It’s back-to-school time, and that doesn’t just mean for the kids. Johnson County Library offers free academic tools for learners of all ages. All you need is a Library card. There are plenty of physical books and online resources available, and if you need a quiet place to reflect or collaborate, reserve a room at any of the 14 branches up to three months in advance.
For elementary school students
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BookFlix: Stories come to life with read-along text. Each animated video storybook is paired with a related nonfiction eBook.
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Lightbox: Interactive books on science, social studies and language arts through a mix of audio narration, videos, slideshows, quizzes and more.
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Britannica School: An online encyclopedia with age-appropriate entries and articles from journals, magazines and websites.
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Naxos MusicBox: Bite-sized lessons featuring interactive elements and activities to learn about music from around the world and through time.
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Elementary (Gale in Context): Colorful pictures and simple descriptions on subjects like animals, art, music, geography, health, literature and people.
For middle and high school students
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Brainfuse HelpNow: Several ways to get homework help, including live tutoring, a writing lab for feedback, study resources and test prep.
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Britannica Library: Choose the reading level that works best for your research, homework assignments or special projects.
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Issues & Controversies: Unbiased exploration of today's crucial issues and hot topics spanning government, business, society, education and popular culture.
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Access World News: Articles from nearly 6,000 news sources covering more than 170 countries.
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Mango Languages: Lessons presented through real-life situations and actual native conversations. Listen and repeat to learn individual words and phrases.
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CultureGrams: Information on history, culture and geography of American states, Canadian provinces, countries and regions of the world.
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Middle School (Gale in Context): Images and brief descriptions into subjects like cultures, geography, government, literature, science, social issues and history.
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High School (Gale in Context): Overviews, primary sources, news and journal articles, biographies, critical essays and multimedia on thousands of subjects.
For adult learners
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Brainfuse Adult Learning Center: Live help with GED prep, job skills, resumes and citizenship tests. Includes study resources for high school equivalency, U.S. citizenship and career exploration.
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The Great Courses (Kanopy): Use allotted digital tickets to explore a curated collection of video lectures on hundreds of topics, including art, cooking, history, literature, professional skills and world languages.
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Book a Librarian: One-on-one service that connects you directly with knowledgeable Johnson County Library staff. Personalized, judgment-free confidential sessions to help with using online resources, digging into the catalog, researching personalized research projects or topics, finding online articles, searching the internet, using library databases and navigating computer basics.
For educators & homeschoolers
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Apply for an Educator Outreach Card: Get extended checkouts and classroom support.
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Access resources: Classroom-ready databases, Books to Go kits, college prep tools, literacy support and more.
Johnson County Library is here to help you this back-to-school season with resources designed for students and learners of all ages.
