You can find books by searching the Library Catalogue. We also have staff recommendations and resources such as Novelist which can help you find the perfect read. Overdrive and the Overdrive APP Libby which offer a selection of eBook and eAudiobooks which you can access from home!
We’ve all been there. You’ve watched everything there is on Netflix, your eyes are tired from scrolling your newsfeed, and even TikTok can get old after the fifth hour in a row. If you’re out of ideas to keep you busy, you‘ve come to the right place. We’ve rounded up a list of our favourite free boredom-crushing apps and resources to get you through even the longest day of nothing to do. All you need is a Library membership (which just so happens to be free too. Get it online and start trying these apps right away).Take free music lessonsAlways wanted to learn the guitar? Maybe you want to brush up on your piano-playing skills or learn to sing like Ari. ArtistWorks gives you access to a ton of free music lessons that you can do at your own pace and watch on your computer or smartphone wherever, whenever. Learn a new language Start preparing for that future vacation by learning a new language. Guess who gives you access to Rosetta Stone Library Edition for free? We do. Get started now and you’ll be speaking and reading in no time (maybe you can finally watch that anime without subtitles). Can't find a language you're interested in? Check out the new Transparent Language eResource for more options, including Indigenous languages such as Cree, Dakota, Denesuline, Gwich'in, Oji-Cree, Ojibwe, and more. Borrow a book without getting up from the couch Graphic novels, dystopian futures, high school romances — it's all on TeenBookCloud, and titles are always available with no holds. Now you can start reading or listening to that novel you’ve been meaning to get to without having to track down the physical book or worry about getting food stains on the pages. Do that thing you’ve always wanted to try Is “learn animation” on your bucket list? How about photography, creating YouTube content, or Python? We have an app for that too. Check an item off your dream to-do list by learning a new skill or hobby with LinkedIn Learning for Library. It’s got hundreds of expert-led video tutorials on all kinds of skills and topics (that you get access to for free, because we like learning). Listen to a good bookGive your tired eyes a break from screens and borrow an audiobook from Libby. Just download the free app to your smartphone or iPad and start listening to a book while you’re doing chores, making a snack, or winding down before bed. Find something new to watchSo you’ve already seen everything on Netflix and you’re running out of movie streaming ideas. Have you checked out Kanopy yet? Besides being free, it has tons of movies the other platforms don’t. From indie film festival favourites to popular Oscar-winners, we’re pretty sure you’ll discover a new gem. Start with our librarians’ recommendations of Must-See Movies About Growing Up or documentaries about video gaming and tech culture. Stream and download music for freeFind that perfect bop to dance or sing along to. Listen to ad-free music and download five free songs per week to your smartphone with Freegal Music. They have 15 million songs from over 40,000 labels, so you can grab your headphones and get lost in some good music. Want more free things to do at home? Be sure to check out our Library at Home section for other resources like these.Not yet a member? Sign up for your free Library card online and start using it immediately.
Read more about "Stories Seven Boredom-Crushing Ideas for Teens"In a time when we’re being called to stay home, there are still plenty of ways to spend time together. In addition to your favourite online Library resources, patrons of all ages can find fun, at-home learning opportunities from educators and organizations offering innovative solutions for staying connected. Science Get a Daily Dose of the Calgary Zoo on their YouTube channel, where they share short, behind-the-scenes videos with their critters. Explore the surface of Mars from the eyes of NASA’s Curiosity rover, or check out their Image of the Day gallery for a high-definition intergalactic image, with fun facts about what you’re seeing. Kids can also tune in for science-themed stories read by astronauts on the International Space Station with Storytime from Space. Art You might know acclaimed children’s author Mo Willems for his books like Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Elephant and Piggy (and this beloved illustrator also designed the Library’s Story Truck). Now you can learn to draw at home with his Lunch Doodles series. Interested in classic artworks? Follow along with #GlenbowFromHome, which includes online gallery tours and other free at-home activities from the Glenbow Museum. Music Freegal is our favourite way to stream contemporary tunes, but if you’re craving a live concert, look no further than the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. They have countless hours of concert footage saved to their YouTube channel, ready for you to have a night out at home. Tours You might not be able to leave your house, but you can still go on an at-home adventure with these online tours. Check out these 12 museums you can visit online to experience their exhibits from your couch. Feel like going for a hike? Visit Yellowstone National Park, make the trek along the Great Wall of China, or browse the botanical gardens of the Cincinnati Zoo. Relaxing Want to kick back and chill out during this time at home? Take some time to unwind and listen to Canadian authors share readings of their work. Create some quality time with your family with cooking lessons with Food Network Kitchen chef Michael Symon — or if your board game cupboard is a little empty, play games together online. Looking for more fun to be had at home? Check out the Digital Library for more free resources.
