By Lenore Calandra Pott
Busy women who wear many hats need reliable, accurate information. Want to learn a language or advance your career through online learning and industry-recognized certification? Want to read up on a medical symptom, find the best service contractors or appliances, check out kid-friendly websites, apps for learning or find great recipes? How about new book and music recommendations? The Chappaqua Library is a tremendous “stay-at-home” resource too!
According to Assistant Library Director Martha Alcott, “the Chappaqua Library has a treasure trove of information through its online resource window that can be found at www.Chappaqualibrary.org and accessed at the library or at home. By using the AccessmyLibrary Public Edition mobile app, the GPS function will find a library within a 10-mile radius of your location and give you unlimited, free access to reputable and authoritative resources. Or, just search Chappaqua Library in your tablet or smartphone’s app store. Whether on the go, or at your home computer, these ideas found through the library’s website that might jumpstart your information search, whatever the subject!
Reference: SweetSearch (www.sweetsearch.com) is a search engine that provides credible, primary sources. Step away from Wikipedia and try SweetSearch. Their Social Studies link incorporates news reports, photographs and maps for understanding history in context. There are web guides throughout for topics such as Geometry, Economics and how to write a bibliography.
Books, Reading and Literature: Freading (www.freading.com) is a free e-book service which provides downloads of adult, children and young adult titles in a variety of categories to PCs, Macs, iPhones, iPads and Kindle Fires. For inspiration, click on Novelist (www.ebscohost.com/novelist) which provides book categories by genre, and age group. JSTOR (www.jstor.org) is a digital library of full-text academic journals, books and primary sources.
Health: MedlinePlus (www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/)is a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine and the National Institutes of Health. This website provides easy to understand up-to-date health information with links to the latest medical research on diseases or conditions, as well as information on clinical trials.
Language Learning:Geared towards children, but suitable for adults, Muzzyonline (www.muzzyonline.com)is free for Chappaqua Library patrons. It is an interactive, comprehensive and fun way to learn Spanish, French, English, German and Italian.
Transparent Language Online: http://library.transparent.com/aflis/game/modern/login includes cultural information and language instruction. The library website also provides several other links to relevant websites to enrich and further your language instruction experience.
Unbiased Reviews: From online dating sites, and home security systems to credit cards or elliptical machines, www.reviews.com provides expert candid and unbiased reviews pertaining to business, education, home and lifestyle.
Adult Ed:Explore and expand your horizons through free online intensive courses. Coursera partners with top universities the world over to offer courses online like Globalization of Business Enterprise or Marine Science. eDX, created by Harvard and MIT, brings the best of higher education to students of all ages, anywhere in the world. Open Courseware Consortium provides free college courses from hundreds of institutions of higher education.
The Library also offers computer assistance for any technology-related topics too, through free 45-minute sessions. Sign up in person or by phone at 914 238-4779. The Reference Desk will also provide help with any online library websites. Check online for other programs this spring, including tax help and career counseling workshops.
It’s your library, so make use of its endless resources and great support!
