Category Archives: Library

Defective, Dependant, and Delinquent

AncestryLibrary, the library version of the popular subscription database Ancestry.com, posts new resources almost daily. On February 7, 2010 one of the special supplemental census schedules for 1880 was posted – the Defective, Dependent and Delinquent Classes. One of the … Continue reading

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Come to our Open House Putti Party!

As our loyal readers know, in 1905, W.C. Putnam generously donated to our library a reproduction of a frieze designed by Donatello in the 1400s. The frieze, which hung in the library’s auditorium for decades, was removed when the original … Continue reading

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More Tales of the Census: Special Schedules

Population was not the only information the United States government was interested in collecting during the decennial federal censuses. Non-population questions were equally important – and for we historians equally interesting! Over the years, these censuses included mortality, social statistics … Continue reading

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Tales of the Census

Soon, we will all be part of history. How, you wonder?  In April of 2010, the new decennial United States Federal Census will be arriving in our mailboxes. The government will be mailing the questionnaire, as it is still not … Continue reading

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Looking Back, Moving Forward

We at the Special Collections Center spend a lot of time searching the past.  For the first post of 2010, we thought we’d take the time (no pun intended) to reflect on our own accomplishments over the past decade. We’re … Continue reading

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Library Holiday Closings!

Our Special Collections Center (and the rest of the Davenport Public Library System as well) will be closed December 24, December 25, December 31 and January 1—that’s Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. Otherwise, we … Continue reading

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The Annual Musical Interlude

Our staff here at the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center celebrate the winter holidays each year by mailing cards to our wonderful volunteers, exchanging small gifts, enjoying enough chocolate to put the Hershey corporation firmly in the black for the year, … Continue reading

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Let’s Talk Turkey (Notes)

It’s what you’ve been waiting for all year:  our annual Turkey Note blog post! Since we’ve pretty much covered the basics last year, we thought we’d share some staff-created, Special Collections\library-oriented Turkey Notes for the enjoyment of our loyal readers. … Continue reading

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Just Shelved: Germans, Canadians, and Iowans–Oh, My!

We are now the proud owners of volume 25 and 26 of Kevin M. Hansen’s Map Guide to German Parish Registers.  These volumes primarily contain information on the Lutheran and Catholic parishes of the Kingdom of Saxony, but other churches are also … Continue reading

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Rat-a-tat-tat. Vvvvvvvvvbbbbbbbbrrrrrrrrr.

Not usually the sounds of silence you might expect in the library, especially in the Richardson-Sloane Special Collections Center, right? Well, all that noise is preparation for welcoming back our dancing, leaping and running cherubs, or “putti”, to the Davenport … Continue reading

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