The biggest discovery for me was realizing the amount of information available to anyone with just a bit of initiative and some time to get on a computer and look around in the databases. All are there to help us improve who we are and where we want to go in our life. Education shapes who we become, makes us responsible and enterprising citizens, and helps us to achieve our goals. The databases we learned about this past 10 weeks can help do just that.
A variety of age levels can use them for fun as well as learning.
If any opportunity arises with a patron needing any of the information available I certainly will try to lead them to the appropriate application. Maybe one could be showcased on your libraries facebook page every month or so with a link to the State Library. I think we need to push getting a State Library card so the patron has easier access to the system. Making the hand-outs available might also be a way to introduce what is being offered. We need to tune-in to our patrons needs and get them on the track to discovery as we have.
Thank you Jane and Julie for all your work on this project.
Saturday, March 17, 2012
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Week 9--History and Genealogy Resources
1. Ancestry Library - I found two different records about myself; (1) my name, birth date, phone number and an incorrect address in the U.S. Public Records Index, Volume I. Volume II was also there with the same information. I did find where I had signed for my (2) marriage license in Phoenix, AZ.
2. I searched for my paternal grandfather and found him listed in the 1930 United States Federal Census as living in Lawrence County, S.D. (you could view the map) This page also listed where you could find it on microfilm. The original data had come from The National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. He was age 55 at the time, his birthplace was Finland, he was married to Annie Koskela, whom also was born in Finland (something I either did not know or had forgotten), he was head of household and immigrated to the U.S. in 1892. On another page, which was the actual record page, his wife and 8 children were listed showing their estimated birth year and birthplace. I found a death certificate for one son who died at an early age while I was searching for my grandfather's death certificate. I know more had died early on but was not sure of the names. I also found some type of military registration. Last year I printed off his immigration papers but did not run across it this time. The magnifier came in handy so there is no reason to struggle to see.
3. I also did not see the "Photos and Maps" tab as shown in the paperwork but did get to a place under that heading and typed in South Dakota. Under 11 headings it all stated there are no data collections that are specific to South Dakota.
4. HeritageQuest - PERSI - State : South Dakota, County : Lawrence, Keywords : Finnish. I first chose cemeteries but got 0 results so I went back and selected all and got one hit which was an article in the Bits and Pieces (Newcastle Wyo. 1966 Vol.2 Issue 8) about the Finnish Church at Lead, 1889. This was a Church Record. The publisher of the article was Mabel E. Brown in Newcastle, Wy. I could get a copy by completing the request form and contacting the Allen County Public Library Foundation in Fort Wayne, IN. You can request up to 6 articles at a time. It costs $7.50 for each letter, pre-paid plus $.20 per page copied billed to me and allow 6 to 8 weeks to receive it. They will not accept requests by phone, fax or e-mail.
I chose the letter S to look through the Publications and got 2426 results. You can change the page image, have a white or black background, download or print and zoom up to 400%. I looked into one titled : S.D. Butcher's pioneer history of Custer County and short sketches of early days in Nebraska. The publisher was unknown but was it published in Broken Bow, NE in 1901, had 406 pages and a very lengthy table of contents. A real history buff could escape for many days in this one site.
5. Sanborn Maps. I chose Lead, S.D. for May 1923-1948. I checked the Street Index but could not find the street I lived on so I chose to see if Lead High School (built in 1940) was in the same place and yes it is. I found it on sheet 6. If you zoom in 300% you can see some of the materials used in the building like steel trusses, lath and plaster ceilings Some of the larger rooms were labeled such as the boys and girls gyms and the machine shop. When looking through the town you can see the width of the water pipes running under the streets. I also noticed a couple of churches are still where they were back then. I wasn't as smooth using the moving magnifer, about made myself dizzy, but if you used the site a lot I'm sure it would become a great tool. Do you think the insurance company who laid out the maps ever considered they would become so valuable to the history of so many towns?
