Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, all library events for the summer have been moved online, but there are still opportunities for people of all ages to participate in various activities.

TEENS

Teenagers will have a chance to create their own comic book on July 14, during a Zoom call from 3:30 to 5 p.m. The event is inspired by the librarys summer reading theme, Imagine Your Story. Library staff will guide teenagers on how to write and illustrate the comic, with entries for a contest due July 22 and winners announced July 29.

Also, in the teen department, there will be a zombie scavenger hunt from 3:30 to 5 p.m. via Zoom on July 28. Students will race other contestants in a scavenger hunt around their house and on the internet.

CHILDREN AND TWEENS

In the children and tweens department, there will be a summer reading-themed celebration on Facebook Live on July 16 at 10:30 a.m. The event, Lew-Es and Ooglys Imagination Celebration, will celebrate fractured fairy tales, with possible appearances by a certain celebrated Ogre and Donkey, according to the library.

ADULTS

Adults can learn how to make a Moscow Mule cocktail via YouTube on July 17 and can learn to make body scrubs, bath salts and tub teas on July 24.

ALL AGES

Sarah Morris, a cosplay sensai, willteach people of all ages how to make props and cosplay costumes on July 13 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. via Zoom.

For more library events, visit vestavialibrary.org.

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Library events to be online this summer - Vestavia Voice

Garfield Heights-based OverDrive Inc., the most prominent digital reading platform for libraries and schools, has made its first acquisition under new ownership.

OverDrive announced in a news release that it's buying assets of audiobook firm RBmedia's library business, including the RBdigital platform in North America, the United Kingdom and Australia. RBmedia has a library catalog of more than 45,000 titles. The deal will make those audiobooks available to OverDrive's platform.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. The acquisition comes about two weeks after private equity firm KKR completed its purchase of OverDrive from Tokyo-based online retailer Rakuten. KKR also owns RBmedia.

OverDrive said in the release that the acquisition of RBdigital "will bring enhanced content and features to the OverDrive platform, enabling it to better serve the needs of libraries around the world, including access to new-release Recorded Books audiobooks." It also said it will explore the addition of RBdigital services such as digital magazines from ZINIO to the OverDrive platform.

"Combining the RBdigital library business with OverDrive's industry-leading technologies will greatly benefit libraries and their readers worldwide," said Steve Potash, founder and CEO of OverDrive, in a statement.

RBmedia's publishing businesses will continue to supply their titles to libraries and direct-to-consumer services worldwide, OverDrive said. Those publishing brands include Recorded Books, Tantor Media, HighBridge, Kalorama Audio, ChristianAudio, Gildan Media, GraphicAudio, W.F. Howes in the United Kingdom, and Wavesound in Australia.

OverDrive, founded in 1986, serves about 45,000 libraries and schools in 78 countries.

KKR has made a string of investments in related digital media companies, including RBmedia, which it bought in 2018.

Visit link:
Digital media company OverDrive buys the library assets of audiobook producer RBmedia - Crain's Cleveland Business

You download the app and find our library, and then you can use it to log what books youve read, Leonhardt said, and then when you use the app to log your reading you can compete to win prizes.

The app, which is available free to users in the iOS and Android app store, uses a barcode scanner to create a reading list and a reading session timer to keep track of how long participants have read for. Beanstack also offers individualized reading challenges and badges within the app for completing the challenges.

In addition to the virtual badges given by the app, the Dawson County Library is offering prizes for readers at the end of the summer.

You have between now and July 31 to read and log books into the app, and then our database will choose winners to get prizes, Leonhardt said. The prizes are on display in the library, so kids can come look at them to see what they could win.

Many people are already signed up for the online program, and the way the app is set up allows the library to see how many people are participating within the branch.

We get constant statistics from the app, Leonhardt said. We were very fortunate to get this app as part of a state-funded program; libraries would usually have to pay to use the app, but the Georgia Public Library System allows us to run it for free.

The library recently reopened for those wanting to check out physical books, and for those who prefer to read digitally, online ebooks are available via the librarys website.

