We miss you, and we know you miss us too!

Dear Friends,

We miss you! And we know that you miss us, too!

It may not feel like a time to celebrate, but during this National Library Week we wanted to take a moment to thank you for turning - now more than ever - to the virtual and online resources offered by HCLS.

Online resources such as TeenBookCloud, TumbleBookCloud Junior, and ScienceFlix saw average increases in use of nearly 900% in March. Visits to our e-resources pages for elementary school students are up 725% since March 16. In that same time period, page views for the research page increased 75%, and online-classes page views are up 222%.

We appreciate how much you value the Library. Despite the mandate to close our physical spaces, the Library continues to focus on connecting customers to e-resources, and creating new ways to provide virtual programming. If you haven’t already, be sure to sign up for our eNewsletter here, and check back to hclibrary.org for new content weekly.

The Library has launched two reading challenges: Play, Create, and Learn for ages 5-13 and Social Distance Reading Challenge for ages 14 and up. Both track reading, offer fun educational mini-games to earn points and unlock badges, and provide mission lists full of activities. Already more than 1000 people have participated, and more are joining each week. Get started at readsquared.

Consider learning a new language through AV2 world languages. With the ability to easily switch between English, Arabic, French, German, Hindi, Korean, Mandarin, Russian, Spanish, and Tagalog, readers can experience the text in their own language, as well as any language they’d like to learn.

Or try Storyline Online to stream a video of celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside animated illustrations. David Harbour from Stranger Things reads Snappsy the Alligator, by Julie Falatko or Betty White reads, Harry the Dirty Dog, by Gene Zion. Each title includes an activity guide.

HCLS brings people together, provides education for all, and is the heart and soul of our community. HCLS has been here for 80 years, and we will continue to be here, offering creative, fun, inspiring, and energizing ways for you to learn and grow and expand your horizons, even during such challenging times.

Stay safe and well and we look forward to seeing you in person when the doors re-open.

Sincerely,

Mickey Gomez
Chair

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