ADML's app makes the Time best app list

           

The Alliance Digital Media Library's (ADML) app, Libby, was named one of Time magazine's best apps for 2018. ADML from the vendor, Overdrive, is one of LME Library's e-book and e-audio book providers.  Overdrive updated the app last year, and it has been very popular with users.

The LME Library card holders have two e-book/e-audio book services: ADML from Overdrive and eRead Illinois from vendor, Baker & Taylor.   

What are the differences in the services? The only real difference are the apps (ADML uses Libby and eRead Illinois uses Axis360) and the size of the collections. Both provide both e-books and e-audio book downloads and materials are available for both children and adults.  Both services are also shared consortia collections which provide larger selections of materials yet reduce the costs to the libraries.  However, patrons seem to prefer the ADML app, Libby, even though eRead Illinois has a larger collection and shorter wait time for holds.

Which service do you prefer?  Both services are available through the library website at lmelibrary.org.  If you are a LME Library card holder, you can login with your barcode number and your PIN.  Feel free to contact the library at 385-4540 for more information!

Sanborn Maps from the Library of Congress

Have you heard the news about the Library of Congress’ new digital Sanborn maps? Nearly 25,000 maps are now online, with more to be added over the next three years for a total of 500,000.

Sanborn fire insurance maps were published for insurance companies to assess a structure’s risk of catching fire. They were published in different years for different places, and usually after 1920, a set of maps for a particular town might be updated by pasting over a new building.

The maps show subdivision names, streets, buildings, and building details such as address, purpose, composition, windows and doors. You can locate your ancestor’s address before renumbering and renaming that might’ve happened, and you get a good look at your ancestor’s neighborhood at the time.

Colors indicate construction materials. You’ll find a key on the index map page and more information about the colors and symbols here, along with notes such as the area’s population and size of the fire department.

For genealogists and historians, these maps are an opportunity to get a glimpse into the past.  For more information go to: https://www.loc.gov/collections/sanborn-maps/about-this-collection/ 

1000 Books Before Kindergarten at LME Library

The Lillie M. Evans Library in Princeville is now participating in the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge.  Reading to your child is a great way to bond and create warm memories together. It fosters a fondness for books that can last a lifetime. Early successful language activities, such as sharing stories, contribute to the prevention of reading difficulties in school.

Parents can sign up their children at the LME Library desk and pick up their reading packets during regular hours.  Numerous studies estimate that as many as one in five children have difficulties learning to read.  Reading has been associated as an early indicator of academic success.  Public formal education does not typically start until ages 5-6.  Before then, parents and caregivers are the first education providers during the 0-5 early critical years.

The 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge is a simple and manageable endeavor. Read a book, any book to your child, with the goal of reading 1,000 before kindergarten. If one book a night is read, that equates to 365 books a year. In 3 years, more than 1,000 books will be shared. LME Library participants will receive a log folder to track their reading. Each time you read 100 books to your child(ren), bring your log to the library for your reward.  Parents can also include readings by others, such as grandparents or siblings, in the child’s reading log. Readers who complete the 1,000 books challenge are invited to an annual party!  

A home life that includes positive experiences with reading and the library ensures positive attitudes for reading once in school. The experiences with talking and listening during preschool years, such as when a parent and child read together, help prepare the child to master reading and writing skills in the early elementary school years. Reading has long been associated as an early indicator of academic success.

For more information about the 1000 Books Before Kindergarten challenge, call the library at 309-385-4540 or visit our website at lmelibrary.org.

Do You NaNoWriMo?

This November, BiblioBoard is celebrating National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! Are you undertaking the 50,000-word writing challenge? Check out resources for writers, read hand-picked self-published novels, or get inspired by vintage images of famous authors. They’ve put all of these resources and more together in a special NaNoWriMo curation.

Our library system, RAILS, hosts BiblioBoard. Through RAILS’ partnership with BiblioLabs, any Illinois resident has access to thousands of other e-resources free of charge and without needing a login or library card. Items on the BiblioBoard platform have no holds or waiting for titles and can be read by multiple users at the same time. Good luck, and happy writing!