public libraries

So you want to read something, anything new and different and interesting, but you don’t think you can because the libraries are closed and you can’t access them. Well I have news for you. There are many services and outlets, including your library, that offer electronic options for reading and research.

I would first point you to your neighbourhood library. You can sign up for a library card online at both the Coqutilam Public Library and Port Moody Library to access their vast ebook and audio book collection. With a library card, you can also access many other online services that the libraries offer as well, such as Lynda.com for instructional videos.

Speaking of libraries, you can still access your school library’s catalogue by logging in with your district username and password. While we don’t have the selection of ebook offers the public libraries do, we have plenty of databases and magazines that you can browse through.

Tumble Books Library and TeenBookCloud are browser based reading repositories, meaning you can browse, select and then read your choice within your internet browser. While the links here are direct links and no login or account is required, this trial may end with the Covid-19 isolation is lifted. Both or some variation of them are offered through the public libraries as well, so there will always be the option for access.

Follett (the same folks that provide our library management system) have opened up their ebook collection during the pandemic. Press GO (with Follett eLearning, McHenry, IL selected), then click on Login in top right corner. It is free, but requires a username: guest and password: follett. They boast a large selection of ebooks, interactive and audio resources, educational and otherwise.

If words on a page aren’t your thing, then the grandparent of audio books is offering a trial account that will require a log in. Audible‘s audio book collection is huge, but with the trial you will have to finish listening to the book before your trial is up. If you find that audio books are your thing, a reminder that LibriVox has a huge, volunteer read collection of public domain materials to download and listen to.

There, that is plenty of resources that will keep you read through the crisis and maybe beyond. I know that audio books have become increasingly popular are people are listening to books on walks, their way to work and while around the house.

I hope the selection and variation is broad enough that it helps you find material that will work for you and your situation.

A very special thank you to Ms. Bourbonnais from Aspenwood Elementary for compiling the original list!

Taken from staff email of April 3rd:

I sincerely hope you are doing well and taking care of you and yours in these difficult times.

As you move forward in developing plans and activities for our students, I wanted to send a shout out and remind everyone that the Pinetree Library has an electronic presence to help with materials. We have been compiling and sorting through access to resources in order to provide them in a way that is useful and not overwhelming for you. I hope to have a shiny, new library web page to make access and information easier up and running soon (thanks DL team 😊).

You can still log into the Pinetree Library Catalogue to access ebooks and databases, as well as develop a Collection to share with your students. Everyone can access this from home using their district username and password. I can certainly help with this, please let me help with this.

You can also access our district resources through the SD43 Website. A library channel has been created on the Pinetree Teams and we are more than happy to field questions or offer what aid I can to support your search of materials to suit your needs. Please, please, please, make us do our jobs to make yours a bit easier. This learning curve is steep and everyone can use bit of help.

Links to any of the databases may ask for a username and/or password, which is: sd43u If this does not work, let me know and I will track down the cause. The best bet is to go through the links on our catalogue. The following is a list of some of the items that are provided by the district:

Secondary Level Resources

World Book Online – World Book’s selection page with links to all World Book databases we have access to.

Explora Search

Explora Canada – New interface to search EBSCO’s databases in one friendly screen.

Gale Engage Learning – Gale’s selection page with links to all databases we have access to.

KNOW BC – A major reference that brings together everything you always wanted to know about BC.

Web Library – Provides access to more than 85,000 trustworthy, relevant websites while filtering out questionable and irrelevant content.

Learn360 – Provides over 9,300 full digital video titles and over 28,500 video clips from A&E, National Geographic, Nelvana, Reading Rainbow, and National Science.

Curio.ca – Streaming access to the best in educational content from CBC and Radio-Canada.

EBSCO Host – EBSCO’s selection page with links to all databases we have access to.

Magazines – EBSCO – Browse through hundreds of magazines & periodicals

National Film Board – Award-winning online Screening Room, featuring over 3,000 productions.

Topic Finder – Find new topics or keywords and discover new connections.

Canadian Encyclopedia – Provides updated information about our people and country

Don’t forget, the public libraries are allowing for library card applications to be filled out online and accessing their collections too. They have vast collections of ebooks and online resources, such as Lynda.com and Hoopla.

Books, resources, learning.

Online Resources for Books

To Get You Through the First Bit