Excerpt from:
Win prizes with the Dawson County Library's online summer reading program - Dawson Community News

By Daniel Charland

Witness Correspondent

DUBUQUE On April 28, seventeen-year-old Isabella Auer passed away from terminal brain cancer. Now, her family has created a lending library in her name using memorial funds and donations. When asked what the inspiration was for creating this library, Isabellas mother, Misty Auer, said,

I wanted to do something to honor her memory and was inspired to create a unique library full of books which are often not available in public libraries. This came from my memories of Isabellas love of reading and, in particular, her love of meaningful wholesome literature filled with characters who are true role models. She always wished these books would have been available at the local library. Instead, many times families have to buy these books if they want to read them.

This content is for members only.

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Family creates library to remember teen who died of brain cancer - thewitnessonline.org

Summer Stars, the national summer reading programme for children that runs nationwide in our public libraries until the end of August, is going online this year.

Children throughout County Kilkenny are invited to join the adventure and to enjoy the fun and pleasure of reading and writing over the summer.

It is non-competitive and every child who reads even one book is regarded as having completed the programme and it is all completely free!

With the impact of COVID 19 and the closures of our schools and libraries, the Summer Stars Reading Challenge will take place online to encourage and engage children in reading and creativity.

To join the challenge, children need a current library membership and SummerStarsreading card, which allows you to track your progress as you go along.

Reading cards can be down loaded from kilkennylibrary.ie, or collected by pre-booked appointment from one of our branches that are providing services.

If you need to join the library, you can sign up online at kilkennylibrary.ie, or by phoning Library Headquarters on 056 7794160.

We are thrilled to be able to continue this initiative with the children of Kilkenny this year, and feel the importance of reading for fun is more essential than ever under the current circumstances says Executive Librarian, Aisling Kelly.

It is easier than ever to access our ever-increasing online resources, so you can participate fully this year without even leaving the comfort of home!

Every year has seen an increase in the number of children completing this challenge, and last year was no different with almost 2,000 children receiving a certificate of completion, so we hope this year will be the same.

For more information seewww.kilkennylibrary.ieor our social media pages.

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Stars in their eyes: Kilkenny library summer reading programme to go online - Kilkenny Now

While we're rethinking everything, how would youbetter serveyouth in your community? SLJ is supporting a project to devise a new, crowdsourcedvision for libraries.

These timesIm sure plenty of us are rethinking a lot of things. The epidemic has turned life upside down and caused massive upheaval, culturally, politically, professionally, and personally, and that was before the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in May sparked widespread protests and a national reckoning with systemic racism.

The opportunity to shake things up was not lost on Mega Subramaniam and Linda Braun. The two approached me early in May with a proposal. Their goal: To crowdsource a new vision for library services to youth and, with the help of volunteers, craft a practical plan for public libraries to put it into action. SLJ was all in to support it. (See COVID-19 Is an Opportunity To Rethink Youth Librarianship | Reimagining Libraries.

The way we did things before Subramaniam, an associate professor at the College of Information Studies, University of Maryland, mused, wasnt all that great. Indeed, a system, organizations, the way just about anything works can be improved. The pandemic provided time and space to reflect and devise a plan for a new, improved model of librarianship, which could then be applied as libraries reopened.

Has the project changed with the nations attention to racial oppression? The intended approach has always had an equity perspective, says Braun, a consultant with LEO (Librarians and Educators Online). Given the pandemic and injustice we are seeing in our country, we want to focus on nondominant youth, who could be kids of color, non-English speakers, LGBTQIA, and those lacking basic resources or technology access.

More than a hundred people signed up to join virtual gatherings, from which Subramaniam and Braun will synthesize the group work in succeeding posts on SLJ. The project will culminate in August with a phased plan for revamping youth librarianship.

The sessions, held via Zoom (two as of this writing), have been well attended, with librarians representing public, academic, and K12 institutions taking part. While Braun explicitly raised the crisis as a discussion point in one session, participants needed little prompting that way.

We are centering race in our decisions as we create virtual services and reopen for limited services, starting with programming aimed at families from underrepresented groups, offered Danielle Jones, a librarian at Multnomah County Library Hollywood branch in Portland, OR. This had been the librarys commitment, she told me. What has changed since the protests was that we let the community know what was guiding our decisions.

Multnomah has also adjusted its subscriptions, so that in-demand titles on racism, antiracism, and social justice would always be available to users. Jones adds, Kirby McCurtis [MCL regional manager and ALSC 2020-21 president-elect] and I are trying to turn a series we would teach about talking about racism with young children for primary caregivers into a self-guided online curriculum that we could do discussion groups around.

