Free Help for ACT & SAT Prep

Nervous about the road to college?

The Kenton County Public Library can help reduce your anxiety in the area of test taking. The library has many resources available to help you boost your ACT/SAT scores to gain college admittance and put you in the driver’s seat for potential scholarships.  Test preparation study guide books from prestigious companies like Kaplan, Petersen, Barron’s and The Princeton Review can set you back over $35 a book. The library has all the 2013 latest editions to master the ACT or SAT from these publishers and you can check them out for free. Simply search SAT TEST or ACT TEST under “keyword” in the library’s catalog to request individual titles to be placed on hold for you to pick-up. The library gives you a window of 3-5 days to retrieve the books, before they return to the shelves.  Current college test preparation books can generally be checked out for two weeks.

Concerned about finding enough time to study in between high school homework, extracurricular activities and sports?

No worries! Kenton County Public Library also offers Test Preparation Software on our webpage that you can access anytime day or night with your library card. Simply go to the KCPL web page, click on Research & Homework, then Test Preparation. You will immediately be taken to the Learning Express web site. Click on College Preparation (left side of page) and register as a First Time User with your library card number and PIN (often the last four digits of your phone number) . Uncover the buttons to ACT Preparation and you will find free online courses to aid you in English, Reading, Science, Math and Writing sections. Besides the test prep courses, you can also take the most up-to-date practice tests in each area right online, too. The software will automatically remember your stopping place, so you can continually revisit the material. Underneath the SAT buttons, you will find similar courses and practice tests, but also heavy duty sections to assist you in completing SAT essays. You can also get help writing the essays required by top schools on their entrance applications!

The Learning Express web site can also help you develop your software skills, as you prepare for college. Most students grow to become proficient in MS Word, PowerPoint and Excel by graduation time. To get a leg up on the competition, you can take online software classes for free by clicking on Popular Software Tutorials.Quickly learn to write your first resume, develop a spreadsheet to track your grades or create a unique presentation for a public speaking class. If you have any trouble accessing the site, just click Ask A Question  at the top of the library’s home page to chat online with a Reference Librarian during the library’s normal business hours.

Upcoming test dates for the ACT are April 13^th and June 8^th. Fast approaching SAT test dates are March 9^th, May 4^th and June 1^st.  Use the library to get the highest scores you can today!

Leave us a comment! What tips do you have for others getting ready to take the ACT or SAT? What do you like about the library prep test?

New Year, New Attitude for School

The Library has a lot of resources for homework help. Many of which can be accessed through our website with your Kenton County Public Library card, even from home.

On our home page, under Research and Homework, there are a couple of resources that can help with homework as well as build your students’ confidence level.  First, there is the database page. This page lists all of the databases, or online resources, that our library users have access to, as well as a description of the information you can find in each resource.

There is also a link titled Test Prep. This leads to the Learning Express Library. Here you will sample practice tests for all ages as well as skill building exercises. You can also watch a video on how to use Learning Express. You can also help your child brush up on their foreign language classes with Mango and Little Pim online.

Did you or your student receive an e-reader or tablet over the holidays? If so, we have digital books available for check out from home.  On our homepage, right above the Research and Homework link there is a link called eBooks & eAudio. Overdrive eBooks features a few picture books and many chapter books for children. OneClickDigital is our audio book catalog.  Many students find it helpful to listen to a book while they read it.  Axis360 eBooks is a collection of picture books that you can check out and read on the accompanying app Blio. If you do not have an e-reader, we have Nooks for children, young adults, and adults that are preloaded with books.  Many students today find it fun to read on an electronic device!

It also helps encourage your children to read if they see their parents reading traditional books or on e-readers. Check out our collection of relaxation and meditation CDs or perhaps you would prefer a comedian on CD or DVD. We also offer the service Freegal which allows you to download three free songs per week.The Library reference staff is also here to help. Stop by any of the three branches and ask the children’s or adult/teen reference staff for help with researching a project, finding certain books or using the online resources. You can even text or email a librarian with a question.

So, make a fresh start this year and help your children make one too. Let the Kenton County Public Library help you with our many services available to cardholders. Happy New Year!

 

This post was written by Julie Mills, children’s librarian at the Erlanger Branch Library.