As digital library use soars, Hampshire County Council is encouraging even more people to join the library and discover the variety of digital content and services available.
Hampshire County Council’s Executive Member for Recreation and Heritage, Councillor Seán Woodward, said: “Hampshire Libraries is using social media to stay in touch with its many loyal customers and to keep providing engaging and fun activities. There are all kinds of online events on offer. For adults, there are Live Craft, IT help and Health & Wellbeing sessions and for children there are live and recorded Storytime readings, Baby Rhyme Time and Code Club classes among others. Residents can ‘like’ and ‘follow’ these platforms to stay in touch with what is happening.
“I am incredibly proud of how our service has adapted to the current situation and how quickly they have come up with ways to stay open for their many diverse customers. Even if it is in a small way, the live social media activities can help prevent feelings of isolation among those who have been cut off from their normal routines during the Coronavirus outbreak. I am sure that many people will want to continue using these free services into the future.”
As well as the many e-books and audio books for download, there are magazines and newspapers, a podcast and study resources. Councillor Woodward continued: “Hampshire Libraries is in the enviable position of having a huge variety of content that people can access through mobile phones, tablets and computers for work, study, or entertainment at home.”
To access the free digital resources on offer from Hampshire Libraries, visit https://www.hants.gov.uk/always-open-online where you can find a host of resources and links to the social media sites. Membership is available for free to anyone who lives, works or studies in the county.
Other digital resources available from across Hampshire County Council include ‘100 days of film’ from the Wessex Film and Sound Archive, which gives access to local film archive footage spanning from the 1910s to the 1970s. Film clips are being shared at 9am daily via the Archive’s YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/WessexFilmArchive and also on the Hampshire Record Office Facebook page and @HantsArchives Twitter feed.
