NEASC

We - at Uxbridge High School - just finished a NEASC accreditation visit...the experience seemed fine although we still have serious building issues unchanged, for the most part, since ten years ago...if anyone has questions about the School Resources part of the report please feel free to post to here. Thanks!

Bill S.

Readers Advisory

My first experience with regional cooperation was back in 1967 when I was an ILL assistant at Holy Cross. Lists of desired books were checked in the card catalog, gathered up, and a phone call made to Alice Atanian to find out where the packages were to be mailed.
It must have been in the late nineties that Alice told me if I wanted to keep up with what librarians were doing to help readers I should consult FICTION-L. I discovered a source for the best in gay fiction, inspirational fiction, chicklit, urban novels, slipstream, OPRAH, non-fiction reader's advisory, even collection management and marketing the collection. The librarians on this listserve share even with lurkers like me the reality we are not alone.
I hope the Regional Reference Blog will do the same.

Give Me the Simple Life.......

Those weary of the hustle and bustle of modern consumer society should enjoy three new accounts by individuals who tried extremely different lifestyles for a year. "In Not Buying It: My Year Without Shopping", a middle aged couple agree to avoid buying anything but absolute necessities . Generic groceries, internet time for their work from jobs, and insulin for their diabetic cat are three basics they agree on from the start. "See You In a Hundred Years: Four Seasons In Forgotten America" by Logan Ward is the story of a young couple who buy a farm in rural Virginia, remove the bathroom, have the electricity turned off, and try to live for a year as an average farm family would have in 1900. They find growing and preserving all their own food for a year and coping with contrary farm animals more of a challenge than they had anticipated; but one unexpected resource, the goodwill and helpful advice of their neighbors, helps them make it triumphantly through the year. "The Year Of Living Biblically" by A.J. Jacobs is the story of a modern New Yorker who resolved to literally observe every single New and Old Testament injunction that he legally could. I'm probably cheating slightly including Jacobs book since it hasn't arrived at WPL yet; but all the reviews of it have been very positive. Does anyone have anyother new books on experimenting with alternative lifestyles to add to the list?

Food for Thought---Oktoberfest Websites

Oktoberfest Websites

Oktoberfest is originally a German celebration which was first celebrated on October 12, 1810 with a festival at the public celebration of the wedding of Crown Prince Leopold I and Princess Maria Theresa of Bavaria on October 17, 1810 held in a large meadow in Munich. However, the celebration also featured a horse race, beer, food, music, and dancing, as well. Today, Oktoberfest is celebrated anywhere from September 11th through October 11th with special foods, beers, and activities appropriate to the season. Make your own Oktoberfest last longer and enjoy these websites!

www.oktoberfest.com
www.oktoberfest.org
www.oktoberfest-guides.com
www.br-online.de/bayern/oktoberfest
www.FoodRecipesToday.com
www.allrecipes.com
www.globalgormet.com
www.bhg.com/recipes
www.epicurious.com

Enjoy!

Good Football Websites

Now that football season is in full swing, I'd like to point out a few interesting sites that are informative and fun to explore. The official site of the National Football League is http://www.nfl.com/.

This is probably the best place to find complete statistics, game recaps, and all the most important stories pertaining to pro football. There are regular columns written by some of the sport's most knowledgeable writers, great action photos from the week's games, many video clips of outstanding highlights from recent contests, and loads of other special features. You could spend hours surfing this site.

Another good site is http://www.profootballweekly.com/. Although not as colorful or flashy as the N.F.L. site, there's quite a variety of interesting material to be found here as well. There's in-depth coverage of individual players, a lot of N.F.L. news, analysis, and stats by a team of experts, along with extensive coverage of the fantasy football phenomenon and predictions for next week's games. Give it a try.

For the fan that enjoys football history, give http://www.pro-football-reference.com/ a try. It's a fascinating site that delves into a tremendous amount of historical facts and stats for all of the pro teams, past and present. The site gives the all-time records of all the players who ever played pro football, along with information on all the coaches as well as how each team played from year to year since the league was created. If you're a real fan, you can lose yourself for days in this site.

