Library News

For those interested in genealogy, this is a continuation of my earlier post on vital records. Birth Records – Usually contain the infant’s name, and if not the whole name, it may read Girl Or Boy and the last name. It usually lists the Date and Place of Birth. You may also find a birth notice in a local paper. However, increasingly,  many newspapers no longer include birth information. In case you cannot find a birth record, the Birth may not have been recorded. This is not as unusual as you might expect, as some states started their birth records later than others. The Person you’re researching may have been adopted and each state has different regulations regarding their records. If this is the case you may want to check with the vital records office in the state you believe the person was born to see if they may be able to make a suggestion on what to do. (For some more background on the subject, you may be interested in Katarina Wegar’s Adoption, Identity, and Kinship: The Battle Over Sealed Birth Records, which is available at Snell Library.) Name changes– If the person had a name change you may need to look up the name in the court house which may give you the person’s birth name and place of birth. Marriage Records– These should contain the marriage Date, Bride and Groom names, Ages and sometimes their parents’ names and where the marriage took place. The name of the person who performed the ceremony may also be included. You may want to check the newspaper for an announcement of marriage or a wedding photo.  Snell Library has a large collection of newspapers, which can aid you in your search. Death Records– usually contain the Date of death, the name of the deceased, Place of death , Cause of death, Place of burial or cremation. Death notices are sometimes published in newspapers and it is always a good idea to check the local newspaper where the person was born or died. In case a person was born in Europe, perhaps, and then came to the United States you may find a death notice in 2 papers. The person who placed the death notice may want to let family or friends know in the birth country as well as in the country of death. Always a good thing to check both places as the notices may not be the same. Divorce records – Usually these can be found in the Court House. If you do not know the date or place of marriage you may find it in the divorce record and look at both as there should be one for each member of the couple. Interestingly, the information may not be the same. These records may also inform you if there was a minor child at the time of the divorce.

Note: This post contains out-of-date information as of April 2019. Please visit our contact page for current information on how to contact the Library.

Receive an answer to your library questions via text message through the newest addition to Snell Library Reference Services. Here’s how:

Send to 66746
Begin your text message with the word husky

Librarians at the research assistance desk will respond as soon as possible. When the desk is closed you will receive an automated response and we will answer your question the next day.

Text a Librarian assigns a random ID number to each question before forwarding it to the library, so your telephone number remains private. There is no charge from the library for the service; however, charges from your cell phone provider may apply.

Text a Librarian is best suited for brief questions that can be answered in a short message. For more detailed reference help, visit the research assistance desk on the second level of Snell Library, use our ASK 24/7 online chat service or send us an email.

Many thanks to all those who participated in our recent survey of mobile devices and what you’d like us to offer on a mobile platform.

Here’s what you told us you wanted:

Nucat (80.8%) Hours (75%) Renew my books (71%) Text message (53.8%) Journal articles (42.3%)

Among the suggestions that people wrote in, only one appeared more than once, and that was “reserve a group study room.”  There was only one duplicate among the suggestions: “Reserving a study room”–while there’s no online system for doing that, you can call, same day only, 617-373-8778.  

RESPONDENTS:

Altogether we had 52 respondents total.  Undergrad/grad students and library staff participated.  In my view, however, visitors to the library who are not familiar with NU might appreciate being able to get basic access, wireless and lost and found information on their mobile device.  

Most respondents who answered the question about devices are using the blackberry.  I was surprised not to see more i-phones listed, but a lot of people did not answer the question.  

I know it seems like a setup, but we ARE adding a text messaging service to our existing suite of options for contacting a librarian.  You’ll hear more about that if you read our blog this week! 

A newly redesigned interface for IEEE Xplore is scheduled to arrive on Saturday, February 13. Major new features for the new Xplore are a brand new interface, a more robust search engine, improved search and more personalization.  E-mail alerts, RSS Feeds, the ability to set your preferences, save searches and much more.  Check out the new type ahead features and the search suggestions as well. There is further information about the new interface here including searching tip sheets. Also, check out the video! Also, start following IEEE Xplore on Twitter Feel free to send your feedback to Joan Omoruyi at j.omoruyi@neu.edu or call her at 617-373-2806.