HeritageQuest focus of this month's Genealogy Program

Did you know that the Harrisburg District Library provides our patrons with free access to HeritageQuest through the library's website? If you have a valid Harrisburg District Library card you can even access HeritageQuest from home at anytime! HeritageQuest is a subscription based genealogy research site. This month's Genealogy program will guide you through accessing the site, features of the site and how to use the site. The class will be on Saturday April 25th 10:30-11:30. This will be a hands on learning experience. Basic computer skills are required.

National Library Week

Check out the library's calendar for special events during National Library Week, April 12-18, 2009. Events include the popular annual Trivia Night on Thursday night. Teams of up to six members welcome. Register early and pay $7.00 per team, or register at the door for $8.00 per team. Fantastic prizes for the winners! See how much trivia you actually know, you may surprise yourself!

Traveling Exhibit Tells Unknown Story of German POWs Held in Midwest Camps During WWII

During World War II the Midwest was home to approximately 250 prisoners of war camps. Tens of thousands of the 380,000 Germans imprisoned across the U.S. during World War II were held in the Midwest, part of the millions of Axis and Allied prisoners held across the world. These prisoners embody ageless and timely themes of war and peace, justice during times of war, human rights, international reconciliation and potential lessons for avoiding future conflicts and human rights and wrongs. Housed in a bus made into a mobile museum with a 21-seat theater, HELD IN THE HEARTLAND illustrates this unknown story through narrative texts, artifacts & media.


On March 28, 2009 the library will host the TRACES BUS-eum, Held in the Heartland. The BUS-eum will be parked on the library parking lot and will be open for visitors 10:30 -5:30.


The TRACES Center for History and Culture is a Midwest,WWII history museum in downtown Saint Paul, MN’s historic Landmark Center (formerly 1896 Federal Courts Building). Each of its more than two dozen exhibits about Midwesterners’ encounters with Germans or Austrians between 1933 and 1948 forms part of a larger mosaic, a fuller image of a war that is often misunderstood or seen in clichés. At TRACES, WWII is a case study to learn from for today and future generations.


Please make plans to visit the traveling museum. The library is also scheduling interviews for the Veterans oral history project. If you are a veteran, please consider sharing your valuable memories with us and future generations. To schedule an appointment or for more information about the project or the traveling museum, call the library at 253-7455 and ask for Ruth or Sherry.

Preserving your photographs and documents

Kristina Blevins the Assistant Director will be presenting this month's genealogy program. On Saturday, February 28th at 10:30, she will discuss methods for preserving your documents and photos. Kristina graduated from Southern Illinois University Carbondale in 2003 with a B.A. in English specializing in pre-professional writing. She spent a semester as a post-graduate student studying museum practices and interned at the SIUC museum archives in the fall of 2006. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in the fall of 2007 with a Master's in Library and Information Science. During her tenure there she interned in the William T. Young Acquisitions Department, where she spent two days a week helping out in the conservation laboratory tipping-in pages, doing deacidification and humidification of documents, pamphlet sewing, constructing phase boxes, learning triage, and using the sonic welder to encapsulate.
Please make plans to join us and learn how to save your photos and documents for future generations to enjoy.

Chocolate & Whine

Don't forget to visit the library on Saturday February 7th between 3:00 and 5:00 for the Chocolate and Whine tasting. Assistant Director Kristina Blevins has planned a lovely afternoon of taste testing a variety of chocolates. The selection of chocolates are certainly out of the normal and should prove to be very interesting. Whining, moaning, whinging, and commiseration welcome from all ages.
On Wednesday February 11th 6:30-7:30 a RadioShack DTV expert will be at the library to answer your questions about the upcoming digital television transition. Though the transition has been postponed, you still need to make sure you and your equipment are ready for the transition.

Brown Bags and Books

The Brown Bags and Books program that was scheduled for Wednesday January 28th has been rescheduled for Wednesday February 4th at Noon. Dr. Roger Lyons will review Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult.
Brown Bags and Books is a monthly book review held January through October. For the past several years Dr. Lyons has ushered in the "New Year" of Brown Bags and Books.
Please visit the library's website to view a complete list of titles to be reviewed. The books are available for check out at the library, though it isn't required that you read the titles to attend the programs! The programs are free to the public and all are welcome.
Light refreshments are provided, but feel free to bring your "brown bag" lunch and join us for the Noon time review.

Library Closed

The library will be closed today, January 28, 2009. The Brown Bags and Books program is also cancelled for today and is tentively rescheduled for noon on February 4th.
When winter weather threatens (or arrives!), check with the library to make sure we are open. If you must get out today, please use extreme caution. The snow is covering ice and that combination makes for dangerous travel conditions. Just walking outside can be an adventure!