Tag: electronic resources

Brainfuse

April 20, 2022 By ml-admin

OCPL has added Brainfuse to its databases.

Brainfuse is a resource for helping kids and adults with studying, test preparation, and the like. The descrition from OCPL’s Database Page appears below.

You can login to Brainfuse at this link.

Online test preparation, homework help, study aids, skill building, and live tutoring resource for children and adults.  

Live Tutors are Available from 2:00 PM to 11:00 PM daily.

  • Live Tutoring offers live tutor access for homework help, skills building and test preparation.  Because HelpNow is personalized, both the student and the tutor can access quiz questions to do an intensive test prep which may include loading lessons on the whiteboard. All live sessions are saved and can be replayed as well as shared with friends and teachers by email.  Using the CloudPack feature, students can store and upload MS Word, Excel, JPG, and other accepted file types directly onto the whiteboard.
  • The Writing Lab and the 24/7 Center features give patrons the freedom to receive assistance at any time of the day without connecting with a live tutor.  Users can submit papers through the Writing Lab for detailed feedback.  24/7 Center is for non-writing assignments such as math or science. 
  • MEET allows students to schedule their own online sessions using the Brainfuse MEET whiteboard which is specifically designed for a group setting.  Brainwave is a recordable whiteboard where students can draw, write on the whiteboard and chat then save and email it to others for feedback.
  • Adult Learning Center is the adult learners’ version of HelpNow™ where patrons can access High School Equivalency prep, US Citizenship test prep, resume assistance, Microsoft Office support, and Career Resources. The Writing Lab, Send Question, and Skills Building are also included in the Adult Learning Center suite. 

New York Times

September 29, 2021 By ml-admin

Library patrons of Onondaga County Public Library System libraries now have access to The New York Times:

NOVELny and Gale are providing access to the New York Times in their redesigned New York Times Database.

  • The U.S. Edition:
    Full text coverage from 1/1/1985 to the current day. The paper is published 7 days a week.
  • The International Edition:
    Full text coverage from 11/2/2013 to the current day. The paper is published 6 days a week.

The next time you can’t read a New York Times article on the Web because you don’t have a subscription, check out the Gale New York Times Database, available to all OCPL patrons and to all N.Y. State residents.

New York Heritage website

September 7, 2021 By ml-admin
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New York Heritage shared this with us:

New York Heritage has launched a redesigned website! This upgrade has a few notable features:

  • Smoother navigation with faster page loads
  • Browse collections by Topics and Type from the main page
  • Organizations’ landing pages now have location maps
  • Collection landing pages have image captions and links to similar collections
  • Backend improvements that make it easier to edit and maintain

Let us know what you think of the new design by filling out the User Experience Survey.

One of New York Heritage’s collections is digitized versions of West Genesee yearbooks. Check them out!

Database survey

September 7, 2021 By ml-admin

Do you use any of the databases that Onondaga County Public Libraries makes available to all patrons? OCPL will be conducting a survey about the databases from September 13 through September 30 and would like to get feedback from all who use them.

Image credits:
Database icon by Zahra Ibrahem
License: CC BY-SA 4.0

OverDrive Encourages Patrons to Move to Libby

August 10, 2021 By ml-admin

OverDrive has begun phasing the old OverDrive app out. If you already use the Libby app, you don’t need to do anything , but OverDrive would like to get people using the old app to switch over to Libby by the end of 2022.

Alternatively, you will continue be able to borrow and read items using a generic web browser (for instance, Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera, and so on).

Lynda.com has become LinkedIn Learning

May 5, 2021 By ml-admin

LinkedIn acquired Lynda.com, so patrons who were using the Lynda.com app will need to download the free LinkedIn Learning app and set it up. Here are the instructions:

  1. Before using the app, set up your account online using a web browser (you’ll need your library card’s barcode and PIN)
  2. Download the free LinkedIn Learning app onto your mobile device from the appropriate place (The App Store for iOS/Google Play for Android)
  3. When you open the app, choose Sign In, even if you have never used Lynda.com or LinkedIn Learning
  4. Leave the email box blank and click on blue text Sign in with your library card
  5. The app will take you to a page that asks for your library’s ID. Enter onondagacounty in the text box at the end of the address.
  6. You’ll then be asked for your email address, library card barcode number, and PIN

LinkedIn Learning is an extensive collection of award-winning online courses and video tutorials to help you learn business, technical and creative skills. Achieve your personal and professional goals. Courses are taught by recognized industry experts. Learn what you want, when you want, from our entire library. Build custom playlists to organize courses you want to watch.  Watch courses on your computer, tablet, or mobile device. Switch back and forth without ever losing your place.

