Great libraries have great resources for
you to use - at the library or from the
comfort of your home. In this edition of
This Month at The Urbana Free Library,
the spotlight is on your library’s wide
array of online services, which will help
you locate the information you need.
Most of the library’s online services are
accessible via urbanafreelibrary.org or
by using the one of the public
workstations in the library’s Flex-n-Gate
Computer Center. For questions or
assistance with the library’s online
services, stop by or call Adult Services
(367-4405), Children’s Services (367-
4069), or the Archives (367-4025).
Keeping in touch with UFL events just got easier! Visit the library’s website at
urbanafreelibrary.org and follow the Upcoming Events link to find the online events
calendar. The calendar displays the titles for children’s programs, book discussions,
concerts, community meetings, and special events for the current month and in
months to come. To see detailed information for each event, “hover” over an event
title or double-click on a title. You will also find options to receive an email reminder
about events, be notified about similar events, or email a friend about an event.
Do you want to receive the library’s newsletter, This Month at The Urbana Free
Library, by email? Beginning with the September 2008, the release of each month’s
newsletter will be posted on the library’s online events calendar. Double-click on
the title, select Notify me, enter your email address, and we’ll take care of the rest!
Need Magazine Articles?
Try MAS Ultra and CQ Researcher
Hot topics are interesting, provocative, and controversial – that’s what makes
them suitable for term papers and speeches. When researching a hot topic you
will want information that is up-to-date and includes some background and
context – resources such as EBSCOhost’s MAS Ultra magazine and newspaper
index and Congressional Quarterly’s CQ Researcher.
The MAS Ultra index provides full-text articles with pictures and charts from
more than 350 magazines covering general topics, including health and science.
In addition, it offers indexing and abstracts for nearly 500 periodicals. Although
MAS Ultra recently introduced several advanced features, even a simple
keyword search will provide you with a list of articles related to your topic.
Your results will display with the most current first, which you may print,
download, or email. Not happy with your search results? The handy sidebar
includes a variety of tools, such as a dictionary to define or check the spelling
of your keywords.
CQ Researcher is a collection of non-partisan reports on social, economic,
political, and environmental issues written by independent scholars and
experienced journalists. CQ Researcher is not quite as easy to use as MAS
Ultra – but once you find your information, you’ll think you’ve struck gold!
Each report includes an overview, background, chronology, opposing viewpoints,
and full bibliography, as well as information on the author and a list of related
topics. Reports may be printed or emailed. CQ Researcher is an in-depth
source that may be used for timely illumination of current issues of interest.
Whether you come to the Archives or visit online, you’ll want to try out the
Local History Online database. With over 3 million index entries for more
than 500,000 items from the library collection, Local History Online provides
one of the most comprehensive and unique resources for local history and
genealogy. Also available is the Urbana Municipal Documents Index, which
contains over 500,000 searchable entries for Urbana City government documents.
The Archives also provides on-site and remote access to Ancestry Library
Edition, Heritage Quest, The News-Gazette, and the Historical Chicago
Tribune.
From October 1 through November 30, library users may survey and evaluate a
variety of electronic resources in the Illinois State Library’s ninth annual
statewide database trial. Through Try-It! Illinois, genealogists, family historians,
and local history enthusiasts have FREE access to a variety of databases,
including America’s Genealogy Bank, Historic Map Works, Who’s Who in
America, and many more! Try-It! Illinois may be accessed via the Illinois State
Library website at eliillinois.org/tryit/.
For more information about Archives services, including access to online
resources, stop by the Archives desk or call us at 367-4025.
Since 2006, the library has offered FREE online personal homework assistance
through Tutor.com for all students of Urbana School District #116. Recently,
Tutor.com expanded its service to include live homework help for grades K-12,
college introductory courses, and adult education, with subject areas including
Math, Science, English, and Social Studies. Tutors are trained to assist students in
working through assignments, but do not provide the answers. All it takes to access
Tutor.com is an Urbana Free Library card. Urbana students and adult learners
without library cards may call the library at 367-4405 to obtain a special number to
access the service. Tutor.com is available from 4:00-10:00 p.m. every day, including
weekends. In addition, assistance in Spanish for Math and Science is available
4:00-10:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday.
The Literature Resource Center is a comprehensive online source for research on
literary topics. For English class term papers, the Literature Resource Center provides full-text journal articles, book reviews, biographical essays on authors,
and overview essays on over 130,000 writers in all disciplines, from all time periods
around the world. Everything you may need to do a serious analysis of your selected
work. Once you have your citations, you can print them, forward them to your
email account, or download them to a disc or flash drive. Your citations are also
available in either MLA or APA format—the choice is yours!
One of the library’s most useful databases is Learning Express Library. Practice
exams are available for the ACT, SAT, TOEFL, GRE, GED, AP, citizenship exam,
and many more. You can take a test any time and receive your score immediately,
or you may store your test and your answers up to nine months and receive your
final score when your test is completed. Learning Express Library is a great way
to practice for any test, or to improve your math, vocabulary, or spelling skills.
Tests are available for math and reading, grade six and up.
Digital Gems is an online service provided by the Lincoln
Trail Libraries System to give libraries, archives, genealogical
societies, and museums the space to digitize and provide
access to historically significant materials in a web-based
environment. Users can search for images based on detailed
catalog descriptions, manipulate them (zoom in and out,
pan and scan), and save their favorites for later viewing.
One of the first collections in Digital Gems is the Chanute
Air Museum’s William R. Thompson Digital Photograph
Collection. Thompson trained at Chanute in 1941 and
became an officer in the 99th Pursuit Squadron, known as
the Tuskegee Airmen, the first all African-American fighter
squadron to see combat in World War II. Thompson was an
avid photographer and took many images as the squadron
moved from Chanute and Tuskegee, Alabama, to North
Africa and Italy.
Visit digitalgems.info where you can browse photographs
and other digital collections. Thanks to a 2008 Library
Services and Technology Act grant, the Archives is
preparing photographs, maps, and architectural surveys
for Digital Gems from their Historic Champaign County
Neighborhoods and Homes collection.
If you love to read for the joy of it, The Urbana Free Library has the perfect
online resource to help you find more books that will pique your interest.
NoveList Plus is a readers’ aide that contains information on more than 220,000
fiction and more than 60,000 non-fiction titles. Use it to find books in a series,
other books similar in style to your favorite authors, or books featuring a topic
or plot you enjoy. Read reviews and plot summaries, or discover award winners,
feature articles, discussion guides, or lists of recommended title.
While NoveList has been around for a while, the addition of narrative nonfiction
– information books that read like stories, is an exciting enhancement.
Now you can visit NoveList Plus to find intriguing biographies and true tales of
adventure and sport
The Urbana Free Library also subscribes to NoveList Plus K-8, a similar database
of books geared towards younger readers.
Thursday through Monday
The Lewis Auditorium, Ground floor
Thursday:
5:00 - 8:30 p.m. (Members only)
Friday:
9:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
Saturday:
9:00 am. - 5:30 p.m.
Sunday:
1:00 - 4:30 p.m.
Monday:
Book give-away
9:00 a.m. until gone.
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