Week 10

Wrap up

It’s hard to pick my biggest discovery because almost all the information I gain through is experience was new to me. I am new to the library and because of some circumstances my training was lacking in some areas. So could I say my biggest discovery was this online program? Each week was something new to me and could see how this would help not only me but our patrons. I have already used World Book and SIRS multiple of times with great results. We have a small non-fiction selection and with students needed information for a paper or project within a week these are great resources.

We have started to promote these resources in many ways. On our website and brochures we give general information about the resources offered and links to the South Dakota State Library. On our community library news & events board we have hung information slips and have handouts for patrons. We have also started helping patrons on our community computer find the information online using the State Library links. We have had great feedback from patrons and I am personally excited to keep using these resources in the future. Thank you South Dakota State Library!

Week 9

AncestryLibrary

I first search my name and I had many results but none were relevant. What was interesting that two people with my same name were listed but from Ohio and Georgia. I decided to change things up a little and did my last name with my home town. From these results I found many family members including my great grandmother and grandfathers Social Security Death Index. Also, I found public records index for aunts, uncles, great uncles, my dad, and even my brother. There is a lot of general information which would be great while making a family tree.

I couldn’t find the tab pictures and maps so I searched South Dakota and under the categories looked at pictures. What I found was over 400,000 results with most of the school yearbooks. What I thought was interesting was 6 results about professional baseball players that either were born in South Dakota or died in South Dakota. Under the category maps & atlases there are 138,803 results with most being county land ownership maps.

HeritageQuest

I went to search books and then in places search my small hometown Walcott, Iowa. There were 13 results but only one that was relevant being the History of the war activities of Scott County Iowa, 1917-1918. Looking at the hits within the book it looks like a very interesting research tool for our area. I went clicked on the section title that interested me the most, Aid for French Orphans. It gave very interesting information about how the area secured the adoption of 554 French Orphans and then gives the names of the people that served on the committee.

Sanborn Maps

I could not find North Sioux City or Jefferson on the list of cities in South Dakota. I went ahead and selected Elk Point in Dec. 1882. It was interesting seeing which lots were filled and looking down Main Street seeing the bakery, produce store, post office, etc. I moved up the year seeing how the town grew and how it took more sheets to show the town, starting with one sheet and by the last map July 1941 there were 5 sheets. I love looking at old maps like this and comparing them by years so this was right in my interest level. I only wished we had more cities and states to look at.

Week 8 ArchiveGrid and CAMIO

“Sitting Bull Autograph Card” had an interesting summary of Sitting Bull. I did not know that he was killed while resisting arrest because he would stop a ritual tradition Ghost Dance that had been outlawed.

I search Sergeant Charles Flloyd with 66 results. One result is the Draper manuscripts: William Clark papers, 1780-1804. The Wisconsin Historical Society is the institution that the material you can contact them with the information they give on the website. The webpage gives links to register online for The Charles Floyd journal and Wisconsin Digital Library. Another result is the Papers relating to the history of the Sioux City, Iowa, area 1857-1930. The institution with this information is  the Minnesota Historical Society.

CAMIO

Some items that are made by Paul Revere that showed as results from CAMIO;

The Bloody Massacre by Paul Revere Jr. in 1770 on a sheet 9 7/8 X 8 ½ in.

Teaspoon by Paul Revere in 1787.

Sugar Bowl and Cover by Paul Revere in 1795

Searching Sioux some results are;

Pipe Bowl by Dakota (Santee Sioux) a sculpture made of maple and metal around 1840

Pouch by Eastern Sioux around 1820 made of buckskin, mallard duck scalp, porcupine quills, tin cones, dyed deer hair.

I searched Vincent Van Gogh and they had 46 works. One of my favorites Sunflowers, 1888 was on the list and is located at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I was able to go to the Van Gogh Museum in the Netherlands and got to see my favorite painting Almond Branches in Bloom, 1890.

How the community could use this resource is recently I had an older woman who liked to paint come in looking for material. This would be great resource to show her to get inspiration from. Another way to be used is students have come in doing research papers and needed images on Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth.

The favorite list options are helpful in many ways. The slideshow lets you see your favorite images lager and one right after another. I really liked the compare feature where if you had to compare two works of arts you can pull them up next to each other.

Week 7 WorldCat and More

On WorldCat I searched for Fahrenheit 451 using the keyword Title and limit type to book. 1,016 records were found and 478 of them are in English. The first result shows that 1428 libraries worldwide have the book Fahrenheit 451. The top library is Brookings Public Library. The call number is for Dewey 813.54 or LC PZ3.B72453, PS3503.R167. Great feature is clicking on the author to see other books he/she has written. The link to other works with the same call number is also very helpful. Cite this item great feature for students to use. At the top the links to related subject and related authors will be very helpful when patrons ask for requests based off a certain title or author. The tabs along the top to change from books to sound will be great because we have many patrons that enjoy audiobooks.

