Ancestry adds Florida State Censuses for Years 1935 and 1945

Finally!! The Florida state censuses of 1935 and 1945 have been scanned and indexed and are on Ancestry.
The database is called: Florida State Census, 1867-1945.

This database contains Florida State Censuses for 1867, 1875, 1885, 1935, and 1945. Information listed may include: name, age, gender, race, relationship to head of household, birthplace, birth date, marital status, and parents' birthplaces.

Getting the Most Out of Google

Google Translate offers a package of free, online language tools that can assist in daily use and in your online research. Translations are produced by state-of-the-art technology, without the intervention of human translators. Automatic translation is also often referred to as machine translation. You can translate phrases or Web pages in over 30 languages; search in your native language and find results in others; and use the multitude of language dictionaries.

These tools are great for students, researchers and travelers. Find out more about Google Translate.

Important notification Regarding LearningExpress Update

In January 2009 LearningExpress will release a new version of their existing product called LearningExpress Library Version 2.0. Version2.0 will include significant enhancements to the user interface, making navigation and search for content easier than ever. Most notably, Version 2.0 incorporates "Learning Centers" as a means to logically group related courses, tests, and e-books all in one place, based on various criteria such as grade level, stage of life, and carreer interests or goals. In addition to improved navigation, users will benefit from new search functionality, online help, improved account management, and additional topic-related content adding value for your patrons.

How will this release impact you and your library system?

Although the LearningExpress Library(TM) Version 2.0 is extremely easy-to-use, it does have a new look and feel that may require some getting used to for current users. LearningExpress is developing a full suite of training materials, including online presentations and demonstrations, getting-started guides and tutorials, comparison charts, and more to make the transition as effortless as possible. Once I receive notification that these materials are available I will be passing that onto staff. So stay tuned for more to come!

Holiday Poem from Bookletters

With the holidays upon us things can be very stressful, but below you will find a poem sent out from Bookletters that will make you laugh with delight you. Hope you enjoy it, and Happy Holidays! Remember to checkout the Bookletters page when things slow down and you have time to read again:

http://www.hcplc.org/hcplc/ig/findbook.html

Twas the holiday season and all through the stacks,

Librarians used resources to check on their facts.

All the books had been shelved according to Dewey,

And the tables were clean from crafts that were gooey.

The movies and videos had all been rewound,

The mis-shelved titles had even been found.

Peace and quiet had returned to the building,

Decorations sparkled with all of the gilding.

When all of a sudden there arose such a clatter,

Staff ran to the front desk to see what was the matter.

The library director had a look of great horror,

While staring at a page on Internet Explorer.

“The website’s a mess and needs to be updated,

And it’s late on a Friday- we shouldn’t have waited.

Now we’ll have to stay late to get this work done,

Better plan to stay late and cancel your fun.”

The staff let out a groan that could be heard all around,

A frustrating, irritated and discouraging sound.

But the tech department let go of a big toothy grin.

“We’ve got BookLetters now, where've you all been!”

We’ll add some new content with just a few clicks,

Add new ISBNs to give us staff picks.

Do some quick typing to make e-news for December,

Hit the send button to send to our members.

The widgets will update graphics on the home page,

And all the new content will keep patrons engaged,

The programs are current, no need to worry there,

With BookLetters its easy, no need to despair!

The library staff all gave a big cheer,

“Let’s close up the library and go for a beer!”

The happy director said “I guess we’re all done,

Happy Holidays to all—let’s go have some fun!”

Surname Frequency in the US Census

The New York Times online has done an article about the recent US Census Bureau's analysis of surnames in America. You can visit the article and search a database of the 5000 most common last names.

"The number of Hispanics living in the United States grew by 58 percent in the 1990s to nearly 13 percent of the total population, and cracking the list of top 10 names suggests just how pervasively the Latino migration has permeated everyday American culture.
Garcia moved to No. 8 in 2000, up from No. 18, and Rodriguez jumped to No. 9 from 22nd place. The number of Hispanic surnames among the top 25 doubled, to 6.
Compiling the rankings is a cumbersome task, in part because of confidentiality and accuracy issues, according to the Census Bureau, and it is only the second time it has prepared such a list. While the historical record is sketchy, several demographers said it was probably the first time that any non-Anglo name was among the 10 most common in the nation. "

Where are you on the list?

The Many Features of World Book Advanced

World Book advanced, is tailored for the needs and skills of students in grades 8 and up, World Book Advanced integrates primary and secondary source databases in a single search. Resources include encyclopedia content, e-books, images and sounds, research tools, and a vast collection of primary source documents highlighting the accomplishments of the greatest minds throughout history.
World Book Advanced contains a wealth of fully integrated primary source material, including documents, lesson plans that utilize primary sources for classroom assignments, noteworthy speeches in United States History, more than 1,000 Supreme Court landmark cases, documents illustrating the campaigns of all major political parties for every presidential election year from 1840 through 2004, and the writings of important authors. World Book Advanced offers individual accounts for users to save their research, and an area for creating and saving timelines, citations, and pathfinders. The Citation Builder will give you examples of how to site various works in either MLA or APA styles. Go to World Book Advanced for all your Middle and High school research.

Need Answers? Try Power Search Plus!

Need Answers to indepth research queries? Try Gale's Power Search Plus. Power Search Plus is a type of federated search engine, but more of a discovery tool. What it really does is cross search particular databases (that we have chosen from other databases that we subscripe to) which are NOT Gale products, and then cluster your results by subject and by relevancy.



When you reach our Databases & Websites home page and search in the regular Power Search Box, you will be taken to a page in Gale with results and tabs across the top of the page. Each tab contains particular information in different formats as you will see. The last tab says "MORE RESULTS". If you click on this tab you will actually be going into the Power Search Plus mode, which might take a few minutes, but you will be pulling lots more results from 15 other databases outside of the Gale family. The list of "other" databases will be visable for a few seconds while the results are being gathered. These results from your search, can then be viewed, printed, e-mailed and even posted to a del.icio.us account, if you have one. Power Search Plus returns more information, which will be based and ranked on how relevant it is to your original search. When you get time look for yourself, and get a feel for this new search engine, which gathers vast information from many many sources. http://www.gale.cengage.com/powersearch/plus/index.htm

Proquest Newspapers Content Update

ProQuest is pleased to announce additional years of coverage have been added to several ProQuest Historical Newspaper titles.

The new dates of coverage are listed below:
Atlanta Constitution: 1868-1942
Boston Globe: 1872-1925
Christian Science Monitor: 1908-1995
The New York Times: 1851-2005
Washington Post: 1877-1992
Wall Street Journal: 1889-1991

If you enjoy ProQuest Historical Newspapers and find them helpful, check out these fun new tools that will aid you and your customers to get the most out of our subscription.

