Kids are out of school, swimming pools are opening up, Summer Reading Challenge has kicked off at Poudre River Libraries, and people are planning fun vacations and weekend getaways. It sure feels like the unofficial start of summer around here!
Whether your travel adventures take you as far away as Australia or you’ll be exploring closer to home, the Library District has a wealth of resources available to help you plan all of your travel needs from the cultural insights to the best hotels and restaurants.
Don’t begin your summer vacation without a quick stop at the library for travel guidebooks, fun travel game ideas, language lessons, and much more.
Download Travel Guidebooks & eMagazines
Freading includes an extensive collection of Lonely Planet Guidebook eBooks available for checkout and download to your smartphone, tablet, or eReader. As the largest publisher of travel guides in the world, Lonely Planet has you covered no matter your curiosity takes you. Staying in Colorado? There are a bunch of hiking, paddling, and travel guides to Colorado available.
hoopla is another great resource for Lonely Plant travel guides from Boston to Barcelona, Seattle to Shanghai, New England to New Zealand. With hoopla, you can instantly borrow digital resources 24/7 with your Poudre River Libraries card.
Zinio is the easy-to-access collection of eMagazines including great travel mags like Conde Nast Traveler, National Geographic Traveler, 5280 Magazine, Backpacker, and Outside Magazine.
Keep the Kids Entertained
Long car rides and plane trips can be tiring for young travelers, so be sure to pack fun travel games and crafts to keep them entertained. Here are a few books to get you headed out the door:
24 easy-to-fold origami projects that are fun to make and fabulous to display in your home. Step-by-step instructions show you how to fold your paper collections into special items you can wear, carry, hang on your wall, or give to a traveling companion as a special keepsake.
Includes observation games, rhyming games, and other activities to play during every mile of the trip, even during bathroom time.
Elmo and Abby play stimulating travel games featuring the alphabet, counting, shapes and rhyming along with exciting songs. (DVD)
Up Close with Culture
Culturegrams features update-to-date cultural content for more than 200 countries. The eResource includes short articles, videos, photos, audio files and more that help foster an understanding and appreciation of the world’s countries and peoples. Listen to traditional musicians in Ethiopia, check out a wedding procession in Cameroon, or follow a recipe from Paraguay.
Learn another Language
Pronunciator is an online resource that teaches you 80 different languages for free through self-directed lessons, live teachers, movies, music, and more. Planning a trip to Scandinavia? Learn Finnish, Norwegian, or Swedish. Looking to travel to Asia? There’s Korean, Chinese, Vietnamese, and others. All you need is your library card!
Vacation Close to Home
In addition to the many print and digital Colorado travel guides available, the Library District also offers great gadgets and things to make your summer vacation even better.
- A Colorado state parks pass and adventure backpack
- A bird watching kit with binoculars and field guide
- Solar lights great for camping and outdoor entertaining
And don’t forget to bring along a stack of books for reading on the beach or poolside or wherever you end up.
Have a great summer! See you at the library!