Look into the past with America's Historical Newspapers

Need to do a paper about how it was back in the good ole days? Want to look back at headlines from across the nation for the Revolution or the Civil War? The library has the database for you with America's Historical Newspapers: Early American Newspapers Series 1 - 3, 1690-1922.

This database chronicles 242 years of American newspapers from precolonial times to just before the Great Depression. Scans of the original papers are available at not cost as long as you are in the library or have a library card.

To access this database, just go to our website (mytpl.org) and click on "Research," then "Databases by Name." Under "A" a link will open to Newsbank, a database source with America's Historical Newspapers available. Click that link to go to the database with the image above.

The database is able to limit your keyword search to dates, newspaper title, places of publication, article type, and language. This way, for example, if you were looking for the front pages of the Times Picayune during the Civil War, a few simple clicks at the bottom of the page can narrow your search. The combinations are endless and more newspapers are added often, so good luck searching!

Linking Overdrive and Goodreads with Chrome

“Goodreads is a free website for book lovers. Imagine it as a large library that you can wander through and see everyone's bookshelves, their reviews, and their ratings. You can also post your own reviews and catalog what you have read, are currently reading, and plan to read in the future” (goodreads.com).

While Overdrive does provide a number of the same services as Goodreads (reviews, etc.), it lacks the social element and vast collection of Goodreads. That being said, there is a Chrome extension that bridges the gap between Goodreads and Overdrive: Available Goodreads.

This extension works in the background and requires very little initial setup to get it started. As patrons browse Goodreads, the extension will embed a link to their local Overdrive, indicating whether or not the digital download is available. 

Axis 360 ebooks have a new Kindle Fire app!

Axis 360, one of the library's ebook apps, is now a whole lot easier on Kindle Fire! Time was if you owned a Kindle Fire you had to download a separate app, then side load it onto your device. Now, just with a quick search and login, the ebooks available at the Terrebonne Parish Library are yours!

Full instructions for finding and downloading the app are available here.

Get Started

1. If you have a Axis 360 app already installed, you can keep using it, but it may become out of date and stop working. To uninstall the current app, find the documentation for uninstalling apps for your device. This can change depending on the age of your device. If you have not previously installed Axis 360 on your device, continue.
2. Now, simply touch the Apps menu at the top of the screen
3. Then click on the "Store" icon. 
4. Find the search box near the top of the screen and enter "Axis 360." In the search results you should see something like the image above. (This image may change after this post due to updates, but the "author" should always read "Baker & Taylor Inc")
5. Using your library card number* and your PIN**, log into the app and enjoy the books.

For those of you having difficulty finding the app, you can go to the app's Amazon page by clicking here. Then, you will need to log in with your Amazon account, on the right choose which device you would like the app delivered to, and click "Get app." The app should then download to your device.

For more information on this app, check out the app information on Baker and Taylor's website here.

For more information on downloading apps to a Kindle Fire, check out the webpage on Amazon here.

*The 13 digit number below your bar code on the back of your library card.

**Your library PIN is your birthday in six digits with "0" if there is no number and the last two numbers of the year. If your birthday is January 1, 2000, your PIN would be 010100 or if it is December 25, 1997, your PIN would be 122597.