Library Services During the Pandemic — Update

December 14, 2020 By ml-admin

Camillus is still in a Yellow Zone, as determined by New York Forward, but our Board has decided to get ahead of the curve by returning to curbside service only.

Effective Monday, December 21, we will no longer be available for browsing, computer use, or study room use. We will still have:

  • Curbside pickup

Reserve material either online or by calling us. When it is ready for pickup, the system will notify you. Then you can call us and schedule a time to pick it up.

  • Ebooks, eaudio, and so on

Overdrive, Hoopla, the databases that OCPL subscribes to, …

All of these electronic resources will continue to be available.

The Post-Standard Online

August 26, 2020 By ml-admin
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Post-Standard

Log on with your library card’s barcode number and your PIN.

Maxwell Summer Newsletter

July 1, 2020 By ml-admin

Maxwell Summer Newsletter

Ancestry Library Edition

June 22, 2020 By ml-admin

During the time we (and all of OCPL) were closed, ProQuest had made it possible for patrons to access the Ancestry Library database from home (normally it’s only available when connecting from a library). They have now told us that free remote access to Ancestry Library will be continuing for all public library cardholders at least through July 2020.

To access the database, go to OCPL’s database page and scroll down the alphabetical list to Ancestry Library.

Hoopla Extends Bonus Borrows Through May 31

May 18, 2020 By ml-admin

From Hoopla’s May 8 blog post:

Due to the overwhelmingly positive response and the continued need of our library partners and their communities, we have extended the availability of the hoopla Bonus Borrows collection through May 31! We have changed some of the titles and increased the overall size of the collection to help patrons have even more choices. hoopla’s Bonus Borrows collection now includes more than 1,500 titles—including Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone in both audiobook and eBook!

As a reminder, each circulation of a Bonus Borrows title is complimentary to libraries, and does not count against a patron’s monthly borrow limit.

From the Internet Archive:

March 30, 2020 By ml-admin
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Announcing the National Emergency Library, a collection of books that supports emergency remote teaching, research activities, independent scholarship, and intellectual stimulation while universities, schools, training centers, and libraries are closed.

Cut to the Chase: Direct Links to eBooks

March 18, 2020 By ml-admin
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Overdrive/Libby and Hoopla will continue to be available for borrowing items during this time. Additionally, OCPL has other eBook collections available for the next few months. To see what’s available go to https://www.onlib.org/find/e-books-and-more and scroll down.

OCPL’s E-Books and More page

March 16, 2020 By ml-admin
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This collection is, of course, where to find links to Overdrive/Libby and Hoopla — our long-term providers of eBooks, eMagazines, and eMedia. It also has links to the other services we subscribe to and to some that we have temporary access to like Tumble Book Library or Audible.com’s selections for K–12 students.

Learning & Test Preparation

March 13, 2020 By ml-admin
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OCPL has added a database of resources for test preparation, college and career planning, and related needs. It is the Gale Testing & Education Reference Center (TERC), and it replaces Learning Express. You can get to it through one of the links above or by going through OCPL’s Database page (scroll down to “T” for testing).

The Post-Standard

March 13, 2020 By ml-admin
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OCPL’s Newsbank database provides library patrons access to the Syracuse Post-Standard and to blogs hosted at Syracuse.com. You can follow this link to get access. You may need to enter your library card’s barcode number and your PIN to log on.

Mango Languages

March 13, 2020 By ml-admin
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Mango Languages is an interactive system for learning a language. You can get more information at OCPL’s Databases page (Click on Education and Careers to narrow the list), or you can go straight to the login page (you’ll need your library card’s number and PIN).

OCPL’s Databases page

March 13, 2020 By ml-admin
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Start here for answering questions on topics ranging from Antiques or Business to Religion or Technology. Some of the databases here that you would normally need to be in the library to access are temporarily available to patrons from home.