Blog Archives
Crafting as Distraction
In this time of exponentially increased levels of anxiety and stress we are all looking for ways to unwind and calm down. We do our best to work, either from home or in an essential function, care for children – both their education and entertainment, and concern about family and friends, especially those we must keep at a distance. Common wisdom is that meditation and mindfulness will focus our thoughts on the present, decreasing worry about past decisions and apprehension about the future.
Crafting can interrupt our negative thoughts to focus on the task at hand – specifically,
the craft you are undertaking. Personally, in the last two months I have crocheted thirty-four hats. I like to make hats because they are a small enough project to complete without getting bored. I have no idea what I will do with these hats, most likely I will donate them, but they tend to calm me. I have teen aged children that are requesting stuffed animals, so I may investigate Amigurumi crochet (Amigurumi is
Japanese for “knitted or crocheted stuffed toy”). Focusing on these new types of crochet patterns can potentially be relaxing.
Browsing Subjects in Libby, I found over 450 ebooks in Crafts, over 300 of them were available to borrow immediately. I found Creepy Cute Crochet by Christen Haden, Crochet One Skein Wonders by Judith Durant and Edie Eckman, Teach Yourself VISUALLY Crochet by Cicely Keim, and even Crochet Patterns for Dummies by Susan Brittain, all with Amigurumi patterns I could try.
There are many, many other crafting ebooks in Libby – on soap making, beading, duct taping, candle making, quilting, and even building cardboard habitats for cats (Cat Castles by Carin Oliver). Many of these ebooks are guides for beginners, you may already have the items needed to start something new, or things can be acquired online, both JoAnn Fabrics and Michael’s have curbside pick-up.
Another thing I have found to distract my thoughts from the past and the future, making me mindful of the present is coloring. Not children’s coloring, although if you have younger kids you could wrangle one of their books, but I doubt that would lead to tranquility.
According to Dr. Scott M. Bea, PsyD at the Cleveland Clinic, adult coloring can be calming because it focuses your attention on the task, leading to relaxing your brain; with a predictable outcome it is a low stakes activity. I have also found that pulling out the coloring books and colored pencils attracts my teens, one or both may pull up a chair and the shared activity allows us to talk – looking down rather than making eye contact seems to encourage a release of feelings. An inexpensive meditative diversion, a Google search for “coloring pages for adults “resulted a whole bunch of free pages.
Whatever you do to distract and relax your mind can be helpful. Try searching and browsing the available ebooks on crafts in Libby or Overdrive and Hoopla for ideas for starting something new or expanding on your current interests.
by DD in the Reference Department
Read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone Online
Both Hoopla and Overdrive are offering the first book in the Harry Potter series for reading, no waiting.
Update on Library Services During Closure
In an effort to continue to serve you during our closure, the Williamson County Public Library System has temporarily lifted restrictions on some services. Everyone can access their account until the Library reopens as there is temporarily no fine limit on services. Our patrons will be able to utilize the e-library including services such as Hoopla and R.E.A.D.S. even if they currently owe more than $3 on their Library account.
In order to access these services, your username is the library card barcode number and the pin/password is the last four digits of your library card barcode number. Everyone’s library card barcode number is 14 digits long. E-Library services are available at: https://www.wcpltn.org/232/Digital-Books.
All Library card holder accounts that have expired since January 1, 2019 and accounts set to expire in the coming weeks, will be temporarily renewed through June 30, 2020.
All Library items currently checked out will not accrue fines or continue to accrue fines for the duration of this closure.
If you have a hold waiting at a Branch Library, it is still on hold. Your Branch Library will have it waiting for you to pick up for up to 5 days past the date of our reopening which is still to be determined. The ability to place holds on Library items has been suspended for the duration of this closure.
To receive email updates regarding Library services, subscribe to our e-newsletter at: https://www.wcpltn.org/277/Newsletter-Sign-Up
Stuck at Home? Here’s Free Online Media to Binge from the Library
By Amy Shropshire
While the Williamson County Public Library is currently closed to the public, fighting off the spread of COVID-19, several changes have been made to the existing library policy.
- We are no longer circulating physical materials. Patrons will no longer be able to place or pick up holds. Holds that have already been placed will be held for when we re-open and not expire.
- No late fees will be assessed for materials currently checked out. Materials are still currently returnable through the book drop, but keeping them will not incur any fees until after we re-open to the public.
- Patrons with recently expired cards, or cards expiring soon, have all been renewed until June 2020.
- Fines will no longer be an impediment to accessing online resources. All patrons with an active and renewed library card should be able to access online materials such as Tennessee READS and Hoopla.
- At present, staff will return calls and emails for patrons having technical difficulty accessing online resources and/or help answer queries.
So many people at home will need resources for both education and entertainment value, and we can still provide these resources through online media.
Here are some important things to remember when creating an account through our online resources.
- We are part of Buffalo River Regional Library, so that will be the name you search for when creating an account.
- The default PIN number is the last 4 digits of the library card number.
- All library card numbers must be entered with no spaces to access online resources.
