Well, my head is still spinning! I don't know if I can pick a "biggest" discovery. I didn't know about the Hobbies and Crafts section, so maybe that. I really appreciate the guidance the consultants gave us that allowed us to explore the features of Marvel in an orderly, organized way. And knowing the tutorials are there for my patrons to use is very helpful (and reassuring, since I would otherwise worry about retaining all this!).
To promote the resources more, I'll definitely feature it in my blog. I already tell people about Marvel, and we have the Learning Express poster up in the library. When we do our newsletter next year, I'll also write an article about the resources for that. Maybe we could link Marvel to the OPAC for our catalog too; I'll have to look into that.
Thanks for a great experience!
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Marvelous Maine 8--Ancestry
I'm really afraid this one will be more addictive than Facebook....deep breath....searching myself....wow, there I am! And look, there's every place I lived from 1988-1996. (That's a little unsettling.) I don't show up in Maine since I've only lived here 10 years, and apparently birth records for New York are not listed, and neither are marriage licenses for New York nor voting records for Illinois. And I'm not in any newspaper articles or photos. Onward...
So, I searched for my grandfather in the 1930 census. It's very neat to see the original record! There he is with my grandmother and two of my aunts (no one else was born yet). It looks like my grandmother's family is next in the record, I guess they all lived together. Yes, I magnified the record. Wow, 12 people lived in that house, including a lodger. I printed it to show my dad.
Having a little trouble with part 3, as I can't seem to find a photos and maps tab--there's pictures, and there's maps and gazeteers. For Maine pictures, I could see college yearbooks beginning in 1892(Colby, Bowdoin, Maine State College) and high school yearbooks from the twentieth century (maybe into 21st, didn't want to keep scrolling through). I could also look at headstones, or photos of ships. Under maps...oh, cool, there's a map of Harrison (where I work) from 1871 under the U.S Indexed County Land Ownership Maps. A person could get lost in this!
I hope what I searched for section three was right, I see someone else had trouble with it too.
So, I searched for my grandfather in the 1930 census. It's very neat to see the original record! There he is with my grandmother and two of my aunts (no one else was born yet). It looks like my grandmother's family is next in the record, I guess they all lived together. Yes, I magnified the record. Wow, 12 people lived in that house, including a lodger. I printed it to show my dad.
Having a little trouble with part 3, as I can't seem to find a photos and maps tab--there's pictures, and there's maps and gazeteers. For Maine pictures, I could see college yearbooks beginning in 1892(Colby, Bowdoin, Maine State College) and high school yearbooks from the twentieth century (maybe into 21st, didn't want to keep scrolling through). I could also look at headstones, or photos of ships. Under maps...oh, cool, there's a map of Harrison (where I work) from 1871 under the U.S Indexed County Land Ownership Maps. A person could get lost in this!
I hope what I searched for section three was right, I see someone else had trouble with it too.
Monday, December 10, 2012
Marvelous Maine 10--EBSCO
I have spent quite a bit of time on this one lately, helping my daughter research school projects. So I decided to explore the library journals and searched for Library Journal, which is included, and then searched "fundraising" (always a pertinent topic, isn't it? :) ) within Library Journal. But I didn't do it right, because my results have all kinds of other journals. Let's try again...ahh, I didn't select it first to search. OK, good to know. Still not getting results, but that's because there's nothing in LJ, which seems odd. So I try "star libraries"--nothing--then "reviews"--nothing. Hhmm. I must still be doing something wrong. Back to start...well, when I just search LJ, I get all kinds of results, including the star libraries article. Odd. (Which means it must be my fault.) I click on an article about landscape design and libraries, which looks very interesting. I click the "listen" option and play around with accents (heehee). Next I go back and under "search options", specify Library Journal. That brings me better results, although I do still get other journals (i.e. Journal of Library Administration). Maybe I need to do the tutorial again...
