For those who have been wondering what happened to the library’s microfilm, wonder no more.  The microfilm was sent away to a company in Indiana to be digitized for easier use.  We now have all of the newspapers that were previously available on microfilm available on computer files that are searchable by key word.  The process, called OCR (optical character recognition), took about three months to complete, but it will make for much faster searching of old records for our genealogists and others interested in finding articles in old local newspapers.  The files are grouped in the same way the microfilm rolls were grouped, which means there are approximately three months of newspapers in a file.  The user can type in a name, or any key word, and the program will take you to the first instance of that word in the file.  If that isn’t the reference you were looking for, just click and the program takes you to the next instance of that word and so on through the entire file.

The collapse of the Silver Bridge, which spanned the Ohio River from Kanauga, Ohio to Pt. Pleasant, West Virginia on Dec. 15, 1967 is a part of the fabric of our area.  Anyone living in the region that is old enough to remember the collapse has a story to tell.  They all remember where they were when they first heard the terrible news.  Like the death of President Kennedy or the Attack on Sept. 11^th for the current generation, the collapse of the Silver Bridge is burned into their minds and has affected their lives moving forward.  For those of us who grew up in the aftermath of the collapse, I speak from experience when I say that I remember many stories of the collapse and grew up hearing them told again and again. 

Even now, if you mention the bridge collapse in a group of people, someone has a connection of some sort to a person who either lost their life on the Silver Bridge or escaped the disaster by some twist of fate or divine providence.  The Point Pleasant River Museum serves as an archive of the rich history of the Silver Bridge fall and Stephan G. Bullard, Bridget J. Gromek, Martha Fout and Ruth Fout have authored a book, The Silver Bridge Disaster of 1967  full of photographs, history, and personal accounts which tell the story of the tragedy in vivid detail. 

The Meigs County District Public Library is once again accepting non-perishable food items as well as outerwear such as scarves, gloves or hats in lieu of fines through the end of December.  Library patrons may bring in non-perishable food items and receive $1.00 off library fines for every item donated.  Please remember to check the expiration date!  Outerwear must be new with price tags.  Patrons will receive double the price of outerwear items off their existing library fines.  The collected food items will be distributed to local food pantries serving our community.  The outerwear will be donated to needy families in Meigs County.  Community members who do not owe library fines but who wish to participate are welcome to bring donations to any of the Meigs County Libraries.  All donations are appreciated.

The library has recently partnered with the Meigs Soil and Water District office to serve as a drop off location for small electronics recycling.  Items which are accepted include cell phones, pagers, ipods, ink cartridges, ink jets, game boys, cassette tapes, CDs, floppy disks, calculators, remote controls, computer mouses, cameras and most other small electronics.  Items are accepted at all library locations (Middleport, Pomeroy, Racine and Eastern Elementary), during regular hours of operation.  Larger items such as laptops will not be accepted at the libraries, but can be dropped off at the Meigs Soil and Water District office.  Help reduce electronic waste by recycling.