Tapping local partners can help libraries more effectively connect with their communities. Thats a challenge if library staff havent already established relationships with potential allies, says Braun. One PA library director she knows has used the pandemic as an opportunity to contact organizations that she had wanted to partner with but hadnt had the chance.

In practice, being the change you want to see in the world takes work. And it stands to reason that the more inclusive of ideas and varied perspectives you are throughout the journey, the better the outcome for your communities.

Its a good time to reach out.

Kathy Ishizuka Editor-In-Chief @kishizuka

Kathy Ishizukais editor in chief of School Library Journal.

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Reenvisioning Libraries. There's a Project for That. | From the Editor - School Library Journal

HOLLYWOOD, Fla., June 24, 2020 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) Great Speech, Inc., an online speech therapy company, saw a spike for service demand when the pandemic hit. Founder and Clinical Director, Avivit Ben-Aharon, MS Ed., MA CCC-SLP, also quickly realized that many consumers who desperately needed services, lacked the financial resources or insurance coverage to pay for online services.

With a strong desire to fill the void, Ben-Aharon along with her team of therapists, created a free resource library of how-to videos, eBooks and blogs with speech therapy exercises for children and adults.

The pandemic has highlighted the strong need for online speech therapy services, Ben-Aharon explained. Despite stay-at-home and stay-safe orders, we need to keep moving forward. Children who are out of school as well as seniors who are rehabbing from a health crisis such as a stroke, can quickly fall behind in their learning and/or recovery. These free learning and exercise resources empower people to continue to make communication improvements.

These free online speech therapy resources can help everyone from a child who stutters to an adult on the autism spectrum or a senior recovering from a traumatic brain injury. They are also ideal for the parent-turned-teacher for activities and exercises to practice at home. The technology really resonates with how more and more businesses are moving to remote and online operations.

The advantages of online speech therapy are endless. For example, a grandmother in Chicago who has suffered a stroke can connect online with a speech therapist from Houston, while her daughter in Cleveland monitors the session; or a therapist who moves out of town can still provide services to their clients and provide continuity of care.

Great Speechs highly-trained speech therapists provide effective techniques for everything from articulation and phonology to stuttering, voice therapy, aphasia and more. Each speech therapist holds a masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology; a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); and is licensed by various state licensing boards.

Since 2014, Great Speech, Inc. has been the pioneer in online speech therapy, delivering convenient and specialized services virtually. Its innovative approach leverages technology to match highly-qualified therapists with clients who are serious about their communication goals. Great Speech believes that everyone deserves the chance to communicate with ease and confidence. Great Speech is a proud recipient of the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification.

For more information about one of the nations fastest growing online speech therapy practice and to access the free resource library, visit: https://greatspeech.com/

*LOGO link for media: https://www.Send2Press.com/300dpi/20-0624s2p-greatspeech-logo-300dpi.jpg

MEDIA CONTACT: Karen S. Dennis for Great Speech, Inc. of KSD Public and Media Relations +1-305-527-8876 karensuedennis@gmail.com

News Source: Great Speech Inc.

Visit link:
National Online Speech Therapy Company Creates Free Resource Library in Response to Pandemic - Send2Press Newswire

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. /Florida Newswire/ Great Speech, Inc., an online speech therapy company, saw a spike for service demand when the pandemic hit. Founder and Clinical Director, Avivit Ben-Aharon, MS Ed., MA CCC-SLP, also quickly realized that many consumers who desperately needed services, lacked the financial resources or insurance coverage to pay for online services.

With a strong desire to fill the void, Ben-Aharon along with her team of therapists, created a free resource library of how-to videos, eBooks and blogs with speech therapy exercises for children and adults.

The pandemic has highlighted the strong need for online speech therapy services, Ben-Aharon explained. Despite stay-at-home and stay-safe orders, we need to keep moving forward. Children who are out of school as well as seniors who are rehabbing from a health crisis such as a stroke, can quickly fall behind in their learning and/or recovery. These free learning and exercise resources empower people to continue to make communication improvements.

These free online speech therapy resources can help everyone from a child who stutters to an adult on the autism spectrum or a senior recovering from a traumatic brain injury. They are also ideal for the parent-turned-teacher for activities and exercises to practice at home. The technology really resonates with how more and more businesses are moving to remote and online operations.

