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News from the Library Checkout an ebook reader and download an audiobook
This is an opportunity to try out a touch-screen ebook reader and Minuteman's digital holdings, without having to invest in a device. To place a hold on a Sony Reader, click HERE, and then on "Request," or call the Reference Desk at 978-929-6543. The loan period for Sony Readers is two weeks. Holds are limited to Acton residents. For Sony Reader instructions, click HERE. Posted January 17, 2012 Overdrive eBooks now available for Kindle
Posted September 22, 2011 AskArt database in the library
Posted August 3, 2011
The Acton Memorial Library now offers patrons access to Consumer Reports Health.org, an online resource for information on healthy living. Produced by the non-profit Consumers Union, the publisher of Consumer Reports magazine, the online site offers health related news, information on health conditions and treatments (including alternative therapies), and ratings of health care products, prescription drugs, hospitals, and health insurance plans (including Medicare Advantage plans). The library also subscribes to the sister site, ConsumerReports.org, which reports on the quality and value of a broad range of consumer products, including appliances, automobiles and electronic equipment. Acton residents may log-in from home by visiting the library’s web site at www.actonmemoriallibrary.org and clicking on “Databases.” Non-residents may use these and other subscription databases at the library. For more infromation call the Reference Desk at 978-929-6543. Posted July 29, 2011 New test prep service
Testing and Education Reference Center. Library and home access. Home access is limited to Acton residents.|
Posted July 7, 2011 Wii games
Posted May 17, 2011 New items listed monthly
New eBooks and eAudiobooks
Hoovers database now available
Posted February 7, 2011 Consumer Reports haggle-free The library has upgraded our subscription to ConsumerReports.org to include Consumer Reports Cars Best Deals Plus. The upgrade includes ConsumerReports Bottom Line Price information, including rebates, incentives and holdbacks; unlimited price reports on new and used cards; detailed reliability/ownership information; more detailed road test reports from expert engineers; enhanced side-by-side model comparisons; best-deal negotiation advice; and the Consumer Reports Build & Buy car buying service, which provides guaranteed no-haggle dealer price quotes. To learn more about the Build & Buy service, read the Consumer Reports FAQ by clicking HERE. To access the Build and Buy service, log-in to Consumer Reports, click on "Library's Account", click on "Cars Best Deals Plus", choose a make and model, and click on the button that says "Build & Buy This Car." Posted December 30, 2010
Posted December 10, 2010 New print magazine subscriptions The Library has added several new print magazine subscriptions:
For a complete list of print magazine subscriptions, click HERE. Posted August 24, 2010
Posted September 9, 2010 Value Line Research Center online
The Library also subscribes to Morningstar Investment Research Center. For more information call the Reference Desk at 978-929-6543. Posted September 3, 2010 Library offers self check-out The Library is now offering self check-out at the circulation desk in the lobby. People must have their library card with them to use the self check-out station. Self check-out is fast and easy; the item barcode that must be scanned is on the front cover or just inside the cover of the item. In addition to checking materials out, users can renew items and pay fines. The only Memorial Library items that cannot be checked out at the self checkout station are Rock CDs and Rentals. Staff will be glad to help new users at the workstation, which is at the right end of the circulation desk. Posted May 8, 2010 Massachusetts Vital Records
Genealogists: Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841-1910 with full images, is now available through the American Ancestors service. Please log-in from our Databases page on the menu at left, and while you're there, check out our other database offerings. (Access is limited to library computers). Posted May 5, 2010 Library adds Pawtucket Red Sox Pass
With the pass, admission is a flat fee of $18 for a group of up to 6 people in general admission seating, guaranteed on a first-come, first-serve basis, to the blue seats in the stadium bowl, the grass berm in left field, or the center field bleachers. The pass must be presented to the PawSox box office on the day/night of the game to receive the discount offer. The pass may be reserved online through the library’s website, www.actonmemoriallibrary.org, by clicking on Museum Passes, or by phoning or visiting the library. The pass can be picked up at the Circulation Desk after 11 a.m. the day prior to use. Weekend Passes may be picked up the Friday prior to use. You must have a valid library card with you to reserve or checkout a museum pass. If plans change and you need to cancel your reservation, you can do it online or by calling the library at 978-929-6655. The library has seventeen other passes provided by the Friends or other local organizations.
