Obviously, the library has a ton of books that can facilitate learning new skills. I learned how to knit about 10 years ago from books checked out at the library. (Dewey Destination: 746.4 for knitting books). But did you know that the library has some really great digital resources to help you hone new skills from the comfort of your own home?
Mango
Mango is a language learning tool that can be accessed from a desktop, a tablet, or a smart phone. Mango prepares learners for realistic conversations and communication in over 70 world languages. It's free to use with your library barcode!
Dewey Destination: the 400's are language materials. 430 - 499 cover learning languages other than English.
Discover Mango
The Great Courses streaming on Kanopy
With Kanopy, you can stream full length films and documentaries including foreign films, hidden gems, and films curated by the Criterion Collection.
It's included in this blog post because the Kanopy library includes hundreds of titles from The Great Courses. If you've never heard of The Great Courses, get excited! They're college level courses covering a wide variety of topics for lifelong learners like yourself. They include topics like computer programming, algebra, photography, cooking, art appreciation, understanding the universe, astronomy and sooo many more.
Kanopy is compatible with tablets, computers, smartphones, and streaming devices like Roku and Apple TV.
You can also check out our physical Great Courses collection. They're all shelved on stand-alone furniture in the adult reading room. Ask staff members to point them out to you!
Browse Kanopy
Lynda.com (Soon to be LinkedIn Learning)
Lynda is an online learning platform that helps anyone learn business, software, technology, and creative skills to achieve personal and professional goals.
The video library includes course topics ranging from differing levels of Microsoft Excel learning to How to Play Guitar, all taught by experts in the field. The videos are easy to follow, broken up into small pieces, and accompanied by transcripts. All of this means that Lynda lets you learn at exactly your own pace.
Explore Lynda
CreativeBug
I can only wish that Creativebug was a thing when I was learning to knit. As it is, I have already found myself itching to pick up other crafts after browsing the video library.
Creativebug is for the crafter at heart. It's full of tutorial videos created by experts in the field on topics like: knitting, crochet, art+design, paper, sewing, quilting, jewelry, kids, food+home, and holiday+party.
This is one of my personal favorite library resources!
Delve Into CreativebugAll of these resources are free to access and use with your Edwardsville Public Library card. If you ever have any trouble creating an account or navigating a platform please reach out to us at 618-692-7556 or bring your device in and we can troubleshoot with you in person.
About the Author
In free time Amanda enjoys reading, knitting, and cuddling her cats. She’s basically a walking stereotype.