Databases

As students return to school, test preparation books, like those for the SAT and ACT, are in high demad.

Luckily, with your Troy Library card, you can access Learning Express Library, an eResource for all learners, available from the Library's website 24 hours a day, seven days a week. With Learning Express Library, you can explore skill-building lessons for Kindergarten through College and beyond. Practice with study guides for tests including ACT, SAT, TOEFL, GED and more. You can also learn career skills such as computer and internet basics, as well as job search, resume writing and interview skills.

While you are waiting in the queue for those test prep books, check out Learning Express Library. Click on eResources, on the left under Library Links, then on Education, then on Learning Express Library. Log in with your Troy Library card number.

The Troy Public Library's NetLibrary eBook collection has switched to a new platform called EBSCOhost. All of our eBooks that were available through NetLibrary are still available on the new platform. The NetLibrary name has been retired, replace by eBooks on EBSCOhost.

eBooks from EBSCOhost will function just like NetLibrary did. The titles will not be downloadable. Instead, you will be able to view them directly from within your browser. They are non-holdable and cannot be used on eReaders, but are always available for viewing.

If you are a regular user of NetLibrary eBooks, your account is no longer available. Any information that is associated with your account (such as notes you have taken in specific eBooks) has been deleted with your account. To use our new eBooks, simply log in with your Troy library card number.

For more information about this change, please see our blog post.

OverDrive, a supplier of downloadable eBooks and eAudiobooks to the Troy Public Library, has released updates to their OverDrive Media Console apps for Android and Apple devices, including iPhones and iPads. The new updates include new background settings, screen overrides for eBooks, improved performance, and more.

If you already have these apps installed on your Android device or iPhone/iPad, be sure to check the app for these new updates. If you do not have them installed already, you can download OverDrive Media Console for Android through the Android Market or download the iPhone/iPad version of OverDrive Media Console through the iTunes App Store.

For more information about these new releases, see this post from the OverDrive Digital Library blog.

If your New Year's resolution was to learn a new language, you now have more languages available to you through the Troy Public Library's language learning eResource, Mango Languages. Mango has added several new languages to its offerings, including Cantonese Chinese, Croatian, Danish,  Finnish, Haitian Creole, Irish, Levantine Arabic, Norwegian, and Urdu; and English as a Second Language for Mandarian Chinese speakers.

If you have never tried Mango Languages, now is a great time. To access this eresource, you will need a Troy Public Library card. Click eResources on the left under Library Links. Click on Language Learning, then Mango Languages.

Try it and let us know what you think.

OverDrive, a provider of downloadable eBooks and eAudiobooks to the Troy Public Library, has updated its OverDrive Media Console apps for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad, and Android devices. These allow users to download eBooks in the EPUB format directly to their mobile device. Additionally, the apps continue to allow direct downloading of MP3 format eAudiobooks. 

You can download the new apps here or by going to the Apple App Store or the Android Marketplace on your mobile device.

OverDrive will soon be releasing improved apps for other mobile devices, including BlackBerrys and iPads.

For more information, see this post from the Library's Technology Department blog. To access OverDrive, click here.

Learning Express Library, an eResource available through the Troy Public Library, now offers online computer skills tutorials on a variety of topics.

Need help with that new laptop running Windows 7? Having problems with Excel or Word? Learning Express Library offers topics on those subjects, and many more. All tutorials are self-paced and feature videos that demonstrate key computing concepts. Some tutorials also include quizzes and hands-on practice lab simulations.

To access Learning Express Library, click on the eResources link at left. Click Education, then Learning Express Library.