You can connect your school Sora account to Windsor Public Library. See this video. For Sora you do not need a library card!
Please check the Windsor Public Library Teen webpage for virtual activities and events: https://www.windsorlibrary.com/teens-2/
You will need a library library card to access their services, so if you don't have one, please send them an email and they will help you. The head of their lending department is Ms. Gail Mannion. She can be reached at mannion@townofwindsorct.com.
The WPL's website is www.windsorlibrary.com. Here, students will be able to gain access to the consortium's catalog, all of their digital collections, and more.
To access the WPL catalog from home:
1. Look in the top right section of the home page (where it says "Search our Catalog")
2. Type something in, and hit "GO."
Once you've done that, you'll be able to see everything that is available within their consortium (of 30 libraries in the surrounding area). This is what they've nicknamed, "Encore." [ https://lci-mt.iii.com/iii/encore/?lang=eng ]
At the top of the Encore page, it will say, "Select One Library to Search." If students want to search the library, they can choose "Windsor Public Libraries," or "Windsor Public Library" and "Wilson Branch Library." This will show all the items in Windsor. Under each item, it will specify the type of material (e.g. "Book," "eBook," "Audiobook on CD/MP3"). Students can utilize this catalog to find anything that they have available at the library, whether it's a physical copy or a digital one.
You can practice by selecting "Windsor Public Library" and then inputting the name, "Jason Reynolds." You'll see all the books of his that WPL owns, and you'll see the formats.
You need to utilize any of their databases, you can visit their website and click on the "Research" tab. [ https://www.windsorlibrary.com/research/ ]
This will give you access to things like Consumer Reports, Mango Language Learning, Novelist, and more. The best tool for research is "ResearchIT CT" (at the bottom of the page). This is the Connecticut State Library's database. The only thing you won't have access to from home is Ancestry.com.
If students are interested in eBooks, there are several options available. The Windsor Public Library offers patrons access to several free apps. If they you visit (windsorlibrary.com), you'll see a tab towards the bottom of the main screen that says, "Digital Collections." The "Digital Collections" page has a bunch of tabs specifying which apps are good for each kind of material. These apps are:
I. Overdrive --> ebooks, audiobooks,
II. RBDigital --> ebooks, audiobooks,
III. Hoopla --> ebooks, audiobooks, albums, movies, and LOTS of comics/graphic novels
IV. Kanopy --> movies (sort of like a library Netflix)
[ https://www.windsorlibrary.com/digital-collections/ ]
Overdrive and RBDigital offer more checkouts, but both include holds and wait times for popular items. It's basically the same as when someone takes a book from the library and another person who wants that book has to wait for it to come back. Hoopla offers instant downloads (so there's no hold list or wait time), but it only allows for 4 CHECKOUTS A MONTH. These apps are all free. To utilize these apps, you need to download them on your phone or tablet, then create an account using an email and library card number.