The first time I searched in OAIster came up a list but then I had to step away to help a patron and once I returned I was not able to use OAIster because an error kept coming up. I logged off a few times and tried again but was never being able to get past the search page without an error coming up. I hope in the next couple days I will try with better success. 

Week 6 eBooks on EbscoHost

I first started by searching Betsy Ross which only had 4 results that didn’t relate. I then tried Helen Keller which had 8 results but only one was relevant with general information. I tried to go in a different direction and searched South Dakota State Parks. I had better luck with this search having 18 results and many of them were related. I enjoyed how they had guides for many different trails to hike, bike, ski, etc. Once viewing the ebook it was great at the bottom having the option putting the page number in and jumping to the exact page. Also, the option to print or email certain pages is a great feature. Something that would be more user friendly is if the full screen option filled the whole screen. I might have done it wrong but I would enjoy the ebook more on my computer if it fit the whole screen.

After searching Constitution Day I had 21 results. One that relates :

Armstrong, Stephen, and Edward McBride. AP U.S. History. McGraw-Hill, 2004. ebook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 27 Feb. 2012.

A couple of things that I think are very useful with this website is the section most relevant pages from this eBook. It’s great that they have part of the reading to get a general idea and they have the link to view the exact page. The cite option is very user friendly and amazing how they have all the options like APA and MLA.

With the advanced search of Nebraska in PB Publisher I had 56 Results. This area was very interesting having more ebooks about our area because they are from the University of Nebraska Press. Couple of ebooks stuck out write away that would interest some patron’s for example Stories of the Sioux and Myths and Legends of the Sioux.

Week 5 Gale Virtual Reference Library

Under history I clicked the title Berkshire Encyclopedia of World History, 2005. There were five editions so I did a search of Croatia in all volumes in this edition. This narrowed the search down to six results. In the topic overview I liked how it had the page numbers and also the word count to give the user a general idea how long the topic is. I viewed the text of Ethnic Nationalism and noticed what the video was suggesting on how to use it for example download to MP3 player, print, email, and download PDF to eReader. These options are great for patrons that are on the go. We have many that like to listen to audiobook while driving in the car or reading their eReader while working out at the gym. Having two forms, text or PDF, gives users the freedom to choose what they enjoy more. Overall the reading level is pretty advance but many of the students that are using our library have a higher reading level.

I enjoy reading other participants’ blogs to bounce ideas off of them. Other participants’ have found information that patrons would be interested in. There is so much information in all these web sites and not enough time to explore it all.

Week 4 Proquest

I stared out with a basic search about Alzheimer’s. I noticed it shows the total of results and a links with suggested subjects with my search. On the right side I really enjoyed some of the links to help search within the results. To help narrow the results by selecting source type could help a college student needing scholarly journals for their paper. The table that shows what decade the results were written in is also helpful for if your needing newer information or to see what was being said about the subject 50 years ago. Scrolling through the results the icons of what source type is helpful. Another helpful tool is being about to select which items you want to return to. This way you can do a general run through and return to your own list you created to do more in depth research.  Having the preview option is a great option to save time especially if you have slow internet that way you can read the summary without having to leave the web page.

When I was reading librarian 2 blog about Proquest I didn’t even think about using this tool in the business area. Librarian 2 did a great job explaining how it can be used to help individuals that are investing in bonds. Also, the topic with agriculture is important to our community and a great source to read recent articles.

Publication search with only having full text was impressive. I searched library and had a list of 20 publications. When I selected Library Journal it was great that you could browse the issues by years released. I clicked on view most recent issue Feb. 15, 2012. It’s great how they have the issue in sections this way you can read what interest you and not have to look through the whole journal.  I went into the full text of the NewsDesk and right away had to play with the translation. The full text was translated into Spanish within 30 seconds. Amazing! We have many patrons that come use our computers that have family members or friends to translate. This feature will help these patrons gain some independence. This got me searching more and sure enough right on the basic search page at the top right was the link to change language to at least 20 different languages. I am learning so much by clicking around on these websites!

Week 3 SIRS Discoverer

I used the keyword search for dolphin.  The first thing I found that I think is fantastic is the reading levels / source & summary. What a great way to help you use your time efficiently. Having activities, graphics, PDF, and etc. on the summary is wonderful and I would think very effective. This way user can see what articles are good for them by reading level at first glance and they don’t have to click on each article to get an idea. Other things that are great are the tabs along the top so if the users know they need magazine articles they can narrow their search.

