Greensboro Free Library
“As always, Penny’s mystery is meticulously constructed and reveals hard truths about the hidden workings of the world―as well as the workings of the Gamache family. But there’s plenty of local color, too, with a trip to the top of the Eiffel Tower to escape surveillance and a luxurious suite at the Hotel George V for good measure. If you’re new to Penny’s world, this would be a great place to jump in. Then go back and start the series from the beginning.” ―Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“A timely, crucial, and empowering exploration of racism–and antiracism–in America
This is NOT a history book.
This is a book about the here and now.
A book to help us better understand why we are where we are.
A book about race.
The construct of race has always been used to gain and keep power, to create dynamics that separate and silence. This remarkable reimagining of Dr. Ibram X. Kendi’s National Book Award-winning Stamped from the Beginning reveals the history of racist ideas in America, and inspires hope for an antiracist future. It takes you on a race journey from then to now, shows you why we feel how we feel, and why the poison of racism lingers. It also proves that while racist ideas have always been easy to fabricate and distribute, they can also be discredited.
Through a gripping, fast-paced, and energizing narrative written by beloved award-winner Jason Reynolds, this book shines a light on the many insidious forms of racist ideas–and on ways readers can identify and stamp out racist thoughts in their daily lives.” — Goodreads
“After the Last Border situates a dramatic, character-driven story within a larger history–the evolution of modern refugee resettlement in the United States, beginning with World War II and ending with current closed-door policies–revealing not just how America’s changing attitudes toward refugees has influenced policies and laws, but also the profound effect on human lives.” — Goodreads
“The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities. Ten years later, one sister lives with her black daughter in the same southern town she once tried to escape. The other secretly passes for white, and her white husband knows nothing of her past. Still, even separated by so many miles and just as many lies, the fates of the twins remain intertwined. What will happen to the next generation, when their own daughters’ storylines intersect?” — Goodreads
“Important for its relevance and examination of the otherwise little-discussed topic of sexual harassment among younger teens, Maybe He Just Likes You will appeal to middle-grade readers as well as parents and educators seeking to bolster a child’s awareness of this rampant problem.” —Booklist
“[T]he most devastating, most valuable and all-around best Trump book since he started running for president. In the vast Trump literature, this one is something new…[W]hat this book does do is help us understand him, offering the most incisive rendering yet of why he is the way he is.”—Politico
“Score another one for the dean of America’s crime writers… Fair Warning sheds light on the murky billion-dollar world of DNA testing… the subject [is] ripe for a good mystery. And Michael Connelly is just the guy to write it.”―Sandra Dallas, Denver Post
“Tom Fitzgerald, better known as the Great Brain, is struggling to stay reformed now that his friends have threatened to shut him out if he pulls even one more swindle. But his younger brother J.D. knows Tom’s reformation makes for a dull life, and is not altogether unhappy–or blameless–when his brother’s money-loving heart stealthily retums to business as usual.” — Amazon.com
By lsimon on March 17, 2020
Librarians are caretakers of some of the world’s greatest treasures—from historical documents and out-of-print books to archival photographs and illustrations. And thanks to the wonders of digitization, many library collections are available for everyone to explore online. Check these out during your next internet deep dive:
The Library of Congress—the largest library in the world and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States—is filled with artifacts and images from the nation’s history. More than two million items from their collection are available online, including American newspapers dating back to 1789 and thousands of musical recordings.
In addition to the 3.5 million New Yorkers served by NYPL, people all across the world can enjoy the library’s digital collections online. They currently offer more than 850,000 digital materials (including manuscripts, maps, and videos) with more added every day. Highlights include turn-of-the-century photos from Ellis Island and the first folio edition of William Shakespeare’s Comedies, Histories and Tragedies.
The national library of the United Kingdom, the British Library has more items cataloged than any other library in the world. Many of those holdings are available to peruse online, including thousand-year-old maps of Great Britain and original copies of the Magna Carta.
Harvard boasts the oldest library in the United States and the largest academic library in the world. Members of the public can discover more than six million items from their collection online—highlights include two original Mozart manuscripts and Chinese stone rubbings dating back to 200 BCE.
The University of Oxford’s Bodleian Library has been collecting and preserving cultural artifacts for more than four centuries, and now many of those materials are accessible for free online. Their digital collections include a Gutenberg Bible and pages from an original draft of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
Virtual Tours
San Diego Zoo: Learn all about animals at the San Diego Zoo. Includes videos, stories, activities and games to help children learn about wild animals
Yellowstone National Park: Take a virtual tour of some of the main attractions in Yellowstone such as 1)Fort Yellowstone, 2) Fountain Point Park, 3) Grand Canyon on the Yellowstone, 4) Mammoth Hot Springs, 5)Mud Volcano, 6) Norris Geyser Basin, 7) Yellowstone in 3-D and 8)Yellowstone’s Upper Geyser Basin
Mars: See the real service of Mars as recorded by NASA’s Curiosity Rover
National Parks Virtual Tours: Visit this site to see a virtual tour of many of our National Parks including ones you never even new about.
Traveling Around the World: Virtual Tours and Field Trips : Visit new places with your friends and see the world outside of your normal everyday life. With a virtual field trip, you can go anywhere in the world. Go with your friends during a group chat or by yourself any time you want. Make it a family trip, or a class trip! It’s your choice!
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Live Cameras
Monterey Bay Aquarium: Be delighted by the antics of the sea otters or mellow out to the hypnotic drifting of our jellies. With ten live cams to choose from, you can experience the wonder of the ocean no matter where you are.
