Earlier this
year, the library began checking out computer tablets loaded with children’s
educational games. Families could use them at home, on car trips or while
waiting at the doctor’s office. Based on the
popularity of those LiteracyGo tablets, the library has added 15 new tablets
and plans to add 12 more on a quarterly basis. But these tablets aren’t just
for kids.
The new
Playaway Launchpads are 7-inch tablets that contain educational games, puzzles
and activities for youths and teens and brain games for adults. They cover
math, geography, spelling and language skills while also helping stimulate
memory and creativity. The tablets come
with a charger and cable and have a rubber wrapping that is soft to hold and
protects the tablets if dropped. Each one has a different theme and is geared
for a certain age group.
A list of
the Launchpads can be found in the library’s online catalog at rhcl.org by
selecting the Booklists tab under the What’s Hot heading. Families can have two
Launchpads checked out at a time and should ask for them at the Service Desks.
The tablets check out for three weeks and are available at the Belt Branch,
Savannah Branch and Bookmobile.
Library
Director Michelle Mears said the library purchased the Launchpads because they
come in a variety of age ranges, have a wider variety of activities and include
popular children’s characters, including My Little Pony, Transformers, Littlest
Pet Shop, Berenstain Bears, Caillou, Peanuts and the Smurfs.
The
library’s first LiteracyGo tablets are still available to be checked out.
