Learn With Lynda

What a busy fall this has been for us! 

First we added Rosetta Stone, the language immersion program, to our roster of important resources that are free to Bernardsville Library members. Rosetta Stone enables you to learn up to 30 languages online in self-paced sessions that cater to your needs. Do you want to learn enough vocabulary to get by on a trip abroad? Maybe you want to improve grammar and conversation skills in a language you previously learned? You can do all that with ease and totally for free with Rosetta Stone and your library membership.

How about going to the head of the line every time you want to borrow a popular item from the library? With hoopla, the digital lending service we added in October, you no longer have to wait on a reserve list for the newest book, movie or music album to become available. Hoopla membership entitles you to borrow a number of audiobooks, ebooks, comics, music, and movies per month without the wait or hassle. Simply sign up on our website and begin downloading right away.

Now that November is here, we're topping off this fabulous fall with the exciting addition to our website of the online tutorial service, Lynda.com. Lynda provides you with over 3,000 courses taught by industry experts in the areas of technology, business, and creativity. You can tune up your skills in web design, software development, or business management. With more than 100,000 instructional videos, Lynda will teach you how to photoshop your images, how to build an app, and many, many other creative skills. 

These three resources would cost you a significant amount of money to subscribe to on your own, but through your library membership with us, it's all free. Yes, free. All you have to do is click on the Rosetta Stone, hoopla, and Lynda icons on our website, sign up with your library card number, and expand your world of knowledge and entertainment. We hope you do.

It Will Boo Spooktacular!

Halloween lurks around the corner to wrap up a spooky month during which we've celebrated several famous ghosts! A literary ghost, Sir Simon de Canterville, has haunted us this October while we've enjoyed the communal reading of Oscar Wilde's short story, "The Canterville Ghost," chosen as our One Book Bernardsville selection. In addition, there's also our very own library ghost, Phyllis, to whom we must pay homage. Said to haunt the old library building, Phyllis has her own extended history of paranormal activity! Both ghosts have been featured in a number of fascinating library programs this month. We hope you've attended a few of them.

To cap off October, we invite you to attend the Friends of the Bernardsville Public Library fundraiser, Dinner with Author L'Aura Hladik. Spirits will be raised for sure with so many exciting evening events planned for you! Paranormal investigator L’Aura Hladik Hoffman, author of “Ghosthunting New Jersey,” will discuss - what else? - ghosts and will sign her book for you. Following a delicious fall dinner, enjoy dancing to music from local celebrity DJ Charlie Zavalic, participate in a 50/50 and silent auction, and experience some shivery goosebumps as ghost stories are told! The kids can have their trick or treat; we've got this spooktacular event! Please link here for information about ticket options, the purchase of which enables the Friends to continue their ongoing support of our library.  

Hoopla, A Lending Service Worthy Of Its Name

This month we're making a big hoopla about offering Bernardsville Library members free access to an exciting digital lending service called hoopla. Hoopla enables you to instantly borrow digital media which you can stream or download to a computer, tablet, or smartphone using the hoopla app. This product is also compatible with Chromecast and viewable on Apple TV.

One of the most exciting features of hoopla is that it allows you to borrow music, movies, audiobooks, ebooks, comics, and TV episodes without a waiting period. There are no holds lists with long waiting times. YOU are always first in line! Listen to more than 270,000 albums, watch thousands of TV episodes and movies, and take your pick from over 100,000 audiobooks, comics, and ebooks. And it's so convenient for you because your items will be automatically returned at the end of your loan period.

To begin your new adventure with hoopla, simply visit our website http://bernardsvillelibrary.org, click on the hoopla link, and sign up using your library card number. While you're on our website, please take advantage of our many other resources that will add value to your life. Among them are the Cloud Library for ebooks and audiobooks, Rosetta Stone for language learning, digital magazine lending through Zinio and Flipster, and our many research and collection resources.