ProQuest Historical Newspapers Tutorial Video

Retroview eNewsletter: an entertaining look into ProQuest Historical Newspapers

Facebook, ProQuest Historical Newspapers, The Guardian group: share research and fun finds from The Guardian and The Observer

Getting the Most Out of Google

With the holidays coming fast upon us, wouldn't it be nice to track all of our packages from one place?

You can track packages by typing the tracking number for your UPS, Fedex or USPS package directly into the Google search box. They’ll return results that include quick links to easily track the status of your shipment.

Science Online adds new Features

Science Online has added three new feature to their site. First is the Today's Science Feature. When you visit the page you will find the new Today's Science feature box highlighting four articles on hot topics and recent discoveries and events in science. New articles will be added regularly to the feature box. Mouse over the article titles to see brief descriptions of and photos from the articles or click the article title or "More" link to read the complete article. Article contents menus appear at the top of each record. Today's Science articles also appear under the All and News Articles search results tabs. This month's featured content includes:
Water-Splitting to Store Solar Energy: Learn about the challenges of storing solar power efficiently and cheaply.
Insect Altruism-More Than a Family Matter?: Read E.O. Wilson's observations about insects such as worker bees, group selection, and evolution.
Explosion of Luck: Scientists Observe the Birth of a Supernova: Find out how scientists discovered the X-ray pattern that signals the birth of a supernova.
Mars Wet-Chemistry: Phoenix Finds Ice: Explore the question "Could life have existed on Mars?"

Next, more than 125 new videos on topics such as electricity and magnetism, genetics, and botany have been added to Science Online . The videos are clear, short, and easy-to-follow. They provide educators with a great way to engage users who learn more effectively by watching and listening as scientific concepts are demonstrated, instead of focusing purely on reading assignments. The video records include links to related content, such as other videos, experiments, diagrams, essays, terms, and more. Libraries and educators can link to the records on their subject and homework Web pages using the "record URLs" provided at the bottom of each page. Examples of new videos include:
Cellular Death: The Genetics of Mortality
Science of Ice and Snow: How Do You Photograph a Snowflake?
How Trees Get Water and Nutrients.

Lastly, Science Online has added more than 100 essays on a variety of topics, including core topics in chemistry and Earth science as well as hot topics such as renewable resources and climate change, which are new with this update. Essays exploring the environment and the fragility of our planet link science to current events and provide a helpful starting point not only to environmental science educators but also to those studying current events and participating in this year's National High School Debate on alternative energy incentives. Other essays on topics such as the quantum model cover essential content required by the science curriculum and incorporate helpful illustrations within the essays. Examples of new essays include:
Power from renewable resources
Effects of global warming on the polar regions
Mass extinctions and catastrophes.

Take a few moments to check out these new features.

Getting the Most Out of Google

To find a current stock quote or additional market data for a given company or fund, type the ticker symbol into the search box. On the results page, you can click the link to see more data from Google Finance, or other finance Web sites listed.



If you don't know the stock ticker symbol, you can go directly to Google Finance for detailed stock market and investing information.

Getting the Most Out of Google

This will be the first in a series of weekly posts that will help you squeeze just a bit more out of your Google searches. This week we'll start wil some basics - how about getting a quick dictionary definition and/or finding synonyms.

To see a definition for a word or phrase, simply type the word "define" then a space, then the word(s) you want defined. To see a list of different definitions from various online sources, you can type "define:" followed by a word or phrase. Note that the results will define the entire phrase.

If you want to search not only for your search term but also for its synonyms, place the tilde sign (~) immediately in front of your search term. This part sounds more useful than it really is - I find it easiest to grab the synonym from the Dictionary.com search result.

Burgert Brothers Cirkut Photographs Released!

The Burgert Brothers photographs are precious gems and our collection of approximately 15,000 8 by10 inch prints and negatives are a prized possession of the library system. As engaging as they are, imagine if one could take a print and stretch it to 3, 4 or maybe even 5 times its current length. Imagine being able to open up the view of the image to see more of the subject.

Well, the newly released Cirkut photographs provide just that opportunity for our community!

Four hundred and thirty-two Burgert Brothers panoramic photographs have recently been added to our library catalog. These images are available to be searched and viewed using the same general steps as the original 8 by 10 inch prints of the Burgert Brothers Photographic Collection.

Though there are far fewer of the Cirkut images in our collection than that of the 8 by 10 prints, their uniqueness makes them endlessly interesting. Consider the source, the Cirkut camera: a bizarre contraption that was designed to move the large negative from one cylinder to another so that it passed through the camera at the exact same speed as that of the motion of the lens (though in the opposite direction).

Although the 1927 New York Yankees baseball team photograph is probably the most well-known, there’s a plethora of interesting Cirkuts available to discover. Some example images in the collection include the following: carnival performers at the Florida State Fair of 1930, swimmers at Clearwater Beach, an aerial skyline of downtown Tampa, and Davis Island undeveloped just to name a few.

The actual Cirkut prints are housed in the History and Genealogy Department of the John F. Germany Library. Library staff is available to assist the public with viewing these items, as well as with online searching. It’s a great pleasure to finally include these photographic wonders to the library’s public catalog.

NewsBank Adds Video News

In response to the rising demand in libraries, NewsBank is adding video news content to their online news resource at no additional charge to their customers. The complete package from respected media distributor Voxant includes the following sources:

The Associated Press

Reuters

The Wall Street Journal

The New York Times

Local affiliates of ABC, NBC, CBS, and Fox, as well as coverage from Canadian Broadcasting, Agence France-Presse and more.

We will have access to video clips from all or a select group of these sources beginning on Monday, October 20 and the videos clips will be added to NewsBank resources.

Users will be able to:
Play news videos within the NewsBank interface, in the same space used to display text articles.

You can access these video clips off the main page of NewsBank Access World News and clicking on the Source Types tab in the center of the page. A screen shot is included with that tab highlighted.

Solinet and Palinet Merging

Press Release from the Board Chair of Solinet:

We are pleased to announce that the Boards of PALINET and SOLINET have approved a recommendation to merge the two organizations. Both Boards completed due diligence and as a result developed the vision and strategy for the new organization.
The combined strength each network brings to the new organization will significantly enhance the education, leadership development, advocacy, technology, and savings on information products and services that our members want, while still providing the high level of service and local connection you currently value.
The combined resources, shared expertise, and improved operating efficiencies will result in:
>Rapid implementation of new programs
>Greater consortial savings opportunities
>Extended networking and collaboration among members
>Innovative technology solutions in areas including open source, digitization, and collection management
>An expanded curriculum covering the latest topics with industry experts from both networks.
Your vote is the most important step in this process. By December 1, Voting Members will receive specific information regarding the merger plan and necessary legal documentation. The vote is expected to take place in early 2009.
We know you are also eager to hear about several key areas concerning the new organization including the board and membership structures, governance, new name, and locations. Both Boards are completing work on these specific details and will provide this information soon.
We look forward to working together to build a stronger library community. For more information: http://www.solinet.net/Merger%20Talks.aspx

St.Pete Times Online Via Google

St. Petersburg Times Archives

Going Back 100 Years

Now Available in Digital Format

St. Petersburg, FL –

A treasure trove of history is now open to the public.
The St. Petersburg Times has teamed up with Google to make its historical archives
freely available online. The new database includes millions of Times articles dating back
more than 100 years.