On to ebooks. I search the titles under "Self-Help and Family"; I have a thirteen-year-old who sometimes appears to have been switched in the night, and she and my husband butt heads on a regular basis, so I've been looking at lots of these types of titles recently! I get through the searching alright, but I'm disappointed that the titles' publication stops at the year 2000. Next I search "Constitution Day" as directed. Not much that comes up would be appropriate for American Constitution Day. (Unless, again. I'm doing it wrong; maybe I need to take a break.) Took a break, still getting the same results. I'll move on to the next search. Well, that worked a lot better. I entered Nebraska and have 11 results, 3 of which are highly relevant and one on Abraham Lincoln which is borderline.
I think this is another one of those features that I need to go back and spend more time with. But how wonderful that it is here for everyone to use, and how wonderful that our district consultants saw a need and stepped in to fill it with this training. Thank you!
On to ebooks. I search the titles under "Self-Help and Family"; I have a thirteen-year-old who sometimes appears to have been switched in the night, and she and my husband butt heads on a regular basis, so I've been looking at lots of these types of titles recently! I get through the searching alright, but I'm disappointed that the titles' publication stops at the year 2000. Next I search "Constitution Day" as directed. Not much that comes up would be appropriate for American Constitution Day. (Unless, again. I'm doing it wrong; maybe I need to take a break.) Took a break, still getting the same results. I'll move on to the next search. Well, that worked a lot better. I entered Nebraska and have 11 results, 3 of which are highly relevant and one on Abraham Lincoln which is borderline.
I think this is another one of those features that I need to go back and spend more time with. But how wonderful that it is here for everyone to use, and how wonderful that our district consultants saw a need and stepped in to fill it with this training. Thank you!
Marvelous Maine 9--Learning Express
(Since I can't do 8 until I'm in the library, I'm skipping that and doing the later assignments first.)
I created an account and browsed what's on offer. I decided to do a practice test for the SAT critical reading section--no point in tormenting myself with math, right? The test is very easy to use, and they are very good about making sure you don't stop unless you really want to! I like how the diagnostic page recommends further material that would help, and I like how the answers are explained. (Mine were all correct, yay!, but very useful if you've made a mistake.)
Next, I browsed the "Job Search and Workplace Skills" section and add "Business Writing 2: Find Your Audience" to my learning center. This is great! Very useful to someone who didn't have to do a whole lot of writing classes in school. I like the practice section too. Then I downloaded "Social Networking for Career Success". Will definitely read this whole book--but later, after I get through this invitational!--and I will also explore some of the tutorials on computer software. All of this is easy to navigate through and so convenient.
I created an account and browsed what's on offer. I decided to do a practice test for the SAT critical reading section--no point in tormenting myself with math, right? The test is very easy to use, and they are very good about making sure you don't stop unless you really want to! I like how the diagnostic page recommends further material that would help, and I like how the answers are explained. (Mine were all correct, yay!, but very useful if you've made a mistake.)
Next, I browsed the "Job Search and Workplace Skills" section and add "Business Writing 2: Find Your Audience" to my learning center. This is great! Very useful to someone who didn't have to do a whole lot of writing classes in school. I like the practice section too. Then I downloaded "Social Networking for Career Success". Will definitely read this whole book--but later, after I get through this invitational!--and I will also explore some of the tutorials on computer software. All of this is easy to navigate through and so convenient.
Sunday, December 2, 2012
Marvelous Maine 7--Health Resources
(First of all, I have to laugh...I'm exploring the journals and articles available, and what do I see? Acid: LSD Today. Really?)
I look for material on Parkinson's Disease, which, unfortunately, runs in my family. Of the first ten most recent articles, 7 are on medication, which isn't a very alluring reading prospect for a Sunday a.m., so I keep searching. I decide to read the full text of Using Voice Recognition as Diagnostician; I heard about this on an NPR story, and was just thinking the other day that I meant to find out more about it and never did. The article is very short and doesn't contain information I didn't already know, so I'm going to keep looking. Flavonoids May Help Protect Against Parkinson's Disease ... I'll try that. Oh, it's just a paragraph...Alright, well, after browsing through 5 pages of results, I see that I can get articles directed at the layman from sources like Mayo and Harvard Health, but I think I'll try something a little more challenging: Nutraceuticals and their preventive or potential therapeutic value in Parkinson's Disease. There is quite a bit of jargon, but I'm able to understand it; not sure everyone would, though.
