how much money it makes and what
dividends it pays.”
“Let’s try a search.” Cassie wondered how
much he knew about investing and the stock market.
She sat down at one of the workstations and
did a quick search on the company name. A list of articles and
topics appeared. She chose one with basic statistics on the company
and hit print.
“If you follow me, I’ll give you a copy.”
She retrieved the printed page for the man
and handed it to him. “After you check this you may want to follow
up with some of the electronic indexes on the computers next to the
reference desk. Magazine Index and Reader’s Guide both index Fortune and Forbes . We also have newspaper
indexes such as the New York Times and the Wall Street
Journal . If you need help or don’t find what you need, let me
know.”
The man nodded and peered at the page. “This
is fine, thanks. Guess I may have to learn how to use those dang
machines after all.”
Cassie smiled at him and returned to the
reference desk. At least no teenagers occupied the workstations.
The library blocked games and porn sites from its system. However,
new such sites cropped up all the time. Those who wanted to chat,
do email, or extended searches were referred upstairs to other
workstations.
Some people found online searching
overwhelming. Learning to limit searches to the relevant items
often proved time consuming and led some to rely instead on the
librarians. She picked up the batch of search requests and began
processing them.
From all appearances, Cassie wouldn’t have to
worry about getting bored today. She retrieved Roget’s
Thesaurus . She wanted to look up rabid before Jimmy Wilson
showed up. Before she had time to open the book, a neatly dressed,
elderly woman approached her.
She gave Cassie a tentative smile. “I’m ...
uh, researching my family history and need to check some birth
records.”
Quite a few library patrons worked on family
genealogies. The library had some basic tools, but serious
researchers almost always ended up going to the Ohio Historical
Society.
Cassie sighed. “Birth records before the
1940s are kept at the Ohio Historical Society Library.”
“I’ve already been there,” the woman said.
“No, I need recent records.”
“What period are you looking for?”
“The late Seventies or early Eighties” She
paused a moment, hesitating. “It’s...” She looked around, but no
one stood near them. Apparently satisfied, she turned back to
Cassie.
“It’s about someone who claims to be my
grandson. My daughter moved away for a while, and we lost track of
her. Somehow she got mixed up with a bad crowd, then ... uh, she
died. Well, last week this young man showed up on my doorstep. He
says he’s my grandson.”
“Just what are you looking for?” Cassie
wondered how she could help the woman.
“I thought maybe I could get a birth
certificate. Don’t all births have to be registered? I thought the
doctors or the hospitals did that.”
“Yes, they do. The records are either kept at
the Ohio Bureau of Vital Statistics or by the Columbus Department
of Health downtown.”
“Will they give me a copy of the record?”
“If you have the right information and pay
the fee. Usually they want the city of birth, the date of birth,
and the names of the child, the mother, and the father.”
A frown creased the woman’s broad face. “I’m
not sure about the father.”
“The Columbus Health Department has a form
you fill out. Then they search the records. Why don’t you try
them?”
“Umm, I’ll ... do that.” The woman rose and
started to walk away, then stopped. “Do they show color on the
records?”
“What?” Cassie stared at the woman.
“Color?”
“Yes, you know, black, white, or
whatever.”
Cassie blinked. “Oh, racial background. I
don’t think so. It’s against the law to keep that data
anymore.”
The old woman shook her head. “This boy looks
too dark to be my daughter’s. I think he only wants my
Sarah Stewart Taylor
Elizabeth Boyle
Barry Eisler
Dennis Meredith
Amarinda Jones
Shane Dunphy
Ian Ayres
Rachel Brookes
Elizabeth Enright
Felicia Starr