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Reference Librarian 24 hours a day, 7
days a week, using our online
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Santa Monica Public Library provides a wide
variety of
subscription databases
for use by the public in the Library, on the
E-Source computers, or remotely from home,
school, or work. Use of the databases
is free but for remote access you must have
a Santa Monica library card. For
instruction and assistance in using the
databases,
AskNow online chat reference is
available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
You may also call the Telephone
Reference Desk at (310) 434-2608 Monday
through Thursday from 10am to 7pm;
Friday and Saturday from 10am to 5:30pm and
on Sunday from 1pm to 5pm. Librarians
are always available to give you individual
assistance with the online databases in the Library. |
Santa
Monica History Collection
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The Santa Monica History Collection
consists of a print collection of books
on the history of the Santa Monica Bay
area and the greater Los Angeles area;
microfilm and
indexing of the Evening Outlook,
Our Times (Los Angeles Times
Westside section), Santa Monica
Mirror; and
Imagine Santa Monica,
which contains archives of historical
photographs of the area and an online
version of the Evening Outlook for
the years 1875-1913..
The Collection includes a broken file of
Santa Monica city directories from 1895
though 1961 and Santa Monica High School
yearbook, Nautilus, from 1907 to
the present.
Library staff will search for
obituaries in the local newspaper, the
Evening Outlook, if a death date
is provided. Because the
obituaries are not indexed the exact
date of death is required. Staff time is limited so
we can search only the local
newspaper microfilm, the Evening
Outlook, for
obituaries.
If you are interested in researching the
history of a house or other building in
Santa Monica, please refer to the Reference
Department brochure Researching Building
Histories for tips and resources.
You may read
Researching Building Histories
here (requires Adobe Acrobat Reader) or ask
for the brochure at
the Main Library Reference Desk.
For a quick tour of Santa Monica history,
try our
Santa Monica Past and Present Website.
The Santa Monica Collection includes
monographs on many topics relating to local
history as well as to California and the
greater Los Angeles area. City
directories dating from 1899 to 1961 are
available as are criss-cross directories for
the Santa Monica area from the early 1960s
to the present. Please call Telephone Reference
(310) 434-2608 to see if the materials you
need are available. Microfilm of local
newspapers is available in the Periodicals
Department. See
Microfilm
Holdings below for more information.
Materials in the Santa Monica
Collection are for study and research within
the Library only. They may not be
taken from the Library.
The Santa Monica History Collection
does not include census microfilm or
vital records. For vital records
of people who were born or died in Los
Angeles County, go to the
Los Angeles County Registrar-Recorder
Website. |
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Library users have access to a wide
variety of magazines and newspapers in
the Library and by remote access through
Library online databases
such as
InfoTrac OneFile and
Newsbank.. The
Library also provides local newspapers
such as Santa Monica Daily Press, Los
Angeles Sentinel, Santa Monica Mirror,
and Daily News and major
national newspapers such as the Los
Angeles Times, New York Times, Wall
Street Journal, and Washington
Post. Current year issues of
most of the Library's magazines are available for check
out. Newspapers and the current
issue of all magazines are for use in
the Library only. The Library
subscribes to a variety of magazines and
newspapers in languages other than
English. To find out if the
Library has the magazine or newspaper
you need, check the Library online
catalog,
iBistro, using the Periodical Title
search or call Catalog Assistance at
(310) 458-8614.
The Library has bound copies of
magazines dating back many years. Bound
periodicals are for Library use only.
Check the Library online catalog,
iBistro, using the Periodical Title
search to see if the Library has the
past issues of the magazine you need.
You may also call Catalog Assistance at
(310) 458-8614 and staff will be happy to
check the online catalog for you.
A fully searchable, online version of the
Santa Monica Evening Outlook for the years
1875 through 1913 is available on the
Imagine Santa Monica site.
The Santa Monica
Mirror is online at
www.smmirror.com.
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The Library Collection includes the
microfilm for the local newspaper, the
Evening Outlook, from 1875 to
March 13, 1998, when the newspaper
ceased publication. The Evening
Outlook changed titles several times
during its publication. Those
titles include: Santa Monica Evening
Outlook, Outlook, Santa
Monica Bay Outlook, Daily Outlook,
Santa Monica Evening Outlook and
Telegram, and The Outlook.
