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Family connections have a special significance for us at the moment, and I’ve been thinking about my great grandmother’s story espeicially. Born in the middle of a cholera epidemic, she went on to survive the long uncertain absences of her sailor husband, the death of several of her children and two world wars. Our ancestors were survivors!If you have a little extra time on your hands, why not try and find out a bit more about your family heroes, or indeed your black sheep? You can begin to put some flesh to the bones of your family stories using the free online resources available to any member of Dublin City Libraries.BorrowboxWhy not start by soaking up inspiration from other people’s family histories? There are some fascinating memoirs, biographies and family sagas available as ebooks or e-audio books on Borrowbox. You could try A Bold and Dangerous Family: The Rossellis and the Fight Against Mussolini by Caroline Moorhead, the story of one family’s couragous fight against fascism. Or Robert Tickner’s Ten Doors Down: The Story of an Extraordinary Adoption Reunion, a deeply moving memoir that describes the author’s search for his birth mother who was forced to give him up for adoption.Watch our how-to video on Borrowbox. Access eBooks/eAudiobooks on your phone, tablet or reader. Once you have installed the app, search for Dublin in the ‘Library’ field provided and then sign in using your library membership card number and PIN. Members of other library authorities will need to access BorrowBox using a different link.The Great Courses PlusYou might prefer to begin your family history journey by taking a self-paced course in genealogy. The Great Courses Plus offers online lectures by experts on all sorts of subjects, including 15 hours worth of tuition on Discovering Your Roots:  An Introduction to Genealogy. Alternatively, check out Genealogy 101 on Universal Class where you can choose to work towards a certificate or just follow the classes for fun.RBdigitalFamily history magazines are also available to you via RB Digital. Titles like Who Do You Think You Are?, Your Family History, Irish Roots and Military Family History provide great ‘how to’ guides for using a host of family history resources as well as amazing insights into a whole range of historical events that your ancestors might have lived through, or their experiences at work or play.And when we’re up and running again, don’t forget to come in and check out Find My Past or the Irish Newspaper Archives at your local library and begin tracing your family’s journey! 

