Sierra Club presents "Setting Up and Using Rain Barrels"

John Wasik and Wendy Marquis from the Sierra Club will be giving a program on setting up and using rain barrels at the next meeting of the Morton Village Garden Club at 7:00 p.m. on Monday, May 20th at the Morton Library. This program is open to the public.

For more information call Cathy Gale at 321-8361.

New! Want to learn how to set up and use Facebook?...

Need help getting started with Facebook? Or maybe you already have an account but need some help navigating some of the features. Take a look at this free guide to help you get started by setting up an account, finding friends, uploading photos, changing privacy settings and more.

Find the Facebook for Beginners Guide here

Summer Reading Program 2013

Summer Reading Registration begins Wednesday, May 22 at the library! The theme: Have Book, Will Travel! Join us on Monday, June 3 for our Summer Fun Kick-Off!
More details will be available soon at our Kids' Corner.

Click here to view our Summer Reading Calendar. *Click on the title of any event on our calendar to reveal details about that event.

More eBook and Audiobook Titles Added to our Collection

Our collection of eBook and Audiobook titles that you can check-out online for your eReader keeps growing and growing! View the 52 most recent ebook titles we've just added to our ebook collection on May 10. Need help checking out an ebook to your eReader? We can help! Call the library for an appointment or:
Go here for information & instructions about eBooks
Go here to view the latest eBook titles added

Do You Remember?

Our Morton History Room has unidentified photographs of businesses in Morton from the 1960s & 1970s.
Can you help us identify them?
View the photos on our History Room page. 
*Two new photos have been added April 22 -                                                         #005 (Tuloma plant),  #006 (Phillips 66 station)

Free App for our library patrons!

Want to put a hold on a book, check a due date or renew a book from your mobile device? There's an app for that!

A free app called BookMyne™ lets our library patrons search, renew borrowed items, browse book lists, put holds on new books and scan barcodes to see which library owns a copy of the latest book. The BookMyne™ app can be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Android Market.

Go to our BookMyne™ page for all the information you need to start using it today, including the BookMyne™user guide. You'll be amazed at how handy this app can be.

Click here to see all you can do with the BookMyne™ mobile app, like the ability to check due dates, place a hold, renew a book - almost anything you can do online, you can do on your device.  You can even get alerts when books are due or holds become available. If your phone has a camera and the ability to scan barcodes, you can scan the barcode on that book you like at a friend's house or a bookstore, and see if the library has it.

New Overdrive App for NOOK Color™, Tablet and HD Models

Morton Library is happy to report that there is now an app available for NOOK Color®, Tablet and HD Models in the Barnes and Noble app store that will make it easier to download ebooks and audiobooks from the Morton Library.  The app is called Overdrive Media Console and is free.  If you need assistance in installing this app on any of the color, tablet-style NOOKS, feel free to stop by the library for assistance.  Black & white NOOKS such as the original NOOK® and the NOOK Simple Touch® will continue to use Adobe Digital Editions software and their USB cable to download library books.

Looking for a Good Book?

Searching for that next good book?
Find great suggestions in our book newsletters. In our newsletters, you can read reviews about many of the newest books available. And, it can be delivered right to your email inbox! 
Click here to find out how you can receive our book newsletters.

What is Playaway View®?

Morton Public Library was honored to receive $1,100 toward the purchase of  Playaway View® portable video devices & travel DVDs for preschool and elementary school children from the Morton Community Foundation in 2012. Our collection continues to grow. 

What are they? Education meets entertainment with the first self-playing, pre-loaded, all-in-one video player, exclusive to libraries. Playaway View® is pre-loaded with multiple videos, offering the best in award-winning programs, popular television episodes, animated picture books and curriculum based learning. Kids will love the content and parents will approve. This unique device is not available in the consumer marketplace.

Visit our display in the Children's area or ask a librarian for more information.

