I managed to get back to the challenge and by the deadline. I thought I would end late as I started late but.......
Visiting "WorldCat" was neat. There are a lot of libraries that carry the book I was looking for-"Last of the Mohicans". There are 1200 books at other libraries-wow! Which lead me to the author. James Fenimore Cooper also wrote "Leatherstocking Tales" and 2474 books were available with the number one library to have it at Augustana College in SD. Just listing Cooper as author led to 110,443 hits with Aberdeen Alexander Mitchell Library having it. The number one author under Cooper was Susan Cooper and there 110,443 books out of 153,557 matches. This site lists all the ways to get to the book, author, and library easily. I wish I had played with this resource sooner. I actually learned computers when you wrote the program and used a lot math. Now there is an endless amount of information out there.
The wrap up is here. I used a few of the newpaper resources, even though they are no longer active, and found old related items to my topic. I typed in war memorial and had 120 hits on the Capital Journal with 27 of the articles from 2010-obits and the Honor flight.
I requested a State Library card last week and have not received it so I could not use the LexisNexis Congressional resource. When I receive the card I will play around there.
My biggest discovery was World Book. I know the paper version of encyclopedias are not used much but all the info is there, just electronically. My biggest hope is that all the school systems are using the resources for research. Our library does not get used by the high school kids a lot for research because of the school offering time in the day to use the computers and the school is giving out computers.
I keep passing the word the library is available for free to everyone by word of mouth, the local news channel, and articles in the local paper. I am even working with the new administration at the local high school. I now have the help of the library board also passing the word. It seems baby steps work the best. My first baby step will be making sure everyone knows about Learning Express. Thanks for having me challenge myself and the librarian.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Thursday, September 9, 2010
WorldCat to be continued
I went through the tutorial on WorldCat, got onto the site, stepped away to answer a question about the other computer, and lost the site (the computer updated and logged me off). With library hours closing, my time was done. I now need to go back and try again. My impressions of this resource will come later.
Looking for family history
Since our Library has had Internet access we have had patrons using the three sites on the State Library page for research. One lady has her own access to Ancestry but still comes into the libray to use our site because the other two resources are there.
Soooo, one day the librarian and myself sat down and looked up each others history and had lots of success. The only resource we found not helpful with our family was Sanborn maps because we moved here after we were married and were not familiar with the lay of the land. The patrons who are from the area for three or four generations have used the maps a lot. All in all the three geneology resources are the most used in the library. Of course, when the internet was down, we had people wanting the sites. They came back later.
The librarian liked Ancestry over Heritage because there seemed to be more info on Ancestry. The search was limited on Heritage for the info she wanted. I think this will be the number one used site in our area because of all the geneology hounds.
Soooo, one day the librarian and myself sat down and looked up each others history and had lots of success. The only resource we found not helpful with our family was Sanborn maps because we moved here after we were married and were not familiar with the lay of the land. The patrons who are from the area for three or four generations have used the maps a lot. All in all the three geneology resources are the most used in the library. Of course, when the internet was down, we had people wanting the sites. They came back later.
The librarian liked Ancestry over Heritage because there seemed to be more info on Ancestry. The search was limited on Heritage for the info she wanted. I think this will be the number one used site in our area because of all the geneology hounds.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Learning Express Library
I knew you could do practice tests for ACT, GED, etc. but to have them all in the same place is great. I know of two high school juniors who actually used this recource last year and had great success with it. Finding the other 5 learning centers there is a bonus. The job search and workplace skills had a grammer test. Finding out your punctuation skills need improvement is good, especially if you actually need to write resumes. My problem is commas. Taking a social studies test for the GED was better, of the five questions there was only 1 wrong. Better grade! The ebook I picked was GRE testing. It did not take long to download and most of the book was compiled of preperation. Relaxing before the test was mentioned quite a bit. Relaxing is always great!
I have been working with the local high school to make sure all the kids know this resource available to everyone. If they cannot make time at school they need to come to the library.
The job resume aspect is a plus as well. Kids need to work at 16 so they have money in the rural community. The best example is: cars are needed for transportation and money is needed for the car. All our rural kids learn this right away as walking and public transportation is not an option.
I have been working with the local high school to make sure all the kids know this resource available to everyone. If they cannot make time at school they need to come to the library.
The job resume aspect is a plus as well. Kids need to work at 16 so they have money in the rural community. The best example is: cars are needed for transportation and money is needed for the car. All our rural kids learn this right away as walking and public transportation is not an option.
ArchiveGrid
Working with some of the electronic resources with history and art is not my strong suit due to lack of time but it gets you interested when you find out what is all out there for the searching. Looking up Sitting Bull led me to info I knew but also some I did not and it was only a summary. If you want to go into more research the archivist is listed along with other subject matter related to him. I tried entering some our local history but found no results. But, finding Elizabeth Custer was great. In our South Dakota collection we have a copy of her book, "Boots and Saddles". We had a search request made last summer for this book. With ArchiveGrid I found out she wrote two other books about her prairie life and defended her husband's reputation to the end. You never here about the negative reputation after the man dies but some must never forget.
