Mango Languages: New Courses!

Our popular language database Mango just got even better! As well as the complete language courses already offered, there are now basic language modules ideal for learning a few words and phrases for a business trip or vacation. Basic courses are available in:

Arabic (Levantine), Chinese (Mandarin), Dari, Farsi, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Hindi, Irish, Italian, Korean, Pashto, Portuguese (Brazilian), Russian, Spanish (Latin America), Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese. Basic English courses are provided for speakers of 14 different languages!

The courses are very user friendly including audio and text. The new basic module slides have background images themed around each language which look great!

You can access Mango from home or in the library. Go to our online databases page, enter your library card number (if outside the library)  and you’re on your way!

Wi-Fi @ the Library

Free wireless Internet access is now available at the East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, 7711 Goodwood Blvd., and is also available at Eden Park Branch Library, 5131 Greenwell Springs Rd.  Installation of wireless access is currently scheduled for all other library branches.

This new service supplements the free Internet access already provided to patrons at each library location throughout East Baton Rouge Parish, via the more than 400 PCs available with free access to the Internet. Wireless Internet access means that patrons can use their own devices, with their own software, yet still have access to the Internet, including the Library’s Web site, online catalog and valuable online subscription databases.

Wireless Internet is accessible while inside the Library, and it will be available each day during the hours the Library is open. No special log-in or library card required.

The Sports Legacy Institute

Florida Quarterback Tim Tebow’s concussion made the public aware of the severity of head injuries in athletics. In fact, there is data that suggests that playing full contact sports like football can lead to dementia later in life.

The Sports Legacy Institute is studying the brains of deceased NFL athletes through their brain donor program to see if playing football affects cognition in later life. This site provides information on the donor program as well as ongoing medical research on head injury, and the Institute is dedicated to making all sports safer for the players – especially those at high risk of head injuries.

There are videos available and articles about concussion in athletes. There is also information on the Institute’s Coaches Concussion Clinics – clinics that teach coaches how to recognize and avoid concussion in their players.

If you are involved in sports or have a child who involved in sports, this is a site that you should visit and follow regularly.

The Watergate Files

A burglary in June 1972 at the Watergate office complex in our nation’s capital, had more wide ranging consequences than ever thought imaginable. The Watergate scandal revealed plot and intrigue that shook the world of politics and ultimately brought down President Nixon.

This interestingly presented site, The Watergate Files from the Gerald R. Ford Library & Museum tells the story of Watergate with timelines, events and looks at the key players involved. Also included are multimedia resources such as digitized documents, photographs and video files. A must for students, history lovers and those who appreciate a good conspiracy!

Ancestry.com is Back!

Ancestry.com Library Edition is once again part of our database selection. This is a fantastic genealogical resource, in fact the largest online resource of its kind with 4 billion records from around the world! Some of the records you can search include birth/death, military, census lists and immigration.

It’s a great tool to start researching your family history. There are charts and forms to help you with your research including a downloadable family tree.

To access Ancestry.com you have to come in to the library, you cannot access it from home. However you can use our other genealogy database HeritageQuest Online from home.