New Homework & Language Learning Resources!

The library has purchased subscriptions to World Book Web for Kids & Students and Mango Languages. These resources may be used from home by visiting our website: www.oakbluffslibrary.org, and scrolling down the page until you see the appropriate logos or link. You will need an Oak Bluffs Public Library Card Number (located on the back of your library card) to access the websites.

World Book Web - Kids: This homework site is specifically designed for kids. It offers simple navigation, colorful illustrations, diagrams, and maps, and dozens of activities tied to national curriculum standards.

World Book Web - Students: A great homework resource for older students that offers articles, multimedia, web sites, and much more.

Mango Languages: Learn Brazilian Portuguese or English as a Second Language for Brazilian Portuguese Speakers! There are also modules for learning Spanish, French, German, and Italian.

We have also continued our subscriptions to Ancestry Library Edition (a genealogy website accessible from inside the library only) and NoveList (a great tool for all ages to find new reading material and more literary information). NoveList may be accessed from home using your Oak Bluffs Public Library Card number.

At this time we are no longer offering access to Heritage Quest (another genealogy website), but please speak to a library staff member to learn about alternative options.

New Library Resource - Ancestry Library Edition!

Have you been interested in learning more about your family's genealogy?

Come to the Library and use Ancestry Library Edition, a popular tool for online genealogical research.

You can even make an appointment for a 30-minute consultation with a librarian in order to learn how to use this great new genealogical resource at your Library.

New Africana Encyclopedia!

Come to the Reference Department and browse the latest encyclopedia to be added to our collection, "Africana" ed. by Kwame Anthony Appiah and Henry Louis Gates Jr.

"Substantially larger than the first edition (1999), and with expanded references and indexing, this five-volume set covers a vast geographic area and encompasses the complex histories of Africans in Africa and the Americas. It is written for high school level readers and above and for a non-specialist audience. Slavery and the struggle for political and economic freedom and equality are central themes, and the roots of African and African-American culture in the histories of individual countries are thoroughly explored. In addition to topical entries, "interpretation" essays offer, for example, an examination of the dual tradition of African American fiction with discussion of perceptions, stereotypes, and alternative avenues for analysis. Among the topics new to this edition are African American architects, African oral literature, Black classicism in the U.S., the history of writing in Africa, Black literature in South Africa, the transatlantic slave trade database, and migrancy and African literature. "

Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

New Resources for Island Non-Profits!

The Oak Bluffs Public Library and the Martha’s Vineyard Donors Collaborative (MVDC) announce a $1,000 donation from the MVDC to the Library for the purchase of materials in the field of Non-Profit Organizational Management and Finance. The donation is part of the MVDC’s ongoing effort to support Vineyard non-profits, many of which can’t afford these important resources on their own.

The Library is acquiring subscriptions to the Foundation Directory Online – Plus database, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and Nonprofit Quarterly; as well as books on a broad range of topics including Grant Writing, Fundraising, Budgeting, Capital Campaigns and Management for Non-Profit Organizations. The Foundation Directory Online – Plus database gives Vineyard non-profits access to information on 10,000 Foundations and 500,000 grants. A complete list of these materials follows and is also available on the MVDC website http://mvdonors.org/obbooks, as well as in print at the Oak Bluffs Public Library. Materials are now being received and processed by the library and they will be made available on the library’s shelves and through its online catalog (at www.oakbluffslibrary.org ) as they arrive.

We have the OED!

The Oak Bluffs Public Library has purchased a complete set of the second edition Oxford English Dictionary. You can find this unique and informative dictionary on the shelves in the Reference area of the library.