With libraries and movie theatres closed indefinitely, and the St. Albert Public Library's Home Library Service also suspended, people are turning to online sources of education and entertainment. Thankfully, the library still has many Internet-based resources that are freely accessible, all through its website at sapl.ca.
“Our doors are closed but our other services are open,” explained library CEO Peter Bailey.
Those other services include more than 20 electronic destinations that offer a wealth of valuable educational tools, news providers and information sources, and video and audio entertainments. Clicking on the ‘eLibrary’ tab at the top of the library’s homepage opens up a veritable world of things to do while you’re working from home, self-isolating or otherwise.
Of course, this isn’t new. Like most other libraries, the St. Albert Public Library has offered eBooks and streaming services for years already. They have had a gradual increase in popularity during those years with digital offerings accounting for approximately 10 per cent of the library’s total usage.
As one might expect, that uptick has seen a much steeper incline recently.
“In a weird way, I think this situation is an opportunity for people to discover the wealth of resources available to them for free with their free library card.”
The eLibrary page offers everything from eBooks and audiobooks, even e-comic books and e-newspapers, to streaming movies and music plus informative courses such as language learning, and even scholastic education subjects.
Bailey was quick to draw attention to Lynda.com, an online learning tool with thousands of courses, helping anyone to develop their business, software and creative skills. It is free and only accessible with your library card.
Gale Courses offers six-week online courses that are taught by college instructors and experts in their respective fields with offerings including professional development, technology skills and personal enrichment.
If you have schoolkids in the house, especially those who are in Grade 12 and wondering how to keep up with their studies and prepare for their departmental exams, then Solaro is a particularly pertinent destination to seek out. It offers grades 3 to 12 courses of study from the Alberta curriculum, including study help and exam help programs.
Looking into post-secondary education, the Road to IELTS (Academic Edition) is a popular online preparation course designed for non-native English-speaking library users seeking higher education or professional registration in an English-speaking environment. The acronym stands for ‘International English Language Testing System’. It’s an international standardized test of English language proficiency for non-native English language speakers.
If it’s language learning you’re after, then Pronunciator is your future destination. It offers the opportunity to learn more than 80 languages including 50 non-English language courses. There is even a new COVID-19 language course that's available in 101 languages. Pronunciator is the online tool provided by the popular Rosetta Stone series.
For entertainment, there is something for every taste and age group including Kanopy that has more than 30,000 films (highlights include the Criterion Collection, The Great Courses, documentaries, and indie films), Kanopy Kids, and Hoopla.
Digital services librarian Lisa Stormer has already seen a rise in usage of all these offerings and expects that to surge even higher in the days and weeks ahead.
“The more people are learning what they have access to with a card, the more popular they're getting,” she said.
She added that Lynda.com is one of those popular e-services, especially since the library membership offers free access to it when there would otherwise be a charge of $24.99 per month (for an annual membership) to the user.
“You can learn at your own pace and there's really something for everybody in that one.”
While library cards are usually only issued in person, the library is still offering free memberships for the time being. Please look for the online contact form at sapl.ca/contact-form.html and select “I have a question regarding Membership/My Account” – from the drop-down menu. Staff members will reply to each message during regular library hours to get the information they need to issue a membership.
“Right now, St. Albertans need their library more than ever,” Bailey stated. “We must ensure that all citizens are supported in this time of social distancing and isolation.”
Current library patrons whose memberships are nearing expiry will have those dates extended so that they can continue to use the library throughout the closure.
Bailey added that services to those with print disabilities are continuing through the Centre for Equitable Library Access but via direct digital access through celalibrary.ca only, not through the St. Albert Public Library's usually available physical DAISY CD disc selection.
