Online resources

Total Solar Eclipse Programming at HCPL

Adult Activities, Classes, Crafts, Online resources, Teen Activities, Youth Activities / Eden Ransdell / February 28, 2024

Are you ready for the Total Solar Eclipse? Come to one of HCPL’s eclipse events to learn everything you need to know for April 8, 2024. Attendees at each event will receive 1 free pair of solar glasses, as supplies last.

Programs for Kids:

Nature Club (ages 4+) – 4 pm Wed., Feb. 28 at Corydon – Learn about the science of eclipses and make a solar viewer to take home. Please bring 1 cereal box per child (the library has some extra if you do not have one available.)

Eclipse Crafts (all ages) – 2-4 pm Mon., Mar. 25 at Corydon and 1-7 pm Thurs., Mar. 28 at Elizabeth – Make a variety of eclipse-themed crafts and viewing tools. Please bring 1 cereal box per child if you would like to make a solar viewer.

Pinwheel Festival (all ages) – 11 am-2 pm Sat., Apr. 6 at Bicentennial Park – Stop by the library’s booth to get your face painted and pick up information about the eclipse.

Presentations for Adults and Families: Learn how to safely and successfully view April’s total solar eclipse.

Corydon Presbyterian Church – 6 pm Thurs., Feb. 29

Palmyra United Methodist Church – 6 pm Thurs., Mar. 14

Harrison County Community Foundation – 6 pm Tues., Mar. 19

Can’t make it to one of HCPL’s events? Here are some resources to help teachers and families prepare on their own:

Totality, Minute by Minute – HCPL has prepared this handout to remind you which phenomena to look for at each stage of the eclipse.

Cereal Box Viewer instructions – This viewing method is safer for children than solar glasses, as they will be observing the eclipse with their backs to the Sun, so there is less chance for injury. Highly recommended project for school groups.

NASA Punch Pinhole Projector – This site has in-depth explanations of how pinhole projection works and how to apply it to the eclipse.

Safe Solar Viewer (SSV) instructions – An SSV is an excellent way for a group to safely view and photograph the eclipse at the same time, and even see sunspots. This project can be built for as little as $5 and would work well for school viewing parties.

Path of Totality Map – The Sun’s corona, 360° sunset, and other exciting phenomena will only be visible on the path of totality. Most of Harrison County is only at 99% – and even 1% of the Sun’s disc is enough to drown out the corona. You MUST be at 100% to view the corona. This map shows the timestamps and percent eclipsed for any location.

NASA Exploratorium – If you cannot make it to the path of totality, NASA will be livestreaming the event here.

Useful Apps:

Solar Eclipse Timer by Foxwood Astronomy (free for practice mode, $2 to unlock each eclipse) – This app will time the eclipse for you and give audio prompts to remind you what phenomena to look for at each moment. It will even calculate the best times to take photographs.

Totality by Big Kid Science (free) – Click anywhere on the map to see how long totality will last for that location, and what time each phase will occur.

Stellarium Mobile (free, with optional in-app purchases) – This astronomy app helps you identify stars and other celestial objects. You can set it to the day and time of the eclipse to simulate what you will see. On eclipse day, it can help you identify the stars and planets that appear during totality.

Total Solar Eclipse Programming at HCPL Read More »

Brush up your sea-farin’ vocab, Monday is Talk Like a Pirate Day!

Adult Activities, Notices, Online resources, Teen Activities, Youth Activities / Jessica Stroud / September 18, 2022

Ahoy, mateys! Grab yer eye patch, bandana, frilly shirt and favorite parrot or tiny monkey–and break out Treasure Island or Pirates of the Caribbean (movies and books for each title are available at HCPL)!

Practice your pirate conversational skills using Mango Languages, available for free to all HCPL cardholders. If you don’t have a library card, you can apply online or at your local HCPL branch, or request a Digital Access Card that allows access to all HCPL eResources.

PSA: Though this is a day to mimic pirates, you are strongly encouraged to not pillage, steal or brawl.
Instead, may we recommend that you don your pirate garb and do the fun activities below.

