COVID-19 Resources

Overview | Resources | Activities

Overview

We are closely monitoring developments pertaining to COVID-19, commonly referred to as Coronavirus. We encourage community members, especially those in high-risk populations, to stay away from public spaces. If you are feeling ill avoid contact with other people. Social distancing is one key way to slow the spread of the illness. Please keep in mind, as a public space, the Library cannot guarantee germ-free physical materials. You need to consider if using library materials is best for you and your family. As a reminder, the Library has many digital services available to you for free.

Out of caution and care for our community members, the public will not be allowed in the library building beginning March 22nd, with future dates to be determined.

Staff will be available from 8 am to 6 pm Monday through Friday to answer the phone and respond to emails.

Interested in Pick-up Service? View details here.

Resources & Information

• Book Riot’s List of Free Resources on Coronavirus: A list of free resources on the coronavirus pandemic, many of which are usually behind a paywall, that are releasing quality, updated information.
• COVID-19 Testing Facts Infographic: From the South Dakota Department of Health.
• South Dakota Department of Health: Coronavirus (COVID-19) updates and information.
• SD State Library COVID-19 LibGuide: Includes a list of resources regarding COVID-19 that have been compiled by the State Library in collaboration with other SD libraries – mostly designed for use by libraries, but some information may be useful to the public
• Teaching Our World: The Coronavirus: Articles and resources for hard-to-teach topics, chosen by the editors of Scholastic Classroom Magazines.
• Vermillion Area Chamber & Development Company: COVID-19 Resources for the City of Vermillion.
• What Should I Do? Infographic: From the South Dakota Department of Health.

Activities

Trying to stay entertained and informed during the Great Staycation? Check out these links to online-based activities, story times, and other free resources designed to help you stay home, stay safe, and stay entertained. And don’t forget about our permanent list of electronic resources available for Vermillion Public Library patrons!

Art & Projects

• Vermillion Public Library’s ‘Art at Home with Miss Beth’ YouTube channel: Join our own Miss Beth for video-based art projects and crafts! We will be uploading a new video by noon on Mondays and Fridays.
• Color Our Collections: Free coloring sheets from museums and libraries around the world
• Draw Every Day with JJK: Author and illustrator Jarrett J. Krosoczka is hosting drawing sessions on his YouTube channel every day.
• Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems: Mo Willems invites YOU into his studio every day for his LUNCH DOODLE. Learners worldwide can draw, doodle and explore new ways of writing by visiting Mo’s studio virtually once a day for the next few weeks. New episodes will be posted each weekday at 12:00 p.m. Central and then remain online to be streamed afterwards.
• Scholastic Learn at Home: Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.

Books

• Vermillion Public Library Book Chatter Facebook Group: Until we are able to open back up to the public, we have transitioned our regular Book Chatter program to an online format! This Facebook Group will allow participants to talk about books they are recommending this month! Hopefully we can meet again in person soon, but until then please share your recommendations.
• ABDO: Free digital content through June 2020
  • Elementary Digital Bookshelf: Pre-K – 8th Grade
  • Secondary Digital Bookself: Grades 5 – 12
  • ABDO Zoom Online Database: Pre-K – 2
• Audible Stories: Audible has launched this free service that offers family-friendly educational and entertaining audiobook content.
• Britannica eBooks: Continue learning with ebooks covering top curriculum subjects including science, math, governement, health, and history. Login to read online or download these books. Username: freebritannica Password: ebooks
• Comixology: Unlimited free 60 day trial with access to over 25,000 comics, graphic novels, and manga.
• National Emergency Library: Online collection from Internet Archive available through June 30, 2020.
• Scribd: In response to the COVID-19 crisis, Scribd, the audiobook, ebook, and magazine subscription service, is offering 30 days of free access to their entire library to everyone through this special link. No credit card or subscription commitment required.
• TumbleBooks has offered the Vermillion Public Library free access to its electronic book collection through August 31st, 2020. No login or library card required. Unlimited access. Read as many books as you want on any device. No checkouts, holds, or bulky downloads. Books are available instantly.
  • TumbleBookLibrary.com: K – 6 Children’s ebook database.
  • TumbleMath.com: K – 6 math ebook database.
  • TeenBookCloud.com: Grade 7 – 12 ebook database.
  • AudioBookCloud.com: All ages audiobook database.
  • RomanceBookCloud.com: For adults! A huge collection of steamy Romance novels for the older crowd.

