Southeast Louisiana Legal Services will host three free webinars to help you find out if you qualify for free legal assistance and provide you with information on topics like divorce, eviction, and domestic violence.
This year is a little different, but VITA will still help you do your taxes – for free! Call 211 for information on whether your local office is doing taxes by drop-off, virtually, in-person, or through a hybrid of one or more of these.
All the news that’s fit to digitally publish can be freely access right here in your browser – if, that is, you log in to PressReader with your library card number.
PressReader is a one-stop shop for over 7,000 publications in more than 60 languages, including more than 500 United States-based newspapers and magazines.
Are you a news addict? A car buff? Interested in business, fashion, parenting, or the great outdoors? There’s something for everyone, and everyone can create a free account to keep tabs on the most recent issues of their favorite periodicals and magazines.
Go to PressReader today, and catch up on the latest in that thing you like! It’s another great service that’s free with your library card.
This October, the Public Library Association (PLA) and public libraries nationwide (like EBRPL!) will celebrate National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). NCSAM was created as a collaborative effort between government and industry to ensure every American has the resources they need to stay safer and more secure online.
PLA is doing its part by highlighting cyber security material on DigitalLearn.org, a collection of self-directed, interactive online tutorials developed by the association to help users increase their digital literacy. At DigitalLearn.org, learners can take short, self-directed courses that help them recognize danger and stay safe online. These include:
If you want a little help with one of these classes, or any of the others on Digital Learn, come to the Main Library on Goodwood every other Saturday at 2:00 for Open Lab in the Tech Lab – the next session is next Saturday, October 14th.
EBRPL is one of the pilot libraries for a partnership with Cox Communications to develop enhanced digital literacy training and resources, including Home Broadband, for library patrons and families. In all Cox markets across the company’s 18-state footprint, Cox and the local libraries will collaborate on digital literacy and internet adoption initiatives. Click here to learn more about the PLA/Cox project.
For more information about DigitalLearn.org, call us at 225-231-3750. For more information about the Public Library Association, check out their website!
OverDrive has come out with a brand-new app for library users – Libby! 
It’s got lots of new features:
Do you need Libby if you’ve already got the OverDrive app? No! You can keep using the OverDrive app if you’re comfortable with it. OverDrive is not planning to stop supporting the OverDrive app – Libby’s just a new option for people who want one.
Can you use both apps? If you want to, sure! Both apps will connect to your library account. However, they will not sync – so progress you make on a book in the OverDrive app won’t show up on the same title in Libby. So it’s probably best to stick with one or the other.
How are they different? Eventually, the only difference between Libby and the OG OverDrive app will be how they operate. Right now, OverDrive has a few more features that are still being incorporated into Libby, such as accessibility, Reading Rooms, Recommend to Library, and multilingual support. If you make regular use of any of those features, stick with OverDrive for now. OverDrive users will be invited in-app to try out Libby later in the year.
Check out the following video to learn more about it, and remember that you can always call your friendly neighborhood reference librarians at (225)231-3750 for help getting started with library databases.
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Get ready for the new year by teaching yourself something new with Lynda! Here are our most popular courses:
If you are really dreading the next few cold, dark months, try another popular class: Mindfulness! Learning mindfulness can positively affect every part of your life, including job performance, self-confidence, and relationships.
Our thoughts are with our Baton Rouge community today. We have compiled a list of resources available for those who need assistance or who are looking for ways to give back.
If you need to talk, there are counselors available at the Baton Rouge Grief Recovery Center. You can contact them by calling (225) 924-6621.
Our Lady of the Lake Hospital has pulled together a few tips from their physicians on how to talk to your children about violence or sad events in the news.
Capital Area Human Services has helpful resources on how to cope with the recent tragedies in Baton Rouge. They are also offering three free discussion sessions with mental health professionals to help the public process the recent violent events in Baton Rouge. No registration is required and attendees are encouraged to bring a bag lunch to the first two sessions. All sessions will be held at Capital Area Human Services located at 4615 Government Street, Building Two, Room 200.
You can access our InfoGuide on Coping with Traumatic Events & Disasters for resources and books the library offers.
There are several places where you can donate blood:
WAFB has a list of community events planned.
