Ancestry news

There have been a couple of exciting announcements about the Ancestry website this week.

First of all, you can search and view British Army Service and Pension records and Medal Index Rolls free until midnight on Sunday 14 November.

Secondly, the 1911 Census is coming to Ancestry. Hopefully this will be included on Ancestry Library Edition.

The Ancestry Blog is a very useful source of information for anyone researching their family history.

Oxford DNB’s history Monopoly

It is 75 years since the launch of the famous London version of Monopoly. Derived from The Landlord’s Game— invented in the US by Elizabeth Magie (1866-1948)—the London version allows players to own and develop some of the capital’s most famous streets and sites.

Using the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography’s history Monopoly you can find out who lived at some of those famous streets.

Access to the ODNB and other great reference sites is free using your library card. Find out more by visiting cyberLibrary – Reference Online.

New on Ancestry Library

You can now search for your ancestor’s wills online via Ancestry Library Edition.

Probate calendars for English and Welsh wills between 1861 & 1941 have just been added to their databases.

All cyberLibrary partners offer free access to Ancestry Library Edition, ask in your local library.

New site – BookPrizeInfo

The announcement of the Man Booker Prize longlist yesterday got me looking for book prize information online and I came across BookPrizeInfo -a database of information on book prizes, literary awards and prizewinning books.

You can browse the site by prize, authors or books. Each book entry has a description and links to reviews. Up-to-date book prize news is provided by Google.

Added to the cyberLibrary – Books

Holiday reading

Reading about your holiday destination is a great way to get you in the mood for travelling.

BiblioTravel is a website that helps you find books by location.

Enter a place name and you’ll receive a list of results to browse through. Register and you can leave comments about the book or suggest your own titles.

Found via the cyberLibrary – Books

Space Hop

The Space Hop Summer Reading Challenge will soon be ready to launch.

In the meantime we’ve added a link to the Space Hop website for games, reviews, blogs and discussions.

Added to the children’s cyberLibrary

Lifepilot

The Lifepilot website is for any adult who may be interested in studying at a higher education level.

Added to the cyberLibrary – Adult education

New on Ancestry Library

New records of more than 55,000 convicts transported to Australia in the 18th and 19th centuries are now available online via Ancestry.

These include the convict registers of conditional and absolute pardons 1791 to 1846, and the New South Wales certificates of freedom 1827 to 18.

You may be able to access Ancestry Library online for free at your local library. Check with them for details.

BeGrand

A new community site for grandparents has just launched. BeGrand aims to give information and advice about being a grandparent.

Signing up means you can share ideas and join conversations with other grandparents and get live online help if needed.

Added to cyberLibrary – Older People

Military records

A new section on finding military records has been added to the Family History Section.

cyberLibrary – Military records