Are you thinking about holidays?

Looking for holiday movies to entertain kids out of school or visiting guests? Here are CMRLS Library catalog entries of videos, DVDs, and Blu Ray recordings where the search SUBJECT= Halloween; Thanksgiving; Christmas; Kwanzaa; or Hanukkah.

Looking for holiday recipes? Click here.

Holiday decorating? Click here.

Holiday music? Click here. For downloadable music of all types click here -> FREEGAL.

What's the difference you ask? The first link is to CDs and audiocassettes found in one of the twenty (20) CMRLS Libraries. The second link? It's FREE music! It's yours! You keep the music on any computer or MP3 device, including smartphones AND you may download five (5) FREE songs each week...every week! Yes, FREE; but you must have a CMRLS Library Card.

AND, there's more that's FREE! Beginning *Oct. 1, 2015, you also have the option to stream three (3) hours of music each day from ready made playlists or those you create on FREEGAL (much like using Pandora or I 'heart' Radio) without using your five (5) FREE downloads.

Ask staff to get you started or just download the FREEGAL app from your App Store. It's FREE, also! Then you can begin creating your playlists and downloading FREE music from the 28,000 music labels you'll find on FREEGAL!

FREEGAL also has music videos--and they are FREE, too!

CMRLS Library Card = FREE + LEGAL Music

*CORRECTION: Live streaming will begin on October 25, so get your FREEGAL account set up soon. You'll have access to 9 million songs, 15,000 music videos, and endless playlists that you create yourself. Five (5) free downloads each week and 3 hours streaming each day!

National Library Week & New Services Announced!

It is National Library Week and Central Mississippi Regional Library System (CMRLS) is excited to announce two new services from Rankin, Scott, Simpson, and Smith County Libraries! Freegal Music and Rocket Languages are both services by Library Ideas(TM) that was named "One of the Top 100 Companies in the Digital Content Industry for 2011-12" by EContent Magazine. 

Freegal Music is a database of over 3 million songs including Sony Music's catalog of legendary artists and over 10,000 music labels from 65 different countries. Registered CMRLS cardholders can download 3 music tracks in MP3 format each week at no cost. In addition, Freegal Music recently announced the availability of free mobile apps. The app is available at the Apple(r) App Store and Google Play(r). This makes the Libraries' music collection mobile and downloadable from anywhere. 

"We have been waiting a long time for a service like this that delivers great music, compatibility with lots of devices and simplicity of use. We think this will be incredibly popular with our patrons and will help the library in marketing all its services to the community," said CMRLS Director Kaileen Thieling.

Where did the name "Freegal" come from? It must be asked often, Library Ideas (TM) answers the question on their website. Freegal, which rhymes with legal, is free, downloadable, legal music. Library Ideas (TM) thinking to further advertise the point came up with "Free and Legal" - it's Freegal. It is memorable, which is what you want when marketing a product and there is no threat of copyright infringement when downloading this music. So, Freegal it is! 

Rocket Languages is an online conversational language lesson database of 13 languages, including American Sign Language and ESL for Spanish and Japanese speakers. The language lessons have been created to help the learner speak naturally; even recording your voice for comparison with every word and phrase used in the course. To reinforce the lessons, Rocket Languages uses Language-Master Games, self-testing, and a forum so that anyone using the language lessons can interact with other learners and your Rocket Languages teachers. 

Other languages in the Rocket Language database are Spanish, Korean, Japanese, Italian, Hindi, German, French, Chinese, Arabic, and Portuguese. Cardholders may work on one or all of the languages that are accessible anywhere through the CMRLS website. Rocket Languages also has iOS and Android apps so that you can use your course wherever you are.

"We are excited to also offer this free Library service. This can be very useful for our communities that continue to grow more diverse, and for travelers. The lessons travel with you, either online, by the use of an app, or by downloading the lessons as pdf or MP3 files," said Dorothy Vance, CMRLS Public Relations Coordinator. 

National Library Week, first sponsored in 1958, is a national observance sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA) and libraries across the country each April. "Communities matter @ your library, is this year's motto and service to the community has always been the focus of the library," said Vance.

Central Mississippi Regional Library System serves the public libraries of Rankin, Scott, Simpson, and Smith Counties. For more information, contact your local CMRLS Library or visit www.cmrls.lib.ms.us.