Staying home has given us an opportunity to use our virtual library, and one of our new favorite discoveries, is Acorn TV.

The streaming service carries series television and movies from the UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Many of Acorn TV’s most popular shows are based on well-loved cozy mysteries– great news for our patrons who can’t get enough amateur sleuths! But there’s also comedy, family drama, historical drama and dark, spooky fare.

So what are AAPLD staff members’ recommendations?

Since I’m craving lighter stories these days, I suggest 800 Words , a New Zealand-set family drama that reminds me of Parenthood, and Northern Exposure, with beaches.  When a recently widowed newspaper columnist moves his family to the seaside community where he vacationed as a kid, things don’t go quite as planned. With quirky locals, gorgeous scenery and surfing, it’s a great escape that has both humor and heart.

Youth Services Librarian Jen Jezwinski is loving the Agatha Raisin series, about a high-powered London PR executive who chucks it all for a quiet life in the Cotswolds. Life doesn’t stay quiet for long, as she becomes tangled in a murder mystery and discovers a knack for detecting. Based on M.C. Beaton’s cozy mystery series, (check out the audiobooks on Hoopla), the show has witty banter and great characters. Jen recommends the series for fans of Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum series, or Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

And speaking of Miss Phryne Fisher, fans of the popular books by Kerry Greenwood, will enjoy the television adaptation, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, set in 1920s Australia. Adult Services Librarian Kristen McCallum describes it as fun and lighthearted, as the sassy, unconventional heroine faces off with a smitten detective to solve murders.  A new movie, Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears, and spinoff series, Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries are also available on Acorn.

Kristen also likes Blood, an Irish series which she calls an excellent mix of suspense, family drama, and mystery. “Prodigal daughter Cat Hogan returns home for her mother’s funeral and begins to suspect her father may have had something to do with her death.  Absolutely bingeworthy!”

In the mood for something darker? Karin Litwin of Adult Services, suggests you give Loch Ness a try. This mini-series, set in a community near the famous Scottish lake, has a police officer handling her first murder case and it’s a serial killer.  “There’s a lot of secrets, some red herrings, and some gross dead bodies but all in all a very entertaining Scottish police procedural.  Don’t watch too late at night though.”

Access AcornTV through the AAPLD website.

1. Select Virtual Library on our home page.
2. Click Videos
3. Scroll down to RB Digital to find the link to AcornTV. You’ll need your AAPLD card number to set up an RB Digital account, if you don’t have one already.

Your subscription is good for 7 days. After it ends, the next time you log in, you’ll need to re-enter your card number and password.

Share your favorite AcornTV discoveries with us on Facebook or Twitter. Happy viewing and stay safe!

When you walk into the Main Library on Harnish Drive, or the Eastgate Branch, it’s not hard to find your way around. Not only is there friendly staff available to help, you can see for yourself where things are located.

Adult fiction is on the right. New releases are straight ahead, and video, audio book and music collections are toward the back. Shelf signs guide you to special collections.

But with a website, it can be less obvious. That’s why I love the new Digital Collections page on the AAPLD website.

From the aapld.org homepage, you’ll find it at the top of the drop down menu, under the ONLINE LIBRARY tab.

What’s great about this page is that it organizes the library’s digital collections by the types of material found in each one, similar to how the real-life library is arranged. Whether it’s audio books, digital comics (they have them–who knew?), video or something else, the page provides a starting place that makes it easy to find what you’re looking for.

Even better, when you open each tab, you’ll not only find links to our various digital services, you’ll find tutorials about how to use the services, where to download apps, and more! There’s even a link to email your questions to our staff.

Which brings me to another point…see the colorful WE ARE HERE! badge on the right side of the screen? Well, we are here for you, even though the library is closed. Our new chat service will put you in touch with an AAPLD staff member in real time, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and starting May 2, on Saturdays, too. So if you need information, instructions, or just a recommendation for a great book, we’d love to hear from you.

Stay home, stay well and we look forward to seeing you again!

Social distancing means getting used to working from home. While I was a home based freelance writer for a long time, working from home while two other family members are working too, is a challenge.

Music is my workday friend. Not only is listening fun and relaxing, there’s the added benefit of cutting down on distractions. There are lots of  streaming services out there, and many offer a free listening option, but the free accounts usually come with lots of ads, which add more distractions.

That led me to try Freegal (the name combines FREE and LEGAL), a music streaming and download service offered by AAPLD.

1. To find Freegal, select the Online Library tab on the aapld.org home page
2. Choose Online Resources and scroll down the alphabetical list of databases
3. Click the link for Freegal, and subscribe by entering your library card number

Once you’re in, the Freegal homepage will show how many songs you’re allowed to download per week. In my case, the number is 5. Freegal also offers the option to stream music, either from existing playlists (try AAPLD’s jazzy Murder at Club 2600 list), or from a playlist you create yourself. Browse Freegal’s catalog by choosing genres, or searching for artists.

To search by artist, type a name into the search box to access everything in the Freegal catalog associate with that artist, including entire albums.

When I searched Cage the Elephant, I found a list of the band’s most popular songs. Since the song I was looking for wasn’t listed, I scrolled down to their albums, clicked open their most recent, and found it there. The little gray icons give you the option to download the song, or add it to a new or existing personal playlist. There’s also an option for Wishlist. (I’m not sure what this is, but some songs are restricted from downloading, so maybe it’s connected to that.)

Songs added to a personal PLAYLIST don’t count toward your download limit, I chose that, and continued searching until I had a playlist of about 10 songs. No matter which option you choose, you can access your music by selecting My Music from the menu on the left, then choosing SONGS (for downloads) or PLAYLIST.

There’s a lot to explore on Freegal, and I’m just scratching the surface, but it’s fun to have a new option for music, especially with one that comes with no monthly fees or commercials.

Want more music from your library? Check out Hoopla and Overdrive, too.

Happy listening and stay well!

Confession. I’m hooked on the news. These days, I suspect a lot of us are.

It’s also more important than ever that we can trust our news sources. As someone who started college as a journalism major, and worked as a freelance reporter for a number of years, daily newspapers are my preferred medium. I like to read the news, think about it,  and often fact-check it.

I already have digital subscriptions to several papers, and was excited to learn that AAPLD is now offering access to a paper not in my digital portfolio, The New York Times. I set up an account, and within minutes I was reading coverage from one of the nation’s COVID-19 epicenters, discovering a new recipe for grain bowls, and watching a video of a song I’ve added to my Spotify list.

Setting up an account is easy.

1. On the AAPLD homepage, choose Online Library, then Online Resources from the drop-down menu.
2. Scroll down to the Online Resources by Name alphabetical list. Find and click New York Times Online.
3. Open the link and you’ll see something that looks like this. Click REDEEM.
4. Enter your email address and create a password.

While the subscription length is 72 hours, if you return after that, simply repeat the first three steps, then enter your existing username and password.

Want more news? Though our quiet reading room is closed at the moment, there are plenty of options available. Scroll through our Online Resources list and you’ll also find access to the Northwest Herald, and Pressreader, which offers access to more than 6000 publications in more than 60 languages.

Prefer magazines? Scroll down to the link for RBdigital, where you’ll find publications ranging from the New Yorker and Smithsonian to The National Enquirer. Even better, RBdigital links to Acorn TV, a popular streaming service carrying acclaimed British and Australian TV, including the Miss Fischer’s Murder Mystery series. You can also download an RBdigital app so you can read and watch on the go…once we’re on the go again.

Have your AAPLD library card number handy to set up accounts quickly and easily. Stay informed, stay entertained and stay safe.