On to Medline Plus...today's popular searches: amlodipine, anemia, aspirin, asthma, cystic fibrosis, gout, grapefruit (grapefruit?), hypertension. In the news column, more depressing news about sitting too much and poor diet. I don't take any medications, but my daughter is on Humalog insulin so I search that. The information is similar to what you find on the insert to the medication (yes, I am that compulsive); it would be useful if you need to look up something quickly and can't find the insert. Next I do the Parkinson's search. Wow, I think this is even better than the Health Source, especially for someone with a chronic illness that wants to get updated info on a regular basis. They've done a great job corralling different topics. I launch a video tutorial on an Abdominal Aortic Aneuryism. It's easy to use, and a good source of basic information. Definitely bookmarking this page!
I look for material on Parkinson's Disease, which, unfortunately, runs in my family. Of the first ten most recent articles, 7 are on medication, which isn't a very alluring reading prospect for a Sunday a.m., so I keep searching. I decide to read the full text of Using Voice Recognition as Diagnostician; I heard about this on an NPR story, and was just thinking the other day that I meant to find out more about it and never did. The article is very short and doesn't contain information I didn't already know, so I'm going to keep looking. Flavonoids May Help Protect Against Parkinson's Disease ... I'll try that. Oh, it's just a paragraph...Alright, well, after browsing through 5 pages of results, I see that I can get articles directed at the layman from sources like Mayo and Harvard Health, but I think I'll try something a little more challenging: Nutraceuticals and their preventive or potential therapeutic value in Parkinson's Disease. There is quite a bit of jargon, but I'm able to understand it; not sure everyone would, though.
On to Medline Plus...today's popular searches: amlodipine, anemia, aspirin, asthma, cystic fibrosis, gout, grapefruit (grapefruit?), hypertension. In the news column, more depressing news about sitting too much and poor diet. I don't take any medications, but my daughter is on Humalog insulin so I search that. The information is similar to what you find on the insert to the medication (yes, I am that compulsive); it would be useful if you need to look up something quickly and can't find the insert. Next I do the Parkinson's search. Wow, I think this is even better than the Health Source, especially for someone with a chronic illness that wants to get updated info on a regular basis. They've done a great job corralling different topics. I launch a video tutorial on an Abdominal Aortic Aneuryism. It's easy to use, and a good source of basic information. Definitely bookmarking this page!
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Marvelous Maine 6--Business Resources
#1 Business Source Complete
OK, searching for FM radio...yikes, that's a whole lot of jargon (and an odd amount of results for FM radio in African nations)...a good variety of sources, from Billboard magazine to trade journals. Now starting a visual search...oh, cool. Yes, I think that the visual search is definitely easier, especially given the broad topic. I asked for my results to be sorted in blocks and by publication, and I limited the results to the last two years. Very nifty tool.
#2 EconLit
Just like Business Source Complete, I see...there are scholarly publications, trade journals... Africa again...searching "EPA and small businesses"...I'm told my initial search query did not yield any results, but the database used smart text searching and results were found based on my keywords. Hmm, the EPA has a small grants program, let's look at that...it's a working paper. I click the article linker; it wants information I can't give it. But I can go to the website listed, or mark this using the tools to the right to explore it further later. On to the search for tax policy and small business...there's a lot of results dealing with foreign countries, I wonder if I can limit the search to Maine or the US? I change my search to "US tax policy and small businesses", and of my first five results, two deal with South Africa, one with Uzbekistan, and one compares the US and UK. Not helpful. I'll try to return to this later, other searches await.
