AMERICAN SNIPER

We've got free tickets to give away for American Sniper, the movie based on the life of Chris Kyle, Navy Seal and deadly accurate sniper (160 confirmed kills).



Just send an email to thestudio@slpl.org with your name and phone number (so that we can quickly contact the winners).

No email? You can also leave your name and phone number on a piece of paper in the Studio.

We will draw for the winners on January 6th. Winners get to choose if they want tickets for the 8th or the 12th at the Des Peres Cinema.

One grand prize winner: Book, Tshirt, Pass
4 Runner Ups: Tshirt, Pass
5 third place: Pass

Good luck!

THE BATTLE OF BRITAIN

WENT THE DAY WELL?

ILLiad

Welcome to SLPL’s new Interlibrary Loan system called ILLiad. Using ILLiad, you will be able to create an account, place requests, track the status of your requests, and request renewals of interlibrary loans. Please log in with your library card number and PIN number (before logging in, please check the Library Catalog to see if we already own the item you want).

ILLiad Logon

SLPL Catalog

FORGET YOUR PIN?

PIN means Personal Identification Number, and you'll need your PIN to access your Library account online. Have you forgotten your PIN (or maybe don't recall ever receiving one)? No problem:

Reset your PIN

RESERVING A COMPUTER

Library cardholders can book time on one of our Internet computers online:

Reserve a Computer

BROWSING OUR COLLECTION

There are easy ways to browse our catalog for ebooks, audiobooks, emagazines, music, DVDs, and video games:

Browse Ebooks

Browse Audiobooks

Browse Zinio Magazine Collection

Browse Music

Browse New DVDs

Browse Video Games

Note: Of course, you'll need a valid Library card to check stuff out!

Get a Card

THE WAR FOR THE RIVERS (1862)

Click here to reserve a seat.

THE GREAT WAR AND THE WORLD IT MADE

Take a college class in your living room (or your car, if you prefer)—you don’t get college credits, but your brain will thank you anyway:

World War I [sound recording]: the great war and the world it made / John Ramsden.



Contents:

Lecture 1. The greatest war -- Lecture 2. Opening shots -- Lecture 3. Gallipoli and the Near and Middle East -- Lecture 4. 1915 in the West -- Lecture 5. Home fronts -- Lecture 6. The Western Front in 1916 -- Lecture 7. The Eastern Front -- Lecture 8. A literary and artistic war -- Lecture 9. 1917 in the West -- Lecture 10. The war at sea -- Lecture 11. America goes to war -- Lecture 12. Germany almost wins the war in 1918 -- Lecture 13. Victory in the West -- Lecture 14. Aftermath and reputation.

COMMAND AND CONTROL

Take a college class in your living room (or your car, if you prefer)—-you don’t get college credits, but your brain will thank you anyway:

Command and control [sound recording]: great military leaders from Washington to the twenty-first century/ by Mark Robert Polelle.



Contents:

The politics of military history and military leadership -- Washington, the indispensable man -- Napoleon, the first modern general -- U. S. Grant and the art of war in the industrial era -- Sherman and the advent of total war -- The great Southern hope: Robert E. Lee -- Moltke and the German way of war -- Pershing and the American Expeditionary Force in World War I -- Eisenhower and World War II -- Patton and the romance of war -- MacArthur: the American Caesar? -- Curtis LeMay and generalship during the Cold War -- "Stormin' Norman" Schwarzkopf and Desert Storm: remaking the American military after Vietnam -- Lessons of military leadership.

COLLEGE IN YOUR CAR

Or living room, or any other place that has an audio CD player. You can find more than one hundred college courses on audio CD (non-credit, but your brain will thank you anyway) by using our catalog in Advanced Search mode:

Find items that have:
This exact phrase: modern scholar

Additional limits:
Format type: audio disc

AUTHORS @ YOUR LIBRARY

ALL ABOUT ADOPTION

MEMPHIS BELLE

THE MEMPHIS BELLE

CHANGE PARTNERS

On this day in 1943, Italy declared war on its former ally, Nazi Germany:



You can search for books about the war in Italy in our Online Catalog using this search term:

World War, 1939-1945--Italy

B’NAI B’RITH

B’nai B’rith (“Children of the Covenant”) was founded on this day in 1843:



You can search for books about B’nai B’rith in our Online Catalog using this search term:

B'nai B'rith

HOME MOVIE DAY 2014

AMERICAN COURAGE, AMERICAN CARNAGE

You can find this eBook and others like it in the SLPL Online Catalog!

