Playaway Views are self-contained, durable video players for kids. They come preloaded with content and are easy for kids to operate. Titles include Sesame Street, PBS’ Super Why!, Arthur, Caillou, and more.

“They’re amazing, and so sturdy,” said Jamie Bayne, BCPL information services supervisor and the mother of a toddler. “My son is almost 2, and he can operate it without any issues. It’s great for in the car, at the grocery story, or on the night the power went out and he wanted to see Elmo!”

The devices will be available at all three BCPL branches (Main, Kyova and Catlettsburg) beginning Wednesday, May 22.

They can be checked out for seven days, with no renewal. The fine for a late return is $1 per day.

BCPL is adding 100 of these devices to the collection. Patrons can place a hold using the catalog at www.thebookplace.org. Just search using “Playaway View” as the key word.

Starting the week of June 4, there are fun and educational programs each week for toddlers through tweens at the Ashland, Catlettsburg and Kyova branches.  The teen program is called “Beneath the Surface,” with weekly programs at both Main and Kyova.

All the fun aside, there are serious reasons for taking part in a summer reading program, said Library Director Debbie Cosper. “Studies show that kids who read at least a few books during the summer are less likely to lose the skills they learned during the school year,” she said.

Kids and teens can start keeping track of their reading hours on June 1 – register by clicking here - or fill out a registration form at any branch. Participants will receive a reading map/journal, in which they will record the number of hours spent reading, and the programs they attended.

Kids can add up their time spent reading to qualify for rewards, including seed packets, a browsing bag, a book of choice, bucket & shovel, bookmark timer and t-shirt. For every five hours over 50, kids will be entered into a drawing for the grand prize – a Kindle Fire.

Digging time starts Saturday, June 1, at 2 p.m. at the Kyova Branch, located in the Kyova Mall across from Elder-Beerman. Coyote Chris from Silly Safaris and a few of his favorite creatures will help get the summer fun going. All ages are welcome.

“Dig Into Reading” is for children 4-12, but the older kids (tweens) will do different crafts and activities than the younger ones. Weekly program times are as follows: Main Branch (1740 Central Ave., Ashland): Wednesdays at 2 p.m., ages 4 to 12; and Fridays at 11:30 a.m., toddlers; Kyova Branch: Tuesdays at 2 p.m., ages 4 to 12; and Fridays at 1 p.m., toddlers; and Catlettsburg Branch (2704 Louisa St.): Thursdays at 2 p.m., ages 4 to 12; Mondays at 10:30 a.m., toddlers.

There are special summer reading programs again this year at the Highlands Museum: Discovering Your Roots” is for teens, on Saturday, June 8; and “Digging Deeper” is for kids 4-12 on Saturday, June 22. Participants in summer reading at BCPL can pick up a free museum pass for themselves and a guest at any library branch during the week prior to the museum programs.

The program for kids wraps up Saturday, July 27, with a big party at the Kyova Branch. Kids must reach the five-hour reading goal in order to attend.

“Digging Deeper” movies are also being shown each Friday at noon at the Main Branch, starting June 7. Snacks will be provided. That schedule is:

• “Scooby Doo in Where’s My Mummy?:” June 7
• “Gnomeo & Juliet:” June 14
• “How to Eat Fried Worms:” June 21
• “Holes:” June 28
• “Journey to the Center of the Earth:” July 5
• “Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs:” July 12
• “FernGully: The Last Rainforest:” July 19
• “The Goonies:” July 26

The teen summer program, “Beneath the Surface,” meets each Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Main Branch, and Thursday at 6 p.m. at the Kyova Branch. Weekly activities include Mystery Box, Mirror Mirror, Tie-Dye, CSI and Mystery Ink. Just like the younger set, teens are rewarded for the time they spend reading in June and July. Teen rewards include a lanyard, sport bag, t-shirt, book of choice and headphones. When teens reach 100 hours, they will be entered into a drawing for a iPad. Every 25 hours after that gets them another entry.

Teens will have their own wrap-up program – a lock-in at the Kyova Branch on July 25. Only teens who attended at least one Beneath the Surface program and read at least 25 hours are eligible for the lock-in.

