Westfield Library buys 2 new databases for kids with County Grant

(November 9, 2017) – With the monies that the Westfield Memorial Library was recently awarded through the 2017 Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders Library Grant, the Youth Services Department was able to purchase two new databases for children: PebbleGo Biographies and BookFlix.

PebbleGo is an award-winning preK-3 database for reading and research. Simple to navigate, PebbleGo offers key reading supports such as read-along audio and word-by-word highlighting.

The Biographies database offers 14 categories of biographies such as Authors and Artists, Scientists, Hispanic Americans and Supreme Court Justices. Each entry has an introduction and timeline, and covers the individual’s early life, life’s work, later years, contributions and related articles.

BookFlix is an online literacy resource that pairs classic video storybooks from Weston Woods with related nonfiction from Children’s Press and other Scholastic imprints.

The fiction/nonfiction pairs are categorized according to nine themes: Animals and Nature, Earth and Sky; Family and Community; People and Places; Music and Rhyme; ABC’s and 1’s, 2’s, 3’s; Adventure; Imagination and Celebration.

Each pair has streaming video, related non-fiction, educational games, author profiles and Internet links.

Children can watch a streaming video of any book, as well as read the book, with or without a Read Along option that displays the audio portion of the story, with word-by-word highlighting.

If there is a Spanish language version of the book, an "Español" icon appears above the player.

Readers who want to research the topics further, can click "Explore the Web" to find age-appropriate Web links related to the pair topic.

Molly Adams, head of Youth Services said, “We are excited to offer PebbleGo Biographies and BookFlix and are very grateful to the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders for this grant.”

To access the PebbleGo Biographies and BookFlix, visit the Library’s website at www.wmlnj.org, click on the Kids tab on the left side column, and select the desired database from the list of those provided by the Union County Board of Chosen Freeholders.

Founded in 1879, the Westfield Memorial Library—the community’s destination for discovery and ideas—engages minds, entertains spirits and facilitates lifelong learning for people of all ages. Hours are 9:30 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., Monday through Thursday; 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday; and 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Sunday.

The Library will be closing at 5:00 pm on Wednesday, November 22 and closed Thursday, November 23 for Thanksgiving.

For more information call 908.789.4090, visit the library’s website at www.wmlnj.org, and sign up for the monthly e-newsletter “Library Loop,” or stop by the library at 550 East Broad Street for a copy of the award-winning quarterly newsletter “Take Note.”

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