Back-to-School Tools: East End Libraries Provide Resources for Success

The school year has just begun, which means children and teens across the East End are getting settled into their new classes, slowly easing into new topics of algebra, marine biology, American history, creative writing and more. Teachers don’t keep to this slow pace for long, however, and when they kick things into high gear, you need to be prepared to help your child succeed, should they need help keeping up or maintaining that perfect GPA. Luckily for parents and students, Hamptons and North Fork libraries provide a wealth of resources beyond just great reading material,  including tutors, second language programs and more. Here are some of the invaluable resources available to your child at your local library — all you need is a library card.

All 16 East End libraries grant access to Suffolk County’s Livebrary.com, an aggregate website brimming with links to other useful tools and resources for students of all ages. It provides access to numerous digital newspapers, encyclopedias and scientific research that can be cited in any upcoming research papers. One cool tool in particular, Pronunciator, is a great way to help your child learn a new language in a way that makes sense to them, with personalized courses, videos and more.

Livebrary.com’s most enticing offering has to be Brainfuse, which provides live online tutors and homework help in most standard subjects, as well as most major standardized tests. Its writing lab allows students to submit essays and receive constructive feedback to get everything just right, and it’s honestly an essay game-changer.

If your soon-to-be honor student needs a little assistance getting set up with Brainfuse, not to worry, East Hampton Library is hosting a virtual introductory class on Wednesday, September 15, 6–7 p.m. You can sign up at easthamptonlibrary.org for this and other helpful programs, such as the library’s peer-to-peer online tutoring on Mondays at 4 p.m.

If your little one is having trouble adjusting to their new grade, the Westhampton Free Library can help. The Let’s Get Ready series runs on Mondays through October with games and crafts that help kids to better grasp phonics, letters and more. The September 13 and October 4 dates are focused on kindergarteners moving into 1st grade; September 20 and October 18 are for youngsters going from 1st to 2nd grade; and September 27 and October 25 are designed with kids moving into 3rd grade in
mind. Visit westhamptonlibrary.netto register.

It’s never too early to start preparing for the SATs. Beginning on October 2, Mattituck-Laurel Library and Cutchogue New Suffolk Library will begin offering SAT prep from noon–2 p.m. via Zoom. To register your child, head to mattitucklaurellibrary.org.

Many of the local library sites — including Shelter Island Public Library, John Jermain Memorial Library, Montauk Library and Hampton Library — also provide helpful links to free-to-use schoolwork-related sites such as CitationMachine.net (citation generator), smallseotools.com/plagiarism-checker (plagiarism checking system), WorksCited4U.com (bibliography generator), Thesaurus.com (online thesaurus), Understood.org (strategies for learning/attention issues) and owl.purdue.edu (writing and grammar tips). Since these websites don’t require a library card, you can make good use of the site links found on any of the library pages, not just your personal library.

This is but a fraction of all the invaluable resources to be found across East End libraries such as Floyd Memorial Library, Quogue Library, Hampton Bays Public Library, Amagansett Free Library, Riverhead Free Library, Rogers Memorial Library and all the others. Remember that if your child needs a little extra help with their studies (or even community service hours) there are options available to you, and your local library is an excellent place to start.