ADVANCED GENEALOGY RESEARCH TECHNIQUES

You can find this eBook and others like it in the SLPL Online Catalog!

CONFEDERATE STATES PAPER MONEY

You can find this eBook and others like it in the SLPL Online Catalog!

100 AMERICAN FLAGS: A UNIQUE COLLECTION OF OLD GLORY MEMORABILIA

You can find this eBook and others like it in the SLPL Online Catalog!

MAKING THE MOST OF GENEALOGY DATABASES

To register or for more information, click here.

GENEALOGY HOW-TOs

The following book is just one of the how-to guides in the Genealogy Room that can be checked out and studied at home:



This handbook and other how-to books can be found in the SLPL Catalog by using this search term:

United States -- Genealogy -- Handbooks, manuals, etc.

GALE COURSES NOW IN THE SLPL CATALOG

Gale Courses offers a wide range of highly interactive, FREE courses that SLPL cardholders can take entirely online. You can enroll in courses with your valid library card. Courses run for six weeks and new sessions begin every month. You can take up to six courses per session, with no annual limit:



In addition to accessing Gale Courses through the banner above, users can now also find the courses listed in SLPL's catalog. Click on Advanced Search, then:

Find items that have-->All these words: online learning
Format type: Electronic Resources

While there are literally hundreds of courses available, some are likely to be of special interest to genealogists (the following courses merely scratch the surface):

Accounting Fundamentals
Discover Digital Photography
Introduction to PC Security
Mastering Public Speaking
Navigating the Internet
Nonprofit Fundraising Essentials
Protect Your Money, Credit, and Identity
Publish and Sell Your E-books
Skills for Making Great Decisions
Starting a Consulting Practice

Whether you are home-bound, home schooling, trying to start a second career, or just like challenging yourself mentally, Gale Courses offer you and your family members a great FREE opportunity to study subjects of special interest!

THE LONGEST DAY

BLOGS, BLOGS, AND YET MORE BLOGS...

Sure, you love this blog--but SLPL has lots of other blogs to love:

SLPL Blogroll

MANGO LANGUAGES

Now available from your home for SLPL cardholders;

By using a fun and interactive approach, Mango guides users through the enjoyable experience of learning a new language. The lessons provided are dynamic in meeting the needs of the vacation traveler, those looking for professional development, as well as learners of English as a second language. Start learning your new language today!

CHARLES LINDBERGH

This was not the best day ever for "Lucky Lindy": he died on August 26, 1974:



These and other books on the subject can be found using our Online Catalog.

THE CONQUEST OF POLIO

Today is the birthday of Albert Sabin, developer of the oral polio vaccine (b. August 26, 1906):



These and other books on the subject can be found using our Online Catalog.

GENGHIS KHAN

Genghis Khan, on the other hand, left this world on this day in 1227:

You can search the SLPL catalog for these and other items of interest.

THE DAM BUSTERS

WINSTON CHURCHILL WORLD WAR II FILM SERIES (2014-2015)

Presented by the St. Louis Public Library and the National Churchill Museum

In commemoration of the seventieth anniversary of the Invasion of Normandy, this yearlong series features monthly screenings of motion pictures set in World War II and includes discussions putting each fi lm in historical context. Kit Freudenberg, Acting Director of the National Churchill Museum, leads the discussions.

All programs begin at 1:15 p.m.

Sept. 7 The Dambusters Lancaster bomber squadron destroys German dams

Oct. 5 The Longest Day Events leading up to D-Day

Nov. 2 The Memphis Belle Fictionalized version of the documentary

Dec. 7 Went the Day Well? Unofficial 1942 British propaganda film

Feb. 1 The Battle of Britain Epic air battles between Britain & Germany

Mar. 10 Das Boot U-Boat life in the Atlantic in 1942

Apr. 12 The Cruel Sea Royal Navy protects convoys

May 3 The Battle of the Bulge Battle between the Allies & the Axis

URBAN EATS

Make plans to swing by Central Library on August 12 between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. to join us in celebrating the Grand Opening of Urban Eats Café Central.

The Grand Opening promises to be lots of fun. For starters, we’re not having an old-fashioned ribbon-cutting ceremony. We’re having a super-sized, stuffed muffin cutting to be handled by Mayor Francis Slay. The mayor, other dignitaries, and you will get to sample the “ceremonial muffin” and other items from Urban Eats Café Central’s eclectic selection of smoothies, coffee & tea, wraps, salads, snacks, and treats.