Are you, like so many people nowadays, staying at home safe with your children? Would you appreciate access to FREE, reliable, up-to-date and trustworthy online resources to help with home study? Then look no further. Dublin City Libraries has a comprehensive and authoritative collection of online encyclopaedias, dictionaries and other reference tools to help children and young people to study and to learn, whatever age or level they’re at.All that’s needed is a Dublin City Libraries card.Read on and click on the links as you go to explore.World Book Online provides access to three websites with accurate information at age-appropriate levels in a controlled and safe learning environment.    World Book Early World of Learning for toddlers and children in the early education    World Book Kids for ages 7 to 11    World Book Student for ages 12 to 15This resource is packed with thousands of easy-to-read articles, illustrations, videos, interactive maps, and a wealth of engaging games and activities.Britannica Library provides access to hundreds of thousands of informative articles, a rich media library filled with videos and images, an interactive atlas and much more. Simply select the link you want below and enter your library card number    Britannica Library Junior for ages 5 -11    Britannica Library Student for ages 12 – 18    Britannica Library Adult – for ages18 plusOxford Reference is a general reference resource covering all fields of knowledge. It spans 22 core subject areas with over 2 million entries represented across hundreds of subject and language reference titles, and it includes 19,000+ illustrations, and 270 historic timelines by subject or time period.Look to the left of the screen where it says ‘Sign in with your library card’, enter your library card number, and then select ‘Dublin City Libraries’.Oxford Research is a scholarly reference resource and its content is more academic than Oxford Reference. Readers can access peer-reviewed articles written by leading experts for an overview of the selected areas of research listed below.Click on your selected topic, and enter your library card number where indicated on the left of the screen, and select ‘Dublin City Libraries’.    Classics    Climate Science    Communication    Criminology    Environmental Science    International Studies    Literature    Politics    Psychology    Religion    Social WorkVery Short Introductions provides concise, intelligent introductions to a diverse range of subject areas. VSI are very readable and give a quick overview of the topic. They are written by experts in their field who combine facts, analysis and new ideas, and can be used at any level of the academic journey.Look to the left of the screen where it says ‘Sign in with your library card’, and then select ‘Dublin City Libraries’.Oxford Music Online provides information on composers, musicians and other people and subjects linked to the world of music, e.g. patrons, timelines, eras, instruments, pieces, styles etc. This resource includes    52,000+ articles, written and edited by nearly 9,000 subject experts,    images, audio and videos,    extensive bibliographies with life information and works lists for composers, performers and other important musical figures,    free learning resources including subject guides, opera indexes, timelines, and articles on key topics in music.To find out more, click on Oxford Music Online (Grove Music)  - Look to the left of the screen where it says ‘Sign in with your library card’, and then select ‘Dublin City Libraries’.Oxford Art online provides information on all aspects of the world of art, including artists, architects, craftsmen, patrons, movements, locations, and periods, and includes,    30,000+ articles and images,    6,000+ subject entries and 20,000+ biographies, contributed to by nearly 7,000 international scholars – all with bibliographies for further research, and    7,000 searchable images from Oxford’s partnerships with museums, galleries, and other outstanding arts organizations as well as 40,000 editorially selected image links to museums and galleries.Benezit Dictionary of Artists is one of the most comprehensive and definitive resources of artists’ biographies available. It contains    entries on obscure artists and historic auction records,    over 11,000 images of artists’ signatures, monograms, and stamps of sale, and    detailed museum listings, bibliographies, exhibition information, and auction records.To see more, click on Oxford Art Online (Grove Art Online/Benezit Dictionary of Artists). Look to the left of the screen where it says ‘Sign in with your library card’, and then pick ‘Dublin City Libraries’.Oxford English Dictionary is your ‘go to’ resource when you need to find the meaning of a word, or want help with grammar or spelling. It’s the definitive guide to the meaning, history, and pronunciation of 600,000+ words— past and present—from across the English-speaking world. It’s updated every 3 months, and existing entries are revised and new words added.    Dictionary: Browse the whole dictionary from A-Z.    Categories: Browse words by subject, usage, region or origin.    Timelines: Discover when words entered the English language.    Sources: Explore the top 1,000 authors and works quoted in the OED.Click on the ‘Sign in >>’ button on the top right hand of the screen and then enter your library card number where indicated, and select’ Dublin City Libraries’.Oxford Dictionaries Premium provides access to eight unabridged bilingual language dictionaries, as follows:    Spanish    Arabic    German    French    Italian    Portuguese    Russian    ChineseBilingual language content is created by native speakers of each language, working with computational tools to analyse millions of words of language together to find the right translations, new phrases, and changing patterns of usage. It contains comprehensive grammar and spelling rules as well as writing help.Login where indicated with your library card number.Visit our website to find out more about our great online resources. 

Our featured online resource this week is Freegal ,a free music service which offers access to about 15 million songs, including Sony Music’s catalog of legendary artists, and over 40,000 music videos.The Freegal Music website has thousands of artists, tens of thousands of albums, and millions of songs.In total the collection is comprised of music from over 40,000 labels with music that originates in over 100 countries. There is no software to download, and there are no digital rights management (DRM) restrictions. Dublin City Public Library users have unlimited streaming and can download 5 songs per week. All you need is your library card number and PIN. Go to https://dcpl.freegalmusic.com/ or download the free App from Google Play or the Apple Store  

This week, we are going to take a look at TumbleBooks, an online resource especially designed for the little ones in your life. TumbleBooks are animated, talking picture books which teach children the joy of reading in a format they'll love. TumbleBooks are created by taking existing picture books, and then adding animation, sound, music and narration to produce an electronic picture book which you can read, or have read to you. This resource also includes National Geographic videos and games.(Example of National Geographic Videos)Available on TumbleBooks:Story Books: This option features animated, talking picture books for the younger reader. The reader has the option to automatically or manually turn the pages.  Chapter Books/Read-Alongs: While this option does not include animation, the ebooks are narrated. They also include Chapter menus so that you can jump chapters, and a bookmarks and notes feature which are cookied onto your computer. Chapter Books also allow readers to change the colors of the background and text, as well as the font style, size, and line spacing. This helps to make the ebooks even more accessible to a wider range of readers. Videos are from the world renowned National Geographic! Simply click on "Watch Online" to watch the 2-5 minute clips on various topics. Most of these videos have been paired with ebooks as a way to introduce a topic! Featured is where teachers, librarians, parents, students, and TumbleBooks staff can recommended a book! It's a quick and easy way to find books on those rainy days! Puzzles & Games accompany each book and reinforce concepts from the books, allowing for a fun and educational learning experience. Language Learning is an easy way to access our French and Spanish titles! Non-Fiction contains a growing collection of non-fiction titles in subjects such as health, science, astronomy, biology, and nature.Playlist allows you to access the pre-loaded playlist. The eBooks play back-to-back just like a music playlist! In addition, you can create your own playlist! Simply click on the "Add to Playlist" button below a TumbleBook to create your own!(Example of Foreign Language eBooks)Access How:Website; Follow link below. To register; select the "My Cloud" tab, click where it says "Register" and enter your library card number and pin as your username and password.App; Select "Library" tab, in country box fill in "Ireland" (Note; state is NOT required), select Dublin City Council Public Library and enter your library card number. In main menu select "View by Detail" to add your favourite books to "My Favourites."URL: http://www.tumblebooklibrary.com/autologin.aspx?UserID=08Hezhy7Lfgp480vNdjp%2bw%3d%3d 

