A Year of Stories: LibraryCall's Exciting Plans for 2024
February 1, 2024Happy February!
Exciting things are in store for LibraryCall customers this year, and we’re excited to share them with you. Here are some highlights:
- Expanding our Spanish Collection: With the help of our talented storytellers, Lorena Romero and Daniel Fernando, we'll be adding stories to our Spanish collection.
- Remastering and Releasing Audio Stories: We’re in the process of remastering many of our older audio stories. As we improve stories, we release them to the Storytime Commons. We are also publishing many of them as audiobooks.
- Introducing LibraryCall Kids!: We're happy to announce the upcoming release of LibraryCall Kids!, an audiobook app designed specifically for children. This app will allow young ones to explore and listen to LibraryCall stories that match their interests. With unrestricted listening and seamless integration into library websites, it'll be easier than ever for patrons to download, enjoy, and keep the stories they love. Stay tuned for its launch later this year!
New to the Public Domain
Did you know that every year on January 1, new stories enter the public domain? This is particularly exciting news for our Dial-A-Story Studio customers! Public domain stories can be copied, shared, and adapted freely for your Dial-A-Story programs. In 2024, two notable children's titles that entered the public domain are "Millions of Cats" by Wanda Gag and "The House at Pooh Corner" by A.A. Milne.Intriguingly, Mickey Mouse has also entered the public domain in 2024, or at least, a part of his legacy has! "Steamboat Willie," the iconic 1928 Disney cartoon featuring Mickey Mouse, is now part of the public domain. Although copyright law can be complex and Disney has a history of fighting for copyright extensions, the general consensus is that the original, black and white version of Mickey Mouse is no longer under copyright. Is it time for a black and white Mickey Mouse party at the library? Old-fashioned Mickey Mouse summer reading theme? We can't wait to see what you come up with!
Here's to another year of great stories!
-The LibraryCall team
Sharing Black stories this month and all year long
February 3, 2023Happy February! It’s Black History Month, which gives us another good reason to highlight the recordings in our catalog that celebrate influential African Americans and their stories.
In this article, we also share an invitation to a free virtual summit hosted by The Galecia Group.
We won a Platinum Modern Library Award-- again!
January 25, 2023We are pleased to announce that LibraryCall has earned the distinguished Platinum Modern Library Award for the second year in a row. The Modern Library Awards (MLAs) recognize the top products and services in the library industry in the areas of product quality, functionality, value, customer service experience, and overall satisfaction by librarians using them.
Winter Promotion: 20% off sign-up discount
January 19, 2023Take advantage of our winter promotion. Receive 20% off when you sign up for a LibraryCall service by March 1, 2023.
3 ideas for promoting your Dial-A-Story service
January 12, 2023Quick ideas to make sure the fantastic stories you record and select make it to the ears of young people in your community.
Most popular stories of the year
January 12, 2023We're always interested to see what's resonating with our library partners, so we took a look at the stories you shared last year to see what we could learn.
Looking back, looking forward...
January 4, 2023Cheers to 2023! This post contains 2022 highlights, information about a new outreach resource, and Public Domain Day 2023 highlights.
Holiday greetings... with cute pet photos!
December 22, 2022Adorable animal photos and a holiday message from the LibraryCall team
Spread cheer with these winter stories
December 14, 2022LibraryCall stories to share with your community during this season of short days, colder weather, and celebration.
LibraryCall Welcomes Lorena Romero
December 9, 2022We are pleased to announce the hiring of Lorena Romero to LibraryCall's content development team!
With Gratitude
November 21, 2022We share our gratitude for our wonderful customers, and we highlight a new story about a boy who visits his family in Mexico for the first time and realizes he has more to be thankful for than he ever imagined.