The advantages of online speech therapy are endless. For example, a grandmother in Chicago who has suffered a stroke can connect online with a speech therapist from Houston, while her daughter in Cleveland monitors the session; or a therapist who moves out of town can still provide services to their clients and provide continuity of care.

Great Speechs highly-trained speech therapists provide effective techniques for everything from articulation and phonology to stuttering, voice therapy, aphasia and more. Each speech therapist holds a masters degree in Speech-Language Pathology; a Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA); and is licensed by various state licensing boards.

About Great Speech, Inc.

Since 2014, Great Speech, Inc. has been the pioneer in online speech therapy, delivering convenient and specialized services virtually. Its innovative approach leverages technology to match highly-qualified therapists with clients who are serious about their communication goals. Great Speech believes that everyone deserves the chance to communicate with ease and confidence. Great Speech is a proud recipient of the Womens Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certification.

For more information about one of the nations fastest growing online speech therapy practice and to access the free resource library, visit: https://greatspeech.com/

News Source: Great Speech Inc.

More here:
National Online Speech Therapy Co, GreatSpeech, Creates Free Resource Library in Response to Pandemic - Florida Newswire

by Kate Bradshaw / Almanac

Uploaded: Wed, Jun 24, 2020, 11:41 am

With a planned surplus of only $1, the Menlo Park City Council voted Tuesday night, June 23, to finalize an unprecedentedly lean budget to start off the new fiscal year on July 1.

The budget, which the council deliberated over through the course of 10 meetings since April, will yet likely need more revisions in the months to come, said City Manager Starla Jerome Robinson.

With so much in the air about what revenues the city may be taking in in the coming year, as well as what services the city will be permitted to provide and under what circumstances, there are still a lot of unknowns, she acknowledged. She said she anticipated regular check-ins with the council to make modifications to the budget as the 2020-21 fiscal year progresses.

In the budget adopted June 23, the city dipped into its reserves by $390,000 and cut overall staffing by 15%, or the full-time equivalent of 43.5 workers. Overall, the budget cuts are resulting in a loss of 16 regular and more than 50 temporary staff members, according to Jerome Robinson.

Across all city funds, the city plans to bring in $137.92 million in revenue and spend $126.12 million. The $11.8 million surplus all resides in restricted funds that can't be spent for other purposes, explained Assistant Administrative Services Director Dan Jacobson in a staff report. In its operating budget, the city aims to bring in $56.43 million in general fund and other revenue and spend $56.43 million.

The new budget cuts merged the Community Services and Library departments, which are now led by Sean Reinhart, who was promoted to lead Community Services in addition to being Library Services Director. Derek Schweigart, who until recently was Community Services Director, was laid off immediately, according to city staff.

The new budget also cuts $2.46 million from the Police Department. These cuts resulted in the layoffs of six sworn police officers and the elimination of the city's traffic unit, proactive gang and narcotics investigations and daytime parking enforcement. The number of full-time staff members in the police department will fall from 76.5 to 61.5, according to the city's online budget.

In addition, the council voted to cancel an order for a mobile command center, set to cost about $450,000, that it had approved back in November. It was partially grant-funded, but the city is expected to get about $319,000 back for its general fund, according to Councilwoman Betsy Nash.

The council also opted to keep several programs that had been threatened in previous budget discussions. The city will treat the Arrillaga Family Recreation Center and Onetta Harris Community Center equally, with services being opened up on equal terms whenever the city can get the green light to do so safely. The city won't withdraw from the Peninsula Library System after all.

At a protest held in Belle Haven last week, however, it was clear that because of the overall staffing cuts, which hit temporary and part-time workers, the Menlo Park Senior Center and Onetta Harris facilities will be losing staff members. Both facilities remain closed for now for public health reasons. The new adopted budget cuts the city's library and community services department to 59 full-time employees, from 71.

The city will also keep and reopen its child care programs at the Menlo Children's Center at the Burgess Park campus and the Belle Haven Child Development Center as soon as possible, with a $500 per month tuition increase at the Menlo Children's Center. The council voted unanimously Tuesday night to also send a letter to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors asking for support and consideration of an idea to use the city's child care centers as teaching centers for early childhood educators in the county.

In negotiations leading up to finalizing the budget, two of the city's labor bargaining units, the AFSCME and SEIU units representing municipal employees and service workers, respectively agreed to defer their contractually promised cost of living adjustments and freeze the increase in the city's cost share rates for its pension contributions through the CalPERS system.