Google and the Times signed an agreement late last year allowing the California-based
technology company to digitize the newspaper’s microfilm archive. Google covers the
cost of digitizing this material, and the Times will share in revenue from ads that are
displayed next to the historical pages.

“For the people of Tampa Bay, this new database is a key that unlocks over 100 years of
local history,” said Tim Rozgonyi, research editor at the Times. “It will be of great value
to historians, genealogists, and the general public.”

Effective immediately, the Times archives are searchable online through Google News.
Readers will see the actual image of the printed page with the search term highlighted in
yellow. Readers will be able to browse the pages exactly as they were printed –
photographs, headlines, articles, advertisements, and all.

Viewers can search for this material at http://news.google.com/archivesearch. Users
should type source: “St. Petersburg Times” before entering their search query.

Otherwise, readers can go to the main Google site, click on “News,” and then click on
“News Archive Search.” The same access will also soon be available through the
newspaper’s own web site www.tampabay.com.

The electronic database includes Times articles dating from May 1901 to August 2007.
(Though the Times was founded in 1884, the earliest edition available on microfilm dates
from 1901). Google has also digitized the St. Petersburg Evening Independent from 1907
to its last edition in 1986.

The St. Petersburg Times is one of the largest newspapers included in the initial launch of
this project. Google says it is working with a number of other publishers, with more to
be added in the near future.

“For more than 200 years, matters of local and national significance have been conveyed
in newsprint – from revolutions and politics to fashion to local weather or high school
football scores,” Google wrote in announcing the archive program on its official blog
site. “Around the globe, we estimate that there are billions of news pages containing
every story ever written. And it’s our goal to help readers find all of them, from the
smallest local weekly paper up to the largest national daily.”

The Times will continue to microfilm its pages every day to preserve the historical
record. One year after publication, the pages will be submitted for inclusion in Google
News Archive.
* * *

LearningExpressLibrary & "PSAT/SAT" Tests

Have you had a hard time finding the PSAT/SAT tests on this site? Did you think they had been removed? Well fear not, they are still here and located in several places. If you are looking for PSAT and SAT practise tests go to the subject heading "College Entrance Exams" and you will find the majority of the tests here. If you are looking for writing PSAT/SAT tests they can be found under the subject heading "Writing Improvement Program".

In addition to these areas LearningExpress also offers E-BOOKS for these tests. LearningExpress provides study guides and test-preparation books to help people prepare for high-stakes tests—to advance in school, or pass licensing, certification, or competitive entry-level exams.

To find a book on a particular subject, click on the E-BOOKS subject tab and enter a topic (e.g., "SAT") in the search field. All E-BOOKS on that subject will appear. Don't forget to reccomend this site to your customers when they need SAT help!

Medical Examiner's Office Moves

On October 1st the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's office moved from its long time home on South Morgan Street, downtown to their new location on 46th street. New address and telephone numbers can be found off their web page at:

http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/medexam/

New Phone Number and Hours for Temple Terrace Public Library

On October 1st, 2008 the Temple Terrace Public Library will change their hours of operation as well as their phone number. For more detailed information please visit their web site at: http://www.templeterrace.com/library/index.htm

New Digital Music Class @ John F. Germany Public Library

Explore digital music available from the library and on the web in a new Digital Music class at the John F. Germany Public Library. The class will be held on Tuesday, September 30, 2008 at 7:00 pm. Adults and teens are welcome.

Though not required, attendees are encouraged to bring portable MP3 players and/or USB drives to this highly interactive class.

This class would be a great help to anyone interested in using the downloadable music collection in the TBLC Digital Media Catalog.

Please mention this class to anyone who might be interested. (This class is not listed in Page by Page.) Thanks!

Google News Archives - Historical Newspapers

Google has launched additional services with their Google News site – indexing and archiving of many of America’s newspapers – full-text, keyword searchable and …full-page digital images.

This initiative makes more old newspapers accessible and searchable online by partnering with newspaper publishers to digitize millions of pages of news archives. Let's say you want to learn more about the first years of the Gandy Bridge. Try a search for [gandy bridge] on Google News Archive Search, and you'll be able to find and read an original article from 1924 through the late 1980s in a digital edition of the St. Petersburg Times. Nationally, the newspaper archives goes back more than 200 years into America’s past.

This will be a great resource for student – and anyone else – doing historical research through some of America’s best known newspapers.

Give it a try:
(1) go to Google
(2) select News from the options at the top left of the page
(3) select the “News archive search” option
You can search nationally or choose the advanced search feature to limit to a specific newspaper. The St. Petersburg Times is the only local paper currently included.

Follow-up to New Hillsborough County Flood Maps

New Flood Maps Have Now Taken Effect

As of Aug. 28, Hillsborough County's new flood maps have become official for flood insurance and development purposes. This process of updating the County's new flood maps, which has been going on for the past ten years, is part of a required update of flood maps across the United States. The last time the maps were formally updated in Hillsborough County was 1992 and some parts of the County have not been updated since 1980.
In all, approximately 18,000 properties moved into the high-risk flood zone for the first time and approximately 17,000 properties moved out of the high-risk flood zone. With these updates, more than 78,000 properties in Hillsborough County are now in the high-risk flood zone.
If residents have property that has moved into a high-risk area with the Countys new flood maps, they will now likely be required to have a flood insurance policy. Most mortgage lenders will require that they have such a policy as part of their loan agreement, if their structure is in the boundary of the flood zone. If affected residents have not yet been contacted by their lender, they probably will be in the coming months.
Property owners can view the new official maps online at:



http://www.hillsboroughcounty.org/pgm/hazardmit/floodMap/mapviewer.cfm



Users can search the maps by address or property folio number.
If residents still feel the flood map boundaries are incorrect on their property, they can apply for a Letter of Map Amendment from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). A Letter of Map Amendment (LOMA) is a federal document that identifies that there should be no flood insurance requirement placed on the mortgage holder's structure because the primary structure and all attached areas (screen enclosures, garages, etc.) are out of the high-risk area. To learn more about the LOMA process, you can contact FEMAs Map Assistance Center at 1-877-336-2627 or visit the following FEMA website:



http://www.fema.gov/plan/prevent/fhm/ot_lmreq.shtm


The update of these maps is one of the County's many floodplain management activities. These activities are reviewed on an annual basis by the National Flood Insurance Program and result in residents receiving discounted flood insurance rates. Currently, residents within the unincorporated county receive a combined $5 million dollars in discounts annually on their flood insurance rates due to the Countys efforts.
For more information about this process, residents can visit the Flood Map website listed above or contact their lender, insurance agent or the Countys Building Services Division at (813) 307-4510.