In a future blog I will discuss a few of the best college football sites, but for now, try these and see what you think.

New Reference Book

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIRDS
by Facts on File
$425.00
6 volumes
ISBN 0816059047

Did you know that herons have special feathers whose tips crumble into a powder that spreads over their plummage to keep them water repellent? Did you know that albino blackbirds sometimes occur? These questions and more are answered in this six volume set designed to introduce readers to the world of birds. Wonderful colored photographs and illustrations show birdsfrom the forests of North America, to the beaches of South America and the plains of Australia. Alphabetically arranged, information on each bird includes order, family, genus and species; habitat; behavior; breeding; food and feeding; distribution and range; vital statistics and creature comparisons. This set will fascinate bird lovers of all ages.

New England Court Records

September 21, 2007

I would like to highly recommend purchase of a relatively new book by Diane Rapaport called “New England Court Records: a research guide for genealogists and historians: (Burlington, MA: Quill Pen Press, 2006, $29.95). While aimed at the genealogist and historian, it is a good introduction to legal records. In the first, smaller section there is information on the court systems, types of records created and how to locate them. The second section has individual chapters on each of the New England states, giving a judicial time line, the courts today and where to actually find the records for each court.

This book is quite readable and extremely informative. I think it belongs on the shelves of any library.

Nancy E. Gaudette
Worcester Public Library

More on Searching Obituaries in Proquest

I recently posted instructions from Proquest on how to search for obituaries. Several of you responded that the instructions did not work for the T&G. There is no option in the T&G interface to select "obituary" as a document type to narrow the search. I went back to Proquest and told them this. Their reponse in part was "The Worcester Telegram & Gazette does not use a separate designation for Obituaries in their electronic feed to ProQuest." The woman I spoke with recommended that you use a date limiter to find an obituary. Bet she's never worked on a reference desk before! I told her that people don't often have a clue what the date is and if they think they have a clue they are often mistaken. So I went to the source...George Labonte, the T&G Librarian, to get his input. I am posting his comments with his permission:


"Here's my suggestion:

Go to the "advanced" search tab. Type the name of the deceased in the top search line. Leave the operator "and" in front of the second line and type "deaths" (without quote marks) on the second line. Click on the menu to the right, and choose "Section." Most obituaries in the T&G appear in the Deaths section. Obits of prominent people may appear in other sections.

For most names, that will suffice. If the searcher is looking for a very common, name, change the designation to the right of the name on the first line from "Citation and document text" to "Citation and abstract." That may help narrow the search results. Currently the ProQuest interface does not allow you to confine a search to the headline, which would be the most efficient search.

Another way to narrow results is to add a date element. That is done in the section below the textual search elements. If a searcher chooses "Specific date range," spaces will open to the right in which a beginning date and a closing date may be entered. Follow the style indicated.

It's important to remember that there is no law that requires that obituaries be published in the newspaper. Submission has always been voluntary. Sometimes a name only appears in the "Recent Deaths" list. (You must search the entire document and not just the abstract to find such a name.) That is the only free publication of a death notice now available in the Telegram & Gazette. If the name only appears in Recent Deaths, the entry usually includes the name of the funeral director, who could be a further source of information. Last, remember that coverage of obituaries on ProQuest begins in January 1989. Obituaries before that date are only available on microfilm. In Central Massachusetts, the Worcester, Auburn and Shrewsbury Public Libraries hold our microfilm. In Boston, our microfilm is available at the Boston Public Library and the Statehouse library. Library of Congress also collects T&G microfilm. "

Worcester E-Resources at Your Library

Thursday, September 27
10 AM - 12 PM
Groton Public Library

Want to use the e-resources that Worcester Public Library subscribes to? Learn what each database covers, and pick up search tips and strategies. We'll bring handouts to promote this new access. Pingsheng Chen and Paul Pelletier will lead this session.

Copyright issues for Community Access Television Story Hour

I'm looking for some advice on copyright issues and perhaps some personal advice from someone who might have produced a Community Access Television Story Hour. I'm working with my local community access television station to produce shows. I would like to apply for a local Cultural Council grant to produce a show featuring grandparents who want to read to their grandchildren. The grandparent would come down to the studio and sit in a rocking chair and read.

