while job hunting to stay positive.  A cool computer lab complete with printers, scanners, and faxes makes job hunting a breeze.

Budgeting, Consumer Reports, Morningstar:  Having trouble making ends meet?  The library provides books and magazines with ideas on budgeting, how-to guides for just about everything including fixing a lawn mower, starting a business, cooking and preserving food, gardening and more to help stay within budget.  Consumer Reports helps make wise big ticket purchases, and databases such as Morningstar Investment Research Center provide research tools for making smart choices with 401K, or to impress in an interview. Librarians can also help find local resources to help save on expenses, find a repair person, a support group, a food pantry, or a supportive agency. 

     Last but not least, the best kept secret, Films on Demand, offers free online videos covering all kinds of topics from vocational trades, crafts, residential & auto repair, health issues, science, history, national geographic, and much more.  

     There is nothing like solving a problem to make a person feel like a superhero.  Discover solutions at the library, and send troubles packing.  Cape and tights are not required.

Adventure Travel

by Edward Hirst Rowan Public Library

The River of Doubt: Theodore Roosevelt's darkest journey (2005) by Candice Millard a former writer and editor for National Geographic. The book was a winner of a Notable Book Award from the New York Times in 2005. In 1914 Theodore Roosevelt led a group of explorers, including his son Kermit, deep into an unexplored region of the Amazon River.  The book recounts the hardships they faced on their trip down the River of Doubt.

The Lost City of Z: a tale of deadly obsession in the Amazon (2009) by David Grann is an ALA Notable Books - Nonfiction: 2010 award winner and was made into a movie by the same name in 2017. Follow writer David Grann as her follows in the footsteps of British explorer Percy Fawcett, who disappeared while on an expedition to find an ancient city in the Amazon in 1925.

The Gold of Exodus: the discovery of the true Mount Sinai (1998) by Howard Blum. Mr. Blum is a former New York Times journalist who writes the story of how two adventurers, Larry Williams and Bob Cornuke made discoveries at the mountain in Saudi Arabia known as Jabal al Lawz that this was the actual location of the biblical Mt. Sinai.

Jungle of stone: the true story of two men, their extraordinary journey, and the discovery of the lost civilization of the Mayans (2016) by William Carlsen. Mr. Carlsen is a former San Francisco Chronicle journalist who reveals the tale of John Lloyd and Frederick Catherwood and their discovery of the ancient Mayan empire.

The Last Wild Men of Borneo: a true story of death and treasure (2018) by New York Times best selling author Carl Hoffman. In this book Hoffman writes the stories of two different men, Bruno Manse and Michael Palmieri and the impact their lives had on the island of Borneo.

The Lost City of the Monkey God: a true story (2017) by author Douglas Preston. Preston writes of his travels in the Mosquitia area of Honduras as part of a team searching for The Lost City of the Monkey God.