The online resources featured in this week’s blog are ‘Who Else Writes Like…?’ and ‘Who Next…?’Both resources are compiled by two professional librarians of long experience, drawing on contributions from other librarians.To access either one of these resources, all you need is your Dublin City Public Libraries card.Just log in with your library card number at the links below, and then select Dublin City Public Libraries.  ‘Who Else Writes Like…?’“I’ve read everything written by my favourite authors, what shall I read next?”Sound familiar? Well this online resource helps answer that dilemma. ‘Who Else Writes Like…?’ is an established reference web resource and reading promotion tool. It is designed to help anyone who enjoys reading fiction to expand the number of writers they read.With the click of a mouse, youi can browse by genre or go straight to an author of interest, check up on characters and series or the latest prize-winning writers, and follow the links to authors' websites for additional information.So click on 'Browse authors' to get started and discover a whole new world of fiction writers based on your favourite authors.https://www.whoelsewriteslike.com/   ‘Who Next...?’ is specially designed to help parents, teachers and librarians in encouraging children and young people to explore the world of reading. When children ask: “Who can I read next?” or “Who writes like my favourite author?”, the answers are here in ‘Who Next…?’  Writers of children’s fiction are listed with suggestions of other authors who write in a similar way, together with key book and series titles.You can browse:Four age groups: 5-7, 8-11, 12-14 and 14+Genre and themeGraphic novels, read out loud titles, short stories and titles for dyslexic or struggling readersPrize-winning children’s booksCountry of birth of authorsOther useful linksThis is an invaluable tool for parents, teachers and librarians to help children explore the world of reading. As the award winning author, Alan Gibbons, says “A reading child is a successful child”.https://www.whonextguide.com 

The e-resource featured in this week’s blog is World Book Online. A suite of three websites from the publishers of the famous World Book encyclopedias. Supplying you with accurate information at age appropriate levels in a controlled safe learning environment.From pre-primary to secondary school – from the wobblers and toddlers to tweenies –  World Book provides fast and accurate information at every level in an immersive learning environment. The information is reliable, age-appropriate, and easy to read and comprehend.·         Early World of Learning for ages 3 to 6 years: this is a resource for preschoolers and children in early primary education. Developed with experts on early childhood education, it offers rich resources designed for the younger child.(An example of a webpage on World Book Online)·         Kids for ages 7 to 11 years: this is a premier reference website developed especially for young students. It features an intuitive user interface, thousands of easy-to-read articles packed with stunning illustrations, videos, interactive maps, and a wealth of engaging games and activities.(Example of the search function on World Book Online)·         Student for ages 12 to 15 years: this contains numerous tools to engage users in 21st-century education and blended-learning practices.(Further example of the search function on World Book Online)And best of all, it’s free with your Dublin City Public Libraries membership card.See World Book Online for more details.

uTalk is a new and innovative way to learn a language online and is available to members of Dublin City Libraries.

You can now borrow eBooks and eAudiobooks from Dublin City Public Libraries. Reserve or borrow up to 5 eAudiobooks and 5 eBooks at a time. Visit library.bolindadigital.com/dublin and sign in using your library membership card number and PIN.

As well as developing typing skills, TTRS is designed to benefit students of all ages who experience spelling, reading or writing difficulties. Students with dyslexia or literacy issues have found it helpful.