For example, Tennessee READS is a great online resource that offers over 100,000 e-books and audiobooks available to our patrons. You can download e-books and audiobooks to a computer, mobile device, and/or tablet. You can access Tennessee READS by downloading the apps, Overdrive and Libby, or you can access it through the library website.
Hoopla is another great resource if you are looking for more audio-visual media such as music, movies, and television shows. Not to mention Hoopla also has a comic book selection as well. Just remember to select carefully, because Hoopla is limited to 3 checkouts per month.
Another perk about Overdrive, Libby, and Hoopla are the accessibility features, which include:
- dyslexic font
- adjustable font size
- adjustable audio speed
- Hoopla has closed captioning
RBDigital also carries a variety of popular e-books and audiobooks if you can’t find something in Tennessee READS or if you run out of checkouts.
If you are looking for magazines, try Flipster! Flipster is an easy-to-use digital magazine newsstand that has new and back issues. Flipster is accessible via a web browser or the Flipster app which is made specifically for Apple devices, Android devices, and the Kindle Fire tablet. You can also download magazines to read offline, anytime, anywhere.
For something new and different, try the curated lists of the Indie Author Project. Published by Library Journal, the India Author Project pulls together lists by genre of the most talked about independently published work that often escapes notice. You might find your new favorite author there.
Whether you’re keeping up with your educational goals of if you’re wanting to learn something new, EBSCOhost is the online resource for you. EBSCOhost provides a plethora of materials from classics to educational nonfiction. Try our collection of EBSCOhost e-books and audiobooks available for checkout.
Speaking of educational resources, we have computer practice resources and databases full of new learning opportunities you can spend your time on. For example, GCFLearnFree has plenty of tutorials including basic money management, resume writing, computer skills, and technology help to name a few. GCFLearnFree also provides courses on communication skills and the sharing economy too. Feel free to browse their collection of tutorials as well as our other computer training options.
Staying at home is also a great time to finally publish that book you’ve always wanted to write, and we have the resources for that! Create your own independently published book through Pressbooks, and submit your work to the Indie Author Project, both of which make your work shareable.
While some of us may be stuck at home for public safety, this is the perfect opportunity to do the things you’ve never had time to do before. So stay home and read, learn, and create!
Additional Links:
Overdrive app for Android devices
Overdrive app for Apple devices
Oh No The Library is Closed! What to Do?
By Lance Hickerson, Reference Department
Originally published December 26, 2014
Holidays afford us time to relax, enjoy shows, catch up with friends, and share some of our favorite cuisine with special folks in our life. Funny thing, after those times of good cheer and catching up, one common post-festivity urge reported is the desire to stop into the library to simply browse around. Unfortunately, for many of these holiday moments, the library is officially closed. But please know, the back door is open. By this we mean the cyber door to all the library’s electronic offerings. Even on those “closed” holidays, the library still has some wonderful things available.
Here are just a few suggestions…
Simply access the library’s main page and explore the WCPLS eLibrary:
- Check out ebooks and audiobooks with READS!
- Watch a movie via Hoopla.
- Browse online magazines with Flipster
- Explore Career Transitions if you’re thinking about new career opportunities.
- Learn a new word a day with Oxford Reference Online.
- Take a virtual tour of great artists.
And there is a lot of online fun for children as well:
Online Fun Suggestions!
- Enjoy a digital story time.
- Borrow an ebook via READS for Kids. Use the cute interface for young readers that lets them borrow chapter books and more.
- Explore new subjects in Kids Infobits with articles and reference books for young people.
- Play games and more in TEL4U.
- Learning can be fun for young ones with World Book Online. Try the Early World of Learning or one of the boxes labeled ‘Kids’.
So just remember, even though we are closed, the back (cyber) door is always open.
WCPLtn is Books…And much more!
By Erin Holt, Teen Librarian
Libraries have become so much more than just books in the last few years — many are morphing into community centers, providing resume assistance, career centers, makerspaces, and learning labs in addition to the physical book collection. And online collections including eBooks and eAudiobooks are all the rage (we love our OverDrive READS that’s for sure!) allowing patrons to access materials right from their tablet or smartphone. This is HUGE this day and age with everyone being on the go! Waiting in the checkout line at the grocery store, browse your OverDrive app and download a book and begin reading instantly! It’s genius and a service that we’re proud to offer it to our patrons!
In fact, OverDrive is so popular that they have recently made some updates to their app to make things go a bit smoother for everyone! Check out the updates here
But we also wanted to highlight that our Library values books, and our librarians go to great lengths to constantly keep our physical collection of books, DVDs, and magazines up to date. In addition to all of that however, our director, Dolores Greenwald, hosts a monthly television show ‘Not Just Books‘ that airs on YouTube. The show focuses on what other services we provide both IN the library and outside the library! Wondering what the Friends of the Library are up to? How we’re celebrating the Sesquicentennial (hint: we wrote a fabulous book!), and what our new Teen Librarian is up to? Click on over
And be sure to bookmark this page — we’ve got new episodes every month!
And as always, give us a call if you have questions — 615-595-1243