The adult summer program is back again this year, and is called “Groundbreaking Reads.” It is longer than the youth programs – running from Memorial Day through Labor Day. Adults fill out brief (about 25 words) book reviews for each book they read and earn rewards based on the number. Book review forms are available at any branch, or at www.thebookplace.org.  Adults are rewarded based on the number of books they read.

The Highlands museum will be the site of a special “Groundbreaking Images” photo exhibit in August (opening reception is Friday, Aug. 2, at 6 p.m.), and the adult program ends with a Groundbreaking Party on Friday, Sept. 6. All reading rewards will be given away at the final party, as well as the tablet computer grand prize. Each book review written during the summer enters the adult one time in the drawing for the grand prize.

Click here to register for Summer Reading 2013!!!

The Job & Career Accelerator component of Learning Express Library, one of our many online databases, can help job seekers in lots of ways.

First, you can use it to determine which types of jobs are best suited to your individual skills, and see what types of training, continuing education and exams might be required for that new career path. Job & Career Accelerator has training courses for several computer software programs like Windows 7, Microsoft Word and Excel, Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop, and many more.

Need a new or updated resume? You can create one directly in Job & Career Accelerator and then export it to job-seeking sites like Indeed.com.

Job & Career Accelerator also has resources to help you search for a job, and fill out online applications.

Sound interesting? Just click here to get started.

BCPL also subscribes to Cypress Resume , which is a simple online tool for resume creation. And since the Library subscribes, that means BCPL card holders don’t have to. As with all our other databases, get started at thebookplace.org

Cypress Resume is specifically designed for job seekers skittish about writing. It allows anyone to create a professional resume – one that will stand out to potential employers – in a matter of minutes. Check it out by clicking here.

We also have tons of books (and ebooks) on resume writing, and all things job-search related. They are all free to check out with your library card!

Want to talk to someone about your resume or job search? You’re in luck! With Tutor.com Career Center, job seekers can get live, one-on-one help from professional career tutors. Anyone with a library card can access this service any computer or mobile device with Internet. The live, online career tutoring and resume writing service is available seven days a week, from 2 to 11 p.m. The Tutor.com Career Center also includes 24/7 access to resources such as resume templates, cover letter samples and online job search tools – even local job listings.

Find your Tutor.com career advisor by clicking here.

We call it Hands that Touch a Heart, and this is the ninth year we’ve been doing it at BCPL. It’s a simple idea: kids, teens, parents – anybody – who visits the library between early January and early February takes a few minutes to make a homemade Valentine. Then, we play Cupid and deliver them. The end result is the smile on the faces of all the local soldiers and area nursing home residents who receive them.

Our 2013 campaign starts this week and runs through Friday, Feb. 8. Card templates and decorating supplies are available anytime at the Main and Kyova branches.

When we started this program, we only delivered to residents of local nursing homes – about 400 or 500 each year. Then, a few years ago, we thought it would be nice to include local servicemen and women who are deployed overseas, or just not home with their loved ones, and who might not receive a card on Valentine’s Day. So with the help of www.anysoldier.com, we found a way to get cards made by local kids into the hands of local soldiers.

Once we added the military recipients, we knew we’d need a lot more Valentines. But, our great patrons, along with local schools, church groups, scouts, and other community organizations, helped fill the need. Last year, we made 2,400 Valentines. That’s a lot of smiles!!

We call it Hands that Touch a Heart for a couple of reasons. First of all, a handmade card is a gift that comes from the heart. As a parent, I am always much happier to get a card or gift hand-crafted by one of my kids than I am to receive a store-bought card. The knowledge that they put the time and effort into my gift makes it extra special.

Seeing the smiles on the faces of the nursing home residents when they get their homemade card is truly priceless. On some past deliveries, I noticed that the person still had the card we’d brought them the year before on display in their room.

We also gave the campaign its name because the card template we use encourages kids to trace their hand and then decorate it.  Sure, sometimes it ends up looking more like a turkey, but with a bit of coloring, glitter, stickers, and a personal message, it is a work of art nonetheless.

Kids love to come into the library and make the cards. Many of them will make one on every visit, so by the time the month-long campaign ends, they might have half a dozen cards ready for delivery. Parents are great to help too, and we welcome it.