The city's police-related bargaining units, the Police Officers Association and the Police Sergeants Association, did not negotiate and kept their promised raises. Starting July 5, police recruits, officers and corporals will receive a raise of 3.5% and police sergeants a raise of 4.41%, according to a staff report.

One of the lengthy discussion points the council worked through Tuesday night was whether to set aside an additional $1 million in reserve funding to help smooth over some of the deep cuts and acknowledge future needs, as proposed by Councilman Ray Mueller. "We've really cut to the bone on this budget," he said.

He said he envisioned those funds going toward things the city will need to tackle in the coming year: exploring whatever policy ideas come from expected discussions about race and social equity in the coming months, adopting to-be-determined changes to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, continuing the work of creating a new climate action plan and starting the work of updating the city's housing element, as it is required to do.

Councilwoman Catherine Carlton said she wanted to see that additional amount be smaller, because it felt "awkward" to set aside that amount now, after the council had been so unwilling to dip into its reserves throughout the budgeting process. A majority of council members voted the idea down, with Carlton, Nash and Mayor Cecilia Taylor opposed.

Access the budget online here.

Read more:
Menlo Park's adopted budget cuts 'to the bone' - The Almanac Online

Deb Cryderman, the Director at the Grande Prairie Public Library, says its nice to finally re-open.

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We are extremely excited to have the public back in our space. Weve missed everyone so much, its been over 100 days since the publics been in the library. We worked really hard to make sure that when we did re-open, that we would do it in the safest way possible, both for our staff and the public. We are really looking forward to it.

While the library will be re-opened next Thursday, things will look different than normal.

The library is turning itself into what it calls the GPPL Express.

The GPPL Express will be housed in the Librarys Rotary Community Room and will provide a much smaller library experience.

We will have a curated collection of our materials in that room, explained Cryderman. It will have a small, browsing library that well just let a few people in at a time to visit and borrow from and well do it as safe as we can.

Cryderman says that if the book youre looking for isnt on the shelf, but is available online according to the librarys website, the staff could grab it for you.

Once reopened on July 2, no tables or computers will be available at the library for use and you are asked to grab your books and leave once you have rented them out. She adds that a maximum of seven people will be allowed inside the library at a time, this includes staff.

Books that are returned to the library will be placed under a three-day quarantine before being allowed back onto the shelves. Cryderman explained that based on research, this is the best method theyve come up with.

All of the studies that we have read have said that after three days theres no evidence of viruses on both paper and plastic covered books. We feel quite confident that after that time, people should be quite safe.

For those that are still hesitant going inside the library, the library says that it plans to keep programs like curbside pick up available for its members.

Cryderman tells EverythingGP that the library will gradually begin to expand and open its operations further.

As we determine how to do something safely, well open that up to the public. We are looking at access to computers and access to in-person reference services next, to allow people to have access to both of those and then well slowly re-open the main facility as well.

Cryderman says that no deadlines or timelines have been set for when the gradual reopening of the facility could continue.

The library will be open at reduced hours, Monday to Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

By

Wembley Fire

Fire in shed at Wembley Arena deemed suspicious

The Wembley Fire Department says it has evidence that a fire at the Source Energy Arena and Recreation Centre Wednesday afternoon is suspicious.The fire started in a shed on the south side of the arena around 3 p.m. Wednesday. According to Deputy Chief of Training and Logistics with the County of Grande Prairie Regiona...

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city facilities

Eastlink, Coca Cola Centre and outdoor pool to begin phased reopening July 6

The City has announced changes to the Eastlink Centre, Coca Cola Centre, and outdoor pool as they begin a phased reopening on July 6.The Eastlink Centre's hours will change to being open Monday to Friday from 5:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., and then open again in the evening from 4:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. It will be open from 6:...

By

COVID-19 UPDATE

New COVID-19 case identified in Big Lakes County area

The Big Lakes County area added a new case of COVID-19 on Wednesday, as the province of Alberta added 44 new cases for June 24.The case in Big Lakes County is the lone active case reported in the area that includes the Town of High Prairie. The one other change among Peace Country municipalities in Wednesday's update f...

Originally posted here:
Grande Prairie Public Library set to re-open on July 2 with GPPL Express - EverythingGP