Copies are also available to pick up at any library branch.

pirate name generator — Click to download

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How to install the new HCPL app on your Kindle Fire tablet

New services, Notices, Online resources, Technology / Jessica Stroud / July 20, 2022

The following steps will assist HCPL users through the installation of the Google Play Store on Kindle Fire tablets to enable the installation of the free new HCPL app. The following instructions are adapted from the How To Geek article by Joe Fedewa and Chris Hoffman, updated on June 16, 2022.

Amazon Fire Tablets restrict users to the Amazon Appstore, but runs on Fire OS, a custom version of the Android operating system. That means that you can install the Play Store to install not only the HCPL app, but all other available Google Play apps as well.

Installing the Google Play Store is simply a matter of downloading and installing a few APK (Android package) files from the Fire tablet itself, and you will be up and running with the Play Store just like your regular Android phone or tablet!

Download the Play Store Files

Before we begin, make sure your Fire Tablet is from 2014 or later. This process may not work with old Kindle Fire tablets as you need to enable “Apps From Unknown Sources.”

First, open the “Settings” app from the “Home” tab on the home screen.

kindle_settings

Now go to “Security & Privacy.”

Select “Apps From Unknown Sources.”

Find “Silk Browser” and then toggle on “Allow From This Source.” This is what will allow us to install an app from outside of the Amazon app store.

With that out of the way, we can start downloading the Play Store files. There are four APK files we will need to get the Play Store up and running, and they’re specific to your Fire Tablet.

To find out which Amazon Fire Tablet model you have, go to Settings > Device Options > About Fire Tablet. You’ll see your “Device Model” name here. To see your Fire OS version, go to Settings > Device Options > System Updates.

With the device model in mind, we can download the appropriate files below. Simply copy and paste the links from the tables below into the Silk Browser on your Amazon Fire tablet. We’re just downloading the files at this point, DON’T OPEN THEM YET.

Google Account Manager

Note: Ignore the message about a newer version being available.

Fire HD 10 (9th Gen, 11th Gen)

Google Account Manager v7.1.2

Fire 7 (9th Gen)

Fire HD 8 (8th, 10th Gen)

Fire HD 10 (7th Gen and older)

Google Account Manager v5.1

Fire HD 8 (7th Gen and older)

Fire 7 (7th Gen and older)

Fire HD 6

Fire HDX 8.9

Google Services Framework

Fire HD 10 (9th Gen, 11th Gen)

Google Services Framework v9-4832352

Fire HD 8 (10th Gen)

Fire 7 (9th Gen) on Fire OS 7

Fire HD 8 (8th Gen) on Fire OS 7

Fire 7 (9th Gen) on Fire OS 6

Google Services Framework v7.1.2

Fire HD 8 (8th Gen) on Fire OS 6

Fire HD 10 (7th Gen and older)

Google Services Framework v5.1

Fire HD 8 (7th Gen and older)

Fire 7 (7th Gen and older)

Fire HD 6

Fire HDX 8.9

Google Play Services

Note: On the page for your model, select the most recent version of the APK that is not a “beta.”

Fire HD 10 (9th Gen, 11th Gen)

Google Play Services (64-bit ARM, nodpi, Android 9.0+)

Fire HD 8 (10th Gen)

Fire 7 (9th Gen)

Google Play Services (32-bit ARM, nodpi, Android 6.0+)

Fire HD 8 (8th Gen)

Google Play Services (64-bit ARM, nodpi, Android 6.0+)

Fire HD 10 (7th Gen and older)

Google Play Services (32-bit ARM, nodpi, Android 5.0+)

Fire HD 8 (7th Gen and older)

Fire 7 (7th Gen and older)

Fire HD 6

Fire HDX 8.9

Google Play Store

Note: On the page for your model, select the most recent version of the APK that is not a “beta.”

All Models

Google Play Store (universal, nodpi)

A tip from Jessica Stroud about downloading the Google Play Store APK file: the July 19, 2022 version of the com.android.vending file would not open, but the July 13, 2022 version of the file could be successfully installed.

