Celebrate National Library Week April 19-25

National Library Week, opens a new window (NLW) is April 19-25 and while Omaha Public Library and more than 3,000 libraries across the country are temporarily closed to the public, we still invite everyone to find the library at your place and celebrate with us!

NLW is an annual celebration highlighting the valuable role libraries, librarians and library workers play in transforming communities and improving lives.

Though libraries are closed, OPL’s virtual resources are available 24/7 at omahalibrary.org, and are free with your library card. No library card? No problem! Omaha and Douglas County residents can get a digital library card at omahalibrary.org/get-a-library-card, opens a new window and use it immediately to do things like:

• check out eBooks or audiobooks from OverDrive, opens a new window, Libby, opens a new window, or AudioBookCloud, opens a new window
• sign up for an online course through Gale Courses or Lynda.com, opens a new window
• read hundreds of popular magazines from Flipster, opens a new window
• stream music and download four songs weekly, all for free, from Freegal Music, opens a new window

Library staff are also telecommuting or working on projects in the branches and are available to answer any library-related questions you may have Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Regardless of which branch you normally visit, please call 402-444-4800 or chat with staff using AskOPL, opens a new window. They can also provide a custom reading lists, opens a new window upon request.

In addition to answering your questions, staff have also been working hard to record virtual storytimes and helpful videos about Helping Your Child Be Ready-to-Read: Quick Tips for Practice at Home, which are both available on OPL's YouTube channel, opens a new window.

New to eBooks and audiobooks? Read this FAQ, opens a new window. 

While we wish our doors were open to celebrate National Library Week, it is a perfect time for everyone to check out the library's online services and resources.

"From all of us at OPL, thank you for your continued support and understanding,” said OPL Executive Director Laura Marlane. "We wish you well and will continue to serve our community in the best way we can during these trying times."

Celebrate National Library Week with OPL by sharing your library love by posting a photo of how you're using your library remotely and tagging #OmahaLibrary. 

Some other notable digital resources include: 

• Ancestry Library Edition, opens a new window: This resource, which was previously only available for use at the library, is now accessible to you from home through April 30. Get started researching your family tree, or continue to make progress on what you’ve already discovered!
• Auto Repair Source, opens a new window: find up-to-date service and repair information for thousands of domestic and imported vehicles.
• Mango Languages: Language learning lessons with reading/writing/listening components.
• Teen Book Cloud: A collection of Graphic Novels, eBooks, classic literature, National Geographic videos, educator resources and audiobooks, perfect for middle school and high school students. It features adjustable online text and complete audio narration.
• TumbleBook Library, opens a new window: This curated database of children’s eBooks offers more than 1,100 titles for children in grades K-6. Find animated, talking picture books and read-along chapter books to engage your child as they learn to read.