You can meet with tutors online using Brainfuse. We also offer many programs and resources which can help. For videos on how to meet with live tutors click here.
Houmou Guiro is no stranger to libraries. She has visited them since she was seven years old, checking out books every few weeks. But when Houmou moved from France to Canada two years ago, she discovered a library system much different than the one she was used to.There were books to read in Calgary’s libraries, plus so much more. Houmou joined an ESL Coffee and Conversation Club to practice her English, and later signed up for an ESL Writing Club. She improved her English skills and met friends at the programs, which helped her to feel more at home in a new city.“The Library in Calgary is very awesome,” Houmou says. “In Paris, you take your books and that’s it. Here, you have services for babies, for newcomers. If you want to open a business, you have services. It’s all free and open and you can take 99 books out.”Houmou credits a resumé development program she took at the Library with helping her get her first job in Canada, at a retail store downtown. “I had a French resumé, but it’s very different how you do it in Canada. So I learned how to do it and got help to improve my resumé,” she says.She now works for a not-profit organization called PIA, which offers services and programs to francophone immigrants and refugees in Calgary. In this role, Houmou tells other newcomers about available services in the city, including all they can do with a free Library card.“I tell them ‘You have to go to the Library! It’s very good. You can take out a lot of books and a lot of everything else too,’” she says.Houmou is also an avid reader, regularly checking out French and English titles. She blogs about the books she’s reading and her life in Canada. Lately she’s been reading a lot of books about entrepreneurship and marketing, as she works on launching her own business: a French tutoring service for kids.When Houmou had her first child, Demba, she took him to a weekly Baby Rhyme Time program. “I didn’t know any English songs, so it was very good for me to meet some parents, talk about our babies, and sing with them in English. It was so cool,” she says.She brings 19-month-old Demba to Louise Riley Library or the new Central Library every few weeks, just as her family used to take her to the Library in France. “We play, we take books out, we read. He likes turning the pages,” she says. “He really likes coming here. I like the Library so much too.”We want to know how the Library has made a difference in your life. Submit your own Library Story online.
Read more about "Stories 'It's all free and open and you can take 99 books out' Houmou Guiro's Library Story helped her feel more at home in a new city"Come Discover What's New and Wonderful at Calgary Public Library on Love Your Library Day MEDIA RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 17, 2018Calgary, AB — Everybody is invited to Calgary Public Library’s Love Your Library Day, a one-day event at all 20 libraries across the city on Saturday, August 18. This free event is for all, from avid Library users to those curious about what the Library can offer.“As we near November 1, all eyes are on New Central Library,” says Bill Ptacek, CEO for Calgary Public Library. “Love Your Library Day is an exciting opportunity to celebrate our incredible members and highlight our entire Library system that reaches so many people each day. We’ve never held a city-wide open house like this before, and we’re especially delighted at the chance to introduce more Calgarians to Calgary Public Library.”Love Your Library Day will run from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at each location. Staff have a jam-packed schedule of activities planned, including a city-wide storytime featuring special guests at 11:00 am, family programming, behind-the-scenes Library tours, musical performances, collaborative art and story walls, scavenger hunts, and face painting.On the day, people can celebrate how the Library has made a difference in their life, learn about new services and programs, enjoy refreshments, and enter to win one of 20 door prizes. The Calgary Public Library Foundation will also be selling special limited-edition commemorative community library tote bags on Love Your Library Day for $10 (regular $15). All sales proceeds will support the essential work of the Calgary Public Library.Love Your Library Day is also a perfect time to introduce someone you know to the Library. Whether it’s been a few years since they last checked out a book, or are visiting for the first time — bring a friend to your local Library, sign up for a free Library membership on August 18 and you will both be entered to win our Refer a Friend Grand Prize, valued at nearly $1,000, which includes:Calgary Public Library late fine forgiveness $100 gift certificate and other prizes from Lukes Drug Mart A six-month membership and other prizes from YMCA Four guest passes and other prizes from Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre Literary swag from the Library Store For more details on special programs related to Love Your Library, please visit calgarylibrary.ca/Love-Your-Library.Community Libraries Get Freshened UpDuring the construction of the new Central Library, the entire system has received a facelift, with all community Library locations being renovated before the November 1 opening. These renovations include new furniture, fresh paint, enhanced technology, more meeting spaces, and 10 Early Learning Centres. Stay tuned for refreshed spaces at Village Square Library and Country Hills Library this fall!Your Library Membership BenefitsYour free Calgary Public Library card gives you access to books, eBooks, programs, online resource, printing, plus much more. Free membership benefits include:Browse and borrow print and