Sharing new ideas, resources, knowledge and technology to keep abreast of new development in reference service field

Friday, February 29, 2008

Any information on the Eastern Football League teams from 1972-1975?

This question was referred to me from a local library. I could not answer the question adequately and decided to use it for my monthly blog entry. Does anyone out there know anything about EFL local all-star teams from 1972-1975?

My search history began with the Web. I came across a homepage for the EFL located in Cumberland, Maine that also included the name of a contact person and a phone number. The website informed me that the EFL is a [mens] minor league football league that is in its 47th year of operation. They also provided a list of championship games back to 1961. None of this answers the question but I'm hoping that the contact person is housing an archive of the EFL in his basement.

The Boston Globe paper index only goes back to 1982 and the online index to 1980. I gave the online index a shot using the years 1980 to 1985 but I came up with nothing relevant.

I checked the New York Times index from 1972 to 1975. There was nothing under the word "eastern" but there were pages and pages of citations under the word "football." What should I look for? Should I skip everything under "college," "professional" and "semi-professional"?

I know they haven't played in "bowl games" so I'm safe there.

The Worcester Public Library houses a Telegram & Gazette clipping file that goes back, in some cases, to the 1960's. When I opened up the first file folder under football I was pleased to see the date 1964. But my pleasure didn't last long. By the end of my perusal I had two clippings on the EFL, one dated 1989 and the other 1991. Neither one contained anything like a history.

Finally, I checked the national and regional Encyclopedia of Associations. While there were more listings than I could have imagined there was no mention of the EFL.

Any help would be appreciated.

Friday, February 08, 2008

Recent Lincoln Books

Every year produces a fresh crop of books about Abraham Lincoln. Since the latest batch is especially numerous and varied, I decided to provide a quick summary of some of the ones we've added to Worcester Public Library.

"Did Lincoln own slave?: and other frequently asked questions about Abraham Lincoln" by Gerald Prokopowicz is written in question and answer format and deals with both serious topics such as Lincoln's attitude on race and frivolous ones such as the worst picture of Lincoln. The author's breezy, often humorous style makes this an easy way to absorb a great deal of information.

"Lincoln the lawyer" by Brian Dirck deals with all of Lincolns legal career, much of which was commercial law, and how it affected his presidency. " The case of Abraham Lincoln : a story of adultery, murder, and the making of a great president" by J.M. Fenster covers just one sensational trial where Lincoln was the defense counsel. Ms Fenster contends that it was the publicity from this case that distinguished Lincoln from the rest of the group of talented, ambitious Illinios lawyers and paved the way to his future prominence.

"Land of Lincoln: adventures in Abe's America" by Andrew Ferguson examines the ways Lincoln's memory and image have been commemorated and sometimes exploited since his death. He visits a convention of the Association of Lincoln Presenters where he is the only man not dressed as Lincoln and Spinfield, Illinois' new Lincoln museum where the lively exhibits were designed by a former Disney employee to attract tourists.

"The Gettysburg Address: and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States of America" is a very oversized book with a minimum of text and evocative paintings by Sam Fink on each pages. "Lincoln: the presidential archives" by Chuck Wills is another book notable for its illustrations including document facsimiles .
On the more serious side "Lincoln revisited: new insights from the Lincoln Forum" has chapters by 18 prominent historians on various aspects of Lincoln"s life and leadership.
"House of Abraham: Lincoln and the Todds, a family divided by war" by Stephen William Berry describes the aggravation Lincoln suffered from misguided, unbalanced and sometimes downright malicious relatives and relations.
Both "Douglass and Lincoln..." by Paul Kendrick and "The radical and Republican..." by James Oakes deal with the profound influence Lincoln and Frederick Douglass had on each other.
"Stealing Lincoln's body" by Thomas J. Craughwell is the bizarre but true story of an 1876 plot to hold Lincoln's body for ransom.

CMRLS Regional Reference Center, Worcester Public Library, 3 Salem Sq, Worcester MA 01608