Mardigian Library News - Databases

New database: Twentieth Century Advice Literature

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Wed, 22 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400

Twentieth Century Advice Literature provides the instructional, prescriptive, behavioral, and etiquette literature that defined standards of personal conduct for millions of Americans and reflected the prevailing social mores across the twentieth century. Included are handbooks, manuals, textbooks, etiquette guides, self-help books, instructional pamphlets, and how-to books that illustrate both how Americans actually behaved and how they felt they ought to behave.

On this date 200 years ago...

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Wed, 22 May 2013 10:30:00 -0400

On May 22, 1813, noted German opera composer Richard Wagner was born. Wagner was a colorful figure. Because of his political involvement, he was exiled and spent time in Venice, Switzerland, and Paris. He was invited back to Munich by King Ludwig (Mad King Ludwig) and eventually settled in Bayreuth where he supervised the design and construction of a new opera house. An annual Wagner festival, the Bayreuth Festival, is held at this opera house.

The library has many books about Richard Wagner and the Bayreuth Festival, and we have some musical scores written by Wagner. Watch dozens of performances at the Bayreuth Festival in Naxos Video Online, listen to hundreds of tracks composed by Wagner in Classical Music Library, and see a few more Wagner operas in Classical Music in Video.

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Database update: Filmakers Library Online

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Tue, 21 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400

Our subscription to Filmakers Library Online has been updated with more than 40 new films. When this new addition to our subscription (Volume 2) is complete, it will include 100 of the most influential issue-based documentaries of 2009 through 2013.

Statistical datasets update...

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

ProQuest Statistical Datasets is now called Data-Planet Statistical Datasets. Data-Planet Statistical Datasets provides access to statistical information produced by U.S. federal agencies, private companies, and intergovernmental organizations. Create maps and reports from data you select from over 640 datasets. Subjects include health, crime, population, finance, industry, and marketing.

Database Update: Brill Online Reference Works

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Several new resources have been added to the Brill Online Reference Works. These online books and databases primarily cover Religious Studies, Classic Studies, Medieval & Early Modern Studies, and Middle East & Islamic Studies.

1. Indo-European Etymological Dictionaries Online includes dictionaries of Armenian, Greek, Latin, Proto-Germanic, Slavic, and several others.
2. Middle Eastern Manuscripts Online 1: Pioneer Orientalists
3. Middle Eastern Manuscripts Online 2: Ottoman Legacy of Levinus Warner
4. Israel's Messenger - the "Official Organ of the Shanghai Zionist Association"
5. Moses Maimonides, unparalleled editions - includes imprints from the 16th to the 20th century, some of which constitute landmarks in the history of Hebrew printing. Some bilingual works are also included (Latin, Judeo-German, or French).
6. Africa Yearbook Online - covers major domestic political developments, the foreign policy and socioeconomic trends in sub-Sahara Africa – all related to developments in one calendar year.
7. African Studies Companion Online - over 1,800 entries covering guides and resources for African languages, Africa cartography and maps, African film, African studies journals, the African press, African studies library collections worldwide, national archives in Africa, centers of African studies and African studies programs worldwide, and a wealth of other subjects.
8. Brill's Encyclopedia of Hinduism - presents the latest research on all the main aspects of the Hindu traditions.
9. Brill's Medieval Reference Library Online - includes Encyclopedia of Medieval Dress and Textiles of the British Isles c. 450-1450, Encyclopedia of Medieval Pilgrimage, and Encyclopedia of the Medieval Chronicle.

Summer off-campus database access

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Thu, 16 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400

If you try to access research databases over the summer, you might get a 403 error. This normally happens when you try to access e-books, online journals, and other online resources through our website, but are not registered for the current semester. The vendors for our research databases do not allow off-campus access to students who are not registered for the current semester.

If you are not registered for a class during the spring/summer semester, you have two options:
• Access a research database through MeL. Look for a purple next to the database name on our website. Click on the purple instead of the database name. These databases are available to residents of Michigan, but you will need to log in using your Michigan driver’s license number. (You can also go directly to MeL Databases to access these.)
• You can come in to the library and use guest access computers.

New Database: World Newsreels Online, 1929-1966

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Thu, 16 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

World Newsreels Online, 1929-1966 includes the full run of newsreels on significant historical events from throughout the 20th century. It also includes the "March of Time" series, and selected videos from American History in Video and World History in Video, but adds new material from France, Japan, the Netherlands, and other countries throughout the world.