Free College Courses

• Carnegie Melon Open Learning
• Coursera
• edX
• Future Learn
• Harvard Online
• MIT Open Courseware
• OpenLearn
• Stanford Online

Story Times

• Vermillion Public Library’s Virtual Story Time on Facebook Live: Join us on our Facebook page Tuesdays & Thursdays at 10:30 CT for virtual story time!
• Grace Lin: The illustrator and author of middle-grade novels and picture books is posting drawing tutorials and readings from her books on her YouTube channel.
• Mac Barnett on Instagram Live: Each afternoon the author will read a chapter of his memoir, Mac B, Kid Spy #1: Mac Undercover, illustrated by @mikelowerystudio. New chapters go up about 3:00 pm Central and they’ll stay up on his IGTV till the end of the “school year.”
• Monique Gray Smith: The author is posting videos of herself reading her picture books on her Instagram.
• #OperationStoryTime: A partnership with picture book authors and Romper to read their stories aloud. Posted and curated on Twitter.
• @SaveWithStories: Instagram-based online story-telling, created by Jennifer Garner and Amy Adams in partnership with Save the Children and No Kid Hungry. For more information and to donate, visit the Save with Stories page at savethechildren.org.
• Stay at Home Story Time with Oliver Jeffers: Author Oliver Jeffers will be reading one of his books every weekday, and talking about some of the things that went into making them. Catch his readings live on Instagram at 6 pm GMT (which is 1 pm Central).
• Storyline Online: An excellent resource for read-alouds, this website offers a wide selection of picture books read by celebrities.

Video Streaming

• Amazon Video: Amazon’s original kids’ series will be available for free (with or without a Prime account).
• Nightly Streaming Opera: The Metropolitan Opera

Virtual Tours

• Acropolis Museum: Athens, Greece
• Art Institute of Chicago: Chicago, Illinois
• Blarney Castle: County Cork, Ireland
• British Museum of London: London, England
  • History Connected
• Cincinnati Zoo: Ohio, USA
• Cliffs of Moher: County Clare, Ireland
• Dali Museum: Florida, USA
• Explore.org: Live Nature Cams
• Guggenheim Museum: New York, USA
• Houston Zoo: Texas, USA
• Louvre Museum: Paris, France
• Monterey Bay Aquarium: California, USA
• Museum of Modern Art: New York, USA
• Museum Views: View of museums from around the world
• National Aquarium: Maryland, USA
• National Museum of Natural History: Smithsonian, Washington DC, USA
• National Parks:
  • Bryce Canyon National Park: Utah, USA
  • Carlsbad Caverns National Park: New Mexico, USA
  • Dry Tortugas National Park: Florida, USA
  • Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park: Hawaii, USA
  • Kenai Fjords National Park: Alaska, USA
• National Portrait Gallery: Smithsonian, Washington DC, USA
  • Eye to I Exhibit
  • First Ladies
• Picasso Museum: Barcelona, Spain
• San Diego Zoo: California, USA
• Smithsonian National Zoo: Panda Cam, Washington DC, USA
• Space Center Houston App: This free interactive mobile tour features audio tour, GPS maps, selfie filters, augmented reality experiences, virtual reality lite and more! Texas, USA.
• Wild Earth: Safaris, South Africa

Other Entertainment Links

• Book Riot Quiz: Which Long 500+ Page Book Should You Read While You’re Quarantined?
• Common Sense Media: This list of resources and free events has been compiled for kids at home.
• Read, Wonder, and Learn!: Favorite authors and illustrators share their read-alouds, as well as a growing collection of other resources and lessons. Curated by author Kate Messner.
• SD Statewide Family Engagement Center: The SD SFEC sends out a daily digest of easy-to-use activities and resources to support your child’s learning at home.