The Danville Library, part of the Contra Costa County Library system, boasts many powerful online resources that are available remotely to anyone with or without a library card! You may also search for a title, author or topic through the online catalog and place holds on any item throughout the county. If you don’t currently have a card, any Contra Costa County resident can register for an e-card online and you’ll be able to place holds and take advantage of many online resources including downloadable audio and e-books. Another new and exciting service is that the library now offers lendable hotspots to provide wifi access to individuals who may need it. Please explore, play and take advantage of these incredible free resources from the comfort of home!
Finding New or Lucky Day Books During Front Door Service at the Danville Library:
In the search box in the upper right hand corner of the library website, you can select the “Advanced Search” option just beneath the search box.
Under the heading, “Use the Form to Construct Your Query,” you may type in “fiction,” “nonfiction” or even a favorite author in the search box and under the heading “Limit my search results by,” you may select the Danville Library or leave at the default, “All Locations,” to search the full collection countywide.
Finally, under the “Collections” heading, you may select “New” and the results should be all the new books based on your search criteria that are owned (but may not necessarily be currently available) at the Danville Library or countywide system. This would include the popular Lucky Day titles which are circulating as new books. You may place holds on any title and it’ll let you know what number you are in the queue.
You’ll receive an automated notification by text, email or phone (whichever your account is setup for) once the item has arrived and is ready for you to pickup
Please make an appointment to pick up your holds once you receive the notice it has arrived to minimize any wait times and so staff may pull and process items for you ahead of time
Also, to find titles that are currently on order that you may place a hold on, scroll to the bottom of the library’s website where you’ll find a tab option that says “On Order.” These titles are currently on order and have not yet arrived to the library. You may place a hold and be notified when the item has arrived at your home library and is ready for you to pick up.
List of the Library’s Digital Resources and Online Tutorials
Ancestry is well-known for being a strong research database for genealogy. If you’re starting your family research or taking it to the next level, you’ll want to explore all the data and information in Ancestry! It includes US and UK census, church, court, vital and immigration records as well as data records from Canada, Europe, Australia and other parts of the world. It’s an online genealogy database that is available by subscription, however, through the library, patrons can access this service remotely for the first time.
Kanopy is an exciting online streaming service that has gained increasing popularity. This service focuses primarily on the independent, documentary and international films. Library users are provided with 8 play credits each month for free with just their library cards. Kanopy is only available to patrons with full access library cards. You’ll need to log-in with your card number and last name (instead of the requested pin).
Flipster provides patrons with digital access to numerous magazines such as Consumer Reports, Consumer Reports Buying Guide, Bon Appetit, The New Yorker, Forbes, Money, People, Dwell, Real Simple and Food Network magazines just to name a few. You’ll be able to search, flip through the pages, print and email the articles in full color with accompanying graphics as you would the print publication. It’s a quick and easy way to read your favorite magazine without leaving home!
Rosetta Stone is a highly regarded language learning program that used to only be available through direct purchase. This wonderful resource provides over 50 hours of foundational immersion instruction at every language level and includes 30 languages with your library card! If you’re ready to learn a new language or brush up on your linguistic skills, Rosetta Stone is an incredible tool to help you achieve your language goals and proficiency.
By Seng Lovan, Manager at Danville Public Library