In addition, pianist Jerry Robushka will tickle the ivories, and a commemorative work of art from a local art guild will be presented to Café management. All in all, a great way to spend your lunch hour!

Located in west wing of the Locust Street Atrium, Urban Eats Café Central features many of the same tasty foods and drinks with an ethnic twist that St. Louisans have come to love at Urban Eats’ south city location.

The food is savory, the atmosphere is relaxed, and the setting is unmatched. Urban Eats Café Central is the perfect place to recharge your body and mind.

To find out more about everything that Urban Eats Café Central offers, including catering and box lunch service, or to place an order, call 314-206-6723.

For more info

AUGUST MOVIES AT THE LIBRARY

Not genealogy, but possibly of interest given that they will be shown on the big screen in the Auditorium--and they're free!

ADOLF HITLER (1889-1945)

Check the SLPL Catalog for items on this or other subjects.

DOWNFALL

MUNY KIDS

SORKINS DIRECTORY OF BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT

The Sorkins Missouri business database has been added to SLPL.org--you can now access it from home! You'll find the link under the "Business" heading on our Databases page:

Sorkins Directory of Business and Government

What is Sorkins Directory of Business and Government?

Sorkins is the largest publisher of comprehensive regional databases in the U.S.

What do we mean by Comprehensive Business Profiles?

When you name a major city, everyone knows the largest public companies which produce well known products. There are only 4000 public companies in the country. No one else--except Sorkins--covers these companies providing the best coverage available for the other 99% of the area's economy.

Sorkin’s coverage includes:

Complete editions for the St. Louis, Kansas City, and Chicago metro areas.

Detailed listings include:

* Company name & parent company name
* Company headquarters & major locations in the region
* Detailed descriptions (of whatever length necessary) that tell the company story
* Executives, managers, officers, and boards
* Encompasses everyone in charge of sales, marketing, public purchasing, human resources, logistics, and information technology
* Companies indexed by proprietory industry codes.
* Sorkins Directory of Industry Categories (SDIC's), as well as, the widely used SIC/NAICS industry codes.

Search Capabilities include:

* Search by keyword
* Ability to look up a person and find all of their companies and board memberships
* The family tree of a company
* Saving companies
* Selecting & Sorting

CIO ONLINE

You can now read our monthly newsletter (Check It Out!) online:

CIO ONLINE

CENTRAL LIBRARY TOURS

Have you taken a tour of Central Library since our massive renovation was completed? If not, you've got a treat in store:

CENTRAL LIBRARY TOUR INFO

SLPL ONLINE EXHIBITS

Have you checked out our online exhibits? There's sure to be something of interest:

SLPL ONLINE EXHIBITS

REMEMBERING A HERO

General Ulysses S. Grant died on this day in 1885 at Mount McGregor, New York. He was only 63 years old.



You can search for these (and other) books about General Grant on our catalog.

DOWNFALL

2014-2015 Winston Churchill World War II Film Series
Presented by the St. Louis Public Library and the National Churchill Museum

On June 6, 1944, Allied Forces landed on the beaches of Normandy in what is now recognized as the turning point of World War II. Seventy years later, the St. Louis Public Library and the National Churchill Museum are collaborating on this series which will take you from the beginning of the war through 1945, viewing major films depicting WWII, and listening to commentary on the films while putting each in historical perspective. The series will run through May 3, 2015.

Downfall (German: Der Untergang)

This is a 2004 German war film directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, depicting the final ten days of Adolf Hitler's reign over Nazi Germany in 1945. Unlike many other films which use historical footage, this movie is based on a number of books and the memoirs of Hitler’s secretary, Traudl Junge, who was hired in 1942 and was in the bunker at the end. Critics debated whether the film humanizes Hitler too much or shows how a human being can do such things as he did.

Sunday
August 17, 2014
1:15 p.m.

Central Library Auditorium

The next film in this series, The Dambusters, will be shown on September 7.

TALKING FREEDOM

The first official public reading of the Declaration of Independence took place today (July 8) in Philadelphia in 1776:



Search the SLPL catalog for this and other books about the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution

FREE CENSUS ACCESS THIS WEEKEND!

Although SLPL offers free access to Ancestry.com at Central Library and our branches, you usually can't access it from home without a paid subscription. This weekend, however, a significant part of Ancestry.com is available to you for free:

Happy 4th of July!

In honor of the 4th of July, we will be opening up all of our U.S. Federal Census Records from 1790 through 1940 for FREE. These collections will be open from July 2nd through the 6th.

