Special Collections

Solano County Library is more than just books!

Board games, mental health kits, musical instruments, parks passes, video games and much more!

Binge Boxes

Binge Boxes

Binge Boxes

Binge Boxes are themed collections of 4-6 DVDs packaged together for your convenience and enjoyment. Explore our collection for a binge box suitable for your next movie night!

Look below for our Binge Boxes in our collection:

Board Games

Board Game collection at the Vacaville Cultural Center Library

Board Games

The library’s board game collection includes over 120 titles that are a perfect way to spend an evening with friends and family. There are games of all types and varieties. Do you want to work  together? Try one of the Cooperative Games and defend your castle, solve mysteries, or stop the spread of a global pandemic! Would you prefer to battle it out and see who’s the best? Duke it out in a card battle between dinosaurs and robots, compete in a race to colonize Mars, or see who can build the best home of your dreams.

Borrow the games from our collection!

Games for Kids

Games for the Whole Family

Games for Adults

Citizen Science Kits

Citizen Science Kits

Millions of people enjoy science and nature, while thousands of scientists need volunteers. Solano County Library wants to help bring everyone together through Citizen Science projects with our iNaturalist and GLOBE at Night kits. These kits will allow members of the community to assist with collecting data for the projects.

Request your kit with your library card, and learn more about these projects by visiting the iNaturalist and GLOBE at Night websites.

Exploring Biodiversity Kit

Exploring Biodiversity Kit

A kit for exploring biodiversity – Document and identify plants and animals around you! The kit was assembled to provide hands-on materials and ideas to supplement lessons pertaining to biodiversity. Use your smartphone and clip-on lenses to take and share detailed pictures of nature and help create a living record of life on Earth. By recording and sharing your observations, you’ll create research-quality data for scientists working to better understand and protect nature.

Measuring Light in the Night Kit

Measuring Light in the Night Kit

A kit for measuring light in the night – Collect light pollution levels using a sky quality meter and use the Globe at Night app or website to report your data! The data is used to monitor levels of light pollution around the world as well as learn about the impacts of light pollution on energy consumption, plants, wildlife, and human health.

Chromebook Kits

Chromebook backpack kits featuring chromebook laptopn and a Verizon WiFi hotspot!Chromebook Kits

We’re excited to offer Chromebooks with Verizon hotspots!

These new items to Solano County Library come in backpacks containing a laptop that runs Google’s Chrome OS and the Chrome Web browser. They also feature a WiFi hotspot! They can be checked out for 3 weeks at a time.

Click HERE to join the holds list!

*The minimum age for checking out a Chromebook is 14. For users between 14 and 18 we require that Use Agreement be signed by a parent or guardian prior to every check out.

Libraries Outside Backpacks

Pack in the fun with Libraries Outside Backpacks!Libraries Outside Backpacks

Libraries Outside Backpacks are a jump-start to getting into nearby nature. The packs can be borrowed from the library like a book. Packs can be borrowed at all Solano County Library branches!

What’s Inside?

  • Survey: Please complete; it helps us improve this program.
  • Binoculars: Use the binoculars for bird watching!
  • Magnifying Glass: Catch bugs that you find and watch their
    activity, but please return them to the land when you’re done.
  • Field Guides: What bird was that? What kind of shrub?
  • Local Activities: Activities for getting the most from
    your adventure.
  • Hiking Guides: Find your next exciting adventure!

Put yours on hold today!

Musical Instruments

Borrow musical instruments with your library card!

What’s in the collection?

How do I take one home?
You need to have a current library account in good standing.

Are there any rules?
Return musical instruments to the customer service desk at any branch during business hours. You can only check out one instrument at a time.

Do not place instruments in the book drop.
Treat the instruments as nicely as possible.

Can I place a hold on an instrument?
Yes! Holds may be placed on the musical instruments for pickup at any location.

What happens if I lose it?
Lost or damaged instruments will need to be replaced so other customers can enjoy the collection. If you are concerned about the potential costs of an instrument, please speak with a staff member at the service desk or call 1-866-57-ASKUS.

Can you teach me how to play?
While library staff cannot teach you how to play your instrument, Solano County Library does have access to ArtistWorks. This service provides musical instrument players world-class instruction from Grammy Award-winning music professionals and offers users a guided path of video lessons containing everything they need to reach their musical goals.

Park Passes

California State Library Parks Pass at Solano County Library!

California State Library Parks Pass

Plan your adventure with the California State Library Parks Pass!

The California State Library Parks Pass is valid at 200+ participating state parks.

For a list of state parks, click HERE.

Park for free! Pass entitles bearer to free vehicle day use for one passenger vehicle and the occupants.

Please return pass to the library by due date so other visitors can use this free vehicle day pass.

Visit HERE to put yourself on hold with your Solano County Library card!

FAQs from the CA State Library. *List of ineligible parks

Video Games

Video Game collection at the Vacaville Cultural Center Library

Video Games

Have you seen a new game that looks cool but you don’t have the money to buy it? The library’s video game collection gives you a chance to try before you buy! The collection has hundreds of titles from ESRB ratings E to M on the Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox 1, and Xbox Series X  for you to check out and play at home!

You can check out up to 3 video games with your library card. We are always adding new games to our collection so keep checking back, and feel free to put in a request for a game you don’t see it in the collection.

What’s in our collection:

Nintendo Switch

PlayStation 4

PlayStation 5

Xbox One

VOX Books

VOX Books

VOX Books are books that talk! Use your library card to borrow these books. Press the button inside to listen to the story!

Press the button inside to listen to a story!

FICTION
NONFICTION

WiFi Hotspots

WiFi Hotspots

Solano County Library has WiFi hotpots to borrow!

Solano County Library offers WiFi hotspots for check out! Hotspots enable you to connect wirelessly to the Internet wherever you are. Several wireless devices can be simultaneously connected to a single hotspot (fun for the whole family!).

All you need is your Solano County Library to put your WiFi hotspot on hold!

Digital Media

Popular Databases

Help

If you need help finding information, please call us at 1-866-57-ASKUS (1-866-572-7587) or email us.

Databases vs. Web

A primary difference between databases and websites is that librarians review and select the databases which have book, magazine, journal, and even Web information that is considered reliable, authoritative, historically relevant, and valuable.  Most information on the web does not go through a review process.  Most of the information available through a database also is available in a paper format but by providing the information in an electronic format, the library can save money by buying one electronic subscription which can be shared by many people.

For your research, you will probably save yourself time and find more quality information if you begin with library resources and then move to the Web if you need more information or other points of view. Remember, when using remote access to get to the library’s databases, you are accessing the library’s collection via the Web, but are still using library resources which tend to be more reliable.

How to Cite

Why cite sources?

Whenever you quote or take ideas from another person’s work, you have to document the source you used, whether it’s a book, magazine, video, or website.

How to cite:

Try these links for good examples of citation style guides and plagiarism prevention:

lib.berkeley.edu/instruct/guides/citations.html
Citing Your Sources guide from The University of California Berkeley Library

owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/
Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)

xavier.edu/library/help/style_guides.cfm
Help: Citation Style Guides  provided by Xavier University, McDonald Library

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