Consumer Reports -- Now with No Embargo!!

Gale is extremely pleased to announce that our partnership with Consumers Union of the United States, Inc. has been revised to continue to offer Consumer Reports titles in full-text – but now with no embargo. Through this newly revised license agreement, users will no longer have to wait 90 days to read current issues of Consumer Reports titles through InfoTrac, our renowned periodical program.
Consumers Union (CU) is an expert, independent, nonprofit organization, whose mission is to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers. Consumers Union publishes Consumer Reports, Consumer Reports on Health, Consumer Reports Money Adviser, ShopSmart Magazine, and Consumer Reports Annual Buying Guide.
Consumer Reports titles can be found in the following acclaimed Gale resources: General OneFile, Academic OneFile, Popular Magazines, Health Reference Center Academic, Business & Company Resource Center and the Student Resource Center products, among others. Full-text for current issues is available without embargo for current InfoTrac subscribers beginning today.

New additions to Live Homework Help

On August 1st Tutor.com added some new upgrades to their program which will help in the upcoming school year.

Tutor.com now offers:

-Spanish program hours to match English program hours
-Live Homework help is offered to K-3 grades and Adult Learners
-"Writing Center" subject help
- Refresher training webnairs for all library personnel

Take a look at this product when you get time to familiarize yourself with the new upgrades!

STAT-USA CHANGES

STAT-USA has added new financial and travel statistics to
STAT-USA/Internet. These new additions include U.S. Travel and Tourism
Statistics (arrivals and departures), Primary Market Transactions and a new
colorful Treasury Yield Curve at-a-glance chart!

To read the complete article, please click on:

http://home.stat-usa.gov/statnews

Have you seen Library Elf on Our Catalog?

What is Elf? Elf is an Internet-based tool for keeping track of what's due, overdue and ready for pickup. Users can keep track of one or more library accounts in one place and receive reminders (sometimes called pre-overdue or early notification). Reminders are sent when the user wants it -- before items are due (up to seven days advance notice, weekly notice or everyday reminders). For families or anyone who'd like reminders before an item is due (user-selectable number of days notice).

To find Library Elf on our Catalog go to:

Catalog> Your Library Record> and look below on the second line and

Library Elf appears there.

To sign up for Elf simple click on it and the instructions are listed below.

Genealogy Records are Given to Library

Below is an article that appeared in the New York Times on July 19, 2008
Author: SAM ROBERTS

Anyone interested in Genealogy will find this of interest!

Wolfert Van Couwenhoven visited New Amsterdam in 1625 but apparently was unimpressed. He left town and went home to the Netherlands, only to return five years later and purchase a large tract of land on Long Island. He probably never imagined that his odyssey would be immortalized, but there it is, nearly 400 years later, at the New York Public Library.

The library's extensive genealogical collection has just been enormously enhanced by the gift of 75,000 volumes, 30,000 manuscripts and 22,000 reels of microfilm from the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

Faced with a dwindling endowment, the members-only G & B, as it is known, sold its four-story building on East 58th Street in Midtown Manhattan last year for $24 million. It bought an office condominium in Midtown where it will now focus on grant-giving, tours, lectures and other means of encouraging genealogical research. One of the first grants was about $1 million to the library for a four-person staff to process and catalog the G & B collection within two years.

"The G & B wanted a place where the members would have access and where the collection would be taken care of," said David S. Ferriero, the Andrew W. Mellon director of the New York Public Libraries.

"Combining the two collections will result in an extraordinary resource for people nationwide seeking to learn about family members who were born in New York, lived in New York or passed through New York on the way to becoming citizens."

Merging the collections will create what Waddell W. Stillman, the society's chairman, described as "one of the world's largest and most accessible genealogical libraries."

The society was founded in 1869 and moved into its building at 122 East 58th Street in 1929. Its earliest members were primarily interested in delving into their 17th- and 18th-century Dutch and English roots, and records of their ancestors in censuses, deeds, baptisms, births, deaths and wills constitute the bulk of the collection.

After World War II, "the G & B had almost disappeared," said William P. Johns, its president. The society was real estate rich, cash poor, and peppered with debate about its direction.

Genealogy grew more popular after the nation's bicentennial, the publication of Alex Haley's "Roots," and the restoration of Ellis Island. In recent years, do-it-yourself programs for amateur genealogists have proliferated, along with commercial ancestry Web sites. Mr. Johns invoked the author Louis Auchincloss, who once acknowledged that in the old days the eminence of one's pedigree might depend "on how much you pay the genealogist."

The society's library closed last month. Now, Mr. Johns said, the society hopes to evolve into more of an umbrella group to encourage and coordinate research.

"The New York Public became far and away the best place to take care of a collection that should stay in New York and stay together," he said. The future of the society's portrait collection, which includes those of prominent New Yorkers and paintings by the British artist Frank O. Salisbury, is being negotiated with the New-York Historical Society.

Last year, the New York Public Library's local history and genealogy division recorded 56,000 visitors and 1,200 mail inquiries, said the division's chief, Ruth Carr.

The collection is mined not only by professional and amateur genealogists, but also by art historians seeking to establish the provenance of paintings or to identify the subjects of centuries-old portraits. Ms. Carr tapped the library's records to trace her father's roots to the 18th century. With the acquisition of the society's collection, including Suffolk County deeds from 1660, she will be able to delve even further back.

The society's collection of 1725-to-1850 cemetery and church records from Hempstead, N.Y., complements the library's holdings of 6,000 photographs of churches, gravestones and old houses on Long Island, Ms. Carr said, and the combined collections will help historians and people "who want to understand the world their ancestors lived in."

William Stingone, the library's Charles J. Liebman curator of manuscripts, pointed to a 19th-century book from the Emigrant Savings Bank in the library's collection, which included the birthdates, occupations and other information on depositors. It was called a "test book" and, the bank used it much the way Web sites do today when they ask security questions about a visitor's favorite color or first pet's name, to verify identities when money was being withdrawn.

The book "ended up being a source of information, though that was never intended," Mr. Stingone said

World Book Online Webnair

Attached is the webinar schedule for free training of the World Book Web Online subscription for all staff. With school starting on August 18th, and homework soon to follow, training is key to providing better cutomer service to our student population. Please take a few moments and look over the schedule. If you would like to attend one of the Webnairs offered, simply follow the instuctions about how to register. I encourange anyone who can attend to do so.