The Baton Rouge Area Foundation is taking donations to benefit the injured officers and their families as well as the families of the fallen officers.
You can access the GoFundMe page for Officer Montrell Jackson’s family here.
You can access the GoFundMe page for Officer Matt Gerald’s family here.
You can access the GoFundMe page for Deputy Brad Garafola’s family here.
Several local restaurants will donate 25 percent of their sales on July 25th to the families of slain officers. All other contributions collected on that date will be given to the families as well. The event is called “25% on the 25th”. For a complete list of restaurants participating visit their Facebook page here.
The Baton Rouge Local Union 198 is holding a fundraiser for the families of the fallen officers. You can pick up a dinner for $5.00 on Wednesday, July 27 between 11am-1pm at 5888 Airline Highway.
Baton Rouge has a long history as the center of civil rights battles, on both statewide and national fronts. A.P. Tureaud, a New Orleans resident, was instrumental in bringing true integration to state colleges and universities. The Baton Rouge bus boycott in 1953 was the first such event in the country, and served as a model for the Montgomery Bus Boycott begun by Rosa Parks two years later. Below are some of the most prominent pieces of the East Baton Rouge Parish Library’s collection on Baton Rouge’s civil rights history.
Plessy v. Ferguson. Later, when this became too expensive, he successfully sued to equalize pay for black and white teachers and to desegregate Louisiana State University and the Orleans Parish School District.
to the 1953 bus boycott in Baton Rouge. It goes on to examine how the boycott’s organizers, and the reaction of the citizens of Baton Rouge, contributed to civil rights organizations across the south, especially the Montgomery bus boycott of 1955.You can find more information about the history of the African American civil rights movement in Baton Rouge with the regularly updated Baton Rouge Civil Rights infoguide.
It’s Pride Month, y’all! Stop by the library to stock up on novels, documentaries, memoirs, flicks, and everything else you could possibly want to immerse yourself in to celebrate your community and the people you love.
Not sure where to start? ALA’s GLBT round table has a couple of great book lists: Rainbow Books for kids and teens, and Over the Rainbow Books for adults. The Stonewall Book Awards list is another great resource. You can also keep an eye on Tumblrs like We Need Diverse Books, which regularly posts curated lists of books that contain characters belonging to various minority groups, and Book Riot, which, while less focused, posts similar lists from time to time. Of course, all of that ends up on our own Tumblr account, so you could definitely just follow us instead (if you aren’t already).
Wondering about what the library already has? Check out the LGBTQ Infoguide, which, while not comprehensive (we’ve got like two million items in our total collection), contains lists of adult and teen fiction and non-fiction, as well as graphic novels, movies, documentaries, and electronic resources for parents, youth, and everyone in between. You can also find links to local community organizations like Capital City Alliance and the Unitarian Church of Baton Rouge. If you’re interested in local history, stop by the Baton Rouge Room in the Main Library and check out our Krewe of Apollo collection!
We’re also having a ReadOut of the book George by Alex Gino. If you would like to participate in reading this book aloud with a group, or if you’d just like to come along and be read to, it’s happening Thursday, June 30th, from 3-9PM, at the Main Library.
Libraries are safe spaces. If you or someone you love needs help or additional information on LGBTQ+ issues or other sensitive topics, or if you just want a recommendation for a book with a happy ending for once, your local librarians are discreet, informed, and truly, truly care. This is an extremely difficult time for many members of our community. We are here to help you, no matter who you are.
We’ve all had a little time to settle into the year, but there’s no reason not to look around for ways to make 2016 your best year yet by getting a new job!
The Career Center has a lot of great resources to help you in your job hunt – they’re even having an awesome seminar on “Mastering the Job Interview” tomorrow morning from 10-11:30 AM at the Main Library. You can register by calling them at 225-231-3733.
In addition to brushing up on your Microsoft Office skills in one of our introductory computer classes, you can also take a class specifically targeted towards improving your resume! There are two next week:
And if you want to take the Leslie Knope route, be sure to sign up for the seminar on “Federal Government Jobs in Louisiana” happening on March 18th! You can learn all about what doing something for your country can do for you.
