FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 21, 2020
Contact: Erin Del Signore
Marketing Manager
301.807.4539
edelsignore@ccplonline.org
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Charles County Public Library Expands Access For Patrons During COVID-19 Closures With Live Web Chat, New Digital Resources
(La Plata, MD – April 21, 2020) The Charles County Public Library is now providing online
customer service through a live web chat feature on its website, as well as expanding its digital
collection to include two new digital platforms. Available now, the new live web chat service
connects directly to staff to answer library questions, and provide assistance via its website.
CCPL has also added two new digital resources, Freegal® Musi c and Kanopy.
The new live web chat service is available during the library’s regular business hours, with
brand new hours on Sundays from 12- 4PM, which the library has never offered before. There is
also a direct translate feature. Users can type their questions in Spanish and will receive their
replies in Spanish as well.
“We wanted to be able to connect with patrons even though our physical locations are not open
during this time,” said CCPL Executive Director KennethWayne Thompson. “An online chat
service was the best way to stay in contact with our users in real time in order to help answer
questions about library accounts and our digital resources, as well as be able to guide those
patrons who might not have used our digital collection before. This chat service, as well as the
two additional services, Freegal and Kanopy, allow patrons to read, listen and learn from the
comfort and safety of their homes.”
Freegal® Music is a free music service that offers 3 hours of streaming every day and 3
downloads per week to keep forever. The catalog includes over 16 million songs, millions of
albums, hundreds of curated playlists, the ability to create your own playlists, thousands of
audio books and thousands of music videos. In total the collection is comprised of music from
over 40,000+ labels with music that originates in over 100 countries. Free apps are available at
the App Store and Google Play.
Kanopy showcases more than 30,000 of the world’s best films, including award-winning
documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films, and
world cinema with collections from Umbrella Entertainment, Madman Entertainment, Under the
Milky Way, SND Films and thousands of independent filmmakers.
Freegal and Kanopy are free for users with a library card.
The Library previously announced expanded offerings for two other digital resources, Hoopla
and RB Digital. An increase in borrowing limit was raised from five checkouts per month to eight
for its most popular digital resource, Hoopla. Hoopla provides access to thousands of movies,
TV shows, eBooks, audiobooks and more with no hold lists. RB Digital provides access to more
than 3,200 free online versions of the most popular magazines. The service is funded through
the Southern Maryland Regional Library Association, Inc. (SMRLA).
For more information about these resources, to sign up for a library card, and more, please visit
our website www.ccplonline.org.
About Charles County Public Library
Charles County Library System (CCPL) has four physical buildings and one mobile library. The
Waldorf West and P.D. Brown Memorial branches are both located in Waldorf. The La Plata
branch serves as the administrative headquarters for the system and is located in the town of
La Plata. The western side of the county is served by the Potomac Branch located in Ruth B.
Swann Park in Indian Head. CCPL has a staff of more than 100 full-time and part-time
employees. Their branches house over 200,000 volumes of printed material, audio books, film,
and other documents. Currently, there are over 75,000 county residents who have library cards
and that number grows every day.