Training on World Book Online Web:

Webinars offer an overview of the features of the World Book Web’s full suite of products, including World Book Kids, World Book Online Reference Center (with a preview ofthe new interface), World Book Advanced, and World Book Discover.

To Register go to: http://www.worldbookonline.com/webinars
Please note all schedules are in Central time.
Session Time (Central) / Webinar ID.

World Book Kids (30 min)
Mon, August 11, 2008 1 p.m. 681247770
Tues, September 9, 2008 9 a.m. 942357511
Tues, October 7, 2008 2 p.m. 218329286

World Book Discover (30 min) NEW!
Thurs, August 14, 2008 3:30 p.m. 113282026
Mon, August 25, 2008 10 a.m. 304391044
Tues, September 9, 2008 2:30 p.m. 307528741
Wed, September 24, 2008 4 p.m. 494657224
Wed, October 1, 2008 1 p.m. 803028307
Wed, October 22, 2008 9 a.m. 365966128

World Book Online Reference Center/Student (30 min)
Mon, August 11, 2008 2 p.m. 738055028
Thurs, September 11, 2008 10 a.m. 364923552
Mon, September 15, 2008 3:30 p.m. 276582371
Wed, October 1, 2008 12 p.m. 772252692
Wed, October 22, 2008 4 p.m. 904027987

World Book Advanced (30 min)
Thurs, August 14, 2008 9:30 a.m. 333776137
Wed, September 24, 2008 2 p.m. 619048667
Tues, October 7, 2008 1 p.m. 215622102

World Book Complete Suite (1 hr)
Mon, August 25, 2008 11 a.m. 941258238
Mon, September 15, 2008 1 p.m. 404559273
Fri, October 10, 2008 10 a.m. 633973987
For technical assistance dial 1-888-259-8414.

Audio available by phone and/or VOIP. Certificates for attendance available.

SANBORN FIRE INSURANCE MAPS

Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps are a valuable resource for researching local history. They were designed to indicate the potential risk of fire for metropolitan area structures and edifices. The presentation of the maps is similar to a large format plat, showing a sections of municipal area that contain such information as, the outline of the buildings, the size, shape, height, construction materials, location of windows and doors, and what function the building serves. The street names of the particular view are noted as well as the address numbers, sidewalk widths, boundaries, and building use. More information is given in the textual information (such as building materials, reinforced walls, etc.)

USING THE SANBORN MAPSFOUR VOLUME SET OF THE MAPS WITH INDEX

(Located at the John F. Germany Library, 2 West)We have some of the original, hardcopy, Sanborn Maps and an index to the four volume set, in the History and Genealogy Collection of the John F. Germany Library downtown. These maps date from 1931 – July 1951. The maps are colored coded in addition to many other notations. Also the hard copy shows the paste-overs that the company did when there was a change of structure or demolition of such. A key to the symbols on the maps appear at the beginning of each volume, on the page entitled "Graphic Map of Volumes" at the very beginning of each book.

ON-LINE DIGITAL SANBORN MAPS

(via Databases and Websites)The on-line maps do not contain paste-overs, but they do have the Sanborn Maps as far back as 1867 which enables the viewer to compare the areas of differing years. In order to access the Sanborn Maps on-line one needs to go to " Online Resources" from the "catalog" menu, then click on "Databases and Websites." Choose "Genealogy," from the left hand side of the page, and scroll down to "Digital Sanborn Maps." When one clicks on this site a page appears that says Digital Sanborn Maps 1867 – 1970. On the bottom you can click on the box that says "Browse Maps," "About The Sanborn Maps," or "Help With This Collection." Choose the one that is most appropriate to your needs.

SANBORN MAPS ON MICROFILM

(Located at John F. Germany Library)The Sanborn maps are on microfilm, as well, for major cities in the following states: Alabama, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. Assistance with microfilm is offered in History and Genealogy.

INDEX TO ALL SANBORN MAPS

The Sanborn index is broken down by "Streets" i.e. 102 E. Seventh Avenue, "Specials" (which is the name of the structure) i.e. Tampa Public Library. Also there is an index for "Additions and Subdivisions." i.e. Parkland Estates. The index will direct you to a volume and/or sheet number. When you click on the appropriate sheet for your search you will see the address or building for which you had been looking.The Sanborn site has a thorough and detailed "Legend" screen containing explication of the notations on the maps. Also, there is a "Help" screen which enables you in your search. How to use this collection is explained in the section of that name.

New Oxford E-titles added to our Reference Collection

Listed below are the new e-titles which we have added to our online Reference Collection:

The Oxford Companion to World Exploration
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Egypt
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History
Encyclopedia of Evolution
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Women in World History
Black Women in America
Dictionary of American Family Names
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Maritime History
The Grove Encyclopedia of Decorative Arts
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States
The Oxford Encyclopedia of Rhetoric

These titles can be accessed remotely 24/7 and they are also cross searchable when you login to the Oxford Reference Premium Online Collection.

The Digital TV Transition

On February 17, 2009 all full-power broadcast television stations in the United States will stop broadcasting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting only in digital television (DTV) . DTV broadcasting will allow stations to offer improved picture and sound quality and additional channels.

The conversion to DTV will help to free up parts of the broadcast spectrum which in turn will then be used for other impotant services such as police and fire departments, emergency rescue, and advanced wireless service.

Between Jan. 1, 2008, and March 31, 2009, all U.S. households will be eligible to request up to two coupons, worth $40 each, to be used toward the purchase of up to two, digital-to-analog converter boxes. The National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) has responsibility for administering the coupon program.

For more information about DTV and the converter box coupon program go to:
www.dtv.gov

New Flood Maps for Hillsborough County

Hillsborough County has received the final version of the updated flood maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). They are scheduled to become effective for flood insurance and development purposes on August 28, 2008. This process, which has been going on for the past ten years, is part of a required update of flood maps across The United States. The last time the maps were formally updated in Hillsborough County was 1992 and some parts of the County have not been updated since 1980.

You may start to get questions about these new maps as the time gets closer for them to become effective. Customers can view the updated maps online by going to the County's website at www.hillsboroughcounty.org and clicking on the "A-Z" Index link, and then selecting "Flood Map Update Process."

The John F. Germany Library will keep the "old" flood maps for historical purposes, but they will be labeled accordingly to avoid any confusion.
Another issue customers will need to keep in mind, is if they live in, or are moving into, a high-risk area with the County's new flood maps, they may be required to have a flood insurance policy. Remember to direct customers to the Flood Map Update website for more news and information.

OverDrive Downloadable Videos

Exciting News!

