National Geographic for Kids

Submitted by Jeff Fisher

Many of us have memories from childhood of yellow bordered National Geographic magazines lying in a stack or pile. These may have been in the waiting room at a medical office, or stored in a cardboard box, tucked away in the back corner of a garage or shed. My great uncle kept his stack of National Geographic back issues on a staircase landing piled atop a very small table. (This may have violated local fire code such as it was in 1980s Tennessee.) 

Current print issues of National Geographic are available at the Library's branches, and patrons also have access to every past issue of the magazine electronically through the National Geographic Virtual Library database. (Note that the National Geographic family of magazines is also available through Libby eMagazines.)

National Geographic for Kids is a database designed for younger patrons and their caregivers. National Geographic for Kids features electronic copies of the National Geographic for Kids magazine, electronic copies of popular youth books under the National Geographic imprint, videos, and a large library of pictures. 

Over 3,000 sections of electronic issues of National Geographic for Kids are available for patrons. Rather than a listing of each issue with a picture of the cover, the magazines are broken down by section in chronological order. The oldest issues are from 2009.   

The books section of the database features titles from the National Geographic imprint, many of which the Library currently has in print. There are fiction titles in addition to the many geography, history, travel, and weird but true titles in this digital library. Over 700 eBooks are available for patrons to read using their preferred online browser with no hold wait times.

Over 200 eVideos are made available for patrons. The eVideos each focus on a specific topic, such as 'How a Caterpillar Becomes a Butterfly' and  'King Cobra Village.' The eVideos may be of particular interest to patrons doing research for a school project or report. A really interesting feature in this section is the citation that is generated when a patron opens up a link to a specific video. (All areas of the database will create a citation for the book, video, or picture used for research.)

The database contains over 1,000 pictures for patrons to enjoy. Each picture may be used for personal, non-commercial purposes. The picture library contains photos related to science, travel, history, and geography.

National Geographic for Kids is a resource that provides a wealth of information to patrons of all ages.