On this date 50 years ago...

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400

On May 15, 1963, the spacecraft Faith 7, piloted by Gordon Cooper, was launched. Faith 7 was the last of the Mercury-Atlas missions. This was the longest mission to space up to that time (22.5 orbits and more than 34 hours).

See newsreel footage of the event in American History in Video, listen to a prayer by Gordon Cooper on his 14th orbit at the Internet Archive, and see pictures and video commemorating the 50th anniversary of Faith 7 at the NASA website.

New Database: Black Studies in Video

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400

Black Studies in Video features award-winning documentaries, newsreels, interviews, and archival footage surveying the evolution of black culture in the United States. In partnership with California Newsreel, the database provides unique access to their African American Perspectives collection, and includes films covering history, politics, art and culture, family structure, social and economic pressures, and gender relations.

Database Update: ProQuest Congressional

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Tue, 14 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

ProQuest Digital U.S. Bills and Resolutions 1789 – 2013 has been added to our ProQuest Congressional database.

Digital U.S. Bills and Resolutions 1789 – 2013 offers one place to go for the full text of ALL versions of ALL U.S. public and private bills and resolutions from 1789 – 2013. You no longer need to search multiple sites or books to find the version of a bill you are looking for. The comprehensive coverage is ideal in providing the big picture for researchers looking to see how a bill changed between versions of a bill, or those just looking to see the final version.

On this date 100 years ago...

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Mon, 13 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

On May 13, 1913, Igor Sikorsky test piloted the first four-engine aircraft. However, he is better known for his work on helicopters, including the Sikorsky R-4, which became the world's first mass-produced helicopter in 1942.

The library has several online books about helicopters as well as chapters in online books through ENGnetBASE.

On this date 150 years ago...

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Fri, 10 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

On May 10, 1863, one of the most famous figures of the Civil War died. Confederate General Thomas Jonathan Jackson, better known as "Stonewall" Jackson died of pneumonia after having been shot by his own troops at the Battle of Chancellorsville on May 2, 1863. He was only 39 years old. The library has several biographies about Jackson (both books and e-books) and the history databases have much information about both him and the Civil War.

On this date 50 years ago...

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Wed, 08 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400

On this date in 1963, the James Bond movie Dr. No was released. This was the first James Bond movie starring Sean Connery.

The Mardigian Library does not have a copy of Dr. No, but you can order both the movie and the book the movie was based on -- and many other movies and books -- through MeLCat.

If you would like to find out more about Dr. No -- or another movie -- check our Film databases for plot descriptions, cast lists, production credits, and lots of other information. For example:

On this date 250 years ago...

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Tue, 07 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

On May 7, 1763, an attack on Fort Detroit by the Ottawa Chief Pontiac was thwarted by British Major Henry Gladwin. Pontiac and his men entered the fort with weapons under trading blankets. Their goal was to attack the unwitting soldiers. However, the plot had been previously uncovered and the men of the fort were prepared. Without the element of surprise, Pontiac exited the fort, but then laid siege for several months. The attempt to take Fort Detroit was part of what is known as Pontiac's Rebellion. In the following weeks, allies of Pontiac took 10 of the 13 British forts in the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley region. Fort Detroit was one that did not fall during the rebellion.

To find out more about the events that lead up to the rebellion and about its aftermath, check out some of the library's resources. We have several books about Pontiac's Rebellion. We also have newspaper accounts of Pontiac from the 1700s in 17th-18th Century Burney Collection Newspapers and Accessible Archives. (Note: Pontiac is usually spelled "Pondiac" in these newspaper accounts.)

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On this date 50 and 75 years ago...

nospam@example.com (Joel Seewald) — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 10:00:00 -0400

Several noteworthy events occurred on April 10.

In 1963, the USS Thresher, a nuclear-powered attack submarine, sank off the coast of Cape Cod during deep water dive testing. See newspaper accounts of the Thresher, its christening, loss, and aftermath in the NewspaperARCHIVE.

In 1938, Germany annexed Austria. Newspaper accounts of this event can be found in ProQuest historical newspapers. Historical newspapers that can be found in ProQuest include: Chicago Daily Tribune, Detroit Free Press, Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and many more.