Online Resources

July 7th 2015
As I noted in a blog post last month, only about 0.03 % of all the information stored on the Internet is accessible via search engine. For the majority of what's stored on servers around the world, you have to use databases. Most of them were created by publishing companies, which in turn lease access to libraries. However, a surprising number are available for free. You just have to know that they exist and what they're called. Like MedNar, a database I wrote about last time, BizNar is... Read Post
June 25th 2015
Search engines such as Bing, Google or DuckDuckGo  can only access about 0.03 % of all the information stored on the Internet.  Search engines compile their collection of websites available for searching by using crawlers, programs that gather information about web pages for their indexes.  However, crawlers can't find information that needs to be accessed by a search interface, such as the Minuteman Library Catalog. Nor can crawlers find password-protected pages or web pages that aren't linked... Read Post
June 10th 2015
When you're in a cafe, hotel, library (or any other place besides home or work) access to a public wireless network is really convenient, but you need to take some basic precautions. This video from CNET shows you how to make sure you're using a secure connection and how to protect your laptop/tablet/smartphone:
October 7th 2014
October is American Archives Month, the purpose of which is to promote awareness and value of archives in society - as our country’s collective memory. The city of Somerville has its own archives, as does the SPL in the form of our Local History Room. I love old pictures, so I enjoy visiting the city archives’ tumblr, too. While it’s unlikely you actually work at an archive, you may want to create your own personal archive. Right now, it may be a shoebox full of old photos and letters, or it... Read Post
November 18th 2013

Somerville is a community of makers. It's home to the Artisan's Asylum, a community and school for hobbyists, inventors and tinkerers. It's a place where imaginative historical markers can spring up overnight and robots will soon roam the streets. So today's post is a nod to that Übermaker, Leonardo da Vinci. Among the many inventions Leonardo envisioned was the "viola organista:" a piano combined with a cello. No one has ever made, let alone played, a viola organista.... Read Post

June 25th 2013
The mercury's breaking 90 today and it's going to be almost as warm through the weekend.  Here are some tips to make the next few days a little more comfortable. Cooking can make an already hot kitchen unbearable, so check out this link to Mark Bittman's 101 recipes ready in fewer than ten minutes. Longtime readers of this blog probably recall that I've posted this link before, but there's always something on it I haven't tried, and I'm assuming the same is true of you. You should also browse... Read Post
December 7th 2012
In a recent Somerville News column reflecting on the career of former Mayor Eugene Brune, Mayor Curtatone quoted a Boston Sunday Globe insert (below) from October 17, 1965 entitled, "The New Somerville--Colonial Birth, Space Age Rebirth," extolling a "new Somerville" with state-of-the-art infrastructure and institutions emerging from one of the birthplaces of America. But as the mayor pointed out, the insert mentions developments and transit plans that didn't get very far. And the Somerville... Read Post
July 9th 2012
...and the weather is hot! But to make the livin' a little easier, here are some ways to avoid (or minimize) cooking. Here are 101 hot-weather recipes by Mark Bittman that require only ten minutes (or fewer) of cooking.  And Boston.com has a list of quick summer recipes (it's a slideshow, but worth it!).  Furthermore, a section of the most excellent Epicurious is devoted to summer dishes. When looking for recipes, it's also not a bad idea to check the New York Times' City Kitchen column,... Read Post
May 31st 2012
Last night yours truly and Kristi Chase of the City's Historic Preservation department gave a presentation on genealogical and house history research. Since most people remember research processes when they're given concrete examples, we took one house in Somerville and explained how to use library resources and local government document to find out how the house had been altered over the course of its existence and to find out who lived there since it was built. So technically, the... Read Post

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