Library Services

senior citizen reading

THE COLLECTION AND SERVICES: The library collection includes books, large print books, magazines, audio CDs and tape cassettes, and DVDs and video cassettes. Additional material is available through interlibrary loan. Fax, photocopying, and scanning services are also available. Click Public Computers for details on computer access. The Brown Public Library also provides reading material for the Northfield Senior Center

VISION ASSISTANCE: The Brown Public Library has ClearView, a desktop system for magnifying text and objects. It can help people with low vision to read, write, draw, view photos, do crafts etc. The machine was donated by Carol Conley of Northfield and William Maxwell of Rochester, NY, in loving memory of their mother, Betty Maxwell (also of Rochester).

THE ECHO LEAHY CENTER - BORROW A BOOK, BORROW THE PASS: This pass is available at the Brown Public Library. It offers reduced admissions to the Echo Leahy Lake Science Center. The pass is valid daily for two adults and three children to pay $2.00 per person to visit the Center. Just ask at the library's circulation desk to "borrow the Echo pass." Show the pass to the staff at the front desk at the Echo Leahy Center. And then, return the pass to the library so another family can experience ECHO at the same discounted rate.

CHECK OUT THE PARKS! A pass to selected Vermont state parks is now available to our patrons. The pass provides free entry (between 10 am and sunset) to the day use areas of 36 Vermont state parks. Up to eight people in one vehicle can use the pass, which is checked out for two days at a time. The pass is provided by the Vermont Department of Forests, Parks, and Recreation and the Vermont Department of Libraries. Just ask for the pass at the circulation desk, and then be sure to return it on time so it's available for others to use!

LISTEN UP! VERMONT: The Brown Public Library, as a member of the Green Mountain Consortium, provides a downloadable audio service at Listen Up! Vermont. There are over four hundred titles, with new ones added regularly. There are books for children, young adults, and adults. Genres include mystery and thriller, historical fiction, science fiction and fantasy, literature, biography, history, and foreign language study. Here is how to use this service:

When you find a title of interest, just add it to your basket and check it out (download it) with your library card. Then you can close the Internet connection and listen to the book offline.

All books are loaned for seven days with a maximum of two titles per person. If a book you want is checked out, you can place a hold on it. There are no late fees because titles will expire and be returned to the library automatically when the seven days are up.

Some titles are always available, no matter how high the demand; others you may have to wait for. Some can be burned to a CD and some are in MP3 or WMA format. Check out the Listen Up! Vermont website for all the details.

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