Here's my reference question: Do I need to get permission from each publisher to use the book on Community Access Television? Or, is there some type of blanket contract that might apply, similar to permission to show videos/dvds in libraries?

Here's the concept: We would film the story being read by a grandparent, which would be reproduced on DVD for purchase by the Grandparent, so it could be replayed as many times as it interests the grandchild. The reading would air once or twice for a general audience, more if it was a classic book by an exceptional reader. I think the project would be especially popular among grandparents that live far from their grandchildren. The grant would provide seed money for a selection of good big print children's books. If successful, the profits from the DVDs would keep the show going after the grant runs out.

Any comments are appreciated.

Finding obituaries in ProQuest newspapers

Finding biographical information about people and celebrities is one of the many uses of the ProQuest newspaper database that is provided by CMRLS to members. One important source of biographical information can be found in newspaper obituaries.

Obituaries may contain information about a person’s birthplace, family names, work history, where they lived, leadership positions, affiliations and hobbies. Genealogists may be able to use obituaries to determine family member names and relationships.

There are several ways to find obituary information using ProQuest newspapers databases. Below are listed various strategies you can use.

Published newspaper obituary

Most obituaries contain information about average citizens and are written by the deceased person’s family or a local newspaper based on information supplied by the family. ProQuest uses the Document Type = Obituaries field to narrow a search to just published obituaries.

1) Click on the More Search Options tab in the middle of the page.
2) Expand the Document Type field and choose Obituary
3) Go up to the Basic Search box and type the deceased person’s name. You may want to try typing the name using given name, initials and nickname. Trying various forms of the person’s name within separate searches will help to insure success at finding the obituary.

An alternative method for finding newspaper obituaries is to use the following search strategy in the Basic Search box:

John Smith AND (obituary or obituaries)


Famous people and Celebrities

Many newspapers do not publish standard obituaries for the death of famous people or celebrities. Instead, they may do a feature story on the famous person’s life. These newspaper articles are not designated as obituaries and you will need a different search strategy. Try using the following strategies for finding information about the death of famous people and celebrities:

June Allyson AND (dead OR death OR died OR dies)
June Allyson AND (obituary OR obituaries)

Additional strategies to narrow your search include narrowing to a local newspaper or using the date feature to narrow the approximate month or year of the death.

United States Government Documents at WPL

The Worcester Public Library has been a select U.S. Government Documents Depository since the inception of the program in 1859. As one of the oldest such libraries in the country, Worcester has some unique holdings of federal government publications.
Some of these irreplaceable materials include: War Department publications from the Civil War, the Panama Canal construction, and World Wars I and II. The very early works include Journals of Congress from 1790, American State Papers from Colonial times, the United States Serial Set from the early 19th century (1833), State Papers and Publick Documents of the United States from the accession of George Washington to the presidency, exhibiting a complete view of foreign relations since that time. 1789-96, and The Papers of James Madison purchased by order of the Congress.
Now, 148 years later, we still receive around 5,000 documents each year from all the various government agencies. Only now they come in paper, microfiche, mixed kits, VHS, DVD, CD-ROM, and online through the library's OPAC

The Rosetta Stone, Then and Now

The Rosetta Stone gave the world the key to the long-forgotten language of ancient Egypt. A French officer of Napoleon's engineering corps discovered it in 1799.He found the stone half buried in the mud near Rosetta, a city near Alexandria, Egypt.The stone was later taken to England, where it is still preserved in the British Museum. Today, the name also stands for the fully-interactive, step-by-step language-learning software. It includes thirty languages, and its applications are far-reaching. Rosetta Stone is recognized by thousands of schools and universities as an ideal English as a Second Language(ESL) solution, giving millions of English learners the confidence to communicate. The Worcester Public Library Foundation received a grant from the Verizon Foundation that will allow the Worcester Public Library and Literacy Volunteers of Greater Worcester (LVGW) to add Rosetta Stone Online to the Library’s Internet-based database collection. Rosetta Stone is language-learning software that features an interactive dynamic immersion method. Library patrons can use it to learn English at their convenience from anywhere, through the Library's webpage link to "Online Databases". A Worcester Public Library card is required. LVGW will hold classes in the library’s computer lab for people who want personal instruction. Please contact LVGW directly at 508-754-8056.

