Blogs

Celebrate Science Week with Dublin City Libraries. There are a lot of books to enjoy from our TumbleBooks collection. Today we have chosen ‘50 Burning Questions’ written Tanya Lloyd Kyi and illustrated by Ross Kinnaird.

You've found that perfect author but read all their books and are waiting patiently for the next one to come out. There may not even be a next one. The wait is just too long...

Welcome back, last week using the website www.irishgenealogy.ie we looked at how to find a marriage certificate. Our example was the marriage of James McCormack and Catherine Clarke who married in 1903. This week, staying with this couple, we are going to try tracing them on the 1911 census.

The Reading Room in Dublin City Library and Archive holds a wide variety of sources to help you find your ancestors.

When you look at the Dublin mountains that form a ring around the south of the city, have you ever noticed one hill – Montpelier Hill - that seems to have a house or some sort of building on the top of it?

Celebrate the Children’s Book Festival with Dublin City Libraries. There are a lot of books to enjoy from our TumbleBooks collection. Today, we have chosen ‘Golden Threads’, written by Suzanne Del Rizzo and illustrated by Miki Sato. Emi loves her stuffed fox but then a storm sweeps the fox away.

Welcome to the fourteenth entry of our blog series 'Lost in the Stacks' - with recommendations by Dublin City Libraries staff. This one was submitted by Jessica from Cabra Library.

Holiday Arrangements (incl. Public Holidays) vary. Dublin City Libraries closes for a number of days over the Christmas and Easter periods, and on St. Patrick's Day and bank/public holidays.

In partnership with Dublin City Libraries, Dublin City Council Culture Company launched Dublin’s first ever Historian-in-Residence for Children. This new Creative Residency will have children and history at its core and is an invitation to local children to work collaboratively, to uncover their own local history, create their own storytelling of that history, discover new passions and see their ideas and interests reflected in the work created.

Comic books aren't just about superheros and villains. And they're certainly not just for boys. Comic books and graphic novels are spread across many different genres, including comedy, drama, sci‑fi and fantasy, and there is bound to be something to suit all tastes, ages and reading levels.For a long time comic books got a pretty bad press. They were the forbidden distraction that schoolchildren slipped inside the pages of real books. One of the best and most obvious benefits of comic books is that they can be more fun and easier to read than regular books. This can be extremely appealing to young children who would otherwise have little interest in reading traditional forms of books. Many children who think they hate reading respond particularly well to comic books that are based on movies or television shows they enjoy, such as Spider-Man and Fantastic Four.Comic books don't intimidate struggling readers with an overwhelming page of text. They usually offer short and easy-to-read sentences, alongside other visual and text cues (e.g. character sighs, door slams etc.) for context. They're also helpful for children with learning difficulties; children with autism can learn a lot about identifying emotions through the images in a comic book. Children with dyslexia, who may find it frustrating to finish a page in a traditional book, often feel a sense of accomplishment when they complete a page in a comic book.Therefore, they give struggling readers confidence for context. They're also helpful for children with learning difficulties; children with autism can learn a lot about identifying emotions through the images in a comic book.Inference refers to figuring out something based on evidence and reasoning. It's an important component of successful comprehension and a valuable life skill for all young children to develop. Comic books can increase inference in young children by encouraging them to “read between the lines” and infer meaning from the images. Children who read comics often need to infer what is not written by the narrator, which is a complex reading strategy.Comic books that explore or touch on historical events, classic tales, wildlife, nature, positive relationships and more can provide a valuable supplement to other areas of learning. For example, if your child is learning about the ancient Egyptians, a comic book story set in ancient Egypt may use pictures to explain important period details, such as clothing, food, rituals, farming. By taking in a combination of words and illustrations, many children obtain the big picture easier than they would from using textbooks alone.On your first visit, create a new account (inputting your Dublin City library card number) and complete registration for the RBdigital comics option. You should use the same email address as for other RBdigital products. Sign up here with your library card and to enjoy a range of excellent graphic novels. If you have registered for RBdigital magazines you can use your RBdigital account details to instantly access Comics.