Berkeley Public Library:
e-Library Staff Picks
Under the guidance of the City of Berkeley Public Health Officer and City Manager, Library staff are developing a plan for enhanced library services. Your safety and Library staff safety anchor all discussions and plans. 
 
In the meantime, we are thrilled that so many of you are exploring the Library's vast online collections for adults, teens and children, which have doubled in use during this unprecedented time of sheltering-in-place. 

Read on for some e-Library favorites our staff recommend:
 
e-Library Spotlight: enki

Enki: a collection of e-books created by librarians for California public library patrons that offers thousands of e-book titles from small and independent publishers.
 
 "We sought to develop an easy-to-use, shared e-book platform with a deep e-book collection that reflects diverse community interests including less popular but important titles. The idea wasn’t to replace Overdrive and other commercial e-book platforms, but to supplement them." 

- Berkeley Public Library's Acting Director, Elliot Warren, part of the team of public librarians in California who created enki,
 
Highlights from enki selected by staff:
 
Outspoken Authors Series:

Edited by award-winning Science Fiction author Terry Bisson, this series from PM Press includes reprinted works by many prize-winning speculative fiction authors whose content touches upon political issues: Ursula Le Guin, Marge Piercy, Elizabeth Hand, Cory Doctorow, and many others. 
Workbook series: 
 
New Harbinger Publications is an East Bay based, independent, employee-owned publisher of books on psychology, health, spirituality, and personal growth. Titles in the Workbook series provide readers with step-by-step guidance on managing real-life issues from an evidence-based approach.
 
For Beginners series:
 
Covering a very wide range of topics and thinkers, the For Beginners series has long provided easily digestible titles on complex subjects. These are graphic-heavy and great for advanced high schoolers or the layperson.
 
The Demystified series:
 
For overviews of technical and skill-based subjects such as mathematics or computer programming, titles in this McGraw-Hill series will help get you started and provide you the basis for a deeper dive. 
 
Recovering the Classics series:
 
Dozens of classic fiction titles, with works from such authors as Jane Austen, Leo Tolstoy, and Charles Dickens, issued with new and imaginative covers designed to be attractive for new readers of classic fiction.
 
 
Staff e-Pick: Art House Cinema on Hoopla
Browse this Diverse Selection of Independent Films
 
The Pacific Film Archive and California Theater might be closed but the Library offers thought provoking and insightful films that you can watch while Sheltering in Place.

The Art House Cinema collection from Hoopla features Classics, Foreign Films, Documentaries and Modern Indie Films that you can stream to your smart TV or device.

From popular documentaries including I Am Not Your Negro and California Typewriter to offbeat indie comedies like Listen Up Philip, Hoopla offers a diverse selection of sophisticated films.
 
Staff e-Pick: Global Road Warrior
Armchair Travel all Over the World

Global Road Warrior offers reliable, up-to-date information on more than 175 countries around the world, including country facts, travel essentials, and extensive coverage of culture, history, and language. 
 
This useful resource for students and teachers supports school research in international and cross-cultural studies, international business, the social sciences, women’s studies, language studies and more.
 
Armchair travelers will enjoy exploring current information about culture, business, travel, and local living.
 
Staff e-Pick: Washington Post
Stay Informed for Free
 
Stay up to date on the latest news with the Library's eNewspapers collections. 

In addition to the New York Times, the San Francisco Chronicle, and other newspapers, your Berkeley Public Library card now unlocks unlimited digital access to the Washington Post.
 
The Washington Post features expert reporting and analysis from Washington and around the world, including award-winning investigative coverage and editorial commentary.
 
Staff e-Pick: Harry Potter on Hoopla
Hoopla Bonus Borrows Series = No Waiting!
 
Unlock the magic at home during the month of May and listen to the first Harry Potter book with no waiting! It is available in multiple languages. 

Hoopla's Bonus Borrows series offers a new selection of e-materials for kids to choose from all the time so check back often. 
 
Staff Tip: Hoopla Bonus Borrow Collection is not just for Children
Adult Titles with no Waiting on Hoopla

Adult and teen fiction and nonfiction e-books and e-audiobooks are available in Hoopla's Bonus Borrows eBooks & eAudiobooks collection, too.
 
Staff e-Pick: Zootles on Flickster
Instant Access to Children's Magazines
 
Incorporate some STEM learning into the early literacy experience of the children in your life: explore Zootles magazine for ages 3-6 on Flipster. Each issue focuses on a specific early learning concept.

Flipster is easy to use and gives instant access to a good number of fun and educational kids' magazines like Ranger Rick, Sports Illustrated for Kids, Ladybug and more.
 
Adults and teens, don't worry, you can access digital copies of current magazines for free too; check out RB Digital.
 
Staff e-Pick: State Library e-Content

ProQuest research databases, the TeachingBooks literacy service, and online content from Encyclopaedia Britannica are available to every Californian from the California State Library at least until May 31.
 
Coming Soon: Summer Reading
Summer Reading for Adults, Teens, and Children Starts June 15
 
Stay safe this Summer and read great books! We are working on an online platform and mobile app that will allow you to log your reading, write reviews of the books you love (or love to hate!), and earn entries into prize drawings. More information coming to your inbox, soon...
 
Tell a friend: e-Library Cards
Let your friends and families know about the Berkeley Public Library's e-resources. 

They can sign up for an e-card for instant access to the e-library if they don't already have a library card.

Note: newly created e-cards allow access to the Library's collections on Overdrive, Kanopy, Hoopla and Enki. Staff are working on enabling access to Udemy for new cardholders.
 
Your Library, in the News
As she works on a art project, patron Rory Schroeder, 11, listens to the e-audiobook series “The 39 Clues” via Hoopla for Kids from Berkeley Public Library's e-Library. 
-SF Chronicle photo
 
 
SF Chronicle: Coronavirus Closed Bay Area libraries, but Digital Checkouts are Booming
 
Berkeleyside: Berkeley City Workers become Sleuths to Track Down COVID-19 cases
 
KTVU broadcast: Bay Area is Chilling Online with Libraries like Never Before
 
Shareable.net: The Lending Ripple: How Libraries of Things are Changing their Cities for the Better
 
 
Berkeley Public Library
2090 Kittredge St.
Berkeley, California 94704
510.981.6100
www.berkeleypubliclibrary.org/