The Atlantic City Free Public Library will offer more Flashback Fridays archives programs due to the series’ success in October.
The programs will be held on the first Friday of each month. The next program, with a “Show and Tell” theme, will be held at 1 p.m. Nov. 1 in the Main Library meeting room. Those interested in attending are encouraged to bring in an item they are working on or researching. Members of the library’s Atlantic City Heritage Collections staff will bring some items and discuss how they would research or preserve each one.
The topic for the Dec. 6 meeting, which begins at 1 p.m., will be How to Date Postcards and Photographs.
Here are some helpful tips that staff members shared at the Flashback Friday programs in October:
Tips for Preserving Your History:
▪ Control the environment where you keep your history — make sure it’s not someplace where the temperature and humidity changes a lot. (i.e. best not to keep things in basements or attics or garages).
▪ Lots of Copies Keeps Stuff Safe — Make copies of your most valuable records and photographs. If you keep digital records, keep copies in different places, such as a flash drive, hard drive and a digital cloud.
▪ Don't do anything permanent to any of your original records or artifacts — never write on something with a pen and don't use glue or tape to hold things together.
▪ Use the proper materials to make sure things are preserved for a longer time, such as acid-free paper and acid-free boxes, polyethelene or Mylar plastic pages.
Tips for Researching Family History:
▪ Talk to older members of your family and get as much information as you can. Record them talking, if they agree.
▪ Always look for primary sources — the best record is the one that documents the events close to when they happened.
▪ Try unconventional sources, such as maps, to get new information or a fuller picture of the person's life.
▪ Look for new websites and updated databases. Some free sites are www.familysearch.org and www.haithitrust.org

Atlantic City Experience: 100 Years of Garden Pier

Did you know that July 19, 2013 marks 100 years since Garden Pier first opened?

Garden Pier stood apart from the other piers in Atlantic City. First opening on July 19, 1913, its "uptown" location placed it away from the frenzied activity of the bustling downtown. The red-tiled roofs and Ionic architecture style of the buildings and the beautifully landscaped gardens gave the pier a formal appearance which attracted an upscale crowd.

Music and dance from Africa, China, India and the Philippines – along with several other locations around the globe – will be highlighted this summer as part of the Sixth annual Atlantic City Library International Night Series.
Watch clips from some of our previous International Night shows.