Are you looking for a fun way to expand your horizons while staying at home?  Why not start one of our online challenges? Win prizes, enter raffles, learn about useful and interesting resources. We have something for ALL ages.  This fall, we are introducing 2 new challenges: 

100 Books Before College (ages 12-19): 100 Books before College dares readers 12-19 yrs. to read 100 books before they graduate. Small prizes will be awarded as you get closer to 100 books. At every 10 books read, participants earn tickets to enter into a prize raffle of either a $25 Ted’s Piggly Wiggly Gift Card or $10 gas station cards. The raffle drawing will be on June 1, 2021. Find out more here at our online challenges page!

Digital Discoveries (ages 12 - adult): This challenge is meant to encourage exploration of the online world. You'll find out about free and helpful online tools that can be useful to you. Earn small prizes along the way, and earn raffle tickets for a $25 Family Dollar gift card! The raffle drawing will be on Dec. 1, 2020. Find out more here at our online challenges page!

The challenges will take place completely online and readers can access them at markesanlibrary.beanstack.org. Participants can also download the Beanstack app and search for Markesan Library to play.

Click here to begin! 

This project was brought to you by the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction and made possible in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services grant LS-00-19-0050-19.

More Online Resources to Keep You Connected! 
(Thank you Princeton Public Library for compiling and sharing many of these links with us )

We can offer you plenty of  online learning and entertainment opportunities!

You may need a library card to access some of our resources. When required to sign in to use our online resources all you need to do is enter your library card number with no spaces. Your PIN is usually the last four digits of the phone number you gave us when you aquired a card.

If you don't have a library card, go here to get one free:Click Here
If  you lost your card or don't remember your number, contact the library through emai: director@markesanlibrary.org or by phone: 920-398-3434.  You can leave a message and a librarian will get back to you shortly.

Now that the basics have been explained, onto the resources!

Overdrive is our most popular online resource-- download ebooks and audiobooks for free! If you have a smartphone or tablet, download the Libby App. Books are available for all ages, and we recently added many more titles. You may have to wait to download some books, but others are available 24/7. J.K. Rowling recently released the audio and ebook versions of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for unlimited checkouts with no waiting until April 30th.

Digital Books: The library's digital book offerings have exploded with brand new content for all ages. Tumblebooks, Abdo, Audio Book Cloud, National Emergency Library and More!  Check it out.

Need financial assistance? UW Madison has put together a great list of resources.

Need help finding work?  See the Winnefox Employment Help Center page.

Do you have a young student at home? Check out Facebook Live Storytime each Wednesday at 10:30 am.  The Markesan Public Library also has started  the 1,000 Books Before Kindergarten program, get a jump start reading to your little ones now.  KidLit TV, Scholastic's Learn at Home, a list of 30 online "field trips" with live cameras or virtual walk-throughs, a sample daily schedule for kids, a great list of resources at Read Wonder & Learn, Live Learning videos with LivBits, Mystery Science lessons for grades K-5, and 1 Hour Coding for Kids for K-9th grades. Finally, there's a HUGE List of at-home educational entertainment resources, including live webcams, activities and more.

Do you have an older student at home?
Check out our Homework Help page.  Want to learn technology skills at your own pace by watching these video tutorials on popular software and computer basics?  Try the Winnefox Tech Skills Center .  Gale Courses is another popular resource that offers interactive, instructor led online courses available on a wide variety of topics. Explore our Research Page for more great links, including genealogy resources, automotive repair guides, Consumer Reports, language learning, and lots more.

Want more free ebooks?
Sesame Street is offering some free ebooks for kids right now.
The Internet Archive's Open Library has textbooks, classics, and even some juvenile chapter books like The Giver by Lowis Lowry, The Lightning Thief by Rick Riordan, and Matilda by Roald Dahl.
 Open Culture has a nice list of older classics.
The National Emergency Library is a collection of mostly older non-fiction books that supports remote teaching, research activities, independent scholarship, and intellectual stimulation.
Project Gutenberg has over 60,000 titles (mostly older).

Do you miss the Book Page magazine? Sign up to get a digital copy.

Need to connect with people digitally? Here are some resources for online meetings:

Microsoft Teams: https://products.office.com/en-us/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software
Facebook Live: https://www.facebook.com/facebookmedia/solutions/facebook-live
Google Hangouts: https://gsuite.google.com/products/meet/
Zoho: https://www.zoho.com/meeting/
Zoom: https://zoom.us/
Join.me: https://www.join.me/

If you have any trouble accessing any of these resources, feel free to contact the library by emai: director@markesanlibrary.org.  Or you can call us and leave a message at 920-398-3434.  A librarian will get back to you shortly.