#3 Regional Business News
(The option to choose databases at the top of the search box is nice!) I'm going to choose LL Bean as my Maine company, so working from that I decide to do Cabela's as the national search...lots to choose from nationally, but when I add "Maine" to my search, I don't get any results. I click open "subject" to refine the results, and see "New Hampshire", so I click that and get two articles from the New Hampshire Business Review. (Is there a Maine Business Review? No.. I search Maine and refine by scholarly journal...no...there's a small business opportunity.) Now I search LL Bean and get 7 results.There's a wide range, from the arrival of the LL Bean Bootmobile to safety recalls to a study on the internet and mail-order retail industry.
#4 Value Line
This one is very intimidating, as I've always done the equivalent of putting my hands over my ears and singing whenever the subject of stocks come up. But, deep breath, here I go... this seems like a database with lots to offer, and is relatively easy to navigate once I stop shuddering and open my eyes...I search Apple in the general search box, which, since it yields results similar to a google search, lessens the panic. Next I do the company lookup...ha, where is that?...oh, found it...what do you mean, 0 results for "Apple"? Oh, I was searching by "ticker" and not "company"...no, I don't want Dr. Pepper/Snapple, but here is Apple. I click that and get a report which I think is an overview, and looks pretty comprehensive. I'm not sure it's a "full research report" or not, so I search for this. Nothing is coming up quickly. I have to say this remains intimidating to me, although I suppose much of that is due to my attitude (not to mention the fact that I'm three assignments behind and would like to catch up, so slowing down to explore this feature calmly is hard to do right now). I'll try to come back...
#5 Wall Street Journal
Oh, it's like the Maine Newsstand. This will be easy...I think the suggested subjects would all be pertinent, especially after clicking "view all". I see the same options we explored in the Maine Newsstand assignment to create alerts via email or RSS feed. These would be very helpful for a small business owner wishing to follow proposed legislation, for example. This one is lots easier for a non-financial person to deal with than Value Line!
So, I just looked over what I've written, and there's lots of "I'll try to come back". I can see that this is a personal area of opportunity, and I really must come back to explore all of these databases when I'm not feeling rushed. I'm not sure how much our patrons would use them, as we serve a rural area whose main industry is tourism, but you never know, and it would be wise to be comfortable with these features.
OK, searching for FM radio...yikes, that's a whole lot of jargon (and an odd amount of results for FM radio in African nations)...a good variety of sources, from Billboard magazine to trade journals. Now starting a visual search...oh, cool. Yes, I think that the visual search is definitely easier, especially given the broad topic. I asked for my results to be sorted in blocks and by publication, and I limited the results to the last two years. Very nifty tool.
#2 EconLit
Just like Business Source Complete, I see...there are scholarly publications, trade journals... Africa again...searching "EPA and small businesses"...I'm told my initial search query did not yield any results, but the database used smart text searching and results were found based on my keywords. Hmm, the EPA has a small grants program, let's look at that...it's a working paper. I click the article linker; it wants information I can't give it. But I can go to the website listed, or mark this using the tools to the right to explore it further later. On to the search for tax policy and small business...there's a lot of results dealing with foreign countries, I wonder if I can limit the search to Maine or the US? I change my search to "US tax policy and small businesses", and of my first five results, two deal with South Africa, one with Uzbekistan, and one compares the US and UK. Not helpful. I'll try to return to this later, other searches await.
#3 Regional Business News
(The option to choose databases at the top of the search box is nice!) I'm going to choose LL Bean as my Maine company, so working from that I decide to do Cabela's as the national search...lots to choose from nationally, but when I add "Maine" to my search, I don't get any results. I click open "subject" to refine the results, and see "New Hampshire", so I click that and get two articles from the New Hampshire Business Review. (Is there a Maine Business Review? No.. I search Maine and refine by scholarly journal...no...there's a small business opportunity.) Now I search LL Bean and get 7 results.There's a wide range, from the arrival of the LL Bean Bootmobile to safety recalls to a study on the internet and mail-order retail industry.
