Travel Kits to Paris, Lisbon, Spain, Prague, and NJ/NYC

Livingston Library adds Travel Kits to its Library of Things collection.

Summer is coming! That’s the why. As everyone gets ready for getaways, the latest additions to the Library of Things are geared to help patrons with their travel preparations.
Livingston Library cardholders can check out Travel Kits for these destinations: Paris, Lisbon, Spain, Prague, and NYC/NJ. According to the Library’s Associate Director, Melissa Brisbin, “The cities were chosen based on the list of most popular city guide books that were borrowed”. Each of the kits contains two maps, two tour books, a phrase book, a battery backup, a universal adapter (for the foreign lands), and a luggage scale. These Travel Kits cover a chunk of the preparations needed by most travelers. And if the destination is another city, some items in the kits will still be useful.

Livingston Library cardholders can also avail resources through the internet, through downloaded content, or by streaming online. The apps, and most content, can be downloaded onto devices or the resources can be accessed through web browsers.

If part of the prep is learning how to communicate while travelling, patrons can tap into the Library’s online language resources. Mango Languages can be used to work on accents and conversational handy sentences, so one can try to blend in, or at least find the nearest solution to an urgent need in the city. If a one-stop-shop of sorts for city information is needed, another online resource called A to Z World Travel can be used.

If there are plans to read during the trip, the Library’s digital collections can give options to travel light. There’s Overdrive / Libby for e-books and e-audiobooks. There’s Hoopla for the same, plus comics, music, TV programs, and movies. And there’s RbDigital for magazines. Another option comes from the Library of Things collection which offers Nooks for borrowing. Each of the Nooks are generously loaded with e-books of pre-selected popular titles.

If online connection is on the travel prep list, Livingston cardholders can borrow a WiFi Hotspot for internet access, or a Roku that comes with complimentary access to Hulu (courtesy of the Friends of the Livingston Library), also from the Library of Things collection.

And last but not least, each Travel Kit also comes with a thingamajig -- a dome prop that has a picture of the Library’s dome and the hashtag #LtownLibrary laminated on to a popsicle stick handle -- for some awesome selfies! Patrons are encouraged to take photos with the dome prop, use the hashtag, and share their pictures, so these can be searched and discovered by interested users in social media. It would be fascinating to know which parts of the world the Library can bring to the community!

Summer does bring its own checklists. If not already in the what-to-do (or -bring) parts at this point, most are working on the where-, when- and how-to-go portions of the plan. The who detail should be obvious by now, or it might be the first or trickiest one to still figure out. Then comes the series of lists -- of things to do before, during and after the trip. In any case, with great plans or with a plan not to plan, it should be good! Travel to where people would like to be is always good for the body, mind and soul! But before you go, make sure to check the resources and kits of interest in the Library of Things.
Oh, the places you’ll go!

For more information, visit the website at www.livingstonlibrary.org/resources-az/