Camio
Doing the searches from the exercise had results. There are a lot of examples Paul Revere's silversmith talents and portraits of him and his wife. Looking at 63 works of Sioux artifacts and clothing, it is amazing that so much is saved when the world is so modern and filled with technology. Having the date, type of work, creator and museum held info can lead on a deeper search as to what else the museum holds from that time period.
Looking for Harvey Dunn, a South Dakota artist, was zero finds but we know he painted because the painting hangs in our library. With Norman Rockwell there was six works listed and the museums received them as gifts in 1992 and 1995. I learned a new fact about Rockwell-how the museum received the paintings. I did not realize the large museums did not have to purchase the art displayed.
I looked up the Statue of Liberty and found 18 works, some with political cartoons and some of the statue on the shore. I added 4 to my favorites list and then saved them to a file. I will try to use them on my blog. I have not mastered the art of adding items to a web page, we have not advanced that far in our library. I will try this when we do.
Looking for Harvey Dunn, a South Dakota artist, was zero finds but we know he painted because the painting hangs in our library. With Norman Rockwell there was six works listed and the museums received them as gifts in 1992 and 1995. I learned a new fact about Rockwell-how the museum received the paintings. I did not realize the large museums did not have to purchase the art displayed.
I looked up the Statue of Liberty and found 18 works, some with political cartoons and some of the statue on the shore. I added 4 to my favorites list and then saved them to a file. I will try to use them on my blog. I have not mastered the art of adding items to a web page, we have not advanced that far in our library. I will try this when we do.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
NetLibrary
I am on a roll today. The librarian stops by a few minutes each hour while I am playing around with all the lessons, the library is a busy place today. She thinks some of the resources will take a little time to be comfortable with but likes World Book.
I am now at NetLibrary and researching "quilting". Of the 152 results, the first item was on quilting, the others had the word quilting in the text. I had to narrow down the search with the advanced options and had a smaller number. You could read the pages of the book right then to see if the selection would be of any help.
Constitution Day is the next search, wow 1067 results! To get the American constitution day I had to go through some titles. What amazed me is Japan was the third on the list and at the end of page one. The book I picked had information more fitting for high school or college research.
Western history became a dead end for me until I used the advanced setting and then I only had a two matches with Oklahoma. I then tried gold mining in black hills and found 44 items, again only with advanced search. Using advanced search gets you closer to the actual information a lot faster. I can be time consuming going through 502 matches found with a general search. I am also realizing why I really did not like term papers in school.
I am now at NetLibrary and researching "quilting". Of the 152 results, the first item was on quilting, the others had the word quilting in the text. I had to narrow down the search with the advanced options and had a smaller number. You could read the pages of the book right then to see if the selection would be of any help.
Constitution Day is the next search, wow 1067 results! To get the American constitution day I had to go through some titles. What amazed me is Japan was the third on the list and at the end of page one. The book I picked had information more fitting for high school or college research.
Western history became a dead end for me until I used the advanced setting and then I only had a two matches with Oklahoma. I then tried gold mining in black hills and found 44 items, again only with advanced search. Using advanced search gets you closer to the actual information a lot faster. I can be time consuming going through 502 matches found with a general search. I am also realizing why I really did not like term papers in school.
Gale Virtual
Gale virtual reference library has not been used in the library until today. I chose medicine which led me to the Gale Encyclopedia of Cancer and the subject anemia. At the subject guide search and typed in gluten and found one result, Celiac Disease by Amy Vance. As that is my life style now, I found the information current and accurate. The links and tools are very helpful. Listening to the information helps me retain it and the voices used are easy to understand. The option of reading a PDF of the subject made it seem more like a book page. I like this electronic resource.
Proquest
Because it took so long for me to get going I am doing a few lessons at once-an afternoon off from work helps. My subject is volcanic eruptions which led me to 105 documents with 7 more suggested topics. I emailed one article home and tagged another article, easy. Volcano found even more documents, especially about Iceland's eruptions.
At publications I went down the alphabet and picked Canadian Public Policy in the Chicago Review and found a book review in the spring volume. Good Housekeeping's July edition led me to "15 Ways to use Balsamic Vinegar". The School Library Journal of New York gave me an article about the new cell phone apps and the author's opinion of the phone may replace the computer. I need a little more practice on Proquest to get my information.
At publications I went down the alphabet and picked Canadian Public Policy in the Chicago Review and found a book review in the spring volume. Good Housekeeping's July edition led me to "15 Ways to use Balsamic Vinegar". The School Library Journal of New York gave me an article about the new cell phone apps and the author's opinion of the phone may replace the computer. I need a little more practice on Proquest to get my information.
SIRS
I looked up kangaroo again on SIRS. The key lets me know the reading level and the top tab bar took me to an Australian newspaper about farmers raising kangaroos. Having the page read to you is a bonus. Sometimes hearing the words makes the learning stick to your memory better.
My country was Ukraine, picked because our past exchange daughter is from there. Finding easy, moderate, and challenging info for teachers is neat and fun to play with. It is an easy way to work up to lots of knowledge.