#4 Value Line
This one is very intimidating, as I've always done the equivalent of putting my hands over my ears and singing whenever the subject of stocks come up. But, deep breath, here I go... this seems like a database with lots to offer, and is relatively easy to navigate once I stop shuddering and open my eyes...I search Apple in the general search box, which, since it yields results similar to a google search, lessens the panic. Next I do the company lookup...ha, where is that?...oh, found it...what do you mean, 0 results for "Apple"? Oh, I was searching by "ticker" and not "company"...no, I don't want Dr. Pepper/Snapple, but here is Apple. I click that and get a report which I think is an overview, and looks pretty comprehensive. I'm not sure it's a "full research report" or not, so I search for this. Nothing is coming up quickly. I have to say this remains intimidating to me, although I suppose much of that is due to my attitude (not to mention the fact that I'm three assignments behind and would like to catch up, so slowing down to explore this feature calmly is hard to do right now). I'll try to come back...
#5 Wall Street Journal
Oh, it's like the Maine Newsstand. This will be easy...I think the suggested subjects would all be pertinent, especially after clicking "view all". I see the same options we explored in the Maine Newsstand assignment to create alerts via email or RSS feed. These would be very helpful for a small business owner wishing to follow proposed legislation, for example. This one is lots easier for a non-financial person to deal with than Value Line!
So, I just looked over what I've written, and there's lots of "I'll try to come back". I can see that this is a personal area of opportunity, and I really must come back to explore all of these databases when I'm not feeling rushed. I'm not sure how much our patrons would use them, as we serve a rural area whose main industry is tourism, but you never know, and it would be wise to be comfortable with these features.
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Marvelous Maine 5--Novelist
I use this feature ALL THE TIME! I have an assortment of patrons who like to read certain genres and rely on me to have books ready and waiting for them, and it's been a lifesaver when we reach the end of a particular series and my patron(s) want a new series just as good as the one they just finished. So "author readalike, "series readalike", and "title readalike" are all very familiar to me.
I will usually use Novelist to search for a readalike author, then go to that author's website to get the chronological list of books ( because yup, all of my patrons like to read their series in order); sometimes, though, the authors' websites are not as user-friendly as I would like, so I was eager to try the series title feature, and I love it. Clicking the series radio button for the search puts it all into chronological order, and I like that the readalikes are offered to the right, as well as the appeal factors. (One note: the assignment tells us to search by series and then explore the "sort by" and "view" features; these features are only available when you click "all" for the search, which is definitely not as user-friendly as searching "series".) Since I usually go to the "author" search, I was familiar with many of the features, but I didn't ever realize it was a magnifying glass to the left of the readalikes' names. I love the hover ability, so much easier than clicking through all those pages.
When exploring a little more, I found the "grab and go booklists" feature. Previously, I had found the "picture book extenders" feature, which has been very helpful when creating programs for school-age children; I think I will try the grab and go booklists when creating Storytime. The "subjects/appeals" tab will be useful for creating themed displays. And the book discussion guides is great, much more detailed than Good Reads. We'll use this for book club.
So, I learned a few new things, and I'll certainly continue to explore this terrific tool!
I will usually use Novelist to search for a readalike author, then go to that author's website to get the chronological list of books ( because yup, all of my patrons like to read their series in order); sometimes, though, the authors' websites are not as user-friendly as I would like, so I was eager to try the series title feature, and I love it. Clicking the series radio button for the search puts it all into chronological order, and I like that the readalikes are offered to the right, as well as the appeal factors. (One note: the assignment tells us to search by series and then explore the "sort by" and "view" features; these features are only available when you click "all" for the search, which is definitely not as user-friendly as searching "series".) Since I usually go to the "author" search, I was familiar with many of the features, but I didn't ever realize it was a magnifying glass to the left of the readalikes' names. I love the hover ability, so much easier than clicking through all those pages.
When exploring a little more, I found the "grab and go booklists" feature. Previously, I had found the "picture book extenders" feature, which has been very helpful when creating programs for school-age children; I think I will try the grab and go booklists when creating Storytime. The "subjects/appeals" tab will be useful for creating themed displays. And the book discussion guides is great, much more detailed than Good Reads. We'll use this for book club.
So, I learned a few new things, and I'll certainly continue to explore this terrific tool!
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