Beyond Books!

• 08/27/2024
• 15:26
• Jackie Kolb

With Library Card Sign-up Month right around the corner, we wanted to highlight some of the unique resources available to borrow for FREE with your Seymour Library Card. 

Did you know that in addition to over 50,000 books at the library, not to mention our extensive digital collection (eBooks, e-audiobooks, magazines, music, and movies), the library also offers access to special collections such as our Library of Things! Our Library of Things includes fun non-traditional materials, including cake pans, a variety of games (video games, board games, lawn games, and even pickleball), Museum Passes, Mental Health & Wellness Backpacks, Book Club Kits, Learning Backpacks, and more!

You don’t have to wait for September to sign up for your library card. Visit us today! Seymour Library is open Monday through Wednesday, 9 am to 7 pm, Thursday and Friday, 9 am to 6 pm, and Saturday, 9 am to 5 pm.

Here are even more special collections, carefully curated and designed to promote lifelong learning and meet the needs of our community. 

Language Learning:

Adult World Language Collection

New to the library- the Adult World Language Collection. This new collection features fiction books in Chinese, Ukrainian, and Spanish and is an expansion of language learning resources already available for adults. These language learning materials include phrasebooks, dictionaries, bilingual stories, and Playaways (portable media players, preloaded with an entire audiobook) in Spanish, Ukrainian, ASL, and ESL. 

World Language Collection for Families

For our little learners and their families, the World Language Collection has been expanded, offering Spanish language and bilingual board books, picture books, juvenile chapter books, and teen books. Don’t forget to check out our Spanish and bilingual WonderBooks (the audio is built into the book)! 

Mango Languages:

Did you know that your Seymour Library card gives you access to Mango Languages? This easy-to-use online language learning system, teaches actual conversation skills for over 70 different languages. Click on the Kids tab for videos and exercises geared towards children. 

New this year: Mango Languages has partnered with ASL Inside, one of the leading ASL learning platforms, giving library card holders at Seymour Library/Finger Lakes Library System, FREE access to all the features this course has to offer! Learn how to start a conversation in American Sign Language with basic greetings, introductory phrases, and important cultural insights. The Mango Languages app is available for download on Apple and Android devices or at our eLibrary!  Scroll down the page for the link to sign in and create your Mango Languages account!

The addition of the Adult World Language Collection and the expansion of learning resources for adults and children were made possible through funding from the Finger Lakes Library System Outreach Mini-Grant, which also funded this fall’s six-week Conversational Spanish class. 

Conversational Spanish

This six-session language course, instructed by Lisa Long, will focus on conversational Spanish for beginners. Participants will learn phrases for introductions, meeting new people, traveling, ordering food, and asking basic questions. The first class will be held at Seymour Library on Tuesday, September 17 at 6 pm. Registration is required. To enroll, please call the library at 315-252-2571. 

Equity, Social Justice & Peace:

The Peace Collection 

This new collection features books for all age groups, both fiction and nonfiction that focus on fostering peace and promoting a culture of understanding, equity, and kindness. This new addition is based on the Literacy Library Collection for Equity, Social Justice & Peace, a special collection at the Merriweather Branch Library in Buffalo which was started as a response to the violence perpetrated on May 14, 2022. Funding for the Peace Collection comes from Auburn’s Historic and Cultural Sites Commission.  

Community Connection: Book & Movie Kits! 

These kits focus on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility. Each kit includes 10 copies of the featured book, an audiobook, and a movie that connects to the topic (LGBTQ+, Black Rights, and Disability/Visibility). 

Conscious Child Kits

Added in 2021, these kits celebrate diverse voices and help facilitate family discussions about racial equity, identity, and justice. Topics include: Identity & Belonging, Immigration & Refugees, Joy & Self-Love, Justice and Systemic Racism, and Solidarity & Activism. Kits are geared towards ages 4 to 7 or 8 to 11 and feature books, discussion questions, and lists of further recommended readings. 

Tools for Caregivers:

Caregiver Kits 

These kits are filled with memory-stimulating images and activities that caregivers can use to engage those suffering from memory loss. Each kit also contains the book, A Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia: Using Activities and Other Strategies to Prevent, Reduce and Manage Behavioral Symptoms by Laura N. Gitlin and Catherine Verrier Piersol with advice for caregivers.

The Empowered Caregiver with Alzheimer’s Association

This six-part educational series, starting Monday, September 9 at 4 pm, teaches caregivers how to navigate the responsibilities of caring for someone living with dementia. Topics include Building Foundations of Caregiving, Supporting Independence, Communicating Effectively, Responding to Dementia-Related Behaviors, Exploring Care and Support Services, and Managing Money. Please call the library to register.