Our Veterans’ Stories

Veterans Day is a great opportunity to listen to Grand Valley State University’s Veterans History Project videos. West Michigan male and female veterans – including Grand Rapids Junior College / Community College alums – shared their military experiences first-hand with interviewers. These are excellent examples of primary resource materials.

For many years, and continuing today, oral historians at GVSU’s History Department have recorded interviews that are part of the larger Library of Congress’ Veterans History Project. They “collect memories, accounts, and documents of U.S. war veterans from World War II and the Korean War, Vietnam War, and conflicts in the Middle East and elsewhere, and … preserve these stories for future generations.”

Dykema, Chester, “Dykema, Chester (Interview outline and video), 2007,” Digital Collections, accessed November 8, 2021, https://digitalcollections.library.gvsu.edu/document/28851.

Listen to one of our own, GRJC alum Chester Dykema, speak of his service.

Genealogy with Your Own LOM Library Card (updated)

Librarians are frequently asked about access to genealogical databases and local newspaper archives. GRCC collections serve the academic needs of students and faculty, so we don’t invest in those if they aren’t needed to support the curriculum. BUT – the Library of Michigan (LOM) does, and now you can get a free LOM library card!

Apply online by completing the form found here. Card information will be emailed to you. Use that LOM access to access their Family History e-resources, a selected list of which follows. 

Selected LOM Databases:

• African American Biographical Database Spans 1790-1950, covers the famous to the everyday person.
• Ancestry Library Edition Includes billions of records in census data, vital records, directories, photos, and more. (ProQuest no longer allows the LOM to have at-home access to this database, but the content is still available at the LOM, as well as many Michigan libraries.)
• Ann Arbor News Historical and Current Collection Access from 1923 – present.
• Black Life in America As recorded by the news media, from 1704 – present.
• Black Thought and Culture non-fiction writings by major American black leaders and public figures, including previously inaccessible material (letters, speeches, political leaflets, interviews, trial transcripts, etc.)
• Detroit Free Press, 1831-1999 (see ProQuest Historical Newspapers).
• Detroit News Historical (1873-1999), MLive publications, and more Selected Michigan newspapers and all MLive-owned publications from 2002 – present.
• Fold3 Access military records.
• The Globe and Mail (Toronto) (see ProQuest Historical Newspapers) Access from 1844-2017.
• Grand Rapids Press Historical and Current Collection, 1893 – present.
• Heritage Hub U.S. obituaries from 1824 – present.
• Michigan Chronicle, 1936 – 2010 (see ProQuest Historical Newspapers) Primary source material for the study of American history and African American culture, history, politics, and the arts. 
• Michigan Digital Sanborn Maps, 1867-1970.
• NewspaperArchive From 1759 to 1977, including communities around the country.
• Newspapers.com 16,200+ newspapers from the 1700s–2000s.

New York Times Extras

GRCC has some “extras” in our New York Times Online license that you will want to try. If you haven’t created your FREE New York Times Group Pass yet, follow the directions on this page.

New York Times Cooking isn’t included in all Passes but it is included in GRCC’s to support the Secchia Institute for Culinary Education students and faculty, as well as other foodies on campus.

New York Times Times Machine is a HUGE archive of issues dating back to September 1851. View world history as it happened through the lens of the New York Times. It is used across campus when readers need to find out what people knew about a topic during a certain era.

The Mini Crossword Puzzle: Our free Mini is a fun mind-bender – the “big” Crossword will cost you $40 a year and is not included in our Pass.

Spooky Stuff

Check out the 3 mini-displays of Halloween-ish reading that Adjunct Librarian Mary Johnson has curated for us this month. Whether you like to read about haunted houses, ghosts, monsters, witches, zombies, or scary campfire tales, we’ve got some fun reading for you this month!

Take a short break from your studies and make time to read “scary stuff!” As usual, anything on the display may be checked out at the Circulation Desk with your RaiderCard.

Career Shopping?

Lots of students choose GRCC because it’s a great place to affordably try out classes in many different interest areas. If you are “shopping” for a career focus, we recommend Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center database.

Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center is  the place to start your search when you’re  wondering what career is right for you, with information on over 3800 careers.  There are links to current job and internship opportunities, and there’s a career interest assessment tool, too.

You’ll find Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center under “F” on the Library’s Database page, on the Careers Subject Guide, as well as many other Subject Guides.  On-campus networked users can click right into the database.  Off-campus and wireless users must logon with last name and 7-digit Raider number.   Try it today!

Ferguson’s Career Guidance Center