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.

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!

Marvelous Maine 4--Hobbies

OK, the warning is definitely necessary--you could spend HOURS on this database alone! I am an interior design junkie, and since several of my favorite shelter magazines closed down during the recession I am always looking to see if there's something out there I don't know about. So first, I decide to see what I can find in interior decoration. I don't see it as a category, so I do a search in the "find" box. There's lots about sewing, creating curtains and cushions and such. Unfortunately, I don't sew...There's quite a few articles from Romantic Homes magazine. I've seen it at the store, but I don't think I've ever picked it up, so I click open a few of their articles. I don't think this magazine would replace some of my defunct favorites, but at least this offers me something fresh to look at.

Next, I go back to the home page to look at the categories. I keep trying to start knitting, so I search under needlecrafts and textiles and click knitting. Score! There's how-to videos for everything. Looks like that scarf will definitely be knitted this winter!

I click the sidebar with the seasonal crafts for kids, and look at some of the projects. This might come in handy when it's time to plan Storytime projects. I'll definitely return to see what might enhance my programs.

As a very small library, we don't subscribe to any of these magazines and we have a limited number of books on these topics on our shelves, so I'll definitely recommend the database to our crafting patrons. The help tab's tutorial would be a great introduction for someone new to the database, and the the search term help would certainly be useful for someone looking for specific information. This is a great resource!

Marvelous Maine 3--Newsstand

First, I decided to search for articles on changes to the school funding formula; from things I had heard, it sounded like something had happened recently that would place more of a burden on towns. But I didn't see anything that seemed to prove this, and I didn't see any recent articles (last couple of months), so I thought I might not get an alert. So, I changed my search to see what the changes were that are being made to general assistance in the state. Both searches were easy enough to perform and modify; the instructions were right, it is a lot like a google search. I'm eager to see if I get any email alerts in the next couple of weeks. This is a very useful tool if you want to keep tabs on something particular, and you arent't always able to catch the news.

Update 11-6: I was very excited to get the Proquest alert in my email box this morning. What was new with general assistance in Maine, I wondered. Nothing, as it turned out; someone in Dedham was involved in a standoff with police over the weekend, and the police called for "assistance". Guess I'd better refine my search terms...

I did get a chance to share some of my knowledge of Marvel with a patron during snapshot week. Someone came in wanting information about about an appliance from Consumer Reports, but didn't have time to wait. I told him about Marvel and showed him to log in and perform his search from home. I called him the next day to see if he had been successful, and he had; he was surprised and pleased to see all that could be accessed through the service. (And since he is a former state legislator, it's nice to be able to please him!)