Full text of The Beacon (Aug. 2005 - present) is now available via the library's subscription to Newsbank. Acton residents, visit the Databases page, or log in HERE.
Language learning with Mango Basic
Morningstar Investment Center update
Monitor your electricity usage 
The library now has three Kill A Watt electricity usage monitors available for loan to Acton residents. The meters plug into a wall socket, and an appliance then plugs into the Kill A Watt. The device assesses how efficiently appliances work by displaying the power consumption by the kilowatt-hour. Users can also program in their local utility rate and the device will display projected costs by hour, day, week, month, or year. The Kill A Watt meters can be reserved by Acton residents, and can be checked out for one week. To reserve a Kill A Watt, click HERE to enter the Minuteman Catalog, and then click on the dark blue "Request" button. Please call the Reference Desk at 978-929-6655, option 3, for assistance or more information.
Search the Minuteman Catalog with Chinese scripts
Thanks to a generous grant from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), Chinese speakers are now able to search the Minuteman Library Network catalog for Chinese language materials by inputting Chinese scripts. Search results also display in Chinese. Prior to the grant implementation, the 23,000 Chinese titles in the Minuteman Catalog could be found only with transliterated/ roman characters. All public computers at the Acton Memorial Library have been set up to allow Chinese input using the library’s standard keyboards. For an online demonstration, please click HERE.
NewspaperArchive available to home users
Through the support of the Acton Memorial Library Foundation, the library has added a collection of "Playaway" audiobooks to the circulating collection. Playaways are unabridged digital audiobooks that are preloaded in a player that is about the size of a deck of cards. They are highly portable for people who want to listen to a good book without the bulk of a disc player. The collection includes classics, mysteries, bestsellers and non-fiction. Playaways are shelved on the second floor of the library near the Books on CD and circulate for three weeks. More titles will be added to the collection in coming months. Borrowers will need to supply one AAA battery and headphones. These items can be purchased at the circulation desk for $1 each.
New museum pass
Consumer Reports available online to home users
The library now subscribes to the ConsumerReports.org web site, with unlimited in-library and home access for Acton residents! ConsumerReports.org is the sister product of the Consumer Reports print magazine--both are published by the independent nonprofit Consumers Union, one of the most trusted sources for information and advice on consumer products and services. ConsumerReports.org provides ratings and recommendations on cars, appliances, electronics, and thousands of other products under the categories of Home and Garden, Babies and Kids, Money, and Food. To log in, use the "Databases" link on the main menu to your left, or click HERE.
Morningstar Investment Research Center online 
Acton residents can now access comprehensive up-to-date financial information on stocks, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds through Morningstar Investment Research Center. Included is financial data on 7,000+ stocks, 23,000+ mutual funds and 600+ exchange-traded funds. The service includes up-to-date and historical financial information, analysts reports, stock and fund recommendations, a stock and fund screening tool, a portfolio analysis tool, industry information, and various investor learning tools. New users can learn more about this very rich resource by logging in and clicking on the "Help and Education" tab. Log in HERE or on the library's Databases page.
Ratings of local service companies
Acton's early town records on the web!
Collection lists available for printing Printable lists of the library's Audiovisual and Large Print collections are now available on the Collections page.
Barron's image edition online
The library now subscribes to BARRON'S online image edition! Acton residents, log in HERE
Olschewski painting donated to library
Auto repair information online
Reuters Research on Demand, a collection of research reports from investment banks, brokers, independent research providers and Reuters itself, is now available to Minuteman library patrons. To access the reports click on “Subscription Databases” in the menu at left and then on “General Business File”. After you are logged in, click on “Advanced Search” (in the left hand column). Then click on “search by Ticker Symbol” (at the bottom of the page). Enter a company's ticker symbol into the pop-up box (ticker symbols can be looked up on the web at http://www.marketwatch.com/tools/quotes/lookup.asp). Investment reports from a variety of sources will display in chronological order. Click on a report for the full text, which will range from a one page snapshot to dozens of pages of detailed financial analysis. General BusinessFile ASAP is just one of dozens of high quality subscription databases available free to Acton Memorial Library patrons. For the full list, visit the library's Databases page.