 Playaway View® is: 

• Portable
  Includes a head-phone jack and speakers
• Convenient
  Pre-loaded content; no internet or downloads needed
• Durable and Scratch-Resistant
  Made with kids in mind
• Multiple Videos
  Each View holds hours of great content
• Chargeable
  Simply use the included standard AC Adaptor

Some sample titles are:

Caps for Sale and Other Storybook Classics
Dinosaur Train - Ocean Adventures!
Liberty's Kids - Revolutionary Beginnings
New Classics from Annick Press
American History: Things You Should Know
Be a Scientist!
Draw Me A Story: Cinderella and Other Classic Tales. 

Each Playaway View® has multiple stories on each device.

Authors on YouTube

We were privileged to have seven local authors at the Morton Library for a book signing during the library's 30th Anniversary in March. If you couldn't make it to the library that day, and would like to know more about our local area authors, you are in luck. Watch all the authors tell more about their books and their inspirations in informal interviews on our new Morton Library YouTube channel! 

You can easily get to our channel by clicking on this    link. Or type www.youtube.com/mortonlibrary in your address bar. 

A YouTube button will always be located on the left side of the home page, where you can also "Find us on..." Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Flickr.  

Free Downloadable Music

Morton Library card holders can now download songs to keep from the Sony Music Entertainment catalog at no charge! You can download up to three music tracks per week from Freegal Music, and all you'll need is your Morton Library card number and PIN to get started. The songs are delivered as MP3 files and thus are compatible with iPods and other devices. These free, legal downloads are not loans; you own the song permanently.

Freegal (Free + legal) is a downloadable music service that will give patrons access to hundreds of thousands of songs, over 100 genres of music, and more than 50 record labels, all without having to download software or worry about digital rights management (DRM) issues. 

Checkout Nook or Kindle

The original Nook and Kindle devices are now available to be checked out to our Morton patrons. These eReaders can be found by searching our RSA catalog. Just type in the word "Nook" or "Amazon Kindle" in the search box. Holds are limited to Morton patrons. Checkout time is 3 weeks.  Extended use is $1.00/day.

A librarian at the Adult Help Desk will help you search our ebook collection for an eBook and then download it to the library Nook or Kindle. 
 
The Nook and Kindle will be checked out and returned at the Adult Help Desk.

Click on "Search Catalog" above to search for the Nook or Kindle devices in the RSA catalog.

Business & Libraries Grant

Morton Public Library was selected to receive a "Business and Libraries Working Together" Grant from the Illinois State Library to assist local small businesses and entrepreneurs. The library will be working closely with the Morton Economic and Development Council (EDC) and Chamber of Commerce to provide informational classes and programs for local small businesses and start-ups as well as providing resources that the developing businesses may use for training and promotional purposes. The grant will provide the library with "business packages" that will include equipment (laptop computers, DVD players, projectors, video cameras), software (planning and office functions) and training videos (office safety, sexual harassment, and hostile workplace). These business packages represent new tools that the library can utilize to promote business development and entrepreneurship in our community. With these new resources, the library, Morton EDC and Chamber of Commerce will work together to plan workshops with immediate practical application. Local businesses and entrepreneurs interested in working with the library on this initiative should contact Library Director Janice Sherman at 309-263-2200 or mortonlibrary@gmail.com.

Award Winning Books and Best Sellers

Find an extensive list of highly acclaimed titles here: Award Winners and Best Sellers.

Playaway® - No Cassettes. No CDs. No Downloads. Just Play.

A Playaway audiobook is the simplest way to listen to audiobooks on the go. Each Playaway comes with a book already pre-loaded on it and a battery to make it play. Simply plug in earbuds and enjoy. Earbuds are available at the circ desk, or use your own. 

• Each Playaway holds an entire audiobook, regardless of length
• Easily navigate back and forth through chapters
• Automatic bookmarking remembers where you stopped listening
• Universal headphone jack

Come see our growing collection of Playaway audiobooks and check out one today!