Speaking Volumes

Today seems as good as any to debut our library blog. The intent of our blog is to alert readers to book news, library happenings, or special events we think you might like to know about . It will also be a venue for musings by our library staff on a variety of topics. We hope to start a dialog with you, our patrons, so feel free to comment and post.

I'll start by reminding you of the variety of excellent resources available on Iconn, Connecticut's Search Engine. All Columbia patrons with current library cards are eligible to use this free set of databases provided by the State of Connecticut. In addition to Consumer Reports (highlighted on our homepage),and available in the General (Infortrac) Onefile database, you'll find full text artilces for more than 6,500 other magazines and journals. The Historical Hartford Courant contains digital reproductions from 1764-1922. There are full text articles for the Hartford Courant from 1992 to the present. A few of the other searchable newspapers include The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, to name a few. There are health, business, history, science, biography, AP Images and much more. Heritage Quest, a genealogical database is a popular place to visit when researching your ancestors. There is a wealth of Connecticut Information including Connecticut History Online, Encyclopedia of Connecticut History, 2-1-1 Community Resources Directory CT Consumer Health Information, Connecticut Physician. And of course this is the place to find what books and other materials are owned by over 300 public, academic and school libraries. This is know as ReQuest.

Remember, all it takes is a public library card to access all these valuable resources. Iconn is truly Connecticut's Re-Search Engine!

If you need further information feel or help in accessing any of the databases please contact staff@columbiactlibrary.org or 228-0350.