Did you know we have 49,000+ Adult Fiction & 35,000+ Adult Non-Fiction titles in our system. Go to our Card Catalog to check out these titles, or come browse the stacks and find a new favorite.
You may be wondering why we’re posting about gardening during the beginning of winter. Fair point! But hear us out: it’s always a good idea to plan out the details of your garden early, and before we know it, spring will be here in just a few months. This is a great opportunity to take advantage of our Faulkner County Seed Library!
Not ready to have a full-fledged garden yet, or just want a couple houseplants? No worries! You can “check out” seeds from our seed cart. Located near the front desk, you can select up to 10 seed packets from an assortment of herbs, grains, flowers, and vegetables to bring home three times a year. After you’ve chosen, you can either fill out a paper form or scan the QR code on the cart to let us know which seeds you’ve taken so we can replenish as needed. Since you are “borrowing” these seeds, we just ask that you bring a few new ones back after germination to help keep the seed library going!
Today, books come in all mediums. Aside from traditional print literature, you can listen to a book on CD or download one in a digital format on your smartphone or tablet. Some people like the feeling of holding a physical book in their hands–and even enjoy the smell which, according to the International League for Antiquarian Booksellers, is commonly a mix of grass and vanilla scents due to the chemical compounds used during the creation process–while others prefer the convenience of an eBook's portability and cost effectiveness. You won’t get a late or damaged fee for one of those! The options are endless, and we at the Faulkner County Library aim to provide a vast amount of each of them.
Audiobooks in particular, whether online or physical copies, can be a medium that’s overlooked by readers, with some claiming that it doesn’t really count as reading because there are no words on a page involved. But before dismissing audiobooks, it’s important to recognize the multitude of benefits that arise from listening to them, as well as some advantages.
We have three bags catered to different age groups: children, teens, and adults. These bags aren’t perfect by any means and while we can’t meet everyone’s sensory needs, we have included some items that we hope will be useful for when you or your child might need sensory input or sensory block!
Here are some of the items we provide in our bags:
Noise-canceling headphones
Pop-It bracelets and strips
An Infinity Cube fidget toy to aid with concentration
More good news? You don’t have to be a library cardholder to borrow a bag. Just visit our front desk and ask for one to use while you’re in the building!
To watch this video and more on our YouTube channel, click on the link: Unpacking Sensory Bags with Mary
Are you needing to learn basic computer literacy or how to better use the technology at your disposal? Have you been looking to polish up your work portfolio, or just want to know what kind of resources we offer at our library? Prefer learning something new on your own and in a way that’s contactless? (With COVID-19 still going around and being in the midst of flu season, we totally get it.) We’ve got the perfect solution for that–it’s called Niche Academy!
Niche Academy is an information hub of tutorials on a variety of topics; from professional development to Microsoft Office to academic research, this online tool will show you how to cultivate important life skills and direct you to where you need to be to finish that challenging assignment. And it’s all free!
To access Niche Academy, go to fcl.org and click on the “Resources” tab. You can also click on the photo above to go there directly!
Once you enter the site, you’ll notice a list of categories. We’ll briefly explain them here:
FVBRLS (Faulkner-Van Buren Regional Library System)
These videos will show you how to use our card catalog, self-checkout kiosks, as well as logging into your account to pay fines or place holds!
Databases
Learn how to navigate our digital collections through Hoopla, Libby, Kanopy, Mango Languages, & World Book
Spice up your scholarly know-how with the EBSCO & ProQuest reference centers–you’ll find all the articles and answers you need with these instructions!
Can’t figure out how to organize your Google Drive or attach a document to your email? We got you!
Microsoft
Excel, PowerPoint, Word–it’s all here!
Miscellaneous
Watch how to ace a job interview, where to find free legal forms, and get tips for writing your best resume yet
Technology
Here you’ll find Internet and iPhone basics, steps for creating social media profiles, and an intro to Zoom
Academia/Learning
Last but not least, our ultimate category for education: learn how to access different genealogical records, encyclopedias, and more databases!
We hope Niche Academy will be the portal to your success (pun fully intended). Leave a comment below if you have any questions or suggestions for improvement!