Databases Series: ChescoPIN

March 31, 2025April 1, 2025 ~ rmanuel191 ~ Leave a comment

Hello! My name’s Rebecca. For those who haven’t been following this series, I am the Information Literacy Librarian here at the Chester County Library. (You might recognize me as the librarian with the purple hair!) Welcome to this series here on our blog where every week (or thereabouts) I’ll be introducing you to one of the library’s databases. A library database, for those who are unsure, is essentially just an online resource that the library pays for so that you can access it for free with your library card!

Today I’d like to tell you a little bit about ChescoPIN. ChescoPIN is a portal that holds most of Chester County’s online public records databases or provides links to other county portals that hold the relevant records. For records housed directly through this portal, it allows users to search these databases, organized by county department, by entering values in the appropriate fields of the forms provided on the website. The county departments with records housed directly through ChescoPIN are the Prothonotary, the Assessment Department (real estate), and the Tax Claim Bureau. For records housed in another county portal, it will link directly to the relevant portal, where you can then search that specific database. The county departments with records housed in other county portals are the Recorder of Deeds and the Pennsylvania Judiciary (criminal records).

For those who have used ChescoPIN before or who are looking for the Register of Wills and Orphans’ Court/Marriage Licenses, please note that these will have been moved to a new portal by end of day today (Monday, March 31). ChescoPIN will continue to link to this new portal once the move has been finalized. The new portal can be found here.

Find ChescoPIN on our website by going to chescolibraries.org –> Tools and Research –> All CCLS Databases –> C –> ChescoPIN

This post is number sixteen in this databases series! If you missed the previous installments, you can view them here.

Databases Series: Computer Learning Resources

March 24, 2025March 21, 2025 ~ rmanuel191 ~ Leave a comment

Hello! It’s Rebecca, back again! I hope you enjoyed or learned something new once again from Mikaila, our Business and Career Librarian, who wrote last week’s post about another of our business databases. For those who haven’t been following this series, I am the Information Literacy Librarian here at the Chester County Library. (You might recognize me as the librarian with the purple hair!) Welcome to this series here on our blog where every week (or thereabouts) I’ll be introducing you to one of the library’s databases. A library database, for those who are unsure, is essentially just an online resource that the library pays for so that you can access it for free with your library card!

This week, rather than writing about a single database, I’d like to write a bit about a couple of databases that include resources covering a single topic – basic computer skills. I talked about LearningExpress Library already earlier in this blog series, which has a few basic computer courses included in among everything else it offers. So today I’ll talk about DigitalLearn and PA Online Learning.

DigitalLearn is a project of the Public Library Association that has free, easy-to-follow tutorials on basic computing, being safe online, job skills, social media, and more. They’re simple, list their skill level, and show the time it takes to complete upfront. Some of the relevant learning courses include Navigating a Website, Intro to Email, Introduction to Google Maps, Getting Started with Telehealth, Intro to Facebook, Online Fraud and Scams, Applying for Jobs Online, Cloud Storage, and Using Healthcare.gov to Enroll in Health Insurance.

PA Online Learning is a free growing collection of tutorials on how to use software, social media, and library resources, such as POWER Library. Tutorials are a nice mix of videos, images, and text and are relatively comprehensive, providing the basics and then building off of those basics as you move through the course. Some of the relevant learning courses include Computer Basics, First Steps with Digital: iPads and Tablets, Gmail – Email from Google, Google Chrome, Google Search, How to Zoom, Tech Talk: Passwords, LinkedIn – Social Networking for Job Seekers and Professionals, Instagram – Share Your Moments, and Searching for Jobs Online with Indeed.

Find DigitalLearn on our website by going to chescolibraries.org –> Tools and Research –> All CCLS Databases –> D –> DigitalLearn

Find PA Online Learning on our website by going to chescolibraries.org –> Tools and Research –> All CCLS Databases –> P –> PA Online Learning

This post is number fifteen in this databases series! If you missed the previous installments, you can view them here.

