RB Magazines Moving To Libby

March 25, 2021 Digital Resources

Your favorite RB Digital magazines now have a new home on Libby!

Starting March 31, RB Digital magazines will no longer be available, so to read your favorite magazines, you’ll need to visit the Libby digital reading platforms. Libby is user friendly and easy to navigate, but if you haven’t used it before, never fear! We’ll walk you through the process to find your magazines’ new location within the app.

Starting out

If you’re new to Libby, begin by downloading the free app to your mobile device. You’ll find it at all major app stores. If you prefer to read on your desktop or laptop, you can also go to https://libbyapp.com/ The website works just like the app.

When you open Libby for the first time, you’ll be prompted to locate your home library and enter your card number. Remember, if your library card was issued by a library other than AAPLD, you’ll need to enter that library as your home library, even if we’re the library you use most often.

If you have Libby installed on one device and want to sync it with another, simply open the app on the first device and tap the Libby logo in the upper right corner. This opens the menu to locate your library and enter your card number.

Kindle users should click on the Read Books With button to select Kindle.

The Get Some Help button allows you set your language preference to read in a language other than English, manage notifications, and more.

Finding the Magazines

At the bottom of the screen you’ll see three buttons:

Library- allows you to browse the entire Libby collection

Middle- takes you to the book you’re currently reading.

Shelf- this is where you find your check-outs and account information.

To find the magazines, Click the Available button at the top and then Magazines on the following page

What’s new? Takes you to a drop down where you can select the New item you want including, New in Magazines.

What’s popular? Takes you to a drop down where you can select the most popular items, including Popular Magazines.

What’s available? Takes you to a drop down where you can select Available Magazines. For our next examples, we’ll use this option.

Borrowing a magazine

The Magazine page shows magazines grouped by title. To see them by category, click “more” in the description box at the top. This will open a drop-down menu that is organized by category. Select a category and browse available magazines. The page will show the current and most recent editions.

The little rectangle/plus sign symbol to the right of each magazine’s name is the Borrow button.

To borrow the current issue, click the Borrow button at the top of each magazine title group. To see inside before you borrow, click on the cover. A new page will open that will show the table of contents and other information about the issue. Use the Borrow button to borrow the magazine.

Past issues can be found by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking the downward facing arrow. When you find the magazine you want, click the cover for the table of contents, or use the Borrow button to borrow the magazine.

Magazines you’ve borrowed will appear on your Loans shelf. To read the magazine, click Open in Libby.

Reading Your Magazine

Click or tap the right side of the screen to advance pages. Click or tap the left to go back.

Tap READ THE ARTICLE for a reader friendly view.

To open more options, such increasing font size or changing the background color of the article tap the middle of the screen. The icons at the top allow you to zoom in, change the font size or background, search within the magazine, or mark your place.

To exit the magazine, select the Back button.

Magazine check outs are for 14 days, and there’s no limit to the number of magazines you can borrow. Your magazine loans do not count toward your book check-out limit. Still have questions? Give the library a call and ask for an Adult Services staff member.

Fascinating lives, unforgettable stories

March 17, 2021 Book Lists, Reading Suggestions

“It is not my deeds that I write down, it is myself, my essence.”
Michel de Montaigne

Pick up a memoir this March, and get to know someone remarkable.

Whether it’s an ordinary person thrust into extraordinary circumstances, or someone who is already a household name but has a story about how an unexpected challenge or tragedy has shaped them, memoirs can inspire, make us laugh, cry or cheer, and see our own lives through a different perspective.

What makes a memoir different from a biography or an autobiography? While the forms are similar (and shelved together at AAPLD!) a memoir is an account of a person’s life, usually the author’s, that’s centered around a theme or experience. Whether that’s a harrowing childhood, a serious illness, addiction, tragedy; or a fight to succeed against enormous odds, a good memoir can give us insight into the writer’s experience and how we can apply those lessons as well.

To celebrate our month-long focus on memoirs, we’ve created a special collection which you can browse by clicking here. If you stop by the Main Library, you’ll find some of our staff’s favorite memoirs displayed by the Adult Services desk, on our Staff Picks shelves.

Listed below are memoirs that have been turned into films– bonus points if you’re also looking for a March “Twice Told Tales” Reading Challenge:

The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls – A journalist tells the story of her nomadic childhood in a highly dysfunctional, but uniquely vibrant family.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – Following a divorce, a writer embarks on an international journey of healing and self-discovery.

Wild by Cheryl Strayed – After battling addiction and grieving the loss of her mother, a young woman sets out alone to hike the 1,100-mile Pacific Crest Trail.

Angela’s Ashes by Frank McCourt – A teacher recounts his poverty-stricken Irish childhood, with humor and compassion

If you’re looking for something new or a little different, try one of these titles:

Sanctuary: a memoir by Emily Rapp Black After losing her three year old son, a mother questions and redefines the idea of resilience.

Surviving the White Gaze: a memoir by Rebecca Carroll A black woman’s search for racial identity, after being adopted by white parents, and later meeting her racist white birth mother.

The Secret Life of Dorothy Soames: a memoir by Justine Cowen A British woman explores her late mother’s secret past, growing up in a notorious English orphanage.

Floating In a Most Peculiar Way by Louis Onuroah Chude-Sokei A unique coming to America story, told by an African immigrant who finds himself in the midst of racial unrest and the growing Los Angeles hip-hop scene, in the early 1990s.

To Be Honest: a memoir by Michael Leviton A memoir about an unusual upbringing in a family fanatically devoted to honesty, and what came next.

