Newspapers and Miscellaneous Research Tools

Peter White Public Library has subscriptions to a dozen daily newspapers. Paper copies are found in the Sister City/Newspaper Room on the main floor. Daily print versions of newspapers include Marquette’s Mining Journal, Chicago Tribune, Escanaba Daily Press, Green Bay Press-Gazette, (Houghton) Daily Mining Gazette, Iron Mountain-Kingsford Daily News, Ironwood Daily Globe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, New York Times, Sault Ste. Marie Evening News, USA Today, and the Wall Street Journal. The L’Anse Sentinel and the Munising News arrive weekly. We carry the Sunday edition of the Detroit News and Free Press in a paper version. There is a second paper copy of the Mining Journal at the Reference Desk. The Reference Department keeps the Mining Journal on microfilm back to 1868 and, before that, the Lake Superior News and Miners Journal starting in 1846.

In addition to the print version, five regional newspapers are available online. Online newspapers are accessible on specially marked computers in the Reference Department on the second floor of the library. These include Marquette’s Mining Journal, Detroit Free Press (daily), Escanaba Daily Press, Houghton’s Daily Mining Gazette, Iron Mountain Daily News.

Investors will find Barron’s and Investor’s Business Daily online in the Reference Department. These online newspapers provide daily analysis of investments, market data, investing ideas, stock information, and articles on current financial news.

Consumer Reports and Consumer Reports Build & Buy Car Buying Service online databases are also available on a Reference Department computer. These provide information and comparisons on various purchases you may make such as a car, a computer, or a vacuum cleaner. 

People interested in tracing their family history have the use of several additional online resources in the Reference Department such as Ancestry, Heritage Quest, Newspaper Archive, and Sanborn Maps. Ancestry is an online genealogy search website that digs into databases and collections to find information from census reports; military, school, and church records; images and various articles relevant to your family history. Ancestry has billions of records. I know because doing family research is my husband’s favorite hobby and he has input many thousands of those records.  After buying Ancestry’s DNA test, we found distant relatives we never knew we had and are communicating with a relative who knows the family house in Kenmare, Ireland where my grandfather grew up and where a family member is still living. It’s totally exciting!

Heritage Quest also searches US Census records from 1790-1940; various city directories; 1850 and 1860 slave schedules; U.S. Indian rolls; and mortality, agricultural and industrial schedules. Newspaper Archives covers many smaller and mid-size city newspapers from 1607-2017 and can be a fruitful source of information. Sanborn Maps at PWPL include Michigan city maps ranging from 1867-1970. Marquette’s maps are from 1884-1946. These maps help chart the development and growth of towns. They were created to assist fire insurance companies in assessing the risks of insuring a particular property.

Please ask the Reference staff on the second floor of the library for help in using these many online resources. The library purchases access to these databases each year. This service allows patrons free in-library access to great information. Have fun, keep informed and search for more relatives at your library.

-Cathy Seblonka,Collection Development Librarian

 

Books for Horse Lovers

It is May, Spring is here, and that means it is racing time for us horse lovers.  The Kentucky Derby was on May 6 and the winner was Always Dreaming.  I'm writing this in anticipation of this Saturday's Preakness.  Will that same horse win again today so they can try for the last race in the Triple Crown?  Saddle up and look at the books listed below.  They're all about one of the most beautiful animals around.  I hope you find one or more that you would like to check out, so you can sit on a soft blanket and gallop through the pages.

The Horse, by Wendy Williams.
Horses have a story to tell, one of resilience, sociability, and intelligence, and of partnership with human beings.  In this book, Williams visits with experts around the world to research the 56 million year journey of horses.  She charts the course of the history of horses, so we can learn about Thoroughbreds, cow ponies, the famous Lipizzans of Vienna, the Takhi horses of Mongolia, ancient cave art in France and Spain, and the mountains of Wyoming to understand the free-roaming mustangs, and much, much more.  This book is a revealing account of the animal who has been at our side through the ages, befriending us and traveling with us over the mountains and across the plains.  It pays tribute to this treasure of the natural world.

