Interested in Languages?

We have added Oxford Language Dictionaries Online to our portfolio of online reference books available to all our members both in the library and online at home.

You can log onto this service by entering your library barcode in the "Log in" box on the home page.

Get into computers at Langley Library!

Every Thursday between 10am-12pm Langley Library will be hosting a ‘Get Started with the Web’ session. This is for anyone who needs a little help to use the FREE Internet service available in all Rochdale Borough Council libraries. No booking is required. We will help you to get started using the Internet or sending email. Information about other training courses will also be available.

There is a large car park at the rear of the building. Langley Library is on Windermere Road, Middleton.

Don't worry if you are a complete beginner - everyone is welcome.

Silver surfers

We currently have regular "Silver Surfers" sessions on Tuesday mornings at Milnrow and Smithybridge libraries. The sessions are lead by volunteer tutors who have generously offered their time to help people find out more about computers and the Internet in a friendly and informal setting.

Silver Surfer sessions are aimed at the over 50s (birth certificates are not required!) and don't assume that you have any experience of a keyboard or a computer. The main aim of the sessions is to build up people's confidence so that they aren't scared of the technology and feel comfortable having a go for themselves.

The sessions are very popular so it's generally a good idea to ring the library beforehand to see if there are any spare places.

• Jean at Milnrow on 01706 641563
• Elaine or Jennifer at Smithybridge on 01706 378281

Many thanks to everyone who makes these sessions such a success.

NewsBank

We're adding to our portfolio of online reference resources.

The latest addition is NewsBank, which includes full-text information; hot topics and special reports using newspapers from both the UK and around the world. This provides support to students and researchers needing information about current affairs.

You'll need your library barcode to log onto this site. Joining the library is free: call in at any of our libraries to join (and if you've joined one, you've joined 'em all).

European Day of Languages

Today is the European Day of Languages, a Council of Europe initiative, is held annually on the 26 September to celebrate language and cultural diversity.

We hold a wide range of books and audio materials to support people of all ages learning, or brushing up on, languages, European and Asian. We also have literature in foreign languages in our non-fiction collections and also in our Around The World Collection and, of course, the Bengali and Urdu Collections.

And let's not forget British Sign Language and Fingerspelling! (October 1st is the beginning of Learn to Sign Week)

Homework Help

Did you know that we provide free access to a wide range of online reference books and encyclopædias to our readers? All of the online references we subscribe to are available on the Library Online terminals in our libraries.

Some of them are available to you in the convenience of your own home. Your library barcode can provide free access to online resources like:

• The Encyclopedia Britannica
• Grove Art Online
• Grove Music Online
• The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
• The Oxford English Dictionary
• Oxford Reference Online.

Links to the services that are available, newsletters, quizzes and users' guides are available on the Web Catalogue.

We also have a wealth of books and other materials to support children's learning and homework. The "Homework Help" section of the Kids' Portal provides subject-based booklists and suggestions for useful websites.

Going organic!

Today marks the start of Organic Fortnight, the Soil Association's celebration of organic food and farming. The objective of Organic Fortnight is to encourage those new to organic food and drink to try it and to encourage gardeners to grow their own organic produce.

If you're interested in growing and/or eating organic food we have books in our non-fiction collections which might be helpful.

• Organic food
• Organic gardening