Tech Posts
Search The Library Catalogue With AI Support Using Talpa Search
Are you looking for a long lost book from your childhood, but only remember the cover illustration and some vague bits of the story? Or maybe you’re in the mood to binge Oscar winning movies, and you want to see which films are available at your library. Perhaps you want to learn more about women in the tech industry, and you want to find what nonfiction books are available in the system. For all of these quandaries, and more, Talpa Search is available to assist.
Talpa Search is an experimental library search tool powered by AI which allows you to find library items in more intuitive ways than you’d normally be able to by yourself. For example, looking for Oscar winning movies available through the library can be challenging via catalogue search, but a simple query of ‘Oscar Winning movies’ on Talpa Search yields a rather comprehensive list of the films meeting that exact criterion in the Mid-Hudson Library System.
To get started simply type your query into the search bar at the top of the page. It will take a moment to conduct your search, but as the AI digs for information you’ll be supplied with information about the search engine and fun facts about moles (Did you know that moles are indigenous to every continent except for Antarctica and South America?). Once the search is complete, you’ll have a list of items related to your query and you can click on the ‘Check Availability’ button to place a hold on the selected item. Going down the Talpa Search rabbit hole (mole hole?) is that easy!
Today Is National Voter Registration Day
September 19th is National Voter Registration Day, a nonpartisan civic holiday to celebrate our democracy and remind potential voters to get registered. If you are one such potential voter, you can head over to the DMV website to register online. You can also stop by the library to fill out a physical form.
Note that you will need the following information in order to register:
- your New York State DMV issued driver license, permit or Non-Driver ID
- it must be your most recently issued document – you will need the ID Number and document number
- the ZIP Code currently on record with the DMV
- the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number (SSN)
A reminder that you can register to vote as early as age 16 in New York State, so get ahead of the game and register as soon as you can.
If you want to confirm that you are already registered to vote or check in on your voting location you can do so by using the voter lookup function on the New York State Elections website. Be prepared to exercise your voting rights!