Celebrate Women!

March 10, 2021 Book Lists, Reading Suggestions

March is Women’s History Month, a time to recognize the contributions of women– from great leaders, and top achievers in sports, entertainment, and literature, to the anonymous women working daily to build a better world for their families and communities.

The annual recognition began in California as a local week-long celebration in 1978. In 1980, President Carter issued a presidential proclamation designating the second week of March as National Women’s History Week. It was expanded to a month long event in 1987.

At AAPLD, we’re recognizing the accomplishments of women in several ways, starting with two special collections that tell women’s stories, one dedicated to books, the other to films.

A few stories you might have missed include:

Frida – Salma Hayek stars as ground-breaking Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, from her humble beginnings, to international fame as a talented painter with unique vision.

He Named Me Malala – A documentary tells the incredible story of Pakistani teen Malala Yousafzai, who was attacked by the Taliban for pursuing an education.

On The Basis of Sex – Felicity Jones stars as a young Ruth Bader Ginsburg, struggling to balance the demands of her rising career and new motherhood, as she partners with her husband Martin (Armie Hammer) to argue a landmark case of gender discrimination.

A Skating Life: My Story by Dorothy Hamill – An Olympic medalist and international skating star by the age of 19, Hamill faced significant personal challenges in adulthood, but found strength to persevere through her love for her daughter.

Becoming Beyonce by J. Randy Taraborrelli – The first comprehensive biography ever published about America’s favorite living pop icon, from New York Times bestselling biographer Taraborrelli.

Rise of the Rocket Girls by Nathalia Holt – If you loved Hidden Figures, you won’t want to miss this story of the women who propelled the space program from missiles to the moon and beyond.

We’re also pleased to offer these special online programs. Two focus on history-making female leaders, the other is an evening with a best-selling woman author, as she shares insights about her process and experience in the publishing industry.

On Thursday, March 18, from 6:30- 8:00 p.m., historian Jim Gibbons will present Notorious: The Life of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and her tireless crusade for women’s rights. Ginsburg was many things: Glamour magazine’s 2009 Woman of the Year, one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People, a cancer survivor, and an inspiration to many. But she was not a quitter. Appointed to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1993, Ginsburg served until the time of her death in September 2020. Click here to register for the program, presented on Zoom.

Best-selling suspense author Mary Kubica will present a program on Thursday, March 25 from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. Kubica is the bestselling author of The Good Girl and five other thrillers. Her latest novel, The Other Mrs., scored her a film deal with Netflix. Mary will discuss her writing process, how she balances her personal and professional life, and the unprecedented success of The Other Mrs. Mary’s next title, Local Woman Missing, will be released in May. Click here to register for this program, presented via Zoom.

On Wednesday, March 31, from 7:00 to 8:30 p.m., popular historical presenter Leslie Goddard, Ph.D., returns with a new presentation, Becoming Queen Elizabeth II, which explores the life of England’s longest reigning monarch: her childhood, the abdication of her uncle, her marriage to a navy officer named Philip, her World War II service, and her struggle to balance her roles as queen and mother. Get to know the woman behind the images, her sense of humor, and savvy intelligence with which she meets her demanding obligations. Click here to register for the program, presented on Zoom.

If you prefer to register or place your holds by phone, give the Adult Services Department a call at 847-458-6060. We’re happy to help!

March Reading Resolutions…Twice Told Tales

March 3, 2021 Reading Challenge

When it comes to books that have been made into movies, do you prefer to read the book before you see the movie, or after?

Everyone has an option on the topic (book first fan, here!) but whatever your preference, you’ll love March’s Reading Resolutions theme, which invites you to read a book that’s been made into a movie, a TV series or even rewritten as another book.

While you’re probably familiar with popular adaptations such as Jurassic Park, It, or The Lord of the Rings, why not give one of these books a try for your March read? Take home the movie to watch before or after, and tell us which you enjoyed most!

A Walk to Remember by Nicholas Sparks – In 1950s small-town North Carolina, a popular boy falls for the local preacher’s daughter, who hides a devastating secret. The 2002 film stars Shane West and This Is Us’s Mandy Moore.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen– The story of the Dashwood sisters, one ruled by common sense, the other who lives according to her passions, and the men who love them. The 1995 film stars Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman.

Annihilation by Jeff Vandermeer– A biologist and her team investigate a beautiful, deadly world of mutated landscapes and creatures, to stop the spread of an alien lifeform which threatens the planet. Natalie Portman, Gina Rodriguez and Oscar Isaac star in the 2018 film adaptation.

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas– Sixteen-year-old Starr Carter moves between two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. The uneasy balance between these worlds is shattered when Starr witnesses the fatal shooting of her childhood best friend Khalil at the hands of a police officer. The 2019 film stars Amandla Stenberg, Regina Hall and musician, Common.

From Here To Eternity by James Jones – In 1941 Hawaii, Army Pvt. Robert E. Lee Prewitt is a champion boxer. But when he refuses to join the base’s boxing team, he gets “the treatment” that may break him or kill him. First Sgt. Milton Anthony Warden knows how to soldier better than almost anyone, yet he risks his career to have an affair with the commanding officer’s wife. The classic 1953 film stars Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed.

Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand – One of the most extraordinary odysseys of the Second World War. When former Olympic runner turned U.S. Air Forces lieutenant Louis Zamperini’s plane crashes in the Pacific, he draws upon his courage and ingenuity to survive alone on a small raft in open water, and later in a Japanese POW camp. Angelina Jolie directed the acclaimed 2015 film