FREE! All ages welcome. In case of inclement weather, please watch for announcements here or on the library’s facebook page.
Are you in the mood to sing and dance and have a lot of fun?
Join us in City Park on Friday, June 18th at 10:30am!
These Jolly Pops … or happy dads … really know how to rock!
Each bag has a bunch of fun things to make and do to participate in this year’s “Reading Colors Your World” Summer Reading Program. Come get yours before they are gone! And get a couple books from the library while you are at it!
Let the reading begin! 
Need a library card? Get a free one instantly using your mobile number.
SOME ONLINE RESOURCES (Updated daily)
LISTS OF ONLINE RESOURCES
SELCO compiled a great list, complete with links, to a wide variety of electronic resources for education and entertainment. Be sure to scroll all the way down; there are many resources for all ages on their page: https://tinyurl.com/whfnfbd
Amazing Educational Resources has a public spreadsheet available detailing the ever growing list of available resources.
Google Arts and Culture Collection provides links to museums that offer free virtual resources and tours.
The Link Library is a new & growing initiative begun during the COVID-19 crisis by Minnesota’s BEST field trip destinations, independent providers & entertainers. Enjoy FREE access to linked videos & media they have produced for the benefit of schools, families, distance learners, daycare providers, group leaders and activity coordinators. Content includes standards-supporting educational classes, experiential learning (field trips, projects, classes, and activities), tours, and just-plain-fun entertainment in 6 simple categories for all ages: students, youth, active adults & seniors.
Audible For as long as schools are closed, they’re open. Kids everywhere can instantly stream an incredible collection of stories, including titles across six different languages, that will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids. All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. Explore the collection, select a title and start listening. It’s that easy.
Cosmic Kids Yoga offers free yoga resources for kids on their YouTube channel.
Dav Pilkey at Home The author of the youth book series, Dog Man and Captain Underpants has teamed up with Scholastic Books to bring you weekly activities, exciting videos and much more. Every Friday a variety of activities will be uploaded to the Scholastic website for young fans to enjoy.
Draw Everyday Author and illustrator, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, offers a ‘Draw Everyday’ tutorial on his YouTube channel.
Fun Family Crafts offers free educational crafting ideas from toddler to teen including crystal egg geodes and coffee ground fossils.
Go Noodle is offering free short videos to get kids moving and dancing.
Imagineering in a Box Enjoy a series of interactive lessons in theme park design and engineering, designed to give a behind-the-scenes peek into Imagineering’s development process. It combines 32 videos of actual Imagineers, real-world case studies, and lots of interactive activities to give you the opportunity to dream and design your very own theme park experience! It’s available to all and completely free. Created in partnership with the Khan Academy and Pixar.
Junior Library Guild Now offering FREE access to the JLG Digital online reading platform. With JLG Gold Standard eBooks for Elementary, Middle School and High School students, JLG Digital gives you unlimited access to read books online from any device. No passwords necessary and no limit to the number of users who can access the books at the same time. Titles enter and exit the digital stream regularly, so there are always new picks available!
Operation Storytime is offering read-alouds from enough authors to fill a virtual library. This site has a spreadsheet with a schedule and links.
Rochester Writing Lab Attention Young Writers: If you’re spending some of your free time with your fingers on the keyboard writing the next best seller, a few RWL local authors are offering to read and edit your work to keep you headed in the right direction. There’s no need to be on this journey alone. Writers must unite! Contact info@rochesterwritinglab.com and they will send you instructions on how to upload your file to their File Share. They have lots of writing prompts on their blog if you need something to help you get started!
Scholastic Learn at Home is offering free “day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking and growing.”
Storyline Online: The SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s award-winning children’s literacy website, Storyline Online, streams videos featuring celebrated actors reading children’s books alongside creatively produced illustrations. It is available 24 hours a day for children, parents, caregivers and educators worldwide. Each book includes supplemental curriculum developed by a credentialed elementary educator, aiming to strengthen comprehension and verbal and written skills for English-language learners.
Vidcode is a coding platform for 3rd grade and up. They provide free curriculum, highly visual coding platform and teacher support. The curricular approach enables students to create video filters, simulations, augmented reality, and other creative projects — all while learning the fundamentals of computer science & web programming.
FOR ADULTS
Great Courses Enter code FREEMO at checkout to watch free for a month. Listen or watch on your TV, laptop, tablet and smartphone.
Longform offers a wide variety of new and classic non-fiction articles from around the web. Longform is a free website sponsored by the Writing Program at the University of Pittsburgh. Longform adds new articles daily and also offers a weekly podcast with authors on how they tell stories.
Longreads is dedicated to helping people find and share the best storytelling in the world. It features in-depth investigative reporting, interviews and profiles, podcasts, essays and criticism. Longreads has been nominated for three National Magazine Awards, and Longreads.com has been cited for digital excellence by the Online News Association and Peabody Awards. Their stories have been featured in the Best American anthology series, and their series “Bundyville,” with Leah Sottile and Oregon Public Broadcasting, was named one of the best podcasts of 2018.
Open Culture has free textbooks, movies, audiobooks and links to free online courses from professors.
VIRTUAL TOURS FOR ALL
You can Google just about any location, along with the words “virtual tour”, and find free online tours, but here is a list of some you may want to start with:
FEDERAL: Forms and instructions for 1040 and 1040-SR are available free at the library.
Post-Release Changes to Tax Forms, Instructions, and Publications can be found here: https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/changes-to-current-forms-publications
The most up-to-date forms and instructions are available at www.irs.gov
STATE: The State no longer provides the library with forms or instructions. As a courtesy, the library has printed 2019 M1, Individual Income Tax and M1PR, Homestead Credit Refund and Renter’s Property Tax Refund forms for the public to take. If you need more than one copy of each, you can make copies for 25 cents a piece.
The library has printed instructions for the Minnesota Individual Income Tax and Property Tax Refund that you may check out if you wish. Please ask at the circulation desk.
State forms and instructions are available at www.revenue.state.mn.us.
If you would like to file online, you are welcome to come do so using the library’s computers!
Tuesday, May 11, 2021 Click the image below for login information.
SELCO’s Minnesota Author Tour this year will be presented virtually, so you can attend without even leaving your house! Authors this year include Brian Freeman, David Housewright, Alison McGhee, and Margi Preus.
First up … join us for a virtual author talk with Brian Freeman on Tuesday, May 4th, from 6:30pm to 7:30pm. Find login information on SELCO’s Online Event page.
Brian Freeman is a New York Times bestselling author of psychological thrillers, including the Jonathon Stride and Frost Easton series. Freeman’s writing has been praised by critics and bestselling authors alike, including Michael Connelly, Nelson DeMille, Jeffery Deaver, and Lisa Gardner. His novel ”The Deep, Deep Snow” was a finalist in the Minnesota Book Awards in 2021.