August is here and that means "Back to School!" Parents, students, and educators are buzzing about in preparation for a new school year. Here at Lafourche Parish Public Libraries, we just concluded Summer Experience 2020 and want to wish best of luck to everyone this new school year.
As you’re shopping for school supplies and clothes, we encourage you to stop by the library to get the most valuable, free school supply of all—an LPPL library card. Too busy to come to the library? No problem! Head over to this link to apply for a library card online. Your library card grants you access to fun, educational, and entertaining resources not just at the library, but online also too. While you’re visiting our website, we hope you’ll spend some time exploring all LPPL has to offer because as we say at LPPL, “We’re more than just books!”
Each month at LPPL, we choose a resource to spotlight. Since August is back to school month and we know students will be doing research, we’ve chosen to spotlight World Book Online.
So what is World Book Online, and how do you access it? First, you need to get a library card. Then, visit our website at www.lafourche.org. Hover on the Research and Learning Tab and click on Digital Library in the drop-down menu. Scroll down the alphabetical list of research and learning resources until you see World Book Online Encyclopedia. Clicking on the arrow will take you to the homepage.
On the homepage, you will see seven World Book products:
· The first product, World Book Kids, is a learning resource for 6-10 year olds. It’s designed to build confidence and encourage creativity. The site contains easy-to-read articles and lots of engaging games, science projects, and activities. Additional teaching tools are available for educators and parents.
· The second product, World Book Student, comes to life in a digital format. It’s perfect for 8-16 year olds to access information from trusted sources. The site includes translations to 100+ languages, a Biography Center, current events, research guides, and seamless integrations with Google Classroom and Microsoft OneDrive. The My Research and Citation Builder features help learners organize and analyze their findings.
· The third product, World Book Advanced, gives high school students and adults a reliable source to check the facts. The In the Headlines live news feed and world newspapers promote global awareness and international perspective. Primary source documents, biographies, Back in Time articles, and Teaching with Documents supplement the classroom curriculum.
· The fourth product, World Book Timelines, is great for ages 8 and up. This site is a growing collection of 650+ unique Timelines, spanning the arts, science & technology, society & culture, sports, world history & geography and more. Users can create, customize, collaborate, and share timelines, which is great for visual learners to put events into context and for classroom instruction to introduce a subject.
· The fifth product, World Book Discover, is great for ages 12 and up. This site is ideal for struggling readers and English Language Learners and includes a Life Skills 101 section with tips on topics such as applying for jobs, budgeting, arranging housing, health care issues, social skills and more.
· The sixth product, Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos, is the ideal Spanish-language reference tool for 6-12 year olds learning Spanish and ELL students. Browse features provide visual prompts, and bilingual features allow students to toggle between Spanish and English text. The site includes articles, videos, maps, and activities.
· The final product, L'Encyclopédie Découverte, is recommended for ages 6-10. It’s a French-language database that contains easy-to-read articles, thousands of images, and additional activities. This site was created for younger users who are native speakers as well as those learning the language.
Remember LPPL has an enormous supply of resources to educate, entertain, and enrich the communities we serve both online and in our branches. The only thing you need to do is get a free library card and establish a PIN number. Already have a library card but can’t remember your PIN number? No problem! Call any of our nine branches and our friendly staff will be happy to help you.
- Crystal, Branch Librarian