Ferndale Library: Celebrating 90 Years W E’RE SO MUCH MORE THAN JUST A BUILDING WITH BOOKS. The variety of resources you can access with your library card and the number of engaging programs and cultural events you can experience here on a daily basis will no doubt impress anyone who wasn’t yet aware of the evolution of 21st-Century libraries. We’ll meet all of your reading needs, with a batch of new books added every Tuesday, and hundreds more titles offered as downloadable eBooks and audiobooks. If you prefer using your e-reader, phone, or mobile device, you can check out digital materials using your library card, with three unique apps: OverDrive, RBdigital, and Hoopla. Don’t forget about the magic of InterLibrary Loan. When you get your Ferndale Library card, you’re also gaining access to items held by neighboring libraries. We’re part of a vast cooperative that stretches across Oakland, Wayne and Washtenaw Counties, known as The Library Network. You can “interloan” materials by request if another library in TLN owns an item you’re looking for. For even more access, the Michigan Electronic Library
Story: Jeff Milo | Photos: Bernie Laframboise
(MEL) can get you materials from all around the state, as well as access to journals and databases. Any Ferndale resident can attain a library card: Just bring in your ID or drivers license and sign up at the Circulation Desk. If you are a new resident and haven’t updated your ID/license yet, bring a recent utility bill (gas, electric, water, cable) displaying your Ferndale address. You can use this library card to access online databases like A to Z World Travel & Maps, current issues of Consumer Reports, and online courses from Creativebug and Lynda.com, or learn a new language with Mango Languages. Some of the newer items added to our circulating collection include Wi-Fi hot-spots (pocket-sized mobile routers to set up an internet connection wherever you are). We also have an ever-growing collection of puzzles and games. One more library card perk we want to mention is that it can get you discounted (or sometimes free) passes to more than 100 cultural destinations, natural attractions, and Metroparks through the Michigan Activity Pass program. Let’s talk about events and programs! Parents, we have regularly-scheduled story-times throughout the year for ages 0-5, including a music and movement class and a new bilingual story-time for all ages. We
also host Youth Book Clubs for elementary students, a middle school book club for grades 5-8 held at Ferndale Middle School, and various on and off-site programs for Ferndale High School and University High students. We have a variety of events scheduled each month. We’ll always have print calendars at our circulation desk, but you can also keep up to date by signing up for our email newsletter. Use this link: http://tiny.cc/FADLNewsletter. You’re sure to be up to date on everything that’s going on here at the library when you follow us on Facebook and Instagram (both social media handles are: @ferndalepubliclibrary).
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INALLY, WE HAVE TO MENTION OUR NEW PODCAST, A Little Too Quiet. The Friends of the Ferndale Library helped us produce our very own podcast where you can hear exclusive interviews with authors, artists, and librarians, as well as compelling conversations and insights into the ways in which this library, as an archetype for all libraries, continues to diversify its offerings and services. Find us on Spotify, iTunes, or Google Podcasts. And if you get inspired this year to support the Library, consider joining the Friends of the Ferndale Library, a nonprofit organization of community members volunteering to supplement and support library events and services. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the Ferndale Library. Just three years after Ferndale was incorporated into a city, in November of 1930, the Library opened its doors for the first time (originally located at 130 E. Nine Mile). We opened at our current location, 222 E. Nine Mile in 1954, and, starting in 2007, with voter support of a millage, we were able to renovate and expand the facilities, adding the new space for events hosting, more space for public computers, and a spacious Kids Corner. ■ • facebook.com/FerndalePublicLibrary/ • facebook.com/FerndaleKids • http://ferndalepubliclibrary.org • On Instagram: @ferndalepubliclibrary
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