As summer reading programs begin winding down, the Monroe County Public Libraries continues offering free programs, digital resources and educational tools for residents of all ages.
Nancy Klingener of the Monroe County Public Libraries joined Good Morning Keys on Keys Talk 96.9/102.5FM this morning to talk about what’s going on in the libraries.
This year’s summer reading program has seen strong participation, with events continuing into early August at several library branches.
“We’ve had great turnouts at our events and participation with the reading logs and all that good stuff,” Klingener said.
In Key West, the summer programming will continue through the first two Saturdays in August, including a visit from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office Animal Farm at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 1. The event is free and does not require registration.
Residents can view upcoming events at KeysLibraries.org.
Klingener also highlighted one of the library system’s lesser-known benefits—free access to Law Depot, an online service that allows library cardholders to create legal documents such as wills, powers of attorney, leases and bills of sale.
“If you go right to our homepage… you’ll see Law Depot,” Klingener said. “If you’re like, ‘I need to make a will, I need to make a bill of sale, I need to do power of attorney,’ you can get all those forms right there with your library.”
The library continues to expand services that help residents save money while providing access to books, entertainment and educational resources.
“We know we live here too. We know it’s not cheap to live here, so we’re really interested in helping Keys residents get the stuff that comes with their library card,” Klingener said.
Those services include Libby for e-books, audiobooks and digital magazines, Kanopy for streaming movies, television programs and instructional videos, and Freegal Music for streaming and downloading music.
Kanopy also offers educational programming, including The Great Courses and instructional videos covering cooking and other topics.
With Hemingway Days approaching, Klingener said Ernest Hemingway titles become especially popular during this time of year.
“If you actually go to our Libby site, you’ll see there’s a selection of Hemingway titles right there at the top, because we know that the spirit is with us right now,” she said.
Klingener also recognized a milestone for the library’s Florida Keys History Center, which is marking 20 years of sharing its historic photograph collection online.
The archive now includes more than 24,000 historical images documenting the Florida Keys, which have collectively been viewed more than 50 million times.
“They’ve been used by historians and scientists and journalists and artists and all kinds of folks, people researching their houses,” Klingener said.
As students prepare to return to school, Klingener encouraged families to explore the library’s online resources for children and teens, including homework help, books, movies and educational materials available through the library’s website.
“We’ve got a lot of resources there available as well,” she said.
Information about library programs, digital services and branch events is available at KeysLibraries.org.