We have patrons who use the ancestry resource for hours at a time. Some are retired folks volunteering in the parks over the summer so we see much more activity at that time. We have a separate computer just for use of the databases through the State and do not restrict the time and so far the people who use it share it quite well.
These sites are more relaxing to me as the history is just fascinating and each discovery could be a wonderful surprise.
2. I searched for my paternal grandfather and found him listed in the 1930 United States Federal Census as living in Lawrence County, S.D. (you could view the map) This page also listed where you could find it on microfilm. The original data had come from The National Archives and Records Administration, 1930. He was age 55 at the time, his birthplace was Finland, he was married to Annie Koskela, whom also was born in Finland (something I either did not know or had forgotten), he was head of household and immigrated to the U.S. in 1892. On another page, which was the actual record page, his wife and 8 children were listed showing their estimated birth year and birthplace. I found a death certificate for one son who died at an early age while I was searching for my grandfather's death certificate. I know more had died early on but was not sure of the names. I also found some type of military registration. Last year I printed off his immigration papers but did not run across it this time. The magnifier came in handy so there is no reason to struggle to see.
3. I also did not see the "Photos and Maps" tab as shown in the paperwork but did get to a place under that heading and typed in South Dakota. Under 11 headings it all stated there are no data collections that are specific to South Dakota.
4. HeritageQuest - PERSI - State : South Dakota, County : Lawrence, Keywords : Finnish. I first chose cemeteries but got 0 results so I went back and selected all and got one hit which was an article in the Bits and Pieces (Newcastle Wyo. 1966 Vol.2 Issue 8) about the Finnish Church at Lead, 1889. This was a Church Record. The publisher of the article was Mabel E. Brown in Newcastle, Wy. I could get a copy by completing the request form and contacting the Allen County Public Library Foundation in Fort Wayne, IN. You can request up to 6 articles at a time. It costs $7.50 for each letter, pre-paid plus $.20 per page copied billed to me and allow 6 to 8 weeks to receive it. They will not accept requests by phone, fax or e-mail.
I chose the letter S to look through the Publications and got 2426 results. You can change the page image, have a white or black background, download or print and zoom up to 400%. I looked into one titled : S.D. Butcher's pioneer history of Custer County and short sketches of early days in Nebraska. The publisher was unknown but was it published in Broken Bow, NE in 1901, had 406 pages and a very lengthy table of contents. A real history buff could escape for many days in this one site.
5. Sanborn Maps. I chose Lead, S.D. for May 1923-1948. I checked the Street Index but could not find the street I lived on so I chose to see if Lead High School (built in 1940) was in the same place and yes it is. I found it on sheet 6. If you zoom in 300% you can see some of the materials used in the building like steel trusses, lath and plaster ceilings Some of the larger rooms were labeled such as the boys and girls gyms and the machine shop. When looking through the town you can see the width of the water pipes running under the streets. I also noticed a couple of churches are still where they were back then. I wasn't as smooth using the moving magnifer, about made myself dizzy, but if you used the site a lot I'm sure it would become a great tool. Do you think the insurance company who laid out the maps ever considered they would become so valuable to the history of so many towns?
We have patrons who use the ancestry resource for hours at a time. Some are retired folks volunteering in the parks over the summer so we see much more activity at that time. We have a separate computer just for use of the databases through the State and do not restrict the time and so far the people who use it share it quite well.
These sites are more relaxing to me as the history is just fascinating and each discovery could be a wonderful surprise.
Saturday, March 10, 2012
Week 8 -- ArchiveGrid and CAMIO
Part I ArchiveGrid
1.This is part of the Native American Collection at Cornell University Library. Looks like we are uncertain when Sitting Bull was born but he died in1890. He was a Shaman and leader of the Hunpapa Sioux with 3 different Native names. He led Sioux and Cheyenne warriors against U.S. soldiers of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn after which he and his tribe moved to Canada where they lived until surrendering to U.S. forces. He toured with Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. He was killed while resisting arrest because he didn't want to abandon the traditions of the Ghost Dance ritual, which had been outlawed. I was disappointed you could not see the actual autograph card.
