Genealogy

Discover your roots.

Celebrate Preservation Week with the library and discover how to scan, back-up and care for irreplaceable items such as family photos, home movies and heirlooms. More information available at ala.org/alcts/preservationweek.

Preserve your Pictures, Home Movies and Slides

Tuesday, April 27, 6–7:30 p.m. / Zoom

Clear out some space in your home by converting your photos, home videos, and 35mm slides to digital. You’ll learn about the right equipment to use, how to get the best image quality and the best way to store and backup your newly digitized memories.

Preserving Family Heirlooms

Wednesday, April 28, 7–8 p.m. / Zoom

Tina Beaird will share how to preserve valuable family documents, photos, fabrics and glass for future generations through proper storage and simple preservation techniques. Attendees will learn about preservation products and hear dos and don’ts for historic and modern scrapbooks.

Genealogy Discussion

Tuesday, April 13, 7–8 p.m. / Zoom

Attend this online monthly meeting to discuss genealogy projects, family history research and to share resources. Bring your questions and brick wall problems.

Your Next Step: Write Your Family History

Sunday, April 18, 2–3 p.m. / Zoom

Steve Szabados, an author of many genealogy books, will walk you through the process of writing out your genealogy research to share with future generations.

Beginning Genealogy

Thursday, May 6, 2–3 p.m. / Zoom

Discover the basics of researching your family history. We’ll discuss techniques for finding your ancestors and essential genealogy databases.

Genealogical Gold in the DAR Digital Resources

Friday, May 7, 6:30–7:30 p.m. / Zoom

Jane Gregga, longtime member of the NSDAR and First Vice Regent of the local Eli Skinner Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), provides an overview of the digitized resources of the DAR that can be used for American history research. A wide range of the collection is available for free and open to the public.

Start something big.

SCORE Business Mentoring

Thursdays, April 1 and 22 and May 6 9 a.m.–noon / Zoom Monday, April 12, 6–8 p.m. / Zoom

Learn from SCORE, the nation’s largest network of volunteer business mentors, a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration. One-on-one small business mentoring by business experts who have had experience in all aspects of business. Register at northchicago.score.org/ arlington–heights–library.

Best Practices in Preparing Targeted Grant Proposals

Tuesday, April 20, 10–11:30 a.m. / Zoom

Nonprofit and grant writing consultant Ellen Stone will give an introduction to grant writing by breaking down the primary segments of a grant proposal. We will review what the content funders want to see in each segment, how to tailor your proposal to the specific interests of unique funders, and which information to keep or discard in order to meet space or character limitations.

Use YouTube to Grow Your Business

Thursday, April 29, 7-8 p.m. / See description for location Get best practices for creating a YouTube channel and compelling video content that promotes your products and services and drives engagement with your brand. In this workshop we’ll discuss:

• Understanding different video formats • How to setup a YouTube channel • Making good creative content • How to target and measure the results

Presented by Erin Bemis of Google. The Arlington Heights Memorial Library is a Grow with Google partner. This program will be hosted on GoToWebinar. Visit the program calendar at ahml.info/events to register and receive a link to join the webinar.

How many times have you thought about a home project or doing something fun, but you need that certain something to get started? When you need things, begin with the Library of Things (LoT)—our collection of more than 400 unique items ranging from tech tools and board games to musical instruments and wireless hotspots, all available to borrow. The collection offers opportunities for learning, creating and finding inspiration. Whether you want to start a home project, explore new skills—or simply try something before you buy it—the LoT has something for you. And thanks to you, we have added items to our LoT collection, too, through our Suggest a Purchase at: ahml.info/form/purchase-suggestion. “We do get customer requests for Library of Things items,” said Candy Rossin, collection librarian and a selector for the LoT. “We can’t always purchase items suggested, as they may be too expensive or too dangerous for the collection.” (Rossin recalled one customer request for a chainsaw!) “When it works and we can add items, the library loves being able to offer the things our community wants and needs.” Learn more about the Library of Things at: ahml.info/borrow/library_of_things; you can also find this link under the “borrow” tab of the library’s home page. Some of the items added from customer suggestions include:

Battery tester Coin sorter

Label maker

Radon detector

Spotting scope Diamond tester

Pinking shears Solar telescope Electric, multi-sheet, 3-hole punch

Heat press Metal detector

Bingo set Serger

STUFF TO CREATE FUN INDOORS AND OUTDOORS

Take advantage of nicer weather by checking out a lawn game—we have bean bag toss, bocce, spikeball, and more. Stuck inside during a spring shower? The library offers jigsaw puzzles and board games for all ages—from classics like Trivial Pursuit and Pictionary to newer titles like Codenames and Cards Against Humanity: Family Edition. You can even create art projects together with one of our die cutting kits or heat presses.