Comforts of Home

by Gretchen Beilfuss Witt  Rowan Public Library        
            Did you know that there are many library resources that you can use without even leaving the comfort of your easy chair?  Rowan Public library has access to many exciting items at the touch of a button.  Pull up the library website on your home computer, iPad or mobile phone and look for the “Online Tools.”   One of the largest sources for online materials is NCLIVE.   The North Carolina State Library provides many resources for all public and academic libraries in North Carolina on NC LIVE.  You just need your card number (include all the zeroes, but not the letters) and a pin number to access this material from anywhere.     Among the newer products that NC LIVE provides is a digital video collection, “Films on Demand.”  You can watch the latest Rick Steves’ exploration of a travel destination, a Ken Burns documentary, developing business communication skills or even how to take better photos on your mobile phone.   There are movies detailing the challenges of growing older in America, how to dance the Rumba, Jamie Oliver’s recipes for 15 minute meal’s featuring ingredients like Chorizo and Squid and segments of “Families around the World”, a program describing the day-to-day life in other cultures.

Planning a trip to Europe, South America or even China?  Want to challenge your kids to keep their mind working this summer?  Rowan Public Library has resources to help them learn at least the important phrases in languages spoken all over the globe.  The Pronunciator program provides the opportunity to learn 80 different languages – the regular French or German, four types of Chinese as well as Telugu, Urdu, and Swahili.   Registering with Pronunciator helps track your progress, remind you of  your last session, and has playback tools to achieve proper pronunciation.  Particularly notable in this program is the ability to choose different levels of intensity.  Patrons wanting to share a language with their children can choose from two different age ranges 3-6 years and 7-12.   The Early Learners may learn the Russian words for colours over a five day period while the 7-12 year olds learn words for Good morning, goodnight, high-five and hug. Adults can start with an 8 week travel preparation course, a general beginner course or a specific healthcare course.   If planning to travel for business or pleasure or learning the language of your heritage, this resource presents a terrific opportunity to accomplish your goal!

If a new language is not in the stars, perhaps another personal goal might be.  Earning a GED, preparing for the GRE, learning how to use computer programs with ease or preparing to write a grant for a new business venture are just a few of the courses available online through the libraries Gale Courses.  Gale Courses are offered on myriad topics from personal finance and investing to creating websites; medical transcription to basic drawing.  Each course is offered monthly with the next enrollment May 13^th and continues for six weeks.  Courses are led by professional instructors and are offered both for professional development and personal enrichment.   These courses are free and open to anyone with a library card.  Explore your options under Online Tools – Gale Courses or the Gale Courses Icon and browse the catalog for topics of interest.  

Other resources like Chilton’s auto repair, Heritage Quest for genealogy, Legal forms and much, much more are also available; Take advantage of the wonderful opportunities offered through the library online resources without ever leaving home.