SAVE THE DATE: History Detectives launching new Youtube Channel

The award-winning History Detectives Grand Rapids program sponsored by local heritage organizations is back! This year, History Detectives will launch their new Youtube Channel on January 22, 2022!

Eight pre-recorded programs ranging from the shores of Lake Michigan through Grand Rapids to the State Library in Lansing. You will be able to view these programs starting January 22, 2022 at whatever time is convenient to you!

Members of the Greater Grand Rapids Womens History Council will be presenting Unearthing an Army of Women: Diversity in Our WWI Women’s Registration Cards. Join Ruth Stevens, GRCC’s own Sophia Brewer, Andrea Riley Mukavetz, and Sue Thoms to learn about the historical nuggets that can be found in an astonishing new resource. Collected in 1918, Kent County’s 23,000 WWI women’s registration cards are available on a searchable database, ready to reveal the diversity of women volunteers who crossed class, religious, racial, and ethnic boundaries to create, inadvertently, a mine of treasures not limited to Grand Rapids. Sociological, historical, and geographic veins remain largely unexplored. The presenters will highlight individuals and clusters of African American, Native American, and working women to illustrate what the cards can provide state- and nation-wide researchers; as well as fascinating tips on searching: “journalist” was not used, but “Indian” was. Tune in to explore the skills, held or desired, of a forgotten front line.

Click the brochure pages below to learn more about other programs premiering that same day.

History Detectives Grand Rapids 2022 brochure page 1

History Detectives Grand Rapids 2022 brochure page 2

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.

Michigan Notable Book Display

By Tess Alliston
Circulation Associate

   

Check out our latest book display on the first floor of the Library!  This month’s display showcases selections from the 2015 Michigan Notable Books, as well as some from previous years.  If you didn’t know, 20 books are chosen to be on this list each year by the Library of Michigan. The following books comprise this year’s list:

1.  The Arsenal of Democracy: FDR, Detroit, and an Epic Quest to Arm an America at War by A.J. Baime
2.  The Art of Memory: Historic Cemeteries of Grand Rapids, Michigan by Thomas R. Dilley
3.  Bernida: A Michigan Sailing Legend by Al Declercq and Tom Ervin with Gloria Whelan, illustrated by David Miles
4.  Bird Box by Josh Malerman
5.  Bright Shards of Someplace Else by Monica McFawn
6.  Burnt Toast Makes you Sing Good: A Memoir of Food and Love from an American Midwest Family by Kathleen Flinn
7.  The Contract by Derek Jeter
8.  A Detroit Anthology edited by Anna Clark
9.  Eight Mile High by Jim Ray Daniels
10.  The Fish and the Not Fish by Peter Markus
11.  Making Callaloo in Detroit by Lolita Hernandez
12.  Michigan Agricultural College Campus Life 1900-1925: A Postcard Tour by Stephen Terry
13.  Midnight Plan of the Repo Man by W. Bruce Cameron
14.  Old Islam in Detroit: Rediscovering the Muslim American Past by Sally Howell
15.  A Polish Doctor in the Nazi Camps: My Mother’s Memories of Imprisonment, Immigration, and a Life Remade by Barbara Rylko-Bauer
16.  Rivers of Sand: Fly Fishing Michigan and the Great Lakes Region by Josh Greenberg
17.  Songs Only You Know: A Memoir by Sean Madigan Hoen
18.  Station Eleven: A Novel by Emily St. John Mandel
19.  Strange Love by Lisa Lenzo
20.  Strings Attached by Diane DeCillis

The books chosen are either written by a Michigan author, or set in Michigan or the Great Lakes region.  It dates back to 1991 when it began as part of the celebrations for Michigan Week.  More information can be found here on the Library of Michigan website.

View one of the electronic books from the comfort of your home or stop in to check one out!