Category: First 2 Know

  • Come and Learn a New Language with Transparent Language Online

    By: Ann Marie Megoulas

    ¿Estudiarás español? Est-ce que tu vas étudier le français? Transparent Language Online can help. What is Transparent Language Online? It is an immersive, interactive language learning database available to all Pennsylvania residents through POWER Library, Pennsylvania’s portal to online library resources.

    With Transparent Language Online, you can learn any of the more than 120 languages offered. Included are multiple dialects of commonly taught languages like Spanish and French, English for speakers of more than 30 languages, and American Sign Language.

    Transparent Language Online’s language learning experience is fun, engaging, and effective. Each course offers a leaning path consisting of lessons, activities, and practice with listening, speaking, reading, and writing or typing. A strategic review system keeps track of your progress and provides motivation to keep you moving forward. Want to keep a record of that progress? Just sign up for a free account. To do so, you will need to supply a username and password, enter your email address, and agree to Transparent Language Online’s Terms of Use.

    Not willing to create a free account? No problem! You can still use Transparent Language Online by selecting the “Continue as a guest” option. As a guest, you’ll have access to all the same lessons and courses. What you won’t have is the ability to keep a record of what you accomplished during your guest session once it ends. Exploring Transparent Language Online as a guest, however, can be a fantastic way to become familiar with what this resource offers. It allows you to explore without the hassle of remembering login details. If, as a guest, you later decide that you want to keep a record of your progress, Transparent Languages Online gives you the opportunity to create an account before you end your guest session.

    So, where can you find Transparent Language Online? One place is on The Library’s research webpage: https://www.dcls.org/research/. Just visit this page and scroll down through the alphabetic list of databases until you find it.

    Another place to look for the Transparent Language Online database is on POWER Library’s e-resources webpage or on POWER Teens. Start by visiting the POWER Library website. Click on the “List all e-resources” link under “Find,” or on the “POWER Teens” link at the very top of the homepage and browse through their list of e-resources. Below is an example of POWER Library’s Transparent Language Online link:

    (Note: For easy access, links to the POWER Library e-resources page and for POWER Teens are available on The Library’s Research webpage.)

    Whichever way you find it, within minutes you will have what you need to begin learning a new language anywhere, any time that you choose. Transparent Language Online is available for use on nearly all internet-connected computers, phones, or tablets, and mobile apps that provide offline and hands-free modes are also available.

    Transparent Language Online offers lessons to meet the needs of learners of all ages and abilities, even children. For young users, Transparent Language Online offers six KidSpeak courses featuring English, Chinese (Mandarin), French, Spanish (Castilian), Italian, and German. Each of these courses use animations and more than 40 interactive activities, puzzles, and songs to teach kids foreign-language words and phrases. They are perfect for kids age 6 and above. An easy way for kids to find the KidSpeak courses is to use the POWER Kids link on The Library’s Research webpage. The POWER Kids portal displays colorful links for each of the featured KidSpeak courses there.

    So, whether you are young or old, a beginner or an experienced language learner, give Transparent Language Online a try. It is free and easy to use. Buon apprendimento.

  • It’s Time to Beat that Summer Slide!

    By: Samantha Lowe

    Ready or not, it’s back to school time! And the Library is here to help. The Library offers many resources to help your young scholar succeed in school.

    With the influx of AI tools and the constant dissemination of misinformation online, it’s now more important than ever to teach kids how to find reliable information. I tell teens often that even if they’re not planning to go to college, knowing how to use Library databases is going to help them to be better informed, more well-rounded adults. It’s vital that kids learn how to ask questions about what they’re reading such as: who wrote this article and how are they qualified? What’s the goal of the article? Is the author trying to sell me something? When was this written and is the information still accurate or relevant? These are just some of the questions kids can learn to navigate through using our databases and resources.

    Gale and Salem are two database vendors the Library subscribes to. Gale resources especially are designed for different age ranges. Essentially, your elementary schooler won’t see the same database as your high schooler. They’ll open a kid-friendly interface with relevant information for their research projects. And the high schoolers will get something closer to the databases they’ll see in college (if that’s the path they choose). Both Gale and Salem offer articles on a variety of subjects from literature to history to science and so much in between.

    Of course, I can’t talk about research tools without mentioning POWER Library. POWER Library is a Pennsylvania statewide resource that provides access to thousands of articles, newspapers, reference materials, and more. There are even off shoots called POWER Kids and POWER Teens, so that kids and teens get services at their level. So, regardless of what they’re researching, students can feel confident in the information they’re finding.

    The Library’s resources don’t stop at research though. Tutor.com is an online resource where students connect with live tutors to help with reading and math. You can even stick with a tutor you really like. And it’s completely free with your library card! We subscribe to Tutor.com so you can access it all with your library card and pin numbers. This is not a trial version—it’s the full website. Tutors are available to help students in first grade all the way through college. That’s right, adults can use it too. And by using your library card to access tutor.com, you can actually get a more customized experience as well. When purchasing a subscription, there’s anxiety around getting your money’s worth or possibly not being able to afford it if you need to increase your access. With your library card, you get exactly the level of access you need when you need it, with no strings attached.

    Do you have a reluctant or maybe a bit of a picky reader? NoveList Plus is another resource that can help. NoveList Plus categorizes books based on age range, appeal factors, and more to help readers find their next favorite book. Does your child like a strong female protagonist? Or maybe they need a fast-paced adventure. What about a world building saga? With NoveList Plus you can browse books based on exactly what you’re looking for and see if they’re available in the Library right there.

    So whether your child is conducting research, getting some extra help, or looking for their next read, the Library is full of resources to help.

  • Fighting the Summer Slide—One STEM Kit at a Time

    Fighting the Summer Slide—One STEM Kit at a Time

    By: Dwana Pinchock

    Jennifer Eley, Director of Education at Pennon Education, knows that summer vacation can be both a blessing and a challenge for school-aged children. While it’s a time for rest and family, it’s also when many students experience “summer slide”—the tendency to lose academic progress over the break.

    To combat this, Pennon Education created Slide Into Summer, a community-centered event hosted at their public media center. “Our goal is to give families meaningful, flexible ways to keep learning all summer long,” Eley explains. The event emphasizes equity by highlighting free or low-cost resources available in the community and distributing STEM-based learning kits to the first 50 families in attendance.

    Each learning kit contains several weeks of engaging science activities. “Families could use them on a rainy day or spread them out throughout the summer,” Eley says. Activity stations at the event included hands-on learning—like planting seeds in paper towel bags to observe growth, and building marble runs to explore motion and force. Kids received journals to record their observations and were encouraged to keep learning beyond the event.

    Perhaps most notably, every learning station was paired with a themed book, from fiction to nonfiction, designed to spark curiosity. A map guided families through the event, and on the back, they were encouraged to write down at least one or two book titles to borrow from their local library.

    “Our whole team is made up of former educators,” Eley adds. “We know how critical it is to keep kids reading and exploring during the summer months. That’s why we intentionally designed every activity with literacy in mind.”

    From cultivating seedlings to building roller coaster models, Slide Into Summer is more than just a fun day—it’s a strategy to keep young minds growing.