Install the Play Store

With all the downloaded APK files to your Amazon Fire Tablet, we can begin installing them one by one. Open the “Files” app from the home screen.

Select “Downloads” from the side menu and switch to the list view for the files. You should see the four files we just downloaded.

It’s important to install these APKs in a specific order. For each APK, follow this process: Tap the file name > select “Continue” > tap the “Install” button. After it installs, tap “Done.” Don’t open the Play Store yet.

Install the files in this order (the file names on your device will be longer):

com.google.android.gsf.login
com.google.android.gsf
com.google.android.gms
com.android.vending

With all the APKs installed, it’s time to reboot the tablet. Hold down the power button and select “Restart.”

After the tablet restarts, you’ll see the Play Store on the home screen. Open it and sign in with your existing Google account. If you do not have a Google [email] account, you will have the option to create one.

Once you’re signed in, you’ll have a functional Google Play Store, just like on any other Android device.

You may experience some problems when trying to use the Play Store right away. The Play Store and Google Play Services will automatically update themselves in the background, so just give it some time. This may take as much as ten minutes.

Download and install the HCPL app

Launch the Play Store app, then search for “Harrison County Public Library”:

hcpl solus app Google Play

How to install the new HCPL app on your Kindle Fire tablet Read More »

Short upgrade could affect access to some services

New services, Notices, Online resources, Technology / Jessica Stroud / February 14, 2022

At 1:00pm today, an upgrade of HCPL Web Services will take place that will last approximately 5 minutes.

This upgrade is in preparation for valuable new services that HCPL plans to implement soon.

Please note that this short upgrade will possibly affect access to library accounts through the online catalog, access to OverDrive/Libby and Axis360 accounts, as well as logging on to HCPL public computers.

Short upgrade could affect access to some services Read More »

Together We Read program from OverDrive offers free digital copies of “The Five Wounds”

Adult Program, eBooks and audio books, New books and other materials, Notices, Online resources, Reading Program / Jessica Stroud / February 7, 2022

During Together We Read from OverDrive, borrow The Five Wounds for free with no waitlists and no holds from February 7 through February 21!
Download Libby or visit OverDrive to borrow the eBook or audiobook from HCPL using your phone or tablet.

The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade

It’s Holy Week in the small town of Las Penas, New Mexico, and thirty-three-year-old unemployed Amadeo Padilla has been given the part of Jesus in the Good Friday procession. He is preparing feverishly for this role when his fifteen-year-old daughter Angel shows up pregnant on his doorstep and disrupts his plans for personal redemption. With weeks to go until her due date, tough, ebullient Angel has fled her mother’s house, setting her life on a startling new path.

Vivid, tender, funny, and beautifully rendered, The Five Wounds spans the baby’s first year as five generations of the Padilla family converge: Amadeo’s mother, Yolanda, reeling from a recent discovery; Angel’s mother, Marissa, whom Angel isn’t speaking to; and disapproving Tíve, Yolanda’s uncle and keeper of the family’s history. Each brings expectations that Amadeo, who often solves his problems with a beer in his hand, doesn’t think he can live up to.

Click to download the book discussion guide

Kirstin Valdez Quade is the author of The Five Wounds, which is currently shortlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize and the Carnegie Medal for Excellence, and is longlisted for the Aspen Words Literary Prize. Her story collection, Night at the Fiestas, won the John Leonard Prize from the National Book Critics Circle, the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a “5 Under 35” award from the National Book Foundation, and was a finalist for the New York Public Library Young Lions Award. It was named a New York Times Notable Book and a best book of 2015 by the San Francisco Chronicle and the American Library Association. Kirstin is the recipient of the John Guare Writer’s Fund Rome Prize from the American Academy in Rome, a Rona Jaffe Foundation Writer’s Award, a grant from the Elizabeth George Foundation, and a Stegner Fellowship at Stanford. Her work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Best American Short Stories, The O. Henry Prize Stories, The New York Times, and elsewhere. She is an assistant professor at Princeton.