Online test and employment preparation
Due date reminder notices delivered via e-mail Patrons with e-mail addresses in their user accounts automatically receive due date reminder notices by e-mail for items checked out on their accounts. This service was implemented after a survey revealed that 90% of the respondents wanted to receive such reminders. Anyone with an e-mail address in their account record automatically receives reminders 2 days before items are due. If you prefer that these reminders do NOT appear in your e-mail you can set up your mail program to filter out messages with the subject line “Library reminder.” Instructions for doing so in many popular mail programs are posted at: http://www.mln.lib.ma.us/catalog . Filtering out the subject "Library Reminder" will affect only due date reminders—you will continue to receive Hold Pickup Notices, Overdue Notices and Bills via e-mail. To add, delete, or change an e-mail address log into your account at https://library.minlib.net/patroninfo and select “Modify Personal Information”. The library has purchased a number of titles in the “Modern Scholar” and “Great Courses” audio series. Modern Scholar (from Recorded Books), and Great Courses (from the Teaching Company) are recorded college-level courses presented in lecture-style format by respected professors and scholars from around the country. The Modern Scholar titles each include fourteen lectures on seven audio CDs, complete in one package. The Great Courses range from 12 to 96 half hour lectures, often packaged in multiple parts. The courses include subjects from a range of disciplines, including science, literature, philosophy, religion, history, and art and music appreciation. For a list of the library's holdings, please click HERE. Going on vacation? Stop requests from being filled while you're away You now have the option of suspending or “freezing” holds for selected items you are waiting for. When you Freeze a hold, you continue to move up on the waiting list but your request will not be filled until you remove the Freeze. The option to Freeze Holds is useful if you are going on vacation and don't want requests filled while you are away, or if you are simply too busy to use all of the items you have requested right away. To Freeze holds: 1) Log in to “ My Account ” 2) Place a mark in the check box that appears in the right in the column headed "FREEZE" (this box only appears if your Hold is eligible to be suspended) 3) Click on UPDATE LIST. When you come back from vacation, reverse the process by unchecking the box in the FREEZE column and click UPDATE LIST. revised 06/2010 National business directory online Acton residents now have home access to the ReferenceUSA business database, a source of information on 14 million U.S. businesses. Searchers can find businesses by 28 different criteria, including number of employees, sales volume, type of business, geographic location, and names of key executives. Records for individual companies include a comprehensive business profile and links to business news articles, public filings, current stock quotes and company web sites. The content of this database has expanded considerably since the library first subscribed several years ago. If you have used it in the past but not recently, now is the time to take another look, (which you can now do from the convenience of your home!). ReferenceUSA is just one of dozens of high quality subscription databases available free to Acton Memorial Library patrons. For the full list, visit the library's Databases page. The Acton Memorial Library now subscribes to American Ancestors, a collection of online databases from the New England Historic Genealogical Society. The American Ancestors site includes access to hundreds of databases, including: Massachusetts Vital Records, 1841–1910; The New England Historical and Genealogical Register , 1847-1999; The Search for Missing Friends: Irish Immigrant Advertisements Placed in The Boston Pilot 1831-1920; The Great Migration Begins: Immigrants to New England 1620-1633; Index to the Probate Records of Middlesex County, Massachusetts ; and Massachusetts Soldiers in the Colonial Wars. NewEnglandAncestors is only available to in-library users from library computers. The library also maintains a subscriptions to Ancestry Library Edition (in-library only). These are just a few of the dozens of high quality subscription databases available free to Acton Memorial Library patrons. For the full list, visit the library's Databases page. Thanks to everyone who participated in creating the Acton Memorial Library's Long Range Plan, which is available on the Board of Trustees page.
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The Acton Memorial Library Foundation has purchased four Sony Wi-Fi ebook readers
The library now subscribes to AskART, a comprehensive website on both historical and contemporary American artists. While other art databases cover just the “big” names in American art, AskART covers more than 
The Childen's Department has a new collection of Nintendo Wii Games. For a list in PDF format, 
The Hoovers business database, with profiles of 65 million companies worldwide, is now available from all library computers and to home users who are Acton residents. Please log-in from our Databases page on the menu at left, and while you're there, check out our other database offerings.
The library's subscription to Morningstar Investment Research Center now includes access to PDFs of Morningstar's most popular investment newsletters. Included are Morningstar Mutual Funds, Morningstar Fund Investor, Morningstar Stock Investor, and Morningstar ETF Investor. Links to the current issues as well as an archive of back issues are provided. To access the newsletters, use your library card to log in to Morningstar from the library's 
The Minuteman Library Network 
The Library is pleased to announce that Acton residents now have remote access to Value Line Research Center, a premier investment research service that includes access to Value Line Investment Survey Standard Edition, Value Line Investment Survey Plus Edition, Value Line Investment Survey Small and Midcap Edition, Value Line Mutual Fund Survey, Value Line No-Load Fund Advisor, The Value Line Daily Options Survey, Value Line Special Situations Survey, Value Line Convertibles Survey, and Value Line Special Situations Service, as well as news alerts, daily updates, and stock and fund screening tools. Acton residents with valid library cards can log in by from the library's 
With the support of the 
The library's subscription to the Mango Languages language learning site now includes 36 all-new "Mango Basic" courses, in addition to the original thirteen "Mango Complete" courses. The basic courses are designed to teach polite conversation in a foreign language (including English) conveniently and easily. Use Mango Basic to quickly learn some basic words and phrases for your business trip or short overseas trip. There are 22 foreign courses (Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Japanese, German, Pashto, Urdu, Hebrew, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Irish, Italian, Greek, Russian, Mandarin Chinese, Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Korean, Thai, Hindi, and Dari) and fourteen English courses (for speakers of Polish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, Cantonese, Japanese, Arabic, Korean, Greek and Vietnamese). Mango Languages is available to remote users who are Acton residents. Home users, please visit the 
The 
The library now subscribes to Boston Consumers' Checkbook, a web site and print magazine published by the Center for the Study of Services, an independent nonprofit consumer research and information organization. Checkbook evaluates the quality and prices of service firms in the Boston area, such as auto repair shops, banks, dentists, electricians, emergency rooms, health clubs, insurance companies, physicians, plumbers, veterinarians, and many more. The print magazine is available in the Reference Room. The online subscription is available from library computers by visiting our 
“Not Afraid to Go: Acton’s Part in the Birth and Preservation of Our Nation” a new permanent exhibit at the Memorial Library, was dedicated on Patriots Day, April 19, 2008. The exhibit starts with the establishment of colonial militias and covers the Revolution, War of 1812, Baltimore Riot and Civil War. It includes sections on the Acton home front during the Civil War; the founding, flourishing and decline of the local Grand Army of the Republic post; and the gift of Memorial Library to the town in honor of the Civil War veterans and dead. The exhibit showcases numerous artifacts owned by the library and many replicas from the Acton Historical Society’s extensive collection. The exhibit was funded by a Community Preservation Act grant, the Friends of the Acton Libraries, the Acton Memorial Library Foundations Matching Donations Fund, the Acton Rotary Club, the Acton Lions Club and the library’s Lois Parker Fund. “Not Afraid to Go” is available for viewing during library hours, which are Monday through Thursday 9 to 9, Friday and Saturday 9 to 5, and Sunday 2 to 5. 
Acton Memorial Library patrons now have access to “Auto Repair Reference Center” an online database of auto repair information. The database contains information on most domestic and imported vehicles, from 1945 to the present. Content includes printable wiring diagrams, step-by step instructions with drawings, technical services bulletins and recalls, time and labor estimates, and a complete guide, in text, video and audio, to today’s automobile technology. Auto Repair Reference Center is produced by Ebsco Industries in partnership with Point 5 Technologies, Inc. The database includes information supplied by Point 5 Technologies Inc. under license from Nichols Publishing, the former publisher of Chilton Information, and information from Delphi Integrated Service Solutions. The database is available from library computers and to home users who are Acton residents. To access this and dozens of other subscription databases, visit the library's 