Hopefully this will distract you from the 12-year-old neighbor kid who hasn’t stopped lighting off fire crackers all week…

Enjoy!

Matthew Deighton
Sr. Public Relations Specialist
Ancestry.com

Ancestry.com U.S. Census Collection

URBAN EATS

It's the name of the cafe that has opened in Central Library's atrium (First Floor, Locust Street entrance). If you come in for a day of research, you can now get a nice lunch without leaving the building. See the menu below (click for larger size).

GLORY AND THE GRAVE

On this day in 1876, George Armstrong Custer became immortal. It's also the day that he and 267 fellow soldiers (and Indian scouts) died:





Search for these and other Custer titles in the SLPL Catalog

THE GREAT ESCAPE

SLPL Events Calendar

ONLINE LEARNING WITH SLPL

Gale Courses offers a wide range of highly interactive, FREE courses that St. Louis Public Library cardholders can take entirely online. You can enroll in courses with your library card. Courses run for six weeks and new sessions begin every month. You can take up to six courses per session, with no annual limit.



The following list includes just some of the courses offered (I picked some likely to be of special interest to genealogists / professional genealogists /society officers).

• Accounting Fundamentals
• Accounting Software
• Database Management
• Digital Photography
• Graphic Design
• Microsoft Access
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Word
• Multimedia
• Peachtree Accounting
• Personal Finance & Investments
• QuickBooks
• Start Your Own Business
• Web Design

Online Learning Start Page

PERIODICALS SPOTLIGHT

Now available in the Genealogy Room:

Family Tree Magazine (July/August 2014)

• Better Together (innovative genealogy tools resulting from online partnerships)
• Five Questions with Curt Witcher
• WWI Around the World
• Positive IDs (keeping track of soldier identities)
• Going Over There (WWI timeline)
• Gold Stars (top 10 websites for WWI service records, casualty records, and more)
• Genealogy Adventure Awaits! (cross one or more genealogy destinations off your bucket list with a summer road trip)
• U.S. Census Workbook & Toolkit
• DNA Success Stories (busting brick walls with DNA testing)
• Hidden Treasures (finding roots in Bulgaria & Romania)
• Storing Baseball Memorabilia
• Now What? (questions from researchers who’ve hit the wall)
• Over the Borderline (map of Europe before and after WWI)
• Marriage License (overview by the Documents Detective)
• Online Calendar Tools (best, most useful apps)
• Finding Relatives in FamilySearch.org’s Unindexed Records

Illinois State Genealogical Society Quarterly (Summer 2014)

• Our Hero: the Life and Death of a World War II Aviation Cadet
• Scottish Research Basics
• Writing Home to Illinois During World War II
• Lincoln Funeral: Profiles of Pallbearers & Clergymen Involved
• Union Civil War Vets Buried in Bloomingdale Township, DuPage County
• Faces From the Past: Identifying Photos with Marge Rice
• Memories in Your Home
• Family Bible Records Collection

St. Louis Genealogical Society Quarterly (Spring 2014)

Note: They need volunteers to help prepare their quarterly. Contact them here if interested.

• Book Reviews
• Feature Articles in Other Publications
• Web Resources (Arphax Publishing Co.)
• Tech Tips—Staying Up to Date
• Using Ancestry.com and Remembering Carl: a Cautionary Tale
• A Whisper in History: James McLean Thomson
• Who Was Jane Foster?
• Ezekial Lard: November 1765-1799 in Spanish Louisiana

GFH GOES GREEN

Hello to all,

Gateway Family Historian is going green. The current issue of SLPL’s genealogy magazine (Vol. 13, Nos. 1-2; Alabama) was just published, and it will be the last print issue. Persons currently on our mailing list will receive a print copy as usual.

Our next issue, however, will be all-electronic. We have already begun the sign-up process for the digital edition. If you are interested, send an email to tpearson@slpl.org with RE: DIGITAL GFH in the Subject Line. That’s all you need to do!

Many thanks to all our print subscribers, especially those of you who have been with us since the beginning (2001).

Tom Pearson, Co-Editor
Gateway Family Historian

CAUGHT IN THE DRAFT

D-DAY: JUNE 6, 1944

On 6 June 2014, our nation will observe the 70th anniversary of the Normandy landing during World War II. It can truly be said that the soldiers, sailors, and airmen of this nation and its allies who planned and participated in this historic event delivered us all from evil, and for that they deserve our thanks!









Link to SLPL Catalog

ONLINE LEARNING @ SLPL.ORG

Online Learning page on SLPL website