Databases Series: Statista

March 17, 2025March 11, 2025 ~ rmanuel191 ~ Leave a comment

Hello! My name is Mikaila. I am the Business and Career Librarian at Chester County Library, and I am back once more as a guest star on this series! Today I’ll be introducing you to another of the library’s business databases. A library database, for those who are unsure, is essentially just an online resource that the library pays for so that you can access it for free with your library card.

The business database that I’ll be discussing today is called Statista. Statista is an international database that focuses on market and industry analysis. While Reference Solutions can hone in on data surrounding your individual business and community, Statista looks at the big picture of how your business engages with the larger scale industry. With Statista, you can view data on over one million market and consumer statistics covering 80,000 topics, 170 industries, and over 150 countries. For E-commerce businesses, Statista can be invaluable in gathering the marketing and consumer insight that may be difficult to garner in such an expansive playing field. Whether it’s to better understand your market or provide research for your business plan, you can download statistics, reports, market insights, and forecasts and surveys at your leisure.

Find Statista on our website by going to chescolibraries.org –> Tools and Research –> All CCLS Databases –> S –> Statista

This post is number fourteen in this databases series! If you missed the previous installments, you can view them here. If you would like to read Mikaila’s first guest post, the one on another of our business databases called Reference Solutions, you can find it here.

March Releases

March 17, 2025 ~ asandovalcclsorg ~ Leave a comment

Movies

TV Shows

Music

Audiobooks

The Midnight Feast – Lucy Foley

CCLS/CCL Board Meeting

March 14, 2025 ~ mkolb76 ~ Leave a comment

The Board of Trustees of the Chester County Library System/Chester County Library are hosting their monthly board meeting as a hybrid offering. If you have always wanted to attend a meeting but haven’t had the time, this is your opportunity. Please click on this link at 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 18 to join the Chester County Library System Board Meeting virtually; or attend in person at the Chester County Library, 450 Exton Square Parkway, Exton. The Chester County Library Board Meeting will immediately follow. Find the Chester County Library Board Packet here.

If you are a person with a disability and wish to attend this meeting and require an auxiliary aid, service, or other accommodation to observe or participate in the proceedings, please call Chester County Library’s Administration Office at 610-344-5600 or email ddadoly@ccls.org to discuss how we may best accommodate your needs.

Databases Series: News for You

March 10, 2025March 4, 2025 ~ rmanuel191 ~ Leave a comment

Following in the past couple weeks’ trend of introducing you to newspapers, I would like to talk a little about News for You. News for You is a weekly news publication written at a basic adult English level for ESL (English as a Second Language) speakers and others with limited English proficiency. The articles cover a wide-range of subjects both domestic and international.

For those who prefer to read a physical newspaper, we do offer copies on a limited basis for free upon request at the CCL Reference Desk. But for those who don’t mind reading online, News for You Online includes curriculum and assignments for ESL students and teachers, vocabulary lists pulled from the week’s articles, teacher guides and voting guides, and more to support English language learning. The best feature, however, is the built-in ability to listen to the articles read out loud. You can click the play button at the top of each article to play the article out loud in full, or you can click on a single sentence to hear only that sentence.

Contact the Reference Desk at 610-344-5957 or ref@ccls.org to receive the login code.

Find News for You Online on our website by going to chescolibraries.org –> Tools and Research –> All CCLS Databases –> N –> News for You Digital Access

This post is number thirteen in this databases series! If you missed the previous installments, you can view them here.

A Women’s History Month event at Henrietta Hankin Library

March 6, 2025March 6, 2025 ~ cmviola ~ Leave a comment

Come to Henrietta Hankin Branch Library on Tuesday, March 18th from 6:30-7:30pm to meet local historian, Hallie Vaughan, and be introduced to some women from the Revolutionary War to the present who deserve their places in herstory!