Panda Cam: Learn all about the Pandas at Zoo Atlanta
Houston Zoo: Watch the the herd of Asian elephants wander through their enormous habitat, giraffes nibble lettuce fed to them by guests, rhinos roll in their mud puddle, flamingos floating next to a waterfall or chimpanzees interacting with guests at their window or snoozing in a hammock.
Georgia Aquarium: Watch our aquatic friends at the Georgia Aquarium
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Museums
British Museum, London: Learn about history throughout the world and learn about things on display at the British Museum
Guggenheim Museum, NY: Learn about the beautiful art available at this world renowed museum.
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC: The nation’s museum – preserves, collects, exhibits, and fosters an understanding of works of art.
Musee d’Orsay, Paris: This Parisian museum is housed in the former Gare d’Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1914, including paintings, sculptures, furniture, and photography.
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul: This is a contemporary art museum with the main museum in Gwacheon and three branches each in Deoksugung, Seoul and Cheongju. The museum was first established in 1969 as the only national art museum in the country accommodating modern and contemporary art of Korea and international art of different time periods.
Pergamon Museum, Berlin: The Pergamon Museum houses monumental buildings such as the Pergamon Altar, the Ishtar Gate of Babylon, the Market Gate of Miletus reconstructed from the ruins found in Anatolia, as well as the Mshatta Facade.
The museum is subdivided into the antiquity collection, the Middle East museum, and the museum of Islamic art.
Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam: The Rijksmuseum, which in English means – The State Museum, exists for more that two hundred years and today belongs to the most breathtaking museums in the world. …
The unique position Rijksmuseumin Amsterdam gained in the world throughout the centuries, comes not only from the possession of many masterpiece paintings of Dutch and world art. Along the masterworks like Rembrandt’s “Night watch”, several paintings by Vermeer, van Dyck and Jan Steen, the museum has truly exceptional collection of the antique objects of the material Dutch culture, vast collection of prints, drawings and the classic photography.
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam: The museum a Dutch art museum dedicated to the works of Vincent van Gogh and his contemporaries in Amsterdam;…The museum contains the largest collection of Van Gogh’s paintings and drawings in the world.
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles: The primary museum, located at the Getty Center, is in the Brentwood neighborhood of Los Angeles … The Museum houses primarily European paintings, drawings, sculpture, illuminated manuscripts, and decorative arts, as well as photography from its beginnings to the present, gathered internationally.
The secondary museum, the Getty Villa, is in the Malibu neighborhood and displays art from Ancient Greece, Rome, and Etruria.
Uffizi Gallery, Florence: For art lovers, the Uffizi Gallery is the number-one attraction in Florence. … The Uffizi contains one of the world’s most important collections of paintings. Besides Florentine and Italian art, it also includes a large number of foreign works and Classical sculpture.
MSAP, Sao Paulo: Founded in 1947 by Assis Chateaubriand and Pietro Maria Bardi, MASP distinguished itself for many important initiatives concerning museology and art education in Brazil, as well as for its pioneering role as a cultural center. It was also the first Brazilian museum interested in Post-World War II art.
The museum is internationally recognized for its collection of European art, considered the finest in Latin America and all Southern Hemisphere.[ It also houses an emphatic assemblage of Brazilian art, prints and drawings, as well as smaller collections of African and Asian art, antiquities, decorative arts, and others, amounting to more than 8,000 pieces.
Open Heritage Sites from Around the world Explore iconic locations in 3D, discover the tools of digital preservation and download the collection
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Reading
Free Audio Books — 800 Free eBooks for iPad, Kindle & Other Devices.
Internet Archive : Visit this non-profit library of millions of free books, movies, software, music, websites, and more.
LibriVox – Free public domain books
Project Gutenberg: This site offers thousands of public domain ebooks for free use on any device. Because they are public domain, they are typically limited to items published before 1924 but that still includes a wide range of classics.
Your local library has digital books and audio books to check out. Visit Recorded Books Digital where you can download audio music, books and ebooks to a computer, CD, iPod, iPad, Kindle or MP3 player anywhere in the world where you have internet access. The program includes over 9,000 fiction and non-fiction titles for adults, children and young adults. New titles are added each month.
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Resources for Kids
Suessville: The Cat in the Hat, Sam-I-Am, Horton and the Whos, and the rest of the Seuss characters welcome you to Seussville, Dr. Seuss’s playground in cyberspace. You can play games, chat with the Cat in the Hat, win prizes, find out about new Dr. Seuss books and CD-ROMs, and much, much more!
Fun Brain: FunBrain helps preschoolers and kindergarteners jumpstart their journey of learning with engaging online games, stories and printables.
Storyline Online: Storyline Online is a children’s literacy website created by the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, which provides free storytelling videos and resources for parents and teachers to foster a love of reading in children.
Fun Science Experiments: A series of short films and activities make it fun, easy and cheap to do science experiments at home with your children. It includes activities for children from A selection of activities particularly well suited for children under 5 and as old as 11.
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Other Entertainment:
How to Meditate: Learn how to meditate if it’s part of your routine. Choose a time to do it each day and try to stick with it. This website gives you instructions on how to do it and make it a habit.
Meditation for Anxiety: 15 Minute Meditation For Anxiety guides you through a simple at home meditation to provide relief from anxiety, stress and energetic imbalance. Find a comfortable seat, tune into your breath and soften. Return to this practice regularly for preventative care. Great for beginners!
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Mindfulness coach
Free Online Courses 450 online Ivy League courses you can take for free. Courses are offered in: