We now have 2 locations open 7 days a week! Our Mt. Washington branch has joined Central Library as our second location to offer Sunday hours from 1:00–5:00 PM.
FRIDAY, MAY 10th | All BCPL locations will be closed for staff development.
With thousands of items in our collection, BCPL offers something for everyone to enjoy. We can’t wait to help you discover great books, movies, and more!
Whether you want to build computer skills, master a language, or just learn something new for the fun of it, we offer resources and services to help you become the person you want to be.
Use the menu to the right to learn about all available resources for a particular format (like e-books!), or click on a specific resource icon (like Hoopla!) to begin exploring available titles. With just a few simple clicks, you can access thousands of free e-books, audiobooks, music albums, videos, and more.
Stream quality children's shows—no play credits required!
Switch to Libby!
The legacy OverDrive app will be fully discontinued in early 2023, but Libby offers the same Kentucky Libraries Unbound titles you love with new features and an improved user experience!
This rich resource provides pro/con viewpoints, reference articles, interactive maps, infographics, and more covering today’s hottest social issues. It’s an excellent resource for debaters, students, and educators alike. Content explores current events, news and commentary, economics, environmental issues, law and politics, health and medicine, and more.
Your gateway to:
20,100+ pro/con viewpoints
19,200+ reference articles, including topic overviews
12,700+ charts and graphs, along with other statistical information
300+ profiles of federal agencies and special-interest groups
Special coverage of the annual debate topic determined by the National Speech and Debate Association
Full-text newspapers and periodicals from multiple perspectives, including: The New York Times, Newsweek, Foreign Policy, American Scientist and Education Week, and more.
Special features include:
Educator Resources
Find tools to help educators and students get the most out of Gale In Context resources. There are lesson plans and activities to put concepts into practice!
Topic Finder
Visualize connections between search terms and topics and view relevant articles for those topics.
Explore Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints is provided by Kentucky Virtual Library. A special username and password are required for home access; ask at any BCPL service desk for the login credentials or call the main library at 543-7675.
Learn computer programming skills through a series of quick tutorials and gamified projects! Choose from a variety of “workouts” and “missions” as you learn to build websites, video games, phone apps, animations, and more. Plus, explore career opportunities in computer programming, start your own project in the Create module, or join a live coding challenge.
The Fiero Code software provides an accessible, easy-to-navigate coding journey geared toward youth ages 8–18, but adults can enjoy Fiero Code, too! It’s a great, low-commitment way for all ages to learn and practice their coding skills, and more adult-focused content for career-building is coming soon.
Here are just a few of the benefits of learning to code with Fiero Code:
Project-Based Learning Coders have numerous opportunities to build real-world websites, video games, apps, animations, and more from scratch.
Story-Based Learning & Gamification Make learning fun to stay engaged and achieve the outcome you want. Maintain progress with Streaks and Top Projects—and don’t forget to level-up your personal avatar. As you complete each Fiero Code workout and mission, you’ll unlock gear and other items to customize your avatar.
Maker & Robotics Experience the thrill of coding a robot and use with devices including Ozobot, Sphero, Raspberry Pi, and Makey Makey.
Self-Guided / Self-Paced
Be empowered! With Fiero Code, you can choose the projects and topics that interest you and do it at your own pace. Hop from discipline to discipline and from tutorials to projects (and back again) with ease.
Support from Fiero Code With a built-in discussion board moderated by Fiero Code coders and staff, you will never be left without support.
ArtistWorks offers instrumental and voice lessons from world-class professionals. From beginner instruction to advanced classes, aspiring musicians of all skills levels are provided a guided path of video lessons containing everything they need to reach their musical goals.
Learn at your own speed and enjoy the instructional videos on desktop or mobile devices. ArtistWorks is available as a Kentucky Libraries Unbound/Libby Extra. You will need to log in to KLU/Libby with your library card number and PIN to access Extras. Once your ArtistWorks account is created, it will need to be renewed through Libby every 30 days.
Features include:
Bluegrass, Blues, Classical, Country, Jazz, Rock, and more
Hundreds of hours of high-quality video instruction
Studio quality play-along tracks
Downloadable written materials, tablature, and sheet music
Universal Class offers more than 500 lifelong-learning courses in over 30 subject areas—many of which offer continuing education units (CEUs). Courses are designed and led by professional instructors to build deeper understanding and mastery of subject matter through a variety of mediums including videos, assignments, quizzes, tests, and interactive opportunities with other learners. Universal Class is a great choice for both serious students and casual learners.
Patrons may take multiple classes and learn at their own pace. Universal Class is best accessed through a desktop computer and is available as a Kentucky Libraries Unbound/Libby Extra. You will need to log in to KLU/Libby with your library card number and PIN to access Extras. Once your Universal Class account is created, it will need to be renewed through Libby every 30 days.
A wide variety of courses span everything from homeschool courses for the kids (and parents) to business and accounting to dozens of cooking, baking, arts & crafts, and gardening courses. Examples include:
Advanced Dog Training
AREAS OF STUDY – click to enlarge.
LinkedIn Learning is a premier online learning resource featuring tutorials from recognized experts in their fields covering technical skills, creative techniques, business strategies, career development, and more. Learning is self-paced and courses and tutorials are broken up into short videos, so it’s easy to squeeze in just a few minutes of learning a day if that’s all the time you have.
Please note: LinkedIn Learning requires that users be at least 16 years old, but a public LinkedIn profile is not required for access.
You just need your library card and PIN to get started! If you have a public profile you do not want linked to your LinkedIn Learning account, you may be asked to provide a Library ID instead of your e-mail. Our Library ID is bcplibky.
