The library has recently added several new databases to its online resources. All are available in the library or from home for Norwood residents with Norwood library cards.
To get to these databases, go to the library homepage at www.norwoodlibrary.org and go to the second column, “Web Links.” From there, click on “Databases for Research,” which is the third item on the list. There you will find an alphabetical list of many and varied resources. From home, once you click on a particular database, you will be asked to type in your library card number.
If you are interested in learning a foreign language, just scroll down the alphabetical list to Mango Languages and voila, you are there! We just added this to our database collection but this program has been very popular with patrons at other libraries and we expect you will love it. If offers 12 languages: Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese, French, German, Italian, Greek, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, ESL Polish (English for Polish Speakers), ESL Spanish (English for Spanish Speakers), and ESL Brazilian Portuguese (English for Brazilian Portuguese Speakers).
From the first screen, you can either jump right in and begin a course in one of these languages or you can register so that each time you log back in, you begin where you left off the previous time. There is also an option, from this screen, to translate by typing what you wish to translate, or a help screen explaining how you can install fonts for Japanese and Chinese characters.
It is an “online language-learning system teaching actual conversation skills…,” so you will need headsets, either the library’s or your own, for use in the library, and speakers if at home. Whether getting ready to take a trip or just looking for a little self-improvement for fun, this is definitely a convenient and user-friendly way to learn a new language.
In addition, if you do not have a computer and would like to learn a foreign language or improve your English skills, the library also has language cassettes and CDs, many of which come with booklets, to help you with this.
Another database we have just added is ConsumerReports.org, which is an online version of the popular magazine. It takes a little getting used to if you are accustomed to the print version, but the joy of it is you can check it out at home for that last-minute shopping. The publisher says that some articles found in previous issues of “Consumer Reports” magazine are not available on this site because their “currency review” indicates that information is outdated. When possible, they say, they have replaced these with a current, updated report for the Web. The big selling point for the online version is that you can access it from home with your library card, even when the library is closed.
For people who come regularly to the Reference area to check “Morningstar Mutual Funds,” which comes out every other week, we have added Morningstar Investment Research Center. This database can also be accessed from home. If you are not a financial/investment expert but live in Norwood and have a Minuteman library card, there will be an “enlightening training session” to provide you with the skills needed to make the most of this online investment database, on Wednesday, Sept. 30, at 4 p.m.
Anyone who has a phone and Internet access can register for this training by emailing librarytraining@morningstar.com.
For those of you who have not yet decided if you prefer books or electronic resources, several sets of books that we have purchased recently, published by Salem Press, have offered free online service for three years with the purchase of the sets so that we have the best of both worlds. “Magill’s Medical Guide” can be accessed from the database screen as Salem Health while “Milestone Documents in American History” is accessed under the same title in the list of databases.
For those of you who are perfectly happy using the print version of these databases in the library, we look forward to seeing you. For those who would like to learn more about the online version, whether at the library or from home, we are happy to help you get acquainted with these new databases.
Reference librarian Marie Lydon is filling in this week for the ‘From the Library’ column usually written by Charlotte Canelli, library director of Morrill Memorial Library in Norwood.
