Township library to offer virtual story hours

The Bloomfield Township Public Library is now offering virtual story hours for readers of all ages through Vimeo, using material available in the public domain.

“At Bloomfield Township Public Library, stories come in many forms,” said Katherine Bryant, assistant director at the library.

The library is now offering a variety of virtual read-aloud sessions for adults, children, and families through Vimeo, using public domain materials sourced from Project Gutenberg. Bryant said listening to books read aloud is a great way to exercise the imagination, enhance literacy skills, and share quality time with friends and family.

Families and kids of all ages can tune in to KidLITCast, a weekly story time podcast produced by the Library’s Youth Services department. Each episode features a chapter or two from a classic children’s book, read by one of BTPL’s youth librarians.

For the current series, Librarian Nicole Gillies is reading My Father’s Dragon by Ruth Stiles Gannett. My Father’s Dragon is a Newbery Honor-winning children’s novel about a young boy who runs away to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon. There will be ten episodes for this book, with a new series beginning in early summer. A new episode of KidLITCast is released every Friday, and all episodes can be accessed on the Library’s Vimeo channel at vimeo.com/user8829876.

For classic works of short fiction and poetry, adults and teens are invited to check out Virtual Read-Aloud with Emily on the Adult Services Vimeo page at vimeo.com/showcase/. Librarian Emily Benoit reads a different story or poem each month, with all materials available through Project Gutenberg (gutenberg.org/) so listeners can read along if they wish. Recent titles include “Araby” by James Joyce, “The Bee-Man” by Alice Ruth Moore, and “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe.

Both KidLITCast and Virtual Read-Aloud are recorded on a video still frame with closed captioning available so people of all abilities can experience the stories.

For more information, residents can call the library at 248.642.4800 or go to btpl.org.