Huntington Memorial Library offers a set of research databases available to anyone with a library card. This can help you answer just about any question you have, and you can do this from your home, or with our help. If you visit our website at and click on "Research Databases" it will take you to a page with many choices, some of which are featured here this week.
Children's resources are very handy for homework assignments, or even to answer a question that your child poses and for which you don't know the answer. "Searchasaurus" has categories for animals, art and music, health, history, people and places, science and math, sports and stories. Multiple categories in each of these topics break down the categories even further. Looking up the topic "ants" gives you 272 results, which include photos, magazine and encyclopedia articles, and more. There is plenty to see and learn, and more than enough to write a report for a homework assignment. The picture of a carpenter ant sitting on someone's finger is breathtaking. Try searching for the topic "rainbow" and not only will find articles on the topic, but there are also pictures and even instructions on how to make a book of rainbow colors. Kids Search and Infotrac Junior are two other databases containing magazine and newspaper articles for middle school and junior high students. Try them all to see the wide range of materials available.
NovelList is a fiction database of more than 135,000 titles containing reviews, annotations and more. It will help you or your children find something to read as well as recall the title of a book you can't remember. The keyword function helps you find things when you think all is lost. Someone recently asked for help finding a children's book that was published a while ago.
All she could give me was a vague plot summary, but no title or author. I remembered the book and reading it, but couldn't remember the title or author, either. But I knew it had come out in the'80s and by doing a search on Novelist for children's books and limiting it to a certain time period it would probably pop up. Sure enough, it did and I quickly emailed her. Her excited response gave me a big smile, and I'm sure you know how good it feels to remember something or find an answer to a question that has puzzled you.
Investors no longer have to travel to the library to read Morningstar. It's just a click away with your library card, and is very popular. Track, learn, see trends, there is so much to do on this database. Other financial resource databases are also available.
Health Reference Center Academic lets you search for information on medical conditions. These are full text articles from nursing and health journals and magazines. One of the best things about this database is its currency. Articles appear almost immediately after they are published, and it's very helpful to those who want or need to know about the latest research or treatment for different diseases or conditions.
There are also databases for newspapers, literature, authors, careers, and more. You'd be hard pressed not to find an answer to one of your questions by using these databases. And the best thing about it is they are all free to you, simply by typing in your library card number. If you need help in learning how to use these databases, we are available for one-on-one instruction. Just call us at 432-1980 to set up an appointment with Sarah Livingston or me.
Library Hours: 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Friday; 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday; closed Sunday.
Marie Bruni is director of Huntington Memorial Library in Oneonta. Her column appears in the community section of The Daily Star every Thursday. Her columns can be found online at www.thedailystar.com/librarycorner.
Library Corner
Library can help you answer your questions
- Library Corner
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Foundation gift builds children's collection
Every year Huntington Memorial Library is fortunate in receiving funds from The Ricky J. Parisian Memorial Foundation to purchase books for the children's collection. We have just received these books as part of our 2013 grant:
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What, why and how of plant-based foods to be topic
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Railroad history can be found at library
Oneonta has a long history when it comes to the railroad.
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Library offers home delivery
The Friends of Huntington Memorial Library offer home delivery to residents in the Oneonta area who are homebound. If you, or someone you know, would like to borrow books, large print books, books on compact disc, or more, please call me at 432-1980. You'll be able to give me specific titles or areas of interest and then we'll arrange for one of our volunteers to deliver and pick up materials. It's free, easy, and provides you with hours and hours of reading or listening materials.
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Genealogy and eBook classes to be offered
Librarian Sarah Livingston will conduct classes during May for genealogy and ebooks. The sessions are listed below and you can sign up for as many programs as you like. Registration is required for all programs and may be done in person or by calling 432-1980. Workshops are free unless noted. Computers will be available, courtesy of the Four County Library System traveling classroom.
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Welcome to the Download Zone
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Therapy dog trainers to discuss process
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Historical materials easier to find with indexing
There is a wealth of information in historical records found at libraries and historical societies.
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Lions donate funds for large-print books
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What's in a name? For Nabisco, a nearby town
Words and names fascinate me.
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The comeback of the American chestnut tree
Al Nichols will present a program on the American chestnut tree at 6:45 p.m. Monday, March 18, in the meeting room at Huntington Memorial Library.
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Genealogy, ebook classes to be offered at Huntington
Librarian Sarah Livingston will offer a series of genealogy programs during March. The sessions are listed below and you can sign up for as many programs as you like. Registration is required for all programs and may be done in person or by calling 432-1980. All workshops are free. Computers will be available, courtesy of the Four County Library System traveling classroom.
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Examining women's Roles in Regency England
The Friends of Huntington Memorial Library will be holding a program on Monday, March 4, with guest speaker Rachel Stevenson. The title of her talk is "Women's Roles in Regency England: Why Lizzie Bennet Couldn't Act Like You" and will begin at 6:45 p.m. in the third-floor meeting room at the library.
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2012 at Huntington, by the numbers
It's that time of year when libraries compile their annual statistics. We thought you would enjoy seeing some numbers of what happened at the library in 2012.
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Historical information available through area publications
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What's cooking for breakfast?
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Digital book training to be offered
Librarian Sarah Livingston will offer free classes for ebooks. If you have a device and want to learn how to use it, sign up for one of our classes. You'll also learn about the Download Zone, which offers free ebooks through the library with your library card and you reader. Please sign up for one time slot. Classes are about 1 to 1½ hours long and registration is required.
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Find it for free at the library
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Local, state history can be found at Huntington
Our local history room is called the New York State Room and is managed by librarian Sarah Livingston. It is a "white glove" room and anyone using the room must wear white gloves while doing research. Oils and dirt on your hands can permanently damage archival materials, and the gloves help keep items clean. This week, we are highlighting just a few of the more than 15,000 items in that room. Sarah has written the article below to tell you about them.
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Registration under way for children's programs
Registration for the Winter/Spring series of children's programs is now open. Programs will begin Jan. 8 and continue through June 13. All programs require registration which can be done in person or by calling the library at 432-1980. Information is available at http://www.hmloneonta.org. Feel free to call us if you have any questions.
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Foundation gift builds children's collection