Together We Read program from OverDrive offers free digital copies of “The Five Wounds” Read More »

OverDrive - Databases & Streaming Services

HCPL introduces new databases and streaming services

Adult Program, Classes, Crafts, New services, Notices, Online resources / Jessica Stroud / October 18, 2021

Harrison County Public Library recently added more new and exciting subscriptions to its public digital collection. If you do not currently have an HCPL card, or your library card has expired, you may apply online for a Digital Access Card, or apply for/renew a resident library card.

These streaming services and databases are all available via the Libby app from your Libby library , select Extras. Libby is available for free from the Apple Store and Google Play. Click here to access Libby from your favorite web browser.

CLICK HERE to download a brief step-by-step guide to accessing these streaming services and databases.

New databases

iNdieFlix streams classic and contemporary features, award-winning shorts, film festival favorites and documentaries from around the world. Explore thought-provoking, well-known and undiscovered content. iNdieFlix works directly with young up-and-coming filmmakers from all walks of life to seasoned professionals paying them for every minute watched.

iNdieFlix tutorial available from HCPL Niche Academy

Thousands of full length feature films, shorts, documentaries and series from around the world
Diverse voices, pop culture favorites and box office hits
Award-winning feature films, documentaries, and shorts
Thousands of hours of commercial free programming
Academy Award winning animation

Please note that some iNdieFlix content may include mature themes and language.

Stream the world’s largest collection of on-demand full-length music performances, concert films, and music documentaries. Qello Concerts transforms your connected devices into the ultimate live music concert film experience. Give your favorite headliners a standing ovation from the best seat in the house anywhere, anytime!

Qello tutorial available from HCPL Niche Academy

1000s of concert films and documentaries
New concerts added every week
Streamed live concerts with major partners
Available on all your streaming devices

Please note that some Qello content may include mature themes and language.

The Great Courses Library Collection video streaming service is brought to you by The Great Courses—the leading global media brand for lifelong learning and personal enrichment. This collection includes more than 250 courses, led by the world’s top experts, covering a broad range of subjects, such as science, mathematics, philosophy, history, literature, fine arts and music, travel, business, and personal development.

Great Courses tutorial available from HCPL Niche Academy

Over 250 unique courses to capture your curiosity or help you to improve in areas you are passionate about
3,000+ hours of carefully curated and commercial-free, entertaining and engaging content
Courses taught by brilliant, award-winning, and trusted experts in their fields
Twelve categories for all types of patrons with new content monthly
Guidebooks for each course to supplement course material

New streaming services

(Available October 22, 2021) ArtistWorks provides players world-class instruction from Grammy Award-winning music professionals. ArtistWorks for Libraries offers users a guided path of video lessons containing everything they need to reach their musical goals. All levels of player are welcome!

ArtistWorks tutorial available from HCPL Niche Academy

Blues, Bluegrass, Jazz, Rock, Classical and More
Hundreds of hours of high quality video instruction
Studio quality play-along tracks
Downloadable written materials, tablature and sheet music
Supported languages: English

(Available October 22) LawDepot’s extensive library of documents and legal resources provides easy-to-use assistance with a wide range of legal needs empowering patrons to create legal documents specific to their personal situation.

LawDepot tutorial available from HCPL Niche Academy

Hundreds of customizable legal documents
Easy customization through on-site prompts
BBB A+ rating

Learn It Live

(Available October 19) Learn It Live is a place to find and attend live online classes on 200+ topics in health, wellness, and personal development. At LiL, you can join a live yoga, pilates, or meditation class and interact with an expert on the other side of the globe. Can’t make it live? Watch one of the 1,000+ recorded classes at any time.

Daily live classes
1,000+ Recorded Classes
200+ Topics Covering Health, Wellness, Spirituality, Career and Personal Development, and More!

Method Test Prep Learning

(Available October 19) ACT® and SAT® test prep solutions from Method Learning are proven to raise scores! Tutoring, classes, and practice tests.

