Book bans are not going away anytime soon. One of the ways that several major U.S. libraries have elected to push back is to make many, if not all, of the books being targeted across the country available to as many people as possible. This is, of course, not a solution to the underlying problem, and every library on this list would wholeheartedly agree. These are bandaids. 

But like bandaids, they have value. This is especially true for the people most hurt and impacted by book bans: those under the age of 18 who, through no fault of their own, have lost access to a wide swath of books written with them in mind and for them to connect.

This list is as comprehensive a roundup as possible of all the U.S. public libraries offering access to banned books. It includes the name of the library, the people who are being granted access to the collections, materials within the collections, as well as any other pertinent or relevant information. 

The list will be updated as more libraries engage in this kind of access activism. Note that many of these programs operate under the banner of “Books Unbanned.” Though they will be quite similar because laws regarding libraries differ state by state and because every library collection differs from another, the breadth of access and catalogs differs in each variation of the program. Folks who qualify may apply for cards at each of the Books Unbound programs—you’re not limited to just one.

You can read more in an article by Kelly Jensen published in the bookriot web site at: https://bookriot.com/public-libraries-offering-free-access-to-banned-books/ 

World Digital Preservation Day, held annually on the first Thursday of November, celebrates best practices in archiving and storing digitized and born-digital content. Penn State University Libraries is hosting several virtual and University Park in-person events Thursday, Nov. 2.

A detailed schedule is available online. Events are listed in Eastern Time. Participants are encouraged to register online, especially those interested in bringing a physical item to the afternoon’s self-digitization session for consultation or on-site digitization.

October brings more than just pumpkin spice and costumes; it brings a chance to connect with the spirits of our ancestors and uncover their mysterious stories. 

From October 27 to November 1, 2023, MyHeritage is offering free access to all death, burial, cemetery, and obituary records on the site. With 370 collections and 881,738,760 records, this special Halloween treat is sure to delight. 

Search death, burial, cemetery, and obituary records on MyHeritage

Death records are a great start to your genealogical journey, and essential for family history research. They often include birth and death dates, the names of family members, last known addresses, and sometimes even cause of death. They provide a wealth of information, all in one place. They can then act as springboards for further investigations into other areas of your ancestor’s life. 

Beyond names and dates, death records sometimes provide personal anecdotes or obituaries, adding a touch of humanity to the names we find.

To access this invaluable resource visit myheritage.com/halloween, and start searching. If you are not yet a MyHeritage member, you’ll be asked to register in order to access the records. 

So this Halloween, as we revel in tales of ghosts and ghouls, let’s also take a moment to honor the real stories of our ancestors. Thanks to MyHeritage, rediscovering those tales has never been easier.

Nearly 200 rare documents bearing the names of Black and Native American soldiers who served in the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War are now accessible online to everyone at no cost, thanks to a partnership between Philadelphia’s Museum of the American Revolution and Ancestry®, the global leader in family history. 

“I am delighted that Ancestry and the Museum of the American Revolution have partnered to make this unique and important archive available to the public,” said Harvard University Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., an Emmy Award-winning filmmaker and author. “The founding of our great republic was truly a multicultural event, but that aspect hasn’t always been taught. This partnership is an important step toward uncovering and sharing stories of the diverse people who played essential roles in creating this nation, including some 5,000 Black men who served the new nation heroically.” 

The following announcement was written by the University of Strathclyde: 

Two leading branches of the Clan Campbell have been found to be unrelated to each other in research carried out by Alasdair Macdonald and Graham Holton at CLL’s Strathclyde Institute for Genealogical Studies (SIGS). 

The genealogists at the Institute have identified the genetic profile of the Campbells of Glenorchy, a family descended from Sir Duncan Campbell, 2nd Lord of Glenorchy, who died at the Battle of Flodden in 1513.

The research used DNA evidence to conclude that the family dates back to the 13th century and is a separate line to the Campbells of Argyll, whose descent is from the first Lord Campbell, also Sir Duncan Campbell, who died in 1453.

The Campbells have one of the largest number of cadet families, descended from the sons of clan chiefs, of any clan in Scotland.

The study is ongoing, and is likely to take some time to develop solid conclusions on the earlier history of the Glenorchy lineage, but the researchers have proposed several possibilities.

You can read the full story on our website.

Anyone who may be able to assist the research project by having a documented descent, or by commenting on the current findings, is invited to contact Graham Holton or Alasdair Macdonald by emailing cll-sigs@strath.ac.uk

This article is not about any of the "normal" topics of this newsletter: genealogy, history, current affairs, DNA, and related topics. However, it discusses the future use of “how to use the Internet” so I will suggest everyone who uses the Internet should be aware of this information.