However, for most of its life it was
called the Evening Outlook. When
The Outlook ceased
publication, the Library microfilmed and
indexed the Los Angeles Times Our Times section that covered the
Westside from March 26, 1998,
to September 14, 2000. When Our
Times ceased publication in
September 2000, the Library
retrospectively indexed and microfilmed
the Santa Monica Mirror, which
began publication with the June 24-30 issue
in 1999.
Indexing for all three newspapers,
done by Library staff, is available
online at the
Santa Monica Index. The
Library began indexing the Outlook
in the early 1950s for Santa Monica
topics of possible historical interest.
Articles of interest from many other
periodical, such as the Life
magazine article on the gambling ships
in Santa Monica Bay, are also included
in the Santa Monica Index.
The Library also maintains microfilm
of the Los Angeles Times (1969-),
New York Times (1896-), Wall
Street Journal (1968-), and
Washington Post (1984-).
Print indexes are available for the Los
Angeles Times from 1972 and for the
New York Times from 1894.
InfoTrac
OneFile, a Library
online database, provides indexing for
the New York Times, Washington Post,
and Wall Street Journal from 1980 to
the present. |
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The Reference Services Division is
responsible for coordinating materials
selection for the Library system.
Reference Services works with
Information Management Services
(acquisition and cataloging), Public
Services, and the Branch Libraries to
review and select materials for the
Library. Selection and collection
management are guided by
the Collection Development and
Management Policy (online soon). |
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As an affiliate of the
Foundation Center, the Santa Monica
Public Library maintains a core
collection of directories of grants and
foundations and provides access to
Foundation Directory Online Professional
and Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, the Foundation Center
electronic grantseekers' databases.
Foundation Directory Online
Professional and Foundation Grants to
Individuals Online are available only in the
Main Library and librarians are happy to
assist clients with its use.
Current editions of the grants and
foundations directories are available in
the Reference Collection of the Main
Library. Past editions are often
available in the circulating collection
along with other materials on writing
grants. In addition, the Library
Reference Collection provides the
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance,
a guide to grants offered by every
department of the federal government.
To locate materials on
grants and foundations, check the
Library online catalog,
iBistro, using these Subject
searches: "
Endowments Directories," "
Proposal Writing for Grants," "
Grants in Aid," & "Research Grants Directories."
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The
Web Resources section of the Library
Website provides Internet and
Library resources selected by librarians
to provide information often requested
by Library users. Websites and
Library resources are described and
evaluated to help guide the user to
those sites that are most likely to be
useful. Web Resources are arranged
in topic areas:
Art,
Business,
Consumer,
Education,
General
Information,
Government and
Law,
Health,
History,
News,
Philosophy,
Science, and
Travel. A special section on
Santa
Monica Past and Present, is included. |
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The Library offers a variety of hands-on
instructional classes in the use of
computers, computer applications, and
Internet resources. Class topics include how to use the
Internet, email, specialized information
on the Internet, Foundation Directory
Online Professional for
grantseeking, Library
online databases, and Microsoft Word.
These small group classes are taught by
experienced librarians and are free and open
to the public. However, class size is
limited and advance registration is
required. For more information ask at
the Reference Desk or call Telephone
Reference at 310-434-2608. |
Interlibrary Loan
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Interlibrary loan enables Library users to
obtain materials that are not in the local
library collection from other libraries
throughout the country. The Santa
Monica Public Library offers interlibrary
loan service to Library card holders at the
Reference Desk, from Telephone Reference
(310) 434-2608, or by
Email Reference. Interlibrary loan
service is available only for items that are
not in the Santa Monica Public Library
collection. Some items that are rarely
available through interlibrary loan are:
print issues of magazines and newspapers
(microform copies are usually available);
reference books; rare books and manuscripts
(unless on microform); DVD; audiobooks;
best sellers and books less that one year
old; textbooks. There is a $5.00
non-refundable fee to initiate the
interlibrary loan request and lending
libraries sometimes place an additional fee.
For additional information, please contact
Telephone Reference (310) 434-2608 or
Email Reference. |
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This page was last modified on
10/23/2009 |
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