Regional Reference Blog Workshop

If you are interested in becoming a contributor to the Regional Reference Blog and if you are curious about how the blog works, please sign up for the Regional Reference Center Blog workshop which will be held on Wednesday, September 12, 10:00 am to 12:00 at the Worcester Public Library Computer Lab.

The Blog's Purpose and Guidelines

Purpose
This blog provides an opportunity for real-time sharing of information, news, ideas and concerns related the reference service among the 251 multi-type libraries that make up the Central Massachusetts Regional Library System. Anyone involved in providing reference service within CMRLS is encouraged to participate in this support tool, created by and for librarians. Let's take advantage of our collective knowledge and experience.

Suggested subjects include but certainly are not limited to:

• Workshop information: upcoming offerings, tips from workshops you attended
• New products: the good, the bad and the really ugly
• Questions and concerns: share yours or offer your suggestions and solutions
• Reference finds: websites, titles, databases, handouts
• Professional resources: books, tutorials, links
• Programming and PR: successes and failures
• Reference questions: new tough ones and perennials, along with answers and suggested answers
• News appointments and departures
• Ideas: trial balloons and proven winners

Guidelines:
The Regional Reference Blog's focus is reference service within the Central Massachusetts Regional Library system community. This includes reference service for both youth and adults provided by public, school, special and academic libraries that are members of CMRLS. All staff are encouraged to participate, to share news, ideas, and tips as well as solicit help or suggestions related to reference service.

The Regional Reference Blog is not the tool for communicating confidential information or for discussions unrelated to reference service.

• All postings and comments should be written in courteous, business-like language.
• The use of discriminator, insulting, offensive, disrespectful, demeaning language is prohibited.

Jane Peck, the Head of Reference Service at the Worcester Public Library, will serve as the Regional Reference Blog monitor and moderate all comments. Concerns or suggestions should be sent by email to jpeck@cwmars.org

New to the World of Blog

I just signed up to blog. This is very exciting for me as I have never done this before. See you at the Blog workshop.

School Libraries

I'm a Director of a school library and we just went back - staff only - this week. Another year begins! I'm new to this blog and hope to discuss school libraries and issues that pertain to them.

"Member Cards" Expand Access to E-resources

Starting this fall CMRLS member libraries will have a Worcester Public Library "member card". This card will enable member libraries to access the remote databases that are available to all our card holders. These databases cover many subjects, from health to history, from geography to genealogy and include databases for children as well as adults . Several databases are also available in Spanish. For a complete list of the remote databases please go to WPL's homepage http://www.worcpublib.org/ and click on "Online Databases", then select "Databases Outside the Library".


These "member cards" are only for use on your computers and should not be given out to patrons. We hope this service will make it possible for you, as our member libraries, to expand your patrons' access to current information sources. Two training workshops on these databases are planned for this fall (two more in the Spring). The fall workshops will be held in Groton and Blackstone. Check the Continuing Education listing on the CMRLS website for more details and to sign up.

Library Cards

I was at a training for new staff a few months ago. I vaguely remember something about cards being issued so we could access some of the reference resources that are specific to Worcester Public Library. Did I understand correctly? If so, how do we obtain a card?

How to Join the Blog

1. Send your email address to pschen@cwmars.org.
2. You will receive an email invitation from the Blog.
3. Follow the link in the invitation to create a blog account.
4. If you already have a blogger.com account, log in with your username and password.
5. If you don't have one, click on Create a Google Account.
6. If you want to use your cwmars email account or other existing email account, you go ahead to fill out the blanks and accept the Terms of Service.
7. After clicking on Continue, you are in the working area of the blog. You should be able to create your posts.
8. If you have any questions regarding the process, please call Ping at 508-799-1633 or email her at pschen@cwmars.org.