Google, Microsoft and others boast that generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT will make searching the internet better than ever for users. For example, rather than having to wade through a sea of URLs, users will be able to just get an answer combed from the entire internet. 

There are also some concerns with the rise of AI-fueled search engines, such as the opacity over where information comes from, the potential for “hallucinated” answers and copyright issues.

But one other consequence is that I believe it may destroy the US$68 billion search engine optimization industry that companies like Google helped create. 

For the past 25 years or so, websites, news outlets, blogs and many others with a URL that wanted to get attention have used search engine optimization, or SEO, to “convince” search engines to share their content as high as possible in the results they provide to readers. This has helped drive traffic to their sites and has also spawned an industry of consultants and marketers who advise on how best to do that.

As an associate professor of information and operations management, I study the economics of e-commerce. I believe the growing use of generative AI will likely make all of that obsolete. 

How online search works

Someone seeking information online opens her browser, goes to a search engine and types in the relevant keywords. The search engine displays the results, and the user browses through the links displayed in the result listings until she finds the relevant information. 

To attract the user’s attentions, online content providers use various search engine marketing strategies, such as search engine optimization, paid placements and banner displays. 

For instance, a news website might hire a consultant to help it highlight key words in headlines and in metadata so that Google and Bing elevate its content when a user searches for the latest information on a flood or political crisis.

How generative AI changes search process

You can read the full article at: https://tinyurl.com/2vb7v4d3https://tinyurl.com/2vb7v4d3

The Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS) is excited to announce their 2023 National Awardees.

From an Associated Press article:

New York's highest court on Tuesday ruled police can resume a DNA searching method that can identify relatives of potential suspects, a technique that has helped solve crimes but caused privacy concerns.

The method, known as familial DNA searches, allows law enforcement agencies to search information in their DNA databases to find blood relatives of people who have left genetic material at a crime scene.

The order from the New York Court of Appeals allows the state to use such searches in criminal cases, reversing a lower court ruling from last year that blocked the practice.

The case was brought by two men whose brothers were convicted of crimes and had genetic information in the state’s databanks. They alleged that searches could improperly target them because of their family members' crimes and that the technique was never approved by the state Legislature.

Chief Judge Rowan D. Wilson, writing for the majority, said that the state's rulemaking process for the searches was legal and that regulations intended to protect privacy have resulted in very few search results provided to law enforcement.

You can read more at: https://tinyurl.com/4w3u952u.

The Calcasieu Parish Public Library has announced that the Southwest Louisiana Genealogical and Historical Library, located at 411 Pujo St. in downtown Lake Charles, reopened to the public.

The library had been closed for repairs and renovations. New features include furniture, fixtures, paint, shelving, new technology, and more.

Once a shelf in the main branch of the library, the genealogy collection moved to its own book cart, then to its own room, and finally, to the Carnegie Memorial Library building.

The library now has a collection size of over 12,000 items. The library’s collection, much of which can be accessed remotely, includes:

• Books
• Periodicals
• Microfilm
• Compiled family records
• An obituary index
• Records on most of the American states
• Limited information on British genealogy
• Cemetery and church records
• Parish courthouse records
• Military records
• Parish histories
• Land records

There are also online databases available for viewing including include the Maude Reid Scrapbook Index, the 1895-1896 Lake Charles City Directory, Ancestry Library Edition, local newspapers such as the American Press and the Southwest Daily News, Fold3 Library Edition, and HeritageQuest.

From an article by Emily Hemphill published in the Cardinal News web site:

Artifacts from the former Black school have now been digitized. It’s part of a national push to preserve Black history records and make them more accessible.

For 100 years, Christiansburg Institute battled white discrimination by serving as a model of Black education and culture tucked away in the mountains of Southwest Virginia. Today, the battlefield has transferred to a digital arena as the nonprofit that carries its name strives to preserve it for future generations.

A national effort to digitize archives and artifacts embodying African American history, which has long been ignored and inaccessible to the masses, began soon after the racial unrest of 2020. The digitization movement made its way to the institute, which once stood just down the hill from the current Christiansburg High School, after executive director Chris Sanchez and museum curator Jenny Nehrt successfully applied for a $250,000 grant from the Council on Library and Information Resources for “Digitizing Hidden Collections” in 2022.  

“It’s basically immoral to underpreserve Black history in any society that claims to be democratic,” said Sanchez. 

The nonprofit, in collaboration with University Libraries at Virginia Tech, recently finished scanning and uploading 870 photographs, 60 slides, 15 diplomas, 48,000 typed pages and 3,300 handwritten pages from the school’s heyday. These artifacts can now be accessed by anyone with an internet connection: https://hub.catalogit.app/8896. The collection will also be stored in the University Libraries’ digital space. An exhibit to promote the almost-completed work is open to the public until Dec. 17 on the second floor of the Newman Library.