I went to "Maps of the World" and picked US Historical. There are 1000 pictures starting at the year 1000. I went to the 1775 map of Boston and the battle lines of the British and Americans were marked so you could easily follow the old battles. I then tried "Current Events" and read about the egg recall with links to related sites. Research could get extensive.
SIRS Researcher had a top 10 list and I chose oil well drilling. Wow, articles with the pros and cons are in the center (without having to look up each magazine), old video of news stories and overview with the research tools on the left. I had to quit reading both sides to continue with the lesson. But...I had the most fun on basketmath interactive! No matter what type of math problem you pick, your right answer is two baskets. Again I had to quit playing to go on to lesson 3.
My country was Ukraine, picked because our past exchange daughter is from there. Finding easy, moderate, and challenging info for teachers is neat and fun to play with. It is an easy way to work up to lots of knowledge.
I went to "Maps of the World" and picked US Historical. There are 1000 pictures starting at the year 1000. I went to the 1775 map of Boston and the battle lines of the British and Americans were marked so you could easily follow the old battles. I then tried "Current Events" and read about the egg recall with links to related sites. Research could get extensive.
SIRS Researcher had a top 10 list and I chose oil well drilling. Wow, articles with the pros and cons are in the center (without having to look up each magazine), old video of news stories and overview with the research tools on the left. I had to quit reading both sides to continue with the lesson. But...I had the most fun on basketmath interactive! No matter what type of math problem you pick, your right answer is two baskets. Again I had to quit playing to go on to lesson 3.
Still on the challenge
Well, I am getting back to blogging. Due to technical difficulities with technology, it has been too long getting back to this. The IT support person, me, hooked up the new router, wifi printer, and laptop at the library and encountered problems-I could not get the static IP address to work! The Internet would work but when I went to the SD Library page and tried to use World Book...nothing unless I had a card. After two weeks of redong the router and calling two 1-800 numbers I have everything hooked up correctly! Another day goes by and I can now play with the electronic resosurces and blog.
World Book Online Kids, Info Center, and Reference Center are a fun site after I played around with the different windows. Info center gives more details than Kids but all good. The Reference center led me to Canada. I found the center panel is the most helpfun unless I want lots of details. Patrons can navigate easily on all the World Book Centers.
The World Book School Edition seems to be the same as the public edition info (ie. kangaroo). Canada info had even more on the left side bar for research. The Discover goes to American Government and has good articles. A foriegn exchange student who is having difficulty understanding a subject can change the text to their language and really understand it.
World Book Forign language is great. I looked up squirrel on the French page by the picture, could not read a word but I had the info. The Spanish page brought up squirrel and I listened to the narration. Having the linese highlighted made it easy to follow along and I could even understand some of the words-I hear Spanish more than French. School language students need this. Once again, exchange students can also find this useful.
World Book Online Kids, Info Center, and Reference Center are a fun site after I played around with the different windows. Info center gives more details than Kids but all good. The Reference center led me to Canada. I found the center panel is the most helpfun unless I want lots of details. Patrons can navigate easily on all the World Book Centers.
The World Book School Edition seems to be the same as the public edition info (ie. kangaroo). Canada info had even more on the left side bar for research. The Discover goes to American Government and has good articles. A foriegn exchange student who is having difficulty understanding a subject can change the text to their language and really understand it.
World Book Forign language is great. I looked up squirrel on the French page by the picture, could not read a word but I had the info. The Spanish page brought up squirrel and I listened to the narration. Having the linese highlighted made it easy to follow along and I could even understand some of the words-I hear Spanish more than French. School language students need this. Once again, exchange students can also find this useful.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Starting a new challenge
Just signed in to start a new challenge on electronic resources. We need to know how to get around better so we can help the patrons get around easier. This will be fun and interesting!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
It's been a year!
Well I did not do so good on keeping the blog updated. This year's resolution is to improve that.
Welcome to the electronic age. The library is trying to evolve with the times and is meeting that goal with the grant we are receiving. This summer we will be able to have 2 computers for the public to use thanks to the Bill Gates Online Opportunity Hardware Grant. We want patrons and new residents to check us out.
Upcoming at the Library this year:
Summer Reading Program every Tuesday of June
Ideas the library board is discussing:
?Do we have any interest in an adult book club this fall or next spring?
A book drop-if you are in town and we are not open, drop off your books at the city office or call and renew them til next time.
The Tribune has an article this week with our blog address, email, and wiki. Have fun looking at them. Email us with opinions and suggestions.
Welcome to the electronic age. The library is trying to evolve with the times and is meeting that goal with the grant we are receiving. This summer we will be able to have 2 computers for the public to use thanks to the Bill Gates Online Opportunity Hardware Grant. We want patrons and new residents to check us out.
Upcoming at the Library this year:
Summer Reading Program every Tuesday of June
Ideas the library board is discussing:
?Do we have any interest in an adult book club this fall or next spring?
A book drop-if you are in town and we are not open, drop off your books at the city office or call and renew them til next time.
The Tribune has an article this week with our blog address, email, and wiki. Have fun looking at them. Email us with opinions and suggestions.
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