digital books, audiobooks, music, movies, magazines, newspapers, and more. E-Library access to more than 100 Digital Resources. Read digital books with OverDrive, learn a language with Rosetta Stone, take online courses with Lynda.com, watch movies with Kanopy, and listen to music with Freegal. Online resource for kids, including animated read-along story books with TumbleBook Library and tutoring with Brainfuse. Access to Early Learning Centres, where children can learn through play. Book free meeting rooms around the city. Free WiFi and three hours of computer use per day. Borrow Chromebook laptops for in-Library use. Up to $5 of free printing per month. Hundreds of free in-person programs for everybody. Calgary Public Library Calgary Public Library, with 650,000+ members and 20 locations, has been inspiring the life stories of Calgarians for more than 100 years. It is currently the second largest library system in Canada and the sixth largest municipal library system in North America, with Calgarians borrowing more than 14.6 million physical and digital items and with 6.8 million in-person visits last year. The awe-inspiring 240,000 sq. ft. Central Library — the newest gathering place for our city — opens November 1, 2018.- 30 -Media Contact:Mary KapustaDirector, CommunicationsCalgary Public Library403-774-7256mary.kapusta@calgarylibrary.ca
Read more about "Stories"Come Discover What's New and Wonderful at Calgary Public Library on Love Your Library Day MEDIA RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 17, 2018Calgary, AB — Everybody is invited to Calgary Public Library’s Love Your Library Day, a one-day event at all 20 libraries across the city on Saturday, August 18. This free event is for all, from avid Library users to those curious about what the Library can offer.“As we near November 1, all eyes are on New Central Library,” says Bill Ptacek, CEO for Calgary Public Library. “Love Your Library Day is an exciting opportunity to celebrate our incredible members and highlight our entire Library system that reaches so many people each day. We’ve never held a city-wide open house like this before, and we’re especially delighted at the chance to introduce more Calgarians to Calgary Public Library.”Love Your Library Day will run from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at each location. Staff have a jam-packed schedule of activities planned, including a city-wide storytime featuring special guests at 11:00 am, family programming, behind-the-scenes Library tours, musical performances, collaborative art and story walls, scavenger hunts, and face painting.On the day, people can celebrate how the Library has made a difference in their life, learn about new services and programs, enjoy refreshments, and enter to win one of 20 door prizes. The Calgary Public Library Foundation will also be selling special limited-edition commemorative community library tote bags on Love Your Library Day for $10 (regular $15). All sales proceeds will support the essential work of the Calgary Public Library.Love Your Library Day is also a perfect time to introduce someone you know to the Library. Whether it’s been a few years since they last checked out a book, or are visiting for the first time — bring a friend to your local Library, sign up for a free Library membership on August 18 and you will both be entered to win our Refer a Friend Grand Prize, valued at nearly $1,000, which includes:Calgary Public Library late fine forgiveness $100 gift certificate and other prizes from Lukes Drug Mart A six-month membership and other prizes from YMCA Four guest passes and other prizes from Studio Bell, home of the National Music Centre Literary swag from the Library Store For more details on special programs related to Love Your Library, please visit calgarylibrary.ca/Love-Your-Library.Community Libraries Get Freshened UpDuring the construction of the new Central Library, the entire system has received a facelift, with all community Library locations being renovated before the November 1 opening. These renovations include new furniture, fresh paint, enhanced technology, more meeting spaces, and 10 Early Learning Centres. Stay tuned for refreshed spaces at Village Square Library and Country Hills Library this fall!Your Library Membership BenefitsYour free Calgary Public Library card gives you access to books, eBooks, programs, online resource, printing, plus much more. Free membership benefits include:Browse and borrow print and digital books, audiobooks, music, movies, magazines, newspapers, and more. E-Library access to more than 100 Digital Resources. Read digital books with OverDrive, learn a language with Rosetta Stone, take online courses with Lynda.com, watch movies with Kanopy, and listen to music with Freegal. Online resource for kids, including animated read-along story books with TumbleBook Library and tutoring with Brainfuse. Access to Early Learning Centres, where children can learn through play. Book free meeting rooms around the city. Free WiFi and three hours of computer use per day. Borrow Chromebook laptops for in-Library use. Up to $5 of free printing per month. Hundreds of free in-person programs for everybody. Calgary Public Library Calgary Public Library, with 650,000+ members and 20 locations, has been inspiring the life stories of Calgarians for more than 100 years. It is currently the second largest library system in Canada and the sixth largest municipal library system in North America, with Calgarians borrowing more than 14.6 million physical and digital items and with 6.8 million in-person visits last year. The awe-inspiring 240,000 sq. ft. Central Library — the newest gathering place for our city — opens November 1, 2018.- 30 -Media Contact:Mary KapustaDirector, CommunicationsCalgary Public Library403-774-7256mary.kapusta@calgarylibrary.ca
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