Read more about "Stories"For this last segment of the self-publishing process Adam Kivell will discuss the many avenues available to the independent author including: how to market your novel, hybrid...
Read more about "Navigating Self-Publishing: Post-Publication"Michelle Robinson inspires reconciliation with her Library Story
Read more about "Michelle Robinson’s Library Story"Join author Dara Horn to discuss the fetishization of Jewish trauma in media.
Read more about "People Love Dead Jews"Join us as #1 New York Times bestselling author Tiffany Jewell highlights the inequities Black and Brown students face from preschool through college as she presents lessons and...
Read more about "Author Talks: Unpacking a History of Systemic Racism in the American Education System with Tiffany Jewell"Call the Library at
Read more about "Ask our experts"This program is an opportunity for school classes in Calgary to visit the Library location nearest them to see how it is a learning space and resource in their community. L
Read more about "Learn about the role libraries play in your community"CALGARY, AB – Today, Linda and Mike Shaikh, local philanthropists and community-builders, announced a gift to support school-aged children during the COVID-19 pandemic and over the summer months when school is out.“When schools closed mid-March, thousands of parents in our city found themselves home-schooling. Education is deeply important to our family, and we want to ensure Calgary’s children have the tools they need to continue their life-long learning journey, whether they’re learning remotely or out of school during the summer,” says Mike Shaikh.Summer Slide refers to the annual challenge for school-aged children to retain learning achievements from the previous school year over the summer months. Summer Slide can disproportionately affect students from lower-income households, creating gaps amongst peers and a harder return to school in September.“Summer Slide is something the Library addresses every year through our Ultimate Summer Challenge, but this year due to COVID-19, the program had to move to a virtual environment,” says Kate Schutz, Service Design Lead for school-age programming at the Calgary Public Library. “This funding allows us to create more online engagement opportunities and provide students with fun, curriculum-connected resources to prepare them for school success and help families navigate this challenging time.”The Shaikh’s gift will support programs and resources for school-aged children at the Library, including: Collections; Beanstack, a free app that encourages children to read with customized reading lists and challenges; and the Ultimate Summer Challenge, the Library’s popular annual summer kids program. Last year, Calgary kids and teens recorded nearly 300,000 hours of reading over the summer.Ultimate Summer Challenge registration is free and can be completed online or at any reopened Library location. In addition to tracking reading hours with a printable Challenge Map, kids can now earn digital badges through Beanstack by completing reading goals and learn at home activities.Teens can complete online challenges and creative projects to earn more chances at winning a prize. Everyone who registers for the Ultimate Summer Challenge is entered into the grand prize draw for amazing items, including iPads, Chromebooks, or customized picture books.The Ultimate Summer Challenge is part of the TD Summer Reading Club, which is a national program for kids in Canadian public libraries. The Ultimate Summer Challenge is also supported by J K L MacLachlan Family Fund. Visit calgarylibrary.ca/summer for more information and to register.In 2015, Linda and Mike Shaikh made a $1 million leadership donation to the Calgary Public Library Foundation, which was recognized with the naming of the Shaikh Family Welcome Gallery in Central Library.- 30 -Calgary Public LibraryCalgary Public Library, with 740,000 members and 21 locations, has been inspiring the life stories of Calgarians for more than 100 years. It is currently the second largest library system in Canada and the sixth largest municipal library system in North America, with Calgarians borrowing more than 15 million physical and digital items and with over 7 million in-person visits last year.Calgary Public Library FoundationThe Calgary Public Library Foundation empowers people to make a difference in their community. All donations received through the Library Foundation cultivate innovation and bring the Library to those who need it most. Our 21,500 donors are helping to build a stronger Calgary.Media Contacts:Nina RehillAccount ExecutiveEdelman403.630.6055Nina.Rehill@edelman.comRachael TernerCommunications ManagerCalgary Public Library Foundation403.774.2543rachael@libraryfoundation.ca