This program wouldn’t be near as successful as it is without all the help we get from schools and outside groups. We hope they – and others – will take part again this year. It’s easy to do: just contact Amanda Clark at 606.329.0518, ext. 1140, or aclark@thebookplace.org and tell her how many card templates you need and where to send them. We just need you to drop the finished cards off at Main or Kyova by Feb. 8.

We hope you can help use your hands to touch someone’s heart this year.

We have recently added 1,570 Surname files to our existing collection of 2,600 files.

Thanks to local researcher Teresa Martin Klaiber with her recent donation of nearly 1,600 files.  Take a look at the link below and see if any of the new files can help in your research.

http://thebookplace.org/?wpfb_dl=250

The Library would like to announce the addition of two new services – Freegal Music and Freading (ebooks).

Freegal Music is an online database that provides access to songs from Sony Music. The music files are DRM-free and do not expire, and are compatible with PCs, Macs, iPods, iPads, smartphones and other MP3-compatible devices.

The Freegal Music Service will allow the Boyd County Public Library to increase the size and diversity of our collection by offering access to over 10,000 music labels from 65 different countries.

Boyd County Public Library cardholders are eligible for three MP3 downloads per week.  A library card number and PIN is necessary to access and download songs.

Our eBook collection is growing thanks to over 20,000 titles that are always available 24/7 with your Boyd County Public Library card and Freading. That’s right – no waiting lists, no overdue fees! Check out titles for 2 weeks with an additional 2 week renewal period if needed using your Freading tokens.At the beginning of each week, you are given 4 tokens, which can be used to download Freading eBooks. Each eBook costs 1, 2, or 4 tokens depending on the release date of the title.

• Four tokens – titles less than 6 months old
• Two tokens – titles 7 months to 2 years old
• One token – titles older than 2 years

Unused tokens roll over to the next week, but all tokens reset to 4 again every four weeks.

To view, browse and download music from Freegal or ebooks from Freading, go to www.thebookplace.org and scroll to the bottom of the page, under the Services Menu select “Freegal Music” or “Freading.”

Freegal Music and Freading Apps are available in the Apple App Store and Google Play (Android devices).

Remote Access   In-house Access

 Rocket Languages allows users to visually learn a foreign language.  With 11 languages to chose from (including American Sign Language) Rocket Languages allows our users to download video tutorials they may keep – permanently.

Simply create your account and you can learn:

• Arabic
• Chinese
• French
• German
• Hindi
• Ingeles (English for Spanish speakers)
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Portuguese
• Sign Language (ASL)
• Spanish
• ロケット英語 (English for Japanese speakers)

Review and Reccomendation from PCMagazine

Boyd County Public Library is proud to present a new resource that will help you find out the Who, What and Where of our government – MyGovernment

MyGovernment will show you all your elected politicians, from the President to the local munipialities.  It provides contact information, in-depth biographies and much more.  MyGovernment’s interface is available in both English and Spanish.  With MyGovernment you have access to the same information as professional lobbyists.

Want to know what bills your Senator is voting on? MyGovernment can tell you.

Want to know who to contact about your local concerns? MyGovernment can tell you.

MyGovernment’s “HOME” tab provides a Tips & Resources box that provides quick and easy access to basic government information including:
• Basic Guide to U.S. Government
• How Laws are Made in Congress
• How to Contact your Legislators
• Guide to Becoming a U.S. Citizen
• Useful Links & Websites

WHO. The ‘Who’ tab provides candidate data including basic information from address and phone number to more in-depth material including:
• religion
• number of children
• military service
• past occupations
• committees and caucuses

WHAT. Users can search for legislators and executives that work directly on issues that matter to them.

WHERE. A complete list of elected officials is available based on zip code. From the President down to local county or municipal officials, users get contact information, background and biographical data, photos for many legislators and elected officials, and which bills they sponsor and their stance on key issues.

Try MyGovernment today!

MyGovernment can currently only be used at one of our library branches.  Remote access is not yet available.

Please visit any branch of the Boyd County Public Library to recieve the new passwords.  New passwords will be in effect through June 2014.

For a listing of databases available through KYVL, please click here.