Comments (0) Are you getting ready to take the ACT or SAT? Is your child struggling in school? Looking to update your skills for work? Then check out this great website offered through Badgerlink!
Whatever your goal, LearningExpress Library’s resources will help you succeed. Each of our Learning Centers offers the practice tests, exercises, skill-building courses, eBooks, and information you need to achieve the results you want—at school, at work, or in life.
Title: Knits & Knots
Description: Handwork group for all ages. Get help with your latest project from experienced knitters and crocheters. We have needles and yarn!
Date: Every other Wednesday at 1:30 p.m.
Go Solar in Westby!
Two photovoltaic (PV) solar panels were installed on the library’s roof in November 2008, and are tied into the city’s electric grid. Click on the solar panel image to view the power being generated in real time! Our solar panels are the result of a grant awarded to the City of Westby by WPPI and Focus on Energy The total cost of the installation was $53,000, with WPPI Energy contributing $25,000, Focus on Energy $17,000, City of Westby $5,000 and the Westby Utility Community Fund $6,000. The system will provide approximately 8,700 kilowatt-hours of clean electricity each year; as of February 12, 2009, the panels have provided over 9,500 Kwh and prevented more than 18,900 pounds of C02 from going into the atmosphere. In more tangible terms, so far the panels have provided electricity that could power a TV set for 66,200 hours, or 73 computers for one year. The library was chosen for the installation because our building has an ideal south-facing roof.
Have you seen the ads on T.V. about researching your ancestors on Ancestry.com? Bekkum Library, and the other Winding Rivers Library System member libraries, are now making it possible for you to do family history research free at your local library through two large internet databases.
Heritage Quest is available through the state-wide database, BadgerLink. When you have accessed Badgerlink’s front page, click on “Library Card Access” on the right side of the screen. You will be prompted to choose you library from a dropdown menu, then to enter your library barcode number and login. On the next screen, scroll down to click on “HeritageQuest Online.” This website contains several types of data and is easy to search. You may search for your ancestors one by one by name in any of the data sets available. Always try more than one! One of the limitations of Heritage Quest is spelling: if you enter your ancestor, John Smidt, but in the census for example, his name was misspelled John Smitt, you will not find him on Heritage Quest unless you enter, one at a time, as many spelling variants as you can think of, and happen to guess the one the census-taker used.
Ancestry.com is available for you use only at the library. It contains more kinds of information than Heritage Quest, and finds “approximate” answers as well as exact answers, e.g. persons with exact spelling you enter, plus variant spellings of the names you enter. Ancestry.com is somewhat more complicated to learn to search well.
If you do find documents about your family, you may print them for .25/page at the library.
To prepare for researching your family history, first write down what you know. Preparation before you come to the library will make your research more efficient, and more likely to be successful. The best way to summarize the information you already have is to fill out a “pedigree diagram.” We have some of these available at the circulation desk, simply ask the staff. If you are married, make a copy of the pedigree and fill one out for your spouse too. There are spaces for parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. Place and dates of birth, marriage and death are used. Talk to family members; look in old diaries, photo albums, keepsake boxes, and the family Bible. You might need to visit cemeteries and read dates from tombstones. The more information you can collect in these ways, the better your chances of learning more during online research. Don’t worry if you cannot fill in the pedigree completely—most people can’t. Bring what you have to the library, and get started! If you are doing a lot of research, you might like to use one of the laptop computers and set up all your notes etc. on one of our worktables. We would be happy to give you extended computer time to work, especially during the day. Computers have a tendency to be very busy after school lets out!
Thanks to Jean Ruhser on the staff of Galesville Public Library for her assistance with this article.
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