We have just received our first batch of downloadable videos from OverDrive. At the moment, the majority of our titles are current PBS titles, but OverDrive also offers feature length films, short form programs and TV series all delivered in the Windows Media Video (WMV) format.

Every OverDrive video checkout gives you the option to use a 'standard' and/or 'mobile' version of the video. Once downloaded to your computer, standard videos can be played in an OverDrive Media Console and scaled to full-screen.

Mobile video files are optimized for use on compatible mobile devices, and can be transferred to such devices in just a few clicks using OverDrive Media Console for enjoyment on-the-go.

As library customers, adding videos to your OverDrive service is simple. Just refresh with the new format--it's on the same platform as your audiobooks and music!

To retrieve the records in our catalog simply do a subject search for "downloadable video collection". This search will bring up all 266 titles with more to be added in the future.

Hope you all enjoy this new feature of our OverDrive product!

Mango Languages - Online Language Learning!

Mango Languages provides all of the educational tools essential to learn foreign languages. The increasing importance of foreign language knowledge is more evident today than ever before. And Mango has utilized advanced technologies to make this increasingly necessary process of foreign language learning incredibly fun, simple, effective and accessible.
Mango Languages provides its users with remarkable conversational results after each and every lesson. Whether it's for your community’s students, educators, business personnel, or language lovers, learning a foreign language is now easy, effective, and convenient with Mango.

You can learn Brazilian Portuguese – Spanish – Japanese – French – German – Italian – Greek – Russian - Mandarin Chinese - ESL Polish - ESL Spanish - ESL Brazilian Portuguese.

• Mango Languages will maximize language learning by providing remarkable conversational results after each lesson.


• Mango Languages offers in-library and home access that provides you the luxury of being able to master a foreign language from the comfort of your own home or anywhere convenient to you.


• Mango Languages is fully equipped with English as a Second Language (ESL) courses that teach people how to communicate in English.


• Mango is very simple and user-friendly, bypassing any need for training. Users just login and the program leads them step-by-step through their language lessons.


• Mango is computer-friendly. Since Mango is web-based, it requires no installation, no download, and no technical expertise to make the program available.

You will find Mango Languages on the Dababases & Websites section of the library's Website - hcplc.org.

Auto Repair Reference Center Free Online Training

Did you know that EBSCO Publishing offers online, one-hour training sessions on our Auto Repair Reference Center each month, free to EBSCO customers? Because training reinforces product knowledge and stimulates interest, this training will help you to get the most from our EBSCO databases.
Auto Repair Reference Center training is available at the following times:

Thursday, June 12, 2008 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time
Tuesday, July 8, 2008 from 2:00 to 3:00 p.m., Eastern Time
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time

TO REGISTER, go to:
http://training.ebsco.com/training_request.asp
select the desired class from the "Which service?"drop-down list, and complete the form.

First Day of Hurricane Season- June 1st

Today is the first day of Hurricane season. There are many sites and databases that can help you and your customers with information as well as research for hurricanes, both past and present. Do you have a student who needs hurricane and weather information. Steer them towards Facts on File Science Online. http://www.fofweb.com/Science/default.asp?ItemID=WE40 The Weather and Climate page on Science Online has links to many kinds of natural disasters, including hurricanes. Do you need to know the predictions for the 2008 hurricane season, or what hurricane names have been retired? Go to the NOAA free site http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/
for this information as well as radar readings, tracking maps, and how to prepare for a hurricane. The Weather Channel http://www.weather.com/ will provide you with local as well as national updates. So keep all these sites in mind when helping your customers over the next several months. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it is a quiet season!

Science Online Adds New Content

Facts On File is pleased to announce that we have just added a significant amount of new content to Science Online.
The new content and features added to Science Online come just in time for anyone prepping for final exams and standardized tests. This update includes new searching and sorting options, new page features, more than 600 visual and video aids, and content from 56 of their print titles.
Users who need to narrow their research will find more options in the Advanced Search page. They may limit their searches by type of entry (essays, biographies, diagrams and illustrations, etc.), as well as locate news articles published between any dates they select. Our Science in the News articles may now be sorted by subject or by date. A featured news article box has also been added to the top of the page. Those writing papers will appreciate the American Psychological Association (APA) style now included in their How to Cite pop-up page. Finally, their editors have added permanent Record URL links to each of the "Explore Subjects" pages.


More Advanced Search Options: Limit searches by entry types and news articles by date range.

Science in the News: Sort by date or by subject, plus locate a featured news article box at the top of the page.

APA Citation Style: Find American Psychological Association (APA) citation style information.
Explore Subjects Record URLs: Link directly to the Explore Subject pages.

New Illustrations, Images, and VideosScience Online's outstanding collection of visual and video learning aids is now even larger. The editors have added more than 600 new images as well as new videos on topics such as cyber safety, security, and ethics. These records are often very colorful and help grab and hold on to the attention of learners. They also convey concepts in a clear manner that allows users with different learning styles to better understand scientific ideas.
Examples of new records include:
Color illustration: Evolution of Mammalian Jaw
Photograph: Kilauea Volcano
Video: Online Identity Thieves.

Many essays have been added on a variety of topics including hurricanes, biomes, biohazards, spaceflight, plant biotechnology, forensic science, physics, and mathematics. It is easy to print, email, and save the essays to a folder using the "Page Tools" available at the top right-hand side of each record. Some essays also include embedded images and tables that help illustrate the content of the text.

New essay records include:
Farms and cities as ecosystems
Recording and storing music and movies
Genetically modified plants.

Military archives free online until May 31

People interested in what their ancestors did in wartime are getting a free look until the end of the month, at a vast collection of military records online.
The National Archives and Ancestry.com have worked out an agreement to speed the transfer of millions more war records to the Web and make an existing collection free for people to see during a Memorial Day commemoration from Tuesday, May 20th through May 31st.
Military records containing information on some 100-million people can be accessed free at ancestry.com/military. After May 31st, a paid subscription will be required to see them.

Special Reports from NewsBank- What are they?

NewsBank sends out a monthly newsletter and the information in them is always timely. They often feature a Special Report section. Below is an example of a Special Report along with an explaination about what these Special Reports tend to cover and address.


The 2008 Summer Olympics and Other New Special Reports

• 
  The 2008 Summer Olympics will take place in Beijing, China August 8th - August 24th.
  Early activities include the final work on the game sites, the torch relay and the athletes' preparation.
  Coverage of these activities and more are now available in NewsBank's newest Special Report.
  Over the next several months follow the events leading up to the opening ceremony in this Report.
  
• trials and qualifying
  
• training
  
• site and security issues
  
• the Olympic committee
  
• profiles of top athletes
  
• country information
• Then after the Olympic torch is lit, visit NewsBank's Special Report on the Olympics each day to keep up with the latest news from Beijing on
  Olympic events and competition
  Athletes
  Award ceremonies
  Other news from and about the Olympics
  Related images, maps, links to related web sites, and suggested search terms to use in your NewsBank products to find out even more about the 2008 Summer Olympics are also included.
  

