Introducing HeritageQuest!

East Central Regional Library is pleased to announce that it now offers a family history tool that complements the already popular Ancestry Library Edition. We are thrilled to add HeritageQuest Online database to our growing list of high-quality resources. HeritageQuest is conveniently accessed via the library's website anywhere with an internet connection by logging in with your library card!

HeritageQuest Online is a comprehensive database of American genealogical and historical sources with unique primary sources, local and family histories, convenient research guides, interactive census maps, and more.  With coverage dating back to the 1700s, it is a great place for people to start searching for their ancestors or discovering a place’s past.

This authoritative resource consists of the following core data sets:

• U.S. Federal Censuses feature the original images of every extant federal census in the United States, from 1790 through 1940, with every-name indexes for all years.
• Genealogy and local history books and directories deliver more than 40,000 family histories, local histories, city directories, and other books.
• Revolutionary War records contains original images from pension and bounty land warrant application files help to identify more than 80,000 American Army, Navy, and Marine officers and enlisted men from the Revolutionary War era.
• Freedman’s Bank Records, with more than 480,000 names of bank applicants, their dependents, and heirs from 1865–1874, and full-page register views, it offers valuable data that can provide important clues to tracing African American ancestors prior to and immediately after the U.S. Civil War. It is considered one of the most important resources for African-American genealogical research.
• U.S. Serial Set records the memorials, petitions, private relief actions made to the U.S. Congress back to 1789, with a total of more than 480,000 pages of information.
• Periodical Source Index (PERSI) Archive (1800-2009), published by the Allen County Public Library, it contains more than 2.3 million records covering both English and French periodicals published around the world since 1800.

To learn more about HeritageQuest Online or for help using HeritageQuest Online, view the LibGuide.

Whether you are a beginner or an expert family historian, try HeritageQuest today!

Sarah Hawkins, Resource Librarian

Introducing Mango Languages!

East Central Regional Library is pleased to announce that it now offers an online language-learning database to our patrons. We are thrilled to add the Mango Languages system to our growing list of resources.   

Mango is free for all library patrons and is available 24/7 anywhere with an Internet connection. All you need is your library card! You can also create a Mango profile to track your progress.  Mango can be accessed via the library's website or on-the-go with apps for iPhone, Android, Kindle, and Nook.  To access Mango on the app, first register for a Mango profile via the library's website.

Mango offers access to 60 foreign language courses and 17 English as second language courses. These courses include a variety of specialty mini-courses including Medical Spanish, Shakespearean English, Endangered Languages, Pirate, and more.

Each Mango lesson teaches conversation through audio from native speakers and critical thinking exercises. The courses are presented with an appreciation for cultural nuance and real-world application by focusing on the four key elements of language learning: vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, and culture.

In addition to traditional language courses, Mango also offers the opportunity to learn through with Mango Premiere, the first of its kind program to teach language through full-length foreign films.  Users are able watch a film in “Movie Mode,” watching the entire movie with subtitles (English subtitles, subtitles in the language you’re learning, or both) or “Engage Mode,” learning each scene’s dialogue, part-by-part. 

We are always looking to provide patrons relevant online resources that can be used whenever and wherever is easiest for the learner. Whether you want to learn a second language for business or travel, personal or professional development, or just for fun, Mango is the place to start!

Sarah Hawkins, Resource Librarian

NOVELIST - Your Guide to Fiction !

As we move into the chilly, dark days and nights of January, there's nothing more rewarding than relaxing with a good book.

Many people come to the library to request the latest bestsellers or to browse the new books recently added to the collection. Others like to discuss their favorite authors with library staff and make recommendations.

Did you know that the NOVELIST database is available to all East Central Regional Library cardholders? It is your complete guide to fiction and can be used in the library, at home, or wherever you have access to a computer!

With NoveList you can search for books by author, title, or series. You may also limit your results to adults, teens, or children.

On the left side of the home page, you'll find links to "Author Read-alikes", "Award Winners", and "Recommended Reads". Are you interested in books similar to "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown"? Locate his entry under "Author Read-alikes". Who won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction? You'll find the answer under "Award Winners". Would you like a list of historical fiction novels? Check "Recommended Reads"!

To access NoveList go to the ECRL homepage: http://www.ecrlib.org/

Then:

---Click on "Magazines & Databases" on the left

---Scroll down and click on the "NoveList" link.

You're in and can begin looking for that perfect novel!

Please feel free to contact your nearest ECRL branch library if you have questions or comments about NoveList. Staff are happy to assist!

Bob Gray

Reference and Interlibrary Loan Librarian