2. I chose AIM but when typing those letters in the search area (3 different ways) I got 0 returns. Once I spelled it out there were 73 results, however these results came after putting quotation marks around the word "American Indian Movement." Going back in later I neglected to use the quotation marks and got 1182 results. I clicked into the "Register of the American Indian Movement Recordings, 1973" from the University of Wisconsin digital collection but didn't see much that interested me so I went into "My Wounded Knee scrapbook" housed at the Minnesota Historical Society. There are quite a variety of places to look from photos, pamphlets, audio cassettes to papers and letters, oral history reviews, but one that looked interesting was labeled "from Legal Defense/Offense." There are 143 boxes of records documenting the history, internal operation, and legal practice of a committee established by lawyers, legal workers, and others dedicated to the defense of activists involved in the American Indian protest movement of the 1970s. Most of the records relate to the occupation of Wounded Knee by American Indian activists (Feb-May 1973) and to the massive legal proceedings that followed (1973-1976). Events leading up to and following the occupation including a riot in Custer, S.D., the events on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation afterwards, a shoot-out in Oglala, S.D. which of course was where the two FBI agents were killed, and legal actions taken in order to prohibit the publication of author Peter Matthiessen's account of the Oglala incident. You can scroll for a period of time, in fact, I never did reach the end. I believe there were 5000 records in 88 pages. I like how the info was laid out in an outline format giving you an idea if you wanted to search farther into the record. I clicked in the "Manuscripts Collection" and there is a message in red lettering that states Access to or use of this collection is currently restricted, I was still able to read it but what I should have done was paid closer attention to the details of the Restriction Statement which I don't think I clicked into. Anyway, all of what I was viewing was in a part of the electronic version of the inventory. You really have no idea the amount of info you can find just by clicking into another area of the original record. This site is for serious researchers.
CAMIO
1. Paul Revere had talent in many areas but his metal silver work and his silver work were quite beautiful. Some pieces shown were; a teaspoon (in a shell design), a sugar bowl, a tea urn (the earliest and largest made in 1770), a cream pot, sauce boat, tankard and a lovely Federal style tea service. His hand colored engravings were quite intricate. There were 18 items you could inspect. I liked the option of seeing any of the works in high-resolution if you were interested in detail. You could also download and print it or check the boxes next to the item and save it to your favorites. On the left you can refine your search to see just works by Paul Revere as well as the format and how many of each and the unmeasured pieces and dates they were made.
2."Sioux" gave me 63 works by various tribes. The most pertinent info was shown for each item; the image title, creator, date, type and what museum you could find it. There was clothing, art work, furniture, pottery, dolls, photographs and jewelry.
3. I can't say I have a favorite artist so I tried a few South Dakota names but came up empty. I typed in "Andy Warhol and got 129 works which included prints, drawings, sculpture, photographs, paintings (many famous people and self-portraits, some costumes (paper dress that looked like Campbell soup labels) and jewelry. In 1971 he had 20 different prints of an electric chair.
4. I think those who deal in art or collectibles would find this site valuable. Maybe you could avoid be scammed. If you need specific details and upclose views this is place.
5. I chose Norman Rockwell for this exercise but only found 6 works. They are large when viewed in a slide-show and larger again in high-resolution. Being able to compare the paintings might be useful if you were interested in specific aspects of the artists work; colors he uses, his subjects, the era, the background. You could pinpoint the consistencies. When comparing you can also change the color that frames the work. Not sure why you would need this option unless you wanted to see how the art changes with the different colors. Being able to arrange them or delete one as you see fit for a report of saving to a web page saves time.
If you can't go to the mountain then visit ArchiveGrid and CAMIO. These are wonderful sites to visit and enjoy.
