#cool library stuff

[thedraconiclibrary]

On today’s episode of “cool things your library card might be giving you that you don’t realize,” Mango Languages! It’s a language learning app that from what I can tell is pretty good as far as affordable language apps go, and today I learned that one of the library cards I have includes a Mango Languages subscription (which is normally $12 or $20 a month, depending on if you just want one language or want access to all their languages). On the Mango Languages website you can search by your city, library, institution, etc. and find out if they offer free access to Mango Languages (link here but you can also find it by scrolling near the bottom of their “pricing” page).

Literally, I decided to try to commit to learning Spanish, but after doing the free lessons on Mango and seeing the price (a reasonable one, but I’m trying to save my money to move) I heavily considered ditching the idea (as I refuse to use the evil owl app that wants me dead and is getting way too cozy with shitty AI). But yeah, libraries!

Extra info as well if you live in the US, obviously there are places that let non-residents pay for library cards, but even if your city’s library doesn’t offer Mango there may be at least one or two libraries that still offer free cards for online access as long as you’re a resident of the state. If you’re a Texas resident, then go get a card from Houston Public Library. They have a Mango Languages subscription and a big catalogue in general, it’s probably the card I use the most on Libby lol. You do have to prove you’re a resident and I think that just means providing drivers license info, but I got my card back in 2021 so I don’t remember the specifics or if the process is the same.

[forgottenlibrary]

This week’s library stuff

School started again last week. My courses this time are Seminar in Public Libraries and Digital Libraries, both of which seem like they will be interesting, if the readings thus far are any indication. To that end, I am going to attempt to share any library-related musings, links, etc., as we roll along these next fourteen weeks. The American Library Association publishes a report entitled The State of America's Libraries; the most recent one was published in April 2018. It was heartening to read; despite a minority of people who think that libraries are useless or old-fashioned, most people see the need and importance of libraries even in this digital age. Those who think the former have obviously not set foot in a library in some time. (Such as that idiot economist who wrote that op-ed in Forbes a few weeks ago that said we no longer need libraries because we have Amazon for books and Starbucks for internet, so to hell with you, poor people! (I'm paraphrasing, but that was pretty much the import of his words. If you didn't read the article, it was taken down, because of the fracas that ensued, but a copy was archived here). On the other hand, as the report states, "A disconnect still exists between the services libraries offer and public awareness and support for those services" (ALA, SOAL report, p 11). I have noticed this myself; even when speaking with friends who do know of some of the resources our local public library offers, I have a tendency to tell them something they might not be aware of (most recently, the fact that Hillsborough County Public Libraries has passes to local museums that you can get into for free, just for having a library card). I think that if some of these resources were marketed better, more people would be encouraged to come visit the library and see all of the other amazing things they have to offer.

The Library of Congress website has so many fascinating things, but I discovered something new there this week that I will share with you. It's called Chronicling America, and it has over thirteen million digitally scanned pages of American newspapers. Now, there are other newspaper archives, some of which a subscription is needed (such as Access World News and the like), but this is free to all. In addition, their mission seems to be the more obscure newspapers from around the country, to elminate lots of overlap between the other newspaper sources. On the main page, you can view what was going on on this date one hundred years ago. The scans are nice and clear, and you can read in browser, download as a PDF, or get the text version. It seems fairly accessible, but I have not tested it in Narrator to see if it's optimized for screen reading.

[itsjustalibrary]

The Seattle Public Library launched the 2013 Summer Reading Program by setting a new world record for the longest book domino chain using 2,131 books.

(Congrats!  Glad I don't have to put those away.)