NewsBank offers a variety of Special Reports as part of your subscription. They offer a way to quickly find the latest information on important topics.
Special Reports include a wide array of globally-oriented topics like health, environment, economics and education. New articles are added daily to provide current coverage of these topics. The background information helps one understand today's issues. Therefore, these Reports are helpful for researchers looking for current events articles or articles on a specific topic. Since many Reports focus on all regions of the world, a variety of global perspectives are available offering researchers the information needed to understand world issues and to draw their own conclusions.
Other New Reports include:
World Travel (now available)
World Issues in Mental Health (coming soon)
Currently featured reports include:
U.S. Presidential Campaign - 2008
Poetry Around the World
Science and Health in the News
World Environment
Places in the News

Many other Reports are also available. All NewsBank Special Report Sites are located on your product menu page or under the Other NewsBank Products link on full text newspaper products.

April News from NoveList

Quick Print and Other Enhancements Coming Soon!

We have been busy gathering feedback about the new NoveList interface from our users and are working hard to bring you some enhancements so that NoveList can better serve your needs.

#1. Easier Printing:

A number of you have requested that we add the ability to print directly from the Result or Series List. We have made this a high priority for our development team and plan for this enhancement to be available in early May. With this enhancement you will be able to select a Quick Print link from the Result or Series List display to access a printer-friendly version of your list. Using the Quick Print function will significantly reduce the number of steps it takes to print your list, and it will also reduce the number of pages needed. If you would like more printing options, you will still have the ability to go through your folder and the Print Manager to print your list.
Here is how the Quick Print function will work:
1. Perform your search to pull up the Result or Series List that you want to print.
2. Click the Quick Print link to the right of the Sort By drop-down menu.
3. If your browser's Print window does not automatically display, click the Print icon on your browser toolbar and select Print from your browser's File menu.

#2. Additional Enhancements:

In addition to the Quick Print functionality, we are also bringing you several other enhancements based on your feedback:
• Newest Features Added. Want to know what Author Read-alikes or other features have been added recently to NoveList? You can now find all the new feature content at the "What's New" link in the Spotlight section of the homepage. This "What's New" area will be updated regularly to bring the newest NoveList features to your fingertips.
• Browsing by alpha link for an author's last name. In the previous version, you could browse features such as Author Read-alikes and Book Discussion Guides by clicking an A – Z link to jump to an author's last name. We are currently in the process of grouping these features by author last name, so that users can quickly and easily browse straight to the author they are looking for. We expect this enhancement to be available by early May.
• Easier navigation to most recent What We're Reading postings. We will significantly reduce the number of clicks it takes to navigate the What We're Reading postings. This enhancement will be available by early May.
• Ability to enlarge book jacket images. We understand that many users do like to look at the book cover when selecting their next read, so we will be adding the ability to enlarge book jacket images. This enhancement will allow you to select the image from the title detail record to view the enlarged book cover. We expect this enhancement to be available in early May.
We are also working on fine-tuning our search capabilities to help you find what you need much faster and more easily. We expect that the performance of the Basic Search bar will be enhanced in early May.
To keep up with all these enhancements as well as future updates, visit the New Release Notes FAQ. This help page is linked from the Spotlight section of the homepage or you can click here.
As you continue to learn your way around the new interface, keep in mind that we offer training and support materials to assist you. Click the Tour NoveList link at the homepage to access the Training page in Help, where you can find a brief animated tour of the new interface and a Quick Start guide. Also available are Help Sheets on searching, printing, and some of the other features of the new interface.
Please feel free to use the Send Feedback link to let us know of any other training or support needs that you may have. As always, we are listening to your feedback and, with your help, will continue to improve NoveList.

OverDrive Announcement

Great News!!!

OverDrive will distribute titles in MP3 format without DRM. OverDrive MP3 Audiobooks will be compatible with nearly every MP3 player and mobile phone on the market including iPod, Zune, iPhone, and Creative Labs products. All of the titles in OverDrive’s catalog will not be in this format, but at least some will be, which is an improvement.


http://www.overdrive.com/aboutus/getArticle.aspx?newsArticleID=20080319

New Interface for Literature Resource Center

After extensive research with Librarians and Patrons, GALE has designed and launched a new interface specifically designed for Literature. There are several benefits to the new interface, among them:

A cleaner, more intuitive interface, making it easier for users to get the information they need.
Enhanced indexing which makes relevance ranking even more powerful.
Cross searching – You can now cross search the Literature Resource Center and LitFinder which allows users to find full text content within a single interface.
Citation Generator – Included now is a citation generator which will compile student bibliographies in multiple formats.

There are many additional features in the new interface including audio content from NPR, a translation feature and bookmarking capabilities. I would encourage all staff members to preview the new interface and please do not hesitate to contact me if you should have any questions.

Trial URL: http://access.gale.com/public/go/?key=2735_612058

The new interface will launch on May 1st, so take a look and see the changes before they happen!

Oxford Grove Art Online

Oxford/Grove are delighted to announce the launch of Oxford Art Online and the redesigned Grove Art Online. Grove Art Online was first published in 1998, and this launch represents a long-anticipated upgrade in site functionality and graphic design. With this new release, we have been able to significantly improve the searchability and presentation of Grove art content. We have also added valuable Oxford art reference titles to enable users to search and browse a suite of complementary art reference publications simultaneously. Check out the new page and all it's new features at http://www.oxfordartonline.com/subscriber/

Changes at Grove Music Online

Grove is happy to announce that after two years of development, Grove Music Online http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/has now been relaunched as part of Oxford Music Online, a new gateway for online music resources. There is a new structure and now articles are grouped together under one search result (e.g. Mozart or Paris). When you get time take a look at the many editorial and content changes on their new page.

New Titles added to Overdrive

If you are no familiar with the product Overdrive, you might want to take a look. Overdrive is a Digital Media Catalog where you can browse audio books and music and check out and download 24/7 to your PC at home, in the office, or from anywhere in the world! You can also transfer titles to your MP3 player, or burn many onto CD for listening on-the-go. About every 2 months new titles are added to our selection and below is a list of the latest titles added in March. Happy listening!

