My Media Mall--Better Than Ever

Have you checked out My Media Mall lately? We've been getting more questions than ever in the Youth Services department about e-books and other e-resources. It seems many kids got electronic devices for the holidays (or their parents got new ones and the kids got the previous versions).

As a frequent user of My Media Mall, I can tell you that the recent update makes it better than ever. There are so many great new features. First of all, it's easier to browse. The large color book covers make it fun for kids (and adults) to look at the titles. You can easily view the children's titles by clicking on either Children's Fiction or Children's Nonfiction at the top of the screen. Then you can narrow your search by choosing options on the left side of the screen: grade level, electronic format, subject, or publisher. You can even narrow it down to see what's currently available to check out right now by clicking Available Now at the top of the screen! One of my pet peeves with My Media Mall was never knowing what I could check out right then--now I can easily see.

Fair warning though--make sure to either know in advance what e-format (Kindle, ePub, PDF, etc) your devices allows you to use or check the Help section to learn more. One feature of the old My Media Mall was that it showed you picture icons of devices that particular book worked on. Now you have to know in advance.

Make sure to check out all the new books that have been added. I was so excited to see study guides available on My Media Mall. From ACT for Dummies, to the Magic Tree House Fact Tracker books--even books we own in the Homeschooling section. Here's a link to the general study guide books here and here's a link to the Spectrum guides for Math, Language Arts, and Illinois Test Prep (really popular materials at DPPL). Just click here to access those.

Bet you can't wait to sit down and explore all that My Media Mall has to offer you and your children. Happy exploring!

Stay (Library) Informed

Did you know you can receive a weekly e-mail straight to your inbox that will keep you informed of the goings-on around the library? Des Plaines Public Library's e-newsletter, eForward, gives you the week's library news in a nutshell. You will know about current and coming library events, learn about new products available to you either in the library or at home via your library card, be informed of things like holiday closings and special hours, and much more. Bonus...you will also be among the first to know about exciting library happenings such as the news that Des Plaines Public Library has been named a *star library* by Library Journal!

Take a look at the most current issue of eForward here. You can see that it previews some of our upcoming programs, and allows you to register on-the-spot for programs that interest you and may require registration. It is also a quick one-stop-shopping place to see all of the library's blogs and social media outlets. Finished reading Kidding Around? Check out PlainTalk with just a click of the mouse.

Enter your e-mail address and follow the instructions to become part of the eForward mailing list here. You'll be glad you did!

E-Readers for the Whole Family!

Is your child learning to read?  I've got great news. 

This year, the library was able to purchase several more Kindles and Nooks for the Adult Department as well as two Kindles for our Battle of the Books participants and Caudill Club readers in the Youth Department.  The Kindles in our department are preloaded with the appropriate novels for each activity (either the titles for Battle or the titles nominated for the Caudill Award) and can be checked out at the desk.

In addition we were able to purchase a few e-readers for our younger patrons, and we couldn't be more excited!  Not only do we now have two V-tech InnoTab machines, but we also have a Leapfrog LeapPad in our collection.  You will find these machines on the shelf in the Phonics Collection of our Early Readers.  Check one out for your child and watch their reading abilities grow.  Each reader checks out for 28 days and includes one book/game cartridge.

Have a LeapPad or InnoTab of your own?  We also added several book/game cartridges to our collection.  You will find the InnoTab cartridges hanging in blue bags in our Phonics Collection with our other phonics sets.  Soon, you will also find LeapPad cartridges on the shelf.  These book/game cartridges also check out for 28 days. 

Have another type of e-reader?  Don't forget that you can download lots of titles through our library's e-dppl website here.  We not only have novels for adults, but lots of chapter books for children too!

Get started working on your child's early literacy today and keep helping them with their reading skills by helping them particiapte in our Caudill Club and annual Battle of the Books.  Everything helps!