With the country facts it’s great that they have the teacher’s resources right at the top and have different levels for all age groups to use. This would be great students to use to get information over countries. I like how they have a map and picture of the flag but I wish they would have more pictures, video, or sound to help other types of learners have a better understanding of the countries.

Wow, the maps have so much potential! Once you click on a map, like I did South Dakota, I like the link to “show all articles related to this picture.” This would be great if a user was researching a state. The only thing I can think of that would help is if the US was split up in regions, for example Midwest and east. The historical maps are very interesting; I could stay and look at them all day! Great for visual learners and could be used for many classes and assignments. The outline would be great for geography class or at home practice tests for states, capitals, and countries.

Science Fair is big in our community so the feature of Science Fair Explorer can be very useful. I enjoyed how it was very visual the program is. Instead of giving a big long list of ideas it help the user choose something that interests them. In the section explore a topic it was great that they made the subject into areas, like rooms around the house, which students would understand or relate to more. Over another great tool to use when students come in thinking of ideas for science fair projects.

SIRS Issues Researcher

From the top ten issues I selected cell phones in school. First having the audio MP3 player was great way to have the page read out loud for users and they can follow along. The video would not work but that would have been a great feature also. The summary was general, to the point, and gave both sides of the issue. This is great to allow users gain their own opinion.  The links on the pros and cons with the top three but having an opinion for more viewpoints if users wanting to go deeper in depth is not as overwhelming as a huge list of articles. Perspective quotes by educated sources on the topic are so much nicer than the ones you could find using other search engines. Having questions at the end are great ways to have users gaining their opinion on the issues.  Last thing that I think will help users and should be required more by students are citations. Having it located at the bottom of the web page is very helpful.

With the curriculum Path finders I enjoyed as soon as you picked the course subject they give you research ideas. My choice was current events in social studies. On the page you had some great choices between newspapers, magazines, government documents, graphics/media, and what I thought was the most helpful on this topic webselect site. I think having links to great websites with current events is one of the most up to date ways to get the information. I found the web site CNN Student News which I never heard of but I think would be a great tool that could be used in the class room for current events. I really enjoyed finding that web site.

Week 2 Learning Express

I think this resource is great for our library. We have Career Services located down the hall from us so we have many users in the computer lab filling out applications and working on resumes.  Also there’s a military base in our area so we have had patrons using reading material for the ASVAB. 

The practice exams are wonderful tools to have. I enjoyed that they are timed so users get use to the timed part of the exams. The review section after the test is very beneficial. The only suggestion I would have is to have a printable review sections because many of our users don’t have computers our internet at home so they could take home and study the practice exams.

With the Job Search and Workplace Skills section I believe will be the most helpful to our computer users. Once I selected a course the very first thing was the course overview which I think is great. The other great feature is the course outline on the left side that way individuals can skip around to the sections they feel are most beneficial for them. Throughout the course being able to type in entries on the materials is an easy organized way to keep all the information together.

The eBook I choose was middle school geography review in 20 minutes a day. The layout was great. The pretest to see where you stand at the beginning is a wonderful tool. I think how they broke up the section into 20 minutes a day. I feel that this would be able to fit into students schedules well.

Week 1 World Book Online

Lesson 1b

World Book Online Kids

The muskrat lives around water in parts of North America and Europe. Muskrats live in burrows that they dig and winter houses made of plants and mud. The name comes from the smell they give off during mating season.

I thought the World Book Online for Kids program is very user friendly especially for this age group. Things I enjoyed were how visual the information was for example pictures and videos. The content level works perfect with just a couple of paragraphs of information that way the age group are less likely to be over loaded with too much.  Also, the links are done very well with little to no confusion.

World Book Online Info Finder

The World Book Online Info Finder has more information. I really enjoyed the search feature it gives to find the exact topic you’re interested in. Also, the lay out of the information on the muskrat is like the World Book Online Kids but with more details and facts. I think for research children could start with World Book Online Kids to get general idea on the topic but then research World Book online Info Finder to help if they need greater depth. 

World Book Online Reference Center

The main type of information that I believe will be the most valuable for our patrons is the encyclopedia. Many of our patrons I could see use this for information on their own interests. Using the search box is an amazing way to narrow down and find all the forms of information. What I enjoyed was the list of primary sources that is offered. The list of different types of information is also valuable. I could see patrons searching the links other web sites, watching the videos, e-books, and timelines, back in time articles. It seems the possibilities are never ending. This is a great reference tool!