Hallie worked as a teacher for over 30 years in the Muhlenberg School District, and it was during this time that she developed a keen interest in Women’s History. After retiring, she began presenting women’s history to community groups and schools and now she serves as a docent for the Berks History Center. Hallie has also taught courses at Alvernia’s Seniors College, volunteers at Berks Veterans Affairs and serves on the Berks County Daughters of the American Revolution board.

Enjoy some light refreshments and trivia questions as you celebrate Women’s History Month with our very special guest presenter. To register, click here.

Call for Local Authors: Apply Now for the Chester County Library’s Annual Local Author Showcase!

March 4, 2025 ~ mkolb76 ~ Leave a comment

The Chester County Library is thrilled to invite local authors to apply for our Annual Local Author Showcase! This special event celebrates the vibrant literary talent in our community. Priority will be given to Chester County authors, and if space permits, we will also consider authors from across Pennsylvania.

The showcase will be held on Sunday, May 18th, from 1-4 pm, at Chester County Library located at 450 Exton Square Parkway, Exton, PA. This exciting event provides authors with a unique opportunity to engage directly with library patrons, discuss your work and publishing journey, and connect with fellow local authors. You’ll also have the chance to offer your books for sale and gain visibility within the community.

If you’re interested in participating, please complete and submit the application form before March 21, at https://bit.ly/CCLReadLocalApp2025

You will be notified of your acceptance status by March 24, 2025.

For any questions or concerns, feel free to reach out to our Program Coordinator at pmarquette@ccls.org. We look forward to your application and to celebrating our local literary community together!

Databases Series: The Philadelphia Inquirer

March 3, 2025February 25, 2025 ~ rmanuel191 ~ Leave a comment

Last week, I introduced you to how to access the New York Times online through the library, and this week I’d like to similarly introduce you to how to access and navigate The Philadelphia Inquirer online through the library. Just as with the New York Times, access to The Philadelphia Inquirer is completely free with your library card, but The Philadelphia Inquirer through us might look a little different from The Philadelphia Inquirer’s standard website. This is because our access to The Philadelphia Inquirer is through an organization called NewsBank that aggregates the current issues with historical records.

So when you click our link to access The Philadelphia Inquirer, you will notice that you have three options to choose from. The Philadelphia Inquirer 1829-1922 in image format, The Philadelphia Inquirer 1981-current in text format, and The Philadelphia Inquirer 2018-current in image format. The difference between image format and text format is that image format is essentially just a scanned copy of the physical newspaper whereas the text format is just the text of the articles. Text format articles will show up in a list of links to each article individually categorized by section of the newspaper. Image format will show the entire issue at once with clickable thumbnail images down the side of the screen that you can click through similar to how you would flip through the pages of a physical newspaper. You can use the viewer pane to zoom in and out of the page to make articles easier to read. So all you have to do to read The Philadelphia Inquirer is choose between image and text format, choose your issue date, and start reading!

Find our links to The Philadelphia Inquirer on our website by going to chescolibraries.org –> Tools and Research –> All CCLS Databases –> P –> Philadelphia Inquirer

This post is number twelve in this databases series! If you missed the previous installments, you can view them here.

2025 Reading Challenge! March

March 1, 2025February 25, 2025 ~ rmanuel191 ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the third month of the Chester County and Henrietta Hankin Branch Libraries’ 2025 Reading Challenge! The challenge is open to all readers reading at a Young Adult or Adult level in any format.

Each month, there will be a new reading prompt to follow. The reading challenge prompt for March is “A book with a woman protagonist.”

Need inspiration for what to read? Check out a few suggested reads below! See the full list on our catalog here. Make sure to also visit the library to explore our interactive book display.

If you need even more inspiration for books to read or listen to, feel free to request Personalized Reading Suggestions or check out the NoveList Plus database.

No registration is necessary to participate in the challenge. To get started, simply pick up a physical tracking log at the Reference Desk or print one out at home using the link provided in the Resources section of the Reading Challenge page at https://bit.ly/CCLReadingChallenge2025.

Happy reading!