New Titles:

Amelia Earhart
American Gangster and Other Tales of New York
At the Center of the Storm
Beautiful Boy
Blasphemy
Blood Dreams
Boom!
The Color of Water
Creation in Death
The Darkest Evening of the Year
Dispatches from the Edge
Divorced From the Mob
Elijah of Buxton
Eternity in Death
Fear the Night
Final Seconds
Garlic and Sapphires
Gone
Here’s Johnny!
In Defense of Food
The Killing Hour
Lean Mean Thirteen
Learn In Your Car Italian Complete
Learn In Your Car Spanish Complete
Letters to a Young Artist
The Lost Painting
Magic Tree House Collection Books 1-8
Magic Tree House Collection Books 9-16
Malice Prepense
The Mephisto Club
Monsters of Templeton
My Life in France
The Namesake
The Next Accident
The Night Caller
The Night Spider
Olive's Ocean
The Painted Drum
Plum Lovin'
Plum Lucky
Protect and Defend
Proust Was a Neuroscientist
Savages
The Sharper Your Knife, the Less You Cry
Sizzle and Burn
Speechercise Level 1
The Spiderwick Chronicles, Volume I
Stardust
Strangers in Death
Travel Talk Chinese (Mandarin)
Twinkie, Deconstructed
Wine Appreciation
World without End
Wrongful Death

NoveList and NoveList K-8 User Interface Redesigns

The popular NoveList and NoveList K-8 user interfaces have received new looks. In conjunction with the redesigns, many new features have been added to these trusted readers’ advisory resources.

NoveList:
The new NoveList home page facilitates searches for new titles, and provides instant access to all of NoveList's content rich features. Here is an example of the new home page design for NoveList:

A new, single Find field lets users simultaneously search by author, title, subject, and/or series, for example.
Note the removal of the tabs, which means that all of the content is accessible directly from the new home page. Users can browse Author Read-alikes, Book Discussion Guides, BookTalks and awards lists, etc. without searching under tabs first. Access to hundreds of book lists will be available through the Recommended Reads link.
On the right side of the new home page, there is an expanded, completely revamped Readers' Advisory section.
The Result List has been enhanced to include appropriate books and customized content, sorted by tabs for ease of retrieval. Note that in the example shown here, the Result List from a search for legal thrillers yielded a combined total of 525 book titles, Author Read-alikes, Recommended Reads and Series.

NoveList K-8:
The new look for NoveList K-8 is even more intuitive, and includes all of the great new features in NoveList's new design.
The Working with Kids section from the Browse panel enables teachers, media specialists, childrens' librarians and parents to find quality content linked to curricular topics, organized by grade levels and filled with great ideas for young readers to explore.

You can find NoveList and NoveList K-8 on the Find a Good Book section of the Databases & Websites area of the library;'s Website - hcplc.org.

National Archives Makes Some Passenger Arrival Records Available Online

For the first time, the National Archives and Records Administration has made available online more than 5.2 million records of some passengers who arrived during the last half of the 19th century at the ports of Baltimore, Boston, New Orleans, New York, and Philadelphia. The records were transcribed from original ship manifests into electronic databases by Temple University’s Center for Immigration Research at The Balch Institute. The Center donated the digital records to the National Archives. The records are known as Data Files Relating to the Immigration of Germans to the United States, 1850-1897; Data Files Relating to the Immigration of Italians to the United States, 1855-1900; and Data Files Relating to the Immigration of Russians to the United States, 1834-1897.




There are more than 100 unique “country” codes used in these records. In about 93 percent of them, passengers identified their country of origin or nationality as Germany, Italy, or Russia, or cities or regions of those countries. Passenger records typically include name, age, town of last residence, destination, and codes for the passenger’s sex, occupation, literacy, country of origin, transit and/or travel compartment, and the manifest identification number for the ship. Information on each ship is in a separate file and includes the ship manifest identification number, the name of the ship, the code for its port of departure, and date of arrival. The ship manifest identification number indicates the port of arrival.

Access to these new electronic records is available through the National Archives Access to Archival Databases (AAD) system, a research tool that makes a selection of the National Archives’ most popular electronic records available to the public over the Internet. The AAD system currently includes almost 80 million electronic records from 50 records series in 30 record groups, and four collections of donated historical materials. AAD highlights include records of passengers who arrived at the Port of New York during the Irish Famine, World War II Army enlistment and Prisoners of War, records of Japanese-American internment, and Central Foreign Policy Files from the Department of State.


Reposted from NARA Press Release [February 28, 2008].

Free Credit Report? Make Sure You're Getting The Real Thing

If the thought of identity theft scares you like it does me, or you're looking to make a major purchase and you need to check your credit rating, those ads for companies that promise you "free credit reports" may have caught your attention. Truth is, you don't need those guys. You can get a copy of your credit report for free, all by yourself.

The Federal Trade Commission requires the three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian (formerly called TRW) and Trans Union to give you a free copy of your credit report once a year. The credit bureaus are not part of the government; they're companies that keep track of your borrowing and debt records so lenders can get an idea of how good a risk you are when you apply for credit or for certain services.

It's really easy to get your free credit report and it's available from only one central place: AnnualCreditReport.com. There are companies that have websites with similar names. And they may offer you a "free" copy of your credit report but you'll have to buy other services from them first to get it. AnnualCreditReport.com is the only official site where you can get a genuinely free copy of your credit report from all three reporting agencies. And if you'd rather order your free credit report by phone or by mail, you can do that too.

You can choose whether you want to get your credit report from just one of the credit bureaus at a time or if you want to get a report that has the information of all three combined. I like to get my reports one at a time, spread out over the course of a year. I stop back at AnnualCreditReport.com every four months for a report—Trans Union in January, Equifax in May and Experian in September, for example. Since all three agencies have very similar information, this allows me to check my credit for free more than just once a year.

When you're on the AnnualCreditReport.com site, you'll be asked some identifying information including your Social Security number. Normally, you wouldn't share that with anybody—especially online—but because this is the official place to get your free credit report, and it's a secure website, it's safe to share the personal information they need to make sure you're you, and to get you the right credit report.

If you've never seen a copy of a credit report or you're not sure how to read one, here's a good sample from Experian. (If you can't see the sample report, you'll need to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader onto your computer.)

Re-posted from Gov Gab: Your US Government Blog.

Tutor.Com in the News Again!

In the News
Tutor.com was recently featured in the Cyberfamilias column in the New York Times. Read about how Tutor.com is expanding into individual homes, and revolutionizing the way families handle getting homework done! Go to (http://e2ma.net/go/942391143/831776/30135052/goto:http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/31/fashion/31CYBER.html?pagewanted=2&ei=5124&en=7e55fe77d4377379&ex=1359522000&partner=permalink&exprod=permalink)

to read the article.
Quick Tip
Did you know that Live Homework Help has been Macintosh compatible since April 2007? Live Homework Help can be used by Mac and PC users alike. Tutor.com supports the Safari and Firefox browsers, as well as Internet Explorer. For more
information see our technical requirements (http://e2ma.net/go/942391143/831776/30135051/goto:http://extranet.tutor.com/clients/techrequirements.aspx).



Tina R.
Reference Coordinator