Ferndale Library

Ferndale Library: Celebrating 90 Years

WE’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 forFerndale 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). F 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, orGoogle 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

Artistic, Archival, Functional.

Coolcatclocks.com has metal clocks, designed by a Detroit clock artist, printed at 350 degrees to be permanently seared into the metal.

See our whole line of functional art, and support a local artist.

coolcatclocks.com

Here’s How To Browse Our Virtual Shelves

This Spring, we want all our patrons to discover the many ways they can use theirFerndale Library Cards from home by utilizing the wide array of databases and digital resources available for download or streaming on your desktops, devices and even TVs.

There are eBooks, audiobooks, online training courses, academic databases, movies and music, interactive picture books, and even downloadable magazines and comic books.

YourFerndale Library Card will allow you access to the content provided by digital reading apps like Libby, hoopla, RBdigital, and more. You’ll need your library card number and PIN to access the majority of these apps and databases, and some will require that you create an account before getting started. If you encounter any issue with your library account that keeps you from using these services, email us at: info@ferndalepublic library.org or call 248-546-2504 and leave a voicemail. Staff will monitor these inboxes and help patrons as they can.

ONLINE RESOURCES: ENTERTAINMENT & RECREATIONAL READING

WHEN YOU CREATE AN ACCOUNT WITH HOOPLA (and download the app), you can instantly start borrowing digital movies, music, and eBooks. With hoopla, you have a limit of five downloads (or streams) of the offered content each month. The hoopla “Bonus Borrows Collection” has 1100 titles that you can borrow

Story: Jeff Milo | Photos: Bernie Laframboise

that won’t count against that monthly limit. If you have a Roku digital media player on your television, you can even search forhoopla as a streaming channel option.

RBdigital has a vast catalog of eMagazines (like National Geographic, Cook’s Illustrated, Vanity Fair), digital comic books (from Marvel, Disney, and more), and unlimited downloads of audiobooks (with more than 38,000 to choose from).

The Libby app, meanwhile, has a comprehensive audiobook player and an intuitive ebook reader. There are an impressive amount of titles to choose from. There are instances where all of the “digital copies” of a popular book might be checked-out, but you can place a hold and enter yourself onto a virtual wait-list and receive a notification once it’s available.

DATABASES FOR ALL AGES

MeL (Michigan Electronic Library) has many educational resources for all ages. Just visiting Mel.org will get you instant access to academic articles on hundreds of subjects, like business and health. There are test prep and college admissions essay assistance for teens. For kids, there are curriculum resources like World Book Kids and Encyclopedia Britannica.

Mel.org's eResources will also get you connected to NoveList Plus, a reader’s advisory service that can help you intuitively find your next favorite book based on your personal preferences.

A-to-Z World Travel & Maps Online will give you access to the world’s largest database of royaltyfree, downloadable maps, and an online travelogue featuring informative contributions from hundreds of freelance writers and researchers. The A-to-Z database is a great way to learn more about the destinations you're hoping to visit once life starts getting back to normal. Or, consider it a virtual vacation of sorts, where you can indulge some intensive daydreaming.

And then there’s TumbleBooks, a database full of animated, talking picture books that teach kids the joy of reading in a format they’ll love. TumbleBooks takes existing picture books and adds animation, sound, music, and narration to produce an engaging, virtual reading experience.

SKILLS TRAINING, CRAFTS, & CAREER ADVANCEMENT

Mango Languages features personalized, adaptive learning experiences, with more than 70 world languages to choose from. Use your library card to access these courses and start expanding your international lexicon.

Lynda.com is a LinkedInCompany providing virtual training on business, technology, and creative skills to help you achieve personal and professional goals. With video tutorials taught by industry experts, you can go from beginner basics to advanced techniques on everything from blogging, graphic design, web development, and even the ins and outs of ZOOM teleconferencing.

CreativeBug gets you unlimited access to thousands of online art & craft courses: knitting, sewing, embroidery, watercolors, and more. You can stop and start your projects at your own pace.

Cypress Resume Builderenables you to create very basic, but professional looking resumes in three steps, and it also automates simple cover letters and reference sheets.

IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A NEW

PODCAST TO ENJOY, check this out: Season 1 of our new podcast, brought to you by The Friends of the Ferndale Library!

Catch up on all of the episodes from our Podcast: A Little Too Quiet. We kicked things off in early January with an interview featuring Bird Box authorJosh Malerman. We also caught up with Kathe Koja and Michael Zadoorian, two local authors who are still releasing new books in the coming weeks. Stay tuned.

For more information and updates, follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

And while several of the apps mentioned here are available in your smart device’s app store, you can also find them by visiting our website, ferndalepubliclibrary.org, and click “Online Resources.” n

• 1 LARGE PIZZA • 1 Topping