The Eighty-Dollar Champion, by Elizabeth Letts.
It was November 1958 and it was the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden in New York City, one of the most prestigious sporting events in the country.  In the atmosphere of wealth and tradition, a drab white former plow horse trotted into the ring.  They were the longest of all longshots, and their win was the stuff of legend.  Harry de Leyer saw the horse on a bleak winter afternoon in a rickety truck bound for the slaughterhouse.  He recognized the spark in the eye of the horse and bought him for eighty dollars.  The horse was a great mount for his children, but he needed the money so he sold him to a farm a few miles away.  But the horse Harry had named Snowman had other ideas, and turned up back at Harry’s barn dragging an old tire and a broken fence board.  So Harry set about teaching the shaggy, easygoing horse how to fly. The pair climbed to the very top of the sport of showing jumping.   This is a story of unstoppable hope, inconceivable dreams, and the chance to have it all.

The Race For The Triple Crown, by Joe Drape.
Award-winning New York Times sportswriter, Joe Drape, sweeps you into the rush of the horse-racing season, giving a step-by-step look at the Triple Crown races.  He captures the sights and smells from the twin spires at Churchill Downs, to the winner’s circle at Belmont Park, and all the stops in between.  This book is a personal narrative that captures the affecting stories of the Thoroughbred racing world.  These are tales of the riveting action, high-stakes finance, cut-throat competition, and impossible odds that make horse racing so irresistible, both for the equestrian-minded and sports enthusiast.

Several horse story series are shelved in the Children’s room and in the Youth Adult area.  Check out the following:

• Marguerite Henry’s Ponies of Chincoteague by Catherine Hapka
• Saddle Club by Bonnie Bryant
• Canterwood Crest by Jessica Burkhart
• Pony Pals by Jeanne Betancourt
• Black Stallion by Walter Farley
• Thoroughberd by Joanna Campbell and Karen Bentley
• High Hurdles by Lauraine Snelling
• My Friend Flicka trilogy by Mary O’Hara
• Learning About Horses by Gail Stewart (nonfiction series)

 -Arlette Dubord, Technical Services Assistant

Graphic Novels for Summer Reading

Summer Reading “Build a Better World” is right around the corner, with our kickoff party on June 10! And so, to help kids find some fun, light summer reading, here are some of our newest Graphic Novels at Peter White Library.

Caveboy Dave by Aaron Reynolds

Dave’s Grandpa invented fire, and his dad invented the wheel-so what will Caveboy Dave do? The "more scrawny than brawny" 12 year-old has always been more inclined to invent things (such as underwear to make those loin cloths less itchy), then to go out and help gather meat. Will young Dave find a way to help out his clan? Or will he meet HIS DOOM?....

The Sisters vol 2: Doing it Our Way by Cazenove

Back by popular demand are sisters Wendy and Maureen, just in time for summer! This second novel follow the two sisters as they continue to navigate life, such as cleaning your room, fighting and making up, wearing hand-me-downs and more. With bright illustrations, short 1-page stories, kids will eat this book up, especially girls looking to see themselves in comic books.

LEGO Nexo Knights vol 1: The Forbidden Power by Max Brallier

LEGO books and comics are more popular than ever-and here is a brand new series for those LEGO enthusiasts out there! LEGO Nexo Knights, Knights Academy is the newest of the fun, engaging LEGO comics, sure to keep reluctant readers and book lovers alike entertained this summer.

Yo-Kai Watch by Noriyuke Konishi

The library just received the first 3 volumes of the manga Yo-Kai Watch! In this series, average kid Nate Adams receives a watch –and this isn’t just any watch, as he can now see the otherwise invisible Yo-kai! Maybe they are phantoms, or maybe they are something else, but whatever they are, Nate is now able to use his watch to help out these unique new friends in laugh-out-loud adventures. Sure to be a hit with Pokemon fans, this series is not to be missed!

Big Nate: Revenge of the Cream Puffs by Lincoln Pierce

How would you like to be on a Little League team call the Cream Puffs? Nate and his friends are definitely not wild about it in this most recent of the always popular Big Nate comics. So they set out to prove that they are more than cream filled desserts! With humor and hijinks, and maybe a few lessons learned along the way, this is a baseball game for the ages!

Bad Kitty takes the Test by Nick Bruel

The ever popular Bad Kitty is back! In this fun comic style book, bad kitty has been deemed as not only a bad kitty, but bad at being a cat! This calls for some cat-behavior studying, and, gulp, a test! For all those cat lovers (or just bad kitty lovers), make sure to grab this newest Bad Kitty book for some giggles this summer.

-Sarah Rehborg, Youth Services Librarian