150 points higher on the SAT, 3 points higher on the ACT
Learn every trick, strategy, and technique needed to raise ACT and SAT scores
Course includes full-length, timed practice exams
Video and audio lessons and explanations. Students learn best when they can see/hear the instruction
Supported languages: English

Universal Class

(Available October 19) Universal Class is the place to continue your education online and fulfill all your lifelong learning goals.

Universal Class tutorial available from HCPL Niche Academy

500+ online courses on just about anything ranging from cake decorating to accounting & bookkeeping
Accredited CEUs for professional development
Self-paced, easy-to-use, 24/7 access – learn anything, anytime and anywhere
Supports assessments for the serious student or a view only version for the casual learner
Supported languages: English

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Dig in to HCPL’s online Digital Archives

Genealogy - Local History, Online resources / Jessica Stroud / October 30, 2020

By Teresa Douglass, Genealogy Assistant

Ever been curious about what Harrison County was like in years past? Like to look at old photographs? Researching your family history? Have a parent or grandparent that attended an early Harrison County school or an ancestor that was a World War II veteran? If you answered “Yes” to any of these questions, then you should check out
HCPL’s Digital Archives.

HCPL’s Digital Archives is a website displaying numerous collections of images that reflect the rich and varied history of Harrison County and its residents from the early 19^th century to the near present. Collections range from historical records and documents to a vast assortment of photographs of people, places, and events. Come and explore, you’ll be amazed at what you find! For example …

See what it was like to attend a one-room rural schoolhouse, take a tour of the many mills that once flourished throughout the county, and visit some of the county’s churches as they once were.
Attend the Pancake Festival of the 1960s or view the floats, bands, horses, and beauty queens in the Centennial Fair Parade and the Indiana Sesquicentennial Parade.
Go to the fair – See a ticket from the first Harrison County Fair in 1860, or what the fairgrounds looked like in 1900. Read a program from a 1939 horse race and find out who the grand champion livestock winners were in the 1940s.
Travel over early roads and bridges, ride the LNA&C Railroad, and catch a steamboat down the Ohio.
See some of the many Harrison County residents who served in the military during WWI & WWII.
Visit downtown Corydon in the 1880s, 1910s, 1930s, and 1960s, and observe how the town has evolved. Notice the change in streetscapes, and what buildings and houses are gone and which ones remain.
View Corydon baseball clubs from the 1890s and basketball teams and players from 1916 through the 1950s. See routines of Corydon cheerleaders from the 1940s and 50s.

And those are just SOME of the photographs. HCPL’s Digital Archives also contains several historical documents, all of which have been transcribed and are easily searchable. Whether you are researching your family or just curious about local history, these documents provide a glimpse into what everyday life was like for many residents in Harrison County.

Looking for a particular ancestor? Simply type their name in the search box at the top of the page, and the results will show how many times the name appears in the collection and on what pages. You might find that your ancestor was a founding member of the Harrison County Agricultural Society, or a Civil War veteran, or a member of the Woman’s Literary Society. Perhaps your ancestor worked on a tugboat in the 1930s, or had his photograph taken in front of the courthouse before leaving for boot camp. You could discover your parents or grandparents high school commencement program, or the type of brand an ancestor used to mark his cattle. You might be able to glean information on family relations and property ownership through perusing probate, township, or insurance records. And you can search justice dockets to investigate if your ancestors had any disputes with their neighbors, or were involved in something more notorious!

So, come look… explore… discover….HCPL’s Digital Archives.

Click on this link to visit the Digital Archives.

The site can also be reached through Harrison County Public Library’s website – go to Branches and select the Center for Genealogy and Local History, scroll down and click on the button marked Digital Archives – or through Indiana Memory and select Collections Across Indiana, then click on Harrison County on the map; or select “Contributors” at the top of the main page and choose Harrison County Public Library from the alphabetized list. A list of our collection titles will appear, choose any of them and it will direct you to our digital archives.

All items featured on HCPL’s Digital Archives are items in the Frederick Porter Griffin Center for Local History and Genealogy. Visit us in person & explore even more local history. We are located in the original Carnegie Library building at 117 W. Beaver Street, just behind the Main library branch building in Corydon.

Dig in to HCPL’s online Digital Archives Read More »