Read more about "Stories Gift from Local Philanthropists Help Calgary Students Learn Over the Summer Funds support Calgary Public Library programs to address learning challenges during COVID-19"We’ve all been there. You’ve watched everything there is on Netflix, your eyes are tired from scrolling your newsfeed, and even TikTok can get old after the fifth hour in a row. If you’re out of ideas to keep you busy, you‘ve come to the right place. We’ve rounded up a list of our favourite free boredom-crushing apps and resources to get you through even the longest day of nothing to do. All you need is a Library membership (which just so happens to be free too. Get it online and start trying these apps right away).Take free music lessonsAlways wanted to learn the guitar? Maybe you want to brush up on your piano-playing skills or learn to sing like Ari. ArtistWorks gives you access to a ton of free music lessons that you can do at your own pace and watch on your computer or smartphone wherever, whenever. Learn a new language Start preparing for that future vacation by learning a new language. Guess who gives you access to Rosetta Stone Library Edition for free? We do. Get started now and you’ll be speaking and reading in no time (maybe you can finally watch that anime without subtitles). Can't find a language you're interested in? Check out the new Transparent Language eResource for more options, including Indigenous languages such as Cree, Dakota, Denesuline, Gwich'in, Oji-Cree, Ojibwe, and more. Borrow a book without getting up from the couch Graphic novels, dystopian futures, high school romances — it's all on TeenBookCloud, and titles are always available with no holds. Now you can start reading or listening to that novel you’ve been meaning to get to without having to track down the physical book or worry about getting food stains on the pages. Do that thing you’ve always wanted to try Is “learn animation” on your bucket list? How about photography, creating YouTube content, or Python? We have an app for that too. Check an item off your dream to-do list by learning a new skill or hobby with LinkedIn Learning for Library. It’s got hundreds of expert-led video tutorials on all kinds of skills and topics (that you get access to for free, because we like learning). Listen to a good bookGive your tired eyes a break from screens and borrow an audiobook from Libby. Just download the free app to your smartphone or iPad and start listening to a book while you’re doing chores, making a snack, or winding down before bed. Find something new to watchSo you’ve already seen everything on Netflix and you’re running out of movie streaming ideas. Have you checked out Kanopy yet? Besides being free, it has tons of movies the other platforms don’t. From indie film festival favourites to popular Oscar-winners, we’re pretty sure you’ll discover a new gem. Start with our librarians’ recommendations of Must-See Movies About Growing Up or documentaries about video gaming and tech culture. Stream and download music for freeFind that perfect bop to dance or sing along to. Listen to ad-free music and download five free songs per week to your smartphone with Freegal Music. They have 15 million songs from over 40,000 labels, so you can grab your headphones and get lost in some good music. Want more free things to do at home? Be sure to check out our Library at Home section for other resources like these.Not yet a member? Sign up for your free Library card online and start using it immediately.
Read more about "Stories Seven Boredom-Crushing Ideas for Teens"Pressbooks is an easy-to-use digital self-publishing tool for local writers to create professional quality eBooks and print-ready files in ePUB, MOBI and PDF formats.Please note: any costs in printing physical copies are at the author's expense.
