A disability should not prevent anyone from using the services of the library. The challenges posed by physical or mental impairments can be daunting for both children and adults, but the services and programs offered by or accessed through the library can benefit and even enrich the lives of individuals who have special needs.

For instance, all children, including those on the autism spectrum, can use the library as an opportunity to develop public behavior skills, such as using a quiet tone of voice, staying out of restricted areas (such as offices), and refraining from running. For those with trouble speaking, asking for materials (or directions to specific areas of the library) is a way to put into practice pre-rehearsed scripts. Also, for those new to the library universe, learning and deciphering the Dewey Decimal system can give anyone a feeling of accomplishment!

The Library offers programs that are inclusive and can integrate children of varying abilities into the wider community. The upcoming program given by certified special education teacher Lisa Joy Walters, “A Circle of Friends”, is specifically designed for children with developmental delays, those along the autism spectrum and other special needs (Monday, July 11 and Wednesday, August 3). We also have our frequent Caregiver and Me sign language program presented by Lisamarie Curley that teaches children how to express themselves before they have verbal mastery (this summer’s theme is “Sports”), but these skills can be used for hearing-impaired children and their caregivers, too.

The Summer Reading Club is another opportunity for children with different ability levels to practice reading and speaking or writing about their books. Reading is important for every individual and should be expected of all children. We have a variety of wordless picture books and audiobooks, both fiction and non-fiction to support each person’s unique interest and capabilities, as well. Materials can be interloaned if we do not have them, and referrals provided for additional resources available to children and families. The Andrew Heiskell Braille and Talking Book Library in New York City is Long Island’s resource for the National Library Service which provides free materials by free delivery to visually and/or physically handicapped people. Applications for this service are available at all Suffolk County libraries including the Islip Public Library. You can also call the Suffolk Cooperative Library System and ask for the Talking Books Department at 631-286-1600 to learn more about this free service.

In addition to visiting the Library this summer, the following are resources for recreational activities geared toward children with special needs:

Adler Center for Special Needs- offers Zumba-Yoga and fitness classes along with summer camp options for kids of all ages. http://www.miyjcc.org

Pump It Up in Plainview offers monthly sensory playtime for kids on the spectrum. Call (516) 575-2300 or go to their website calendar for the next date it’s given. (https://www.pumpitupparty.com/plainview-ny/)

Safari Adventure in Riverhead offers a “Sensitive Safari” at 9:00 a.m. on the second Saturday of each month. Call (631) 727-4386 for more information. www.thesafariadventure.com

K.I.D.S. Plus in Babylon offers a variety of sports programs, including martial arts. http://kidsplusinc.com/programs.

The Miracle League of Long Island (http://old.mllongisland.com) and League of YES in Babylon (www.leagueof yes.com) both offer baseball programs.

Pal-O-Mine Equestrian in Islandia (www.Pal-O-Mine.org) and Horseability at SUNY Old Westbury (www.horseability.org) offer therapeutic horseback riding.

Camp Kehilla (www.campkehilla.org) in Wheatley Heights and Camp Pa-Qua-Tuck (camppaquatuck.com) in Center Moriches have special needs programs for children with Asperger’s and ADHD as well as physical disabilities.

Antes de que los últimos días largos se acaben…

Google Flights is a fantastic tool that allows you to see a multitude of destinations, dates, prices and airlines all at the same time. This tool will allow you to quickly compare and discover the best time and price for your next vacation.

For the adventurous person who is fairly flexible on their destination, try the Explore Map feature, found in the menu bar. Here you can type in a region, such as the Caribbean or choose a more specific destination such as St. Lucia.

Google Flights will navigate you to a map of the region with prices for all of the major airports in the vicinity.

St. Lucia might be more expensive than you thought but would you consider Antigua if it was significantly cheaper to fly there? It is also a useful tool for those travelling to an area with multiple airports within driving distance, such as Southeast Florida.

A menu above the map will give you the option to limit the search based on the amount of stops, total price, particular airlines, departure times, duration time, and interests.

The options for interests allows you to discover great destinations based on your likes such as beaches, food, culture, shopping, and more. I chose Adventure Travel because I enjoy swimming with sharks and jumping off cliffs…OK, I chose beaches because I really just want to read about people who do those crazy things while sitting on a beach drinking anything out of a coconut.

If you want to fly to a specific airport choose the Flights feature from the menu. After entering in your desired information, Google Flights will produce a list of flight options you can choose from. On their menu, you can limit the amount of stops, price range, airlines, travel times and more. If you are flexible on your dates of travel you can also discover a great bargain with Google Flights, click on one of the dates you entered for departing or arriving and Google will provide a calendar with the cheapest flight prices for your selected options. If you are flexible on the amount of days you are travelling, choose the Flexible Date button to display a chart of the prices broken down by various degrees of travel days.

For a more general search, the Price Graph feature will give you a broader view of how prices change. The Price Graph feature is beneficial for planners who want to discover the cheapest times of year to fly to a particular destination.

The cost of the flight can often make or break a vacation budget, especially when travelling with a family. Google Flights is a great tool to discover cheaper flights for your next destination so that you can splurge on other parts of your vacation. To discover more about the destination itself I would recommend that you come into the library so that we can find you some great travel books and movies that will help you fine tune your next vacation – this way you won’t be stuck hanging off a cliff someplace instead of relaxing on a beach with the most delicious drink imaginable.

By walking into the Library and exploring our collections, you might think you have a good idea of what the library has to offer. That’s partially true, however what you see is only a portion of the Library’s resources. How much do you know about the invisible Library collections?

The digital age is nothing new. Since the turn of the century, technology has rapidly evolved. Our digital resources do not occupy any physical space inside the Library, they are invisible.

Take a moment and think about how much you know about our digital resources. What digital services can you think of? An easy answer is eBooks. You may have also thought about online databases. If so, great! Now for the follow up question, what kind of databases do we offer? Maybe you can think of a few and maybe not. You may have thought, “if I need to find something, I’ll just Google it.” Google is a great tool, however the information you find there is not always credible information. Our online databases provide credible information on various topics.

Libraryopoly

Digital resources can sometimes be forgotten about. So, as part of this year’s Adult Summer Reading Club, we’re offering an optional activity called Libraryopoly. Included in your reading club folder, you will find a Libraryopoly board, instructions, and an online database information sheet. The board is filled with online database and social media activities to be completed. These are short and simple. By completing the activities you’ll earn raffle tickets and gain knowledge of various digital resources provided by the Library. If you take the time to go through these short activities, you will be surprised and hopefully impressed by our digital resources.

Feel free to leave a comment about your experiences using our online databases. We would love to hear from you.

Oh, right! I mentioned something about raffle tickets. Well, if discovering excellent resources and information you were previously unaware of isn’t enough motivation, we’ve added an additional incentive.

Libraryopoly raffle tickets will be entered into a separate summer reading club prize drawing for one lucky winner to win a basket of gifts. The drawing will be held at the Adult Summer Reading Club Party!