Michigan Voter Guide

Fri, 10/27/2006 - 10:50am by Debbie G.

The League of Women Voters of Michigan has released the Nonpartisan Michigan Voter Guide 2006 for the November 7th general election. The guide covers all state-level candidates and ballot proposals. In-depth analysis of ballot proposals are available from the Citizens Research Council of Michigan. To find out where you vote in Michigan and what type of voting equipment you’ll use, visit Publius or Michigan Votes.

By Kids - For Kids

Thu, 10/26/2006 - 4:50pm by ryanikoglu

What a cool website, and educational too! Oracle ThinkQuest "inspires students to think, connect, create, and share. Students work in teams to build innovative and educational websites to share with the world. Along the way, they learn research, writing, teamwork, and technology skills and compete for exciting prizes." You can see winning web sites by students in different age categories. The site guides you with timelines and guidelines to make your own entry. What FUN!

Soyuz 3 Anniversary

Thu, 10/26/2006 - 11:57am by anned

Thirty-eight years ago, on October 26, 1968, the Soviet Union launched Soyuz 3, piloted by cosmonaut Georgi Beregovoi. The mission was to dock with Soyuz 2, an unmanned spacecraft that had been launched October 25, 1968. This was to be the first manned space docking for the Soviet Union; the United States had already accomplished this during the Gemini VIII mission in March of 1966. Even though Beregovoi was able to maneuver Soyuz 3 to within 1 meter of Soyuz 2, docking attempts failed.
The library has many items on the space race. For even more information visit the databases on the research section of our website. The New York Times Historical database is a good place to find exciting articles that were printed when the events were taking place. General Reference Center Gold will find you periodical articles.

October is Family History Month in Michigan

Wed, 10/18/2006 - 12:17pm by Robb

You never have all the information you want about your ancestors. There's always someone or some questions that you never asked until it was too late. Fortunately some records keep getting easier to locate and view.

Some states such as West Virginia have set up sites click here that allow people to view and download vital records such as birth, death and marriage records over 75 years old. Hopefully Michigan will do so in the near future. Recently I discovered the death certificates of my maternal grandmother and great grandmother via West Virginia's fine web site. What a find! Saved me hours of travel and/or countless correspondence.

Your Ann Arbor Library has several outstanding resources for genealogists available via our web page under the Research tab then click on Genealogy. Ancestry Library Edition is one (only available on-site) with info on over 1 billion names from public records. Two other resources both available remotely with a library card are HeritageQuest Online with a complete set of Federal Census records, extensive info on books and magazine articles, Revolutionary Pension records and Biography & Genealogy Master Index with an Index to over 10,000 biographies.

Most Mamas Are Not Madonna

Tue, 10/17/2006 - 4:07pm by Eartoground

Madonna and her husband apparently are adopting a one-year-old boy from the African country of Malawi, which reportedly does not normally allow international adoption. Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt recently adopted a child internationally. With all this controversy and excitement in the news - celebrities! babies! money! - it should be pointed out that for most parents, international adoption is yes, exciting, but it also requires a lot of research. A good place to start is Complete Book of International Adoption or hop to Hands Across the Water adoption agency in Ann Arbor.

Ann Arbor Police Department Online Exhibit Debuts

Fri, 09/29/2006 - 12:18pm by ulrich

The Ann Arbor District library's web site is now home to an online pictorial exhibit and history of the Ann Arbor Police Department. The exhibit, one of four local history collections on the library's research page, features a large assemblage of images of the police department and its officers, police vehicles, artifacts and documents. The pictorial collection is accompanied by the complete text of Lieutenant Michael Logghe's True Crimes and the History of the Ann Arbor Police Department which traces the history of the department from its beginnings in the 1870s to the late 1990s. The narrative is filled with fascinating accounts of the organization, development, and controversial issues which faced the department, as well as inside information on the large array of major criminal investigations which have been part of that history, such as the 1908 student riot at the Star Theater, the murder and aftermath of Officer Clifford Stang in 1935, the student unrest of the 1960s and and 1970s, the shocking co-ed murders, and numerous others.

Value Line

Tue, 09/26/2006 - 5:05pm by amy

Value Line is now available from a computer at any Library branch. Value Line is an investment advisory service that rates hundreds of stocks as to safety, timeliness and projected price performance. It's best known for the Value Line Investment Survey, a comprehensive source of information and advice on approximately 1,700 stocks, more than 90 industries, the stock market, and the economy.

ACT / SAT Test Practice 10:30-Noon, Saturday, September 30

Thu, 09/21/2006 - 5:30pm by K.C.

Yep, test time draws near! LearningExpress Library can help you get ready. Join us in the Pittsfield Computer Training Center and take an e-practice test.

ACT / SAT Test Practice 10:30-Noon Saturday, September 30

Fri, 09/08/2006 - 5:56pm by K.C.

[cover_image]0618574883|b12590599[/cover_image]

Signed up to take the SAT and/or the ACT soon? There’s an online library database, LearningExpress Library, that can help you get ready. Join us in the Pittsfield Computer Training Center to take a practice test that will be scored and tell you how you did.

Need test taking tips? The library has helpful books like Zen in the Art of the SAT: How to Think, Focus, and Achieve Your Highest Score.

Maps to Take With on Your Vacation

Wed, 08/16/2006 - 12:20pm by Van

When I go on vacation I need maps, maps of cities I will be visiting and maps of states I will be driving through.

I borrow the maps from the library’s map files on the Second Floor of the Downtown Library. The library has maps for Michigan cities and regions, for states, for most major cities in the United States, and for foreign countries and cities. The maps circulate for four weeks.

During a recent trip up north I found where I was going with the aid of street maps of Mackinaw City, Mackinac Island, Harbor Springs, Petoskey, Charlevoix, and Traverse City and a regional Michigan map of the Northern Tip of Michigan.

In the past year the map files helped with maps of San Francisco, Napa and Sonoma counties, Chicago, Boston, Greenville (S.C.), Chapel Hill (N.C.), and Ithaca (N.Y.)

The map files are a great resource. Ease the stress of travel with some good maps.