August 31, 2005
Hurricane Katrina Information and Relief Efforts
The Hinsdale Public Library subscribes to a variety of databases and news sources which provide information relevant to Hurricane Katrina. For example, NewsBank (our online source for the full-text of the Chicago Tribune), has a special report entitled "Hurricane Katrina and Other Natural Disasters." To access NewsBank, simply visit the Library's Databases page, login with your library barcode number and select NewsBank from the list of databases.Scientific American published an article in 2001 describing the potential danger of a hurricane to New Orleans. Unfortunately, some of what they predicted has occurred with Katrina.
In addition to library databases and major news Web sites, you can find official governmental information from these sources:
- The National Weather Service site, maintained by The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration(NOAA).
- NOAA's hurricane information page
- The Federal Emergency Management Association's 2005 Hurricane Season page, providing information on the recovery effort in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath.
Concerned citizens seeking to provide assistance to hurricane vicitms may wish to visit the following pages for information on how to help.
- MSNBC's relief efforts page
- The American Red Cross (also via phone (800)HELP NOW)
- McCormick Tribune Foundation's Hurricane Katrina Relief Campaign
The Federal Emergency Management Agency on Monday listed the following agencies as needing cash to assist Hurricane Katrina victims:
· American Red Cross, 800-HELP NOW (435-7669) English, 800-257-7575 Spanish.
· Operation Blessing, 800-436-6348.
· America's Second Harvest, 800-344-8070.
· Adventist Community Services, 800-381-7171.
· Catholic Charities, USA, 703-549-1390.
· Christian Reformed World Relief Committee, 800-848-5818.
· Church World Service, 800-297-1516.
· Convoy of Hope, 417-823-8998.
· Lutheran Disaster Response, 800-638-3522.
· Mennonite Disaster Service, 717-859-2210.
· McCormick Tribune Foundation, Hurricane Katrina Relief Campaign, 800-508-2848.
· Nazarene Disaster Response, 888-256-5886.
· Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, 800-872-3283.
· Salvation Army, 800-SAL-ARMY (725-2769).
· Southern Baptist Convention -- Disaster Relief, 800-462-8657, ext. 6440.
· United Methodist Committee on Relief. 800-554-8583.
-- Associated Press
Posted by hinsdalereference at 9:40 AM
August 30, 2005
Genealogy Workshops
Joan Hemzacek will offer workshops this fall for people researching their family history. We will inaugurate the series with sessions on two Tuesday afternoons, September 13 and 27, from 1 to 3 p.m.
On September 13, Joan will cover Death Records. Besides official death certificates, many kinds of records deal with death, burial and survivors, including church and cemetery records, burial permits, fraternal societies, obituaries, pension records, and of course the Social Security Death Index. Find out where to look for these records and how to reconcile errors in them.
On September 27, Joan will talk about Immigration, Naturalization and Migration. People who immigrated to the U.S. didn't always stay where they first settled. The process of naturalization also changed over time—residency requirements, which courts had jurisdiction—with implications for where to search for records.
Contact the Reference Desk for more information.
Posted by hplreference at 9:53 AM
August 21, 2005
Welcome, Mike!
Please join us in welcoming our newest librarian, Mike Oetting. Mike, who is from the Kansas City area, is a recent graduate of the Master's program in Library and Information science at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Prior to library school, Mike worked as a Web manager at a publishing company, and as a compensation consultant at a human resource and benefits consulting firm. Mike also possesses a Master's degree in Labor and Industrial Relations from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Kansas. When he's not hard at work helping patrons, Mike enjoys photography and the antics of his exuberant Italian greyhound, Mia.
Posted by hplreference at 9:51 AM
August 20, 2005
National Geographic
Doing some fall housecleaning? The library would like to replace our well-used back issues of National Geographic magazine. We are looking for individual issues from 1948 through 2000, preferably in a long run. If you would like to give your old National Geographic s a good home, please contact Nell Ingalls, (630) 986–1976.
Posted by hplreference at 9:47 AM
August 19, 2005
New Biography and Genealogy Databases
The library is now subscribing to three new databases. Family history researchers have been requesting that we subscribe to a genealogy databases; now we have two. We also added a database of biographical information that students will find useful.
HeritageQuest Online includes U.S. Federal Census records from 1790–1930; Revolutionary War Pension and Bounty Land Warrant Application Files; more than 25,000 family and local histories; and PERSI™ (the PERiodical Source Index), a subject index covering more than 6,500 genealogy and local history periodicals written in English and French (Canada) since 1800. With a Hinsdale library card, you can search HeritageQuest from home.
Ancestry Library Edition consists of thousands of searchable databases. Among them are censuses; city, farm, and university directories; local and family histories; gazetteers; vital records; cemetery, church, court, immigration and naturalization, land, and military records; and more, from the U.S. and other countries. Some databases are indexes; others include images or text. Due to the producer's restrictions, Ancestry cannot be accessed remotely, but it's well worth a visit to the library.
Genealogists might find a relative—famous or not—in the Biography Resource Center from GaleNet. It contains more than 415,000 biographies on more than 325,000 people. Biographies are selected from hundreds of reference books and more than 270 magazines and journals from AdAgeGlobal to Writer . Search by name (50 Cent), criteria such as occupation and ethnic group (Hispanic American chemists) or keyword (“air force” and dakota). The reading level is geared to middle school–age and older—perfect for those last-minute assignments.
Students can use the genealogy databases to find information about historical figures. For example, Harriet Beecher Stowe and E.I. DuPont each figure prominently in their family histories in HeritageQuest, and it also contains history books such as the Historical Encyclopedia of Illinois .
Reference librarians will be happy to demonstrate these databases for you or answer questions about them. Please visit the library or contact the reference desk by phone at (630) 986-1976 or by email at reference@hinsdale.lib.il.us
Posted by hplreference at 9:11 AM