1.This is part of the Native American Collection at Cornell University Library. Looks like we are uncertain when Sitting Bull was born but he died in1890. He was a Shaman and leader of the Hunpapa Sioux with 3 different Native names. He led Sioux and Cheyenne warriors against U.S. soldiers of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn after which he and his tribe moved to Canada where they lived until surrendering to U.S. forces. He toured with Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. He was killed while resisting arrest because he didn't want to abandon the traditions of the Ghost Dance ritual, which had been outlawed. I was disappointed you could not see the actual autograph card.
2. I chose AIM but when typing those letters in the search area (3 different ways) I got 0 returns. Once I spelled it out there were 73 results, however these results came after putting quotation marks around the word "American Indian Movement." Going back in later I neglected to use the quotation marks and got 1182 results. I clicked into the "Register of the American Indian Movement Recordings, 1973" from the University of Wisconsin digital collection but didn't see much that interested me so I went into "My Wounded Knee scrapbook" housed at the Minnesota Historical Society. There are quite a variety of places to look from photos, pamphlets, audio cassettes to papers and letters, oral history reviews, but one that looked interesting was labeled "from Legal Defense/Offense." There are 143 boxes of records documenting the history, internal operation, and legal practice of a committee established by lawyers, legal workers, and others dedicated to the defense of activists involved in the American Indian protest movement of the 1970s. Most of the records relate to the occupation of Wounded Knee by American Indian activists (Feb-May 1973) and to the massive legal proceedings that followed (1973-1976). Events leading up to and following the occupation including a riot in Custer, S.D., the events on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation afterwards, a shoot-out in Oglala, S.D. which of course was where the two FBI agents were killed, and legal actions taken in order to prohibit the publication of author Peter Matthiessen's account of the Oglala incident. You can scroll for a period of time, in fact, I never did reach the end. I believe there were 5000 records in 88 pages. I like how the info was laid out in an outline format giving you an idea if you wanted to search farther into the record. I clicked in the "Manuscripts Collection" and there is a message in red lettering that states Access to or use of this collection is currently restricted, I was still able to read it but what I should have done was paid closer attention to the details of the Restriction Statement which I don't think I clicked into. Anyway, all of what I was viewing was in a part of the electronic version of the inventory. You really have no idea the amount of info you can find just by clicking into another area of the original record. This site is for serious researchers.
CAMIO
1. Paul Revere had talent in many areas but his metal silver work and his silver work were quite beautiful. Some pieces shown were; a teaspoon (in a shell design), a sugar bowl, a tea urn (the earliest and largest made in 1770), a cream pot, sauce boat, tankard and a lovely Federal style tea service. His hand colored engravings were quite intricate. There were 18 items you could inspect. I liked the option of seeing any of the works in high-resolution if you were interested in detail. You could also download and print it or check the boxes next to the item and save it to your favorites. On the left you can refine your search to see just works by Paul Revere as well as the format and how many of each and the unmeasured pieces and dates they were made.
2."Sioux" gave me 63 works by various tribes. The most pertinent info was shown for each item; the image title, creator, date, type and what museum you could find it. There was clothing, art work, furniture, pottery, dolls, photographs and jewelry.
3. I can't say I have a favorite artist so I tried a few South Dakota names but came up empty. I typed in "Andy Warhol and got 129 works which included prints, drawings, sculpture, photographs, paintings (many famous people and self-portraits, some costumes (paper dress that looked like Campbell soup labels) and jewelry. In 1971 he had 20 different prints of an electric chair.
4. I think those who deal in art or collectibles would find this site valuable. Maybe you could avoid be scammed. If you need specific details and upclose views this is place.
5. I chose Norman Rockwell for this exercise but only found 6 works. They are large when viewed in a slide-show and larger again in high-resolution. Being able to compare the paintings might be useful if you were interested in specific aspects of the artists work; colors he uses, his subjects, the era, the background. You could pinpoint the consistencies. When comparing you can also change the color that frames the work. Not sure why you would need this option unless you wanted to see how the art changes with the different colors. Being able to arrange them or delete one as you see fit for a report of saving to a web page saves time.
If you can't go to the mountain then visit ArchiveGrid and CAMIO. These are wonderful sites to visit and enjoy.
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