Monthly Archives: June 2018

Changes to PowerLibrary Databases

At the end of July, there will be changes to the databases offered by Pennsylvania’s PowerLibrary. Below is a list of new databases, as well as a list of databases that will expire at the end of July.

The Digital Resources Committee’s (DRC) Database Subcommittee will be reviewing the new resources and will make determinations about changes in the resources we currently offer to our patrons so as to not overlap content with the new set of PowerLibrary databases. Stay tuned to the Virtual Lexicon for updates to the database lineup and training information for the new resources. All of the current databases are on our countywide database page.  This website will reflect the PowerLibrary changes as they occur.

If you are interested in being a part of the DRC’s Database Subcommittee and helping with this evaluation and transition period, please contact me at lewislacknerh@carnegielibrary.org

New E-Resource Subscriptions (starting in July 2018):

  1. Gale Academic OneFile
  2. Gale Business Insights: Essentials
  3. Gale Kids InfoBits
  4. Gale InfoTrac Student Edition
  5. Gale General OneFile
  6. Gale Global Reference on the Environment, Energy and Natural Resources (GREENR)
  7. Gale Research in Context
  8. Gale InfoTrac Newsstand
  9. Gale Educator’s Reference Complete
  10. Gale Books & Authors
  11. Gale Informe Academico
  12. Gale LitFinder

Expiring E-Resource Subscriptions (these will expire on July 31, 2018):

  1. EBSCO Academic Search Main Edition
  2. EBSCO Business Source Main Edition
  3. EBSCO Explora Elementary
  4. EBSCO Explora Middle School
  5. EBSCO Explora High School
  6. EBSCO Explora Public Library
  7. EBSCO GreenFile
  8. EBSCO LISTA
  9. EBSCO MasterFile Main Edition
  10. EBSCO Middle Search Main Edition
  11. EBSCO Newspaper Source Plus
  12. EBSCO Newswires
  13. EBSCO Primary Search Main Edition
  14. EBSCO Teacher Reference Center
  15. EBSCO Web News
  16. ProQuest SIRS Discoverer

Continuing E-Resource Subscriptions (these will not expire this summer):

  1. AP Images
  2. EBSCO Consumer Health
  3. EBSCO eBooks
  4. EBSCO Science Reference Center
  5. Gale Contemporary Authors
  6. Rosen Cyber Smarts
  7. Scholastic BookFlix
  8. Scholastic TrueFlix

~ Hilary Lewis Lackner, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh

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U. S. Census Fact Finder

The U. S. Census Bureau has an awesome website for getting census statistics. It is American Fact Finder. It is especially great at organizing statistics about a place. Enter a state, county, city, town, or zip code in the search box, and then select one of the following:

2010 Census

2016 American Community Survey

2017 Population Estimates Program

Census 2000

If you need more information, try their guided search.

The website is https://factfinder.census.gov

Mary Lee Hart, Northland

 

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Research with Ancestry Library Edition

ancestry family tree

Ancestry Library Edition is a powerful tool in our libraries – it opens up a world of records to patrons doing genealogy research and gives us an opportunity to provide a valuable resource and great customer service.

Ancestry Library Edition affords access to billions of historical documents and millions of historical photos.  There are local narratives, oral histories, indexes and other resources in over 30,000 databases that span from the 1500s to the 2000s to library patrons.

Patrons working on their family tree can search Census, Birth-Marriage-Death, Military Records and Immigration-Travel records.  They can do basic and advanced searches, create limiters using family members or life events, exact name matching, search using keywords, gender, race, and so much more.

Although patrons must access Ancestry Library from inside the library, it is very easy for patrons to use and it’s free!   It has an intuitive search interface, detailed search indexes and helpful tools.

CaptureAnother great way to use Ancestry Library – you can recommend it to non-fiction book club patrons reading about historical events or people.  They can use Ancestry Library to learn more about real-life characters and locations from historical and genealogical records.

For in-depth help, ProQuest offers a Libguide on using Ancestry Library Edition.  It provides broad help topics such as:  quick tips, content categories, search tips, sample searches, research tools and lots more.  This is an extremely useful resource for both staff and patrons.

Don’t hesitate to recommend Ancestry Library Edition – it is a comprehensive genealogy resource that we offer to our patrons for free, and it is easy to use.

Lisa DeLucia, Upper St. Clair Twp. Library

 

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World History in Context

Are you a history buff?  Do you have to do a project about an historic event, notable figure, or era in history?  World History in Context is your go-to hub for the best information on historic topics.  You can search for a specific topic, or you can browse all the topics World History in Context has to offer.  (This screenshot shows only part of the list.)

World History in Context 1

I clicked on the link for the Irish Potato Famine to learn more about an event that was the catalyst for some of my ancestors to immigrate to the United States.

Irish Potato Famine 1

The entry provides a brief overview of the Irish Potato Famine, and the “Read More” button takes you to a timeline of other events that took place during the same era.  There are also links to primary source documents, and full text journal articles.  Thanks to this database, I have learned more about the Irish Potato Famine.  No matter what historic event you need information about, World History in Context can provide you with thorough, reliable information.

Kate Straccia, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh – Main

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