Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Walking the Tour, and Touring the Walk

This Friday (May 3, 2013), North Madison Elementary School third graders will be taking the Library's walking tour of historic downtown Mooresville, Indiana.  However, if it rains as predicted, then they'll have to visit the Library instead and watch our "virtual" walking tour.
 
 
Wonder what the walking tour is all about?  We've got a promo trailer for that.

MPL Program Trailer #6
Self-Guided Walking Tour of Historic Downtown Mooresville, Indiana

Take a walk on the wild side.  There's much interesting history to enjoy in our little town.  To learn more local history, visit these web pages:



Saturday, April 27, 2013

Visiting the MPL Indiana Room

If the Indiana Room is locked when you visit Mooresville Public Library, and you would like to use its resources, please consult library staff at the Circulation Desk.

 


Monday, April 22, 2013

Promoting Libraries With Videos

 
Hey, librarians out there!  Want to learn how videos can promote your libraries?  We have a slideshow for that.  You know where to click.
 
2022 UPDATE:  Here's a slideshow discussing how to use videos and social media to promote library and museum local history or genealogy collections.  Just a click away ...  (See also this blog post.)
 

 

Thursday, April 18, 2013

Searching For a Seafaring Ancestor's Statue


My library subscribes to Ancestry Library Edition (ALE), which is available on our campus for patrons to use, either through our wireless network or on the library computers.  A patron wished to locate a statue purported to stand "somewhere in Maine" that commemorated one of his maternal ancestors, who was a "famous sea captain."  Nobody in the family knew his name, or the city in which he lived, or any further details.

After 15 minutes using ALE, tracing backwards along the patron's mother's family tree, I managed to narrow the search to three likely statue candidates, each of whom were captains/shipmasters who lived in Bangor, Maine.

I've yet to locate the statue, if it still exists (or ever existed, for that matter), but, thanks to the genealogical and historical databases at Ancestry.com, much progress was made.  It's pretty cool to identify who in the patron's family might have been immortalized in bronze (or in whatever metal the supposed statue was crafted) or stone.  This was simply family folklore for generations; now, perhaps, the statue will be found in fact.

I'm certain of this much:  It's not Bangor's most famous statues (Paul Bunyan and Hannibal Hamlin, Lincoln's first vice president).  Bangor's a large city, so this "sea captain's" statue could be tucked away in some park or other public space, if, again, it still exists (or ever existed).  Perhaps it's not even in Bangor, but that's unlikely.  Our patron's 19th century seafaring ancestors had deep roots in that town.

If we find the statue, and if our patron grants permission, I'll post a blog identifying the details.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

How to Use our New Self-Checkout Kiosks

Want a quick tutorial how to use the library's new self-checkout stations?  We've got a promo trailer for that.


How to Use Our New Self-Checkout Kiosks,
by "Flat" Cauli Le Chat V (MPL Promo Trailer)