Read more about "Are you an aspiring author?"After attending a 50+ Coffee and Conversation group, Rudy Wagner and his wife Mary Jean decided to keep the conversation going. Now, using a free, bookable meeting room at Signal Hill Library for the past eight years, it’s more than just a casual coffee group — members attend lectures together, share in weekly tai chi lessons, and more, all for free at the Library.Rudy Wagner, eight years with the group“It’s such an interesting group, and as long as we have the space at the Library to do it, I’m happy to make it happen. My wife and I supply the coffee, and the group supplies the conversation! Some of them bake, and so we’ll get to try different foods from different countries around the world. It’s the variety that I love. I used to be a principal at public schools in Toronto, so I’ve been working with the community my whole life, and I just love meeting new people. It’s the companionship. We have new people join us every time, there are no strict rules. People come when they can, there’s no fee. It’s just a place for people to get together and chat.”Mary Jean Wagner, eight years with the group“Our grandchildren were getting older and starting to head off to school, so we weren’t so occupied with them anymore, and I wanted to meet other people. Where we live, there are a lot of people our son’s age. We moved from Toronto to live near him and help with the two grandchildren, but we had difficulty meeting people our age. And I really wanted to make new friends, because it can be hard to meet new people as you get older. So, this was a perfect opportunity for us. We feel that we’ve made friendships here, and others have done the same. The Library makes it easy for us to continue doing what we’ve always loved to do.”Pal Aggarwal, eight years with the group“We came to Calgary from Germany in 2011, my wife and me, and my wife was just coming to the Library for some books. Then she saw this group here and started talking to them. Now we’ve been coming here every week, ever since we came here. It’s a real cosmopolitan group, you see people from all different countries, you have different subjects to talk about, that’s the best part. We are a big group, but there are four of us couples, and now we have each other [over] every once in a while, for dinner at our home. We meet every two weeks at somebody’s house for drinks, it’s nice. We are all very friendly to each other. It’s a real inspiration, it gives you a positive feeling, and I appreciate that.”Elaine Lee, seven years with the group“The best part of this group is that people who feel isolated or don’t know too many people have a place to go. They have a community, and they know that they have something to look forward to each week. It keeps them active. That’s the beauty of the group, they open up to you. It’s not just a weekly meeting, they become like family for those who come on a regular basis. Getting to know them has really been my greatest honour and pleasure, because I really feel like I can bring them joy, and to see them interact with one another and to see how the group has grown brings me so much joy as well.”Jeffrey Quo, two years with the group“I had joined a Library reading club … actually, I joined two. I used to be a computer engineer, but after I retired, I had to find a way to kill the time. That group forced me to read some books which I would never have thought to involve myself in; it forced me to expand my interests, same as this group. I find it quite interesting. I needed to find some new focus in my life. Before I retired, I only focused on my job. Now I need to change my lifestyle. So reading, or making a new friend, that’s important for me. I enjoy that about this group. In this hour we always have lots of new people join us, and we get the chance to know new friends.”Shirley Lutz, two years with the group“It’s fun, it’s free, it’s close by, and the people here are just so warm and friendly. I love the conversation because I get to learn more about the people around me. It’s an interesting group we have, because we have so many different nationalities here. A lot of our people don’t come from around here, and it exposes me to other cultures and ideas, which I really enjoy. Today I just met a new lady who joined us from Vietnam, so I’ve been getting to know her, and she says she’ll be coming back. It’ll be great to have her join our group.”Tam Dang, first-time visitor to the group“I just retired, so I have a lot of time on my hands. So I started to wonder, where can I go? When we work, we wake up, go to work, we come home, we sleep. We have the same routine. But since then I’ve become so bored. I miss having a place to go. Every day I saw my friends and had conversations with them, but now it’s so empty. So that’s why I am looking for a group a bit older, with the same feelings as me. In this group, I can be with people the same age and in the same situation as me. Even though I’ve only seen them this first time, people have already explained to me: we are friends now, and we can talk.”David Stratford, two years with the group“I find the people in the group to be so funny — their little explanations of their lives, where they come from and what they do day to day. They really are absolutely wonderful people to be around. I try to make them laugh, and mostly I can do that. Some can’t hear as well as they used to, so you may have to tell your joke a couple of times. I call us the crumblies — I say I’m going to go visit with the crumblies, because frankly we’re all falling apart a little bit. But I love to be a part of that. We’re all here, we all try, we don’t give up. We’re just trying to live this section of our life fully. If you want to stay young, then you have to think young, and you’ve got to laugh.”
Read more about "Stories ‘To Know New Friends’ Older patrons are using the Library in a new way to create their Library Story"Get help planning lessons, or take your class on a trip to the Library.
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