LearningExpress Library’s Adult Core Skills offers resources for busy adults who need to brush up on their math skills; improve their writing, speaking, or grammar; and even offers assistance to become a US citizen.
In addition to useful skills reviews in math, reading, grammar, and writing, the College Students portal offers practice tests for college placement exams and graduate school admission exams. Includes GMAT, GRE, LSAT, MAT, MCAT, and PCAT.
Be ready for college entrance exams! Discover e-books, video tutorials, and practice tests to help you prepare for the ACT, SAT, and PSAT/NMSQT. The College Admissions Test Preparation portal also covers AP exams and the TOEFL iBT.
Enjoy video courses on topics ranging from computer maintenance and internet safety to popular software programs like Word, Excel, Outlook, and Adobe Photoshop.
***Based on user feedback and an interest in trying something new, we have decided to cancel our Treehouse subscription, effective April 12th. You can check out the Treehouse website if you’d like to maintain your Treehouse account with your own subscription. In the meantime, we are excited to introduce a new learn-to-code experience: Fiero Code!***
Treehouse is an online video and interactive learning platform that specializes in teaching people of all ages how to design and develop websites and mobile apps. Tracks include web development, web design, iOs and Android app development, WordPress development and design, game development, and various programming languages, including HTML, JavaScript, PHP, and Ruby. Courses are taught through short videos, with quizzes, code challenges, and other activities to help reinforce new skills and concepts. Their Career Program serves as a “guided tool to help you prepare for a new job in technology.”
Interested in learning to code or exploring the other courses offered via Treehouse? E-mail [email protected] to request access. Be sure to provide your full name and library card number for verification.
Learn practical conversation skills for over 70 languages with this comprehensive language-learning system focused on teaching much more than just words and phrases. Mango utilizes an engaging interface and intuitive, interactive tools to deliver practical language skills and valuable cultural insights that enhance your understanding of the language.
Each lesson combines real-life situations and audio from native speakers to immerse language learners in a whole new world. Strategically placed memory-building exercises help you to retain information, and grammar notes and critical thinking exercises provide you with the foundation to more intuitively understand the language and adapt lessons and vocabulary to new situations. In no time at all, you’ll be able to confidently navigate all sorts of everyday communications—getting directions, ordering a meal, making new friends, and more!
Mango also offers fully interactive feature films to help users master new languages. Films provide a breakdown of each line of dialogue and build on all foundational language skills, including grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and culture.
Learn on your computer or mobile device. Mango includes downloadable lessons for offline learning, so you can truly take Mango with you on the road! Plus, sync across devices for a seamless learning experience.
Offers practice tests, e-books, and skill-building courses for students and adult learners. Many courses are available in Spanish. Includes specialized learning centers for different interests and age groups, including:
Adult Core Skills – Improve your skills in reading, writing, and mathematics. Career Preparation – Prepare for an occupational exam, build workplace skills, and more. School Center – Test preparation and tutorials for elementary, middle, and high school students. Computer Skills – Enjoy video courses on topics ranging from computer maintenance and internet safety to popular software programs like Word, Excel, Outlook, and Adobe Photoshop.
Prepare yourself for the road! Presented in partnership with Driving-Tests.org, this resource offers convenient access to state-specific information. Includes both current DMV manuals and multiple practice tests for standard vehicles, motorcycles, and CDL written tests.
No library card number or personal information is needed! This resource is also great for anyone looking to brush up on their knowledge of Kentucky’s traffic laws or interested in getting their motorcycle or CDL license.
The award-winning ABCmouse curriculum is designed to help young childrenages 2–8+ build a strong foundation for future academic success. Subject areas include reading, math, science, social studies, art, and music. ABCmouse is 100% educational, with more than 10,000 interactive learning activities ranging from books and videos to games, puzzles, songs, art activities, printables, and more—including more than 1,200 learning activities in Spanish.
You can access ABCmouse at any BCPL branch on any public computer or on a personal laptop connected to our Wi-Fi—no account required! To use ABCmouse on your mobile device while connected to our Wi-Fi, download the ABCmouse app.
When ABCmouse is accessed with ABCmouse Bring Learning Home, your account can be shared by up to three children in a household, each with their own avatar, profile, and progress tracking on the ABCmouse Step-by-Step Learning Path.
For more information or help navigating the site, check out this curriculum overview from ABCmouse.
Whether you are completing research for a school project or just looking to satisfy your curiosity about a topic of interest, Explora can help you achieve your goals. Explora offers reliable information on thousands of topics covering a wide range of subjects including art and music, literature, language arts, geography, history, social studies, world cultures and languages, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, health, and sports.
With Explora, you can…
Search for articles, e-books, news, videos and more using a single search box
Browse popular topics by category to get research ideas
Read Topic Overviews to gain the background information you need to start your research
Limit results to articles that match your reading level
Hear HTML articles read aloud with EBSCO’s Text-to-Speech feature
Use the citation tool to build your list of references/works cited
Get research tips on identifying relevant sources, citing them properly and avoiding plagiarism
Explora is designed to meet the unique needs of its users, supporting both student research and classroom instruction with rich, reliable content and easy-to-use functionality. Use the EBSCOhost—Home Access portal for remote access; a valid library card is required for use outside a BCPL library location.
Let your research begin with EBSCO! Access FULL-TEXT magazine and journal articles, or choose from a selection of special-topic databases such as Academic Search Complete, Agricola, ERIC, GreenFILE, MasterFILE Premier, Newspaper Source, PsycINFO, Regional Business News, Teacher Reference Center, and more.
***Based on user feedback and an interest in trying something new, we have decided to cancel our Treehouse subscription, effective April 12th. You can check out the 
