SD Library Challenge - Wrap Up

I loved looking around the CAMIO website. I was familiar with most of the databases.I think this was a great way to refresh myself on what resources are available through SDLN and the State Library.

How will I promote these wonderful tools... well just last night I helped a person find a book on the GED tests so I directed them to the Learning Express Test resoruce. Then this morning as I was walking into work I explained about NetLibrary to another patron.

I enjoyed learning about these tools again.

SD Library Challenge - Lesson 9

Dealing with Genealogist is not one of my Favorite things to do. I can show them the online resources but I really could care less about their family history. I don’t need to know that you’ve traced your family back to the Mayflower. With that being said here are my thoughts for this lesson…

When I put my name in I wasn’t expecting to find anything, but there I am – my birth date and where I live. Can you say identity theft? OK … so it’s not as bad as my husband who was born in MN and has his birth date plus who his parents are. Hopefully no one is out there who wants to be me. I’m not going to lose sleep over this.

Ancestry is my choice for finding info. The drawback is that I can’t use it at home. The downloadable charts are easy to use and will be helpful in doing research. One thing you need to remind people is that it’s not as easy as it looks on all the Ancestry commercials on TV. As from my experience the information I was looking for was not there. I'll keep on searching.....

For my discovery experience I located a picture of the South Dakota Ship from 1903.

Heritage Quest can be used from home but I don’t like the layout when I’m searching for census material.


While playing around I used the Family Tree. I had never used that before. Odd how the people you are looking for are never found but the ones you know about are there. That’s the way life is. I guess I’ll keep on searching.

I have used the Map collection before. It was fun looking at maps of my hometown. There again the place I wanted to be listed wasn’t there. Rats!

On a side note it’s great that we learned how to upload to Google Docs in the last Library Challenge. I now keep all info there so I can have access to it from anywhere.

SD Library Challenge - Learning Express Library

Yes! I scored a perfect 5. Can I be excited about that. Learning Express is such a great resource. I think High School teachers should be using this more. I would have mentioned this site to my niece before she took her ACT test.

There are a wide variety of test to choose from and is very helpful that you can score it at anytime. I need a little more help in becoming a Firefighter!

The tutorials and help sheet are easy to use.

SD Library Lesson 7 - ArchiveGrid & CAMIO

So how long do we have to play with this. I enjoyed browsing through CAMIO - WOW famous art at your fingertips. I looked for the oldest piece of art  - from the early 1700s. The high resolution view made the picture come to life. Not knowing a lot about art I found it easy to Browse the collection. I was able to limit the collection to paintings and not sculpture. I loved looking at the pieces of jewelry and costumes. What craftsmanship! I did a search of Frank Lloyd Wright and Ansel Adams . Odd how no one owns a Harvey Dunn, Oscar Howe or  piece of Marghab Linen. The descriptions provided are very insightful on all of the works.In my free time I'll definitely come back to this.

The ArchiveGrid is a nice resource. However I think people will be disappointed that you can't have the instant satisfaction of seeing that information. From a library stand point it is nice to have this resource but patrons have to remember that not all libraries will make free copies of the information in these specialized collections. The books in these collections are not loaned out to libraries either.

SD Library Challenge - World Cat

I am quite familiar with using World Cat – I use OCLC First Search every day. I did change the catalog to OAIster and played around with that. This resource is best used if you are looking for a specific item. It is nice that you are informed if your library owns the item. The tutorial provided was easy to understand.

SD Library Challenge Lesson 5 - Net Library

There are pros and cons with Net Library -- so I'll just list them.


Pros - when searching SDLN titles are listed and the link just brings you to the book in the Net Library. You can then decide if you want to look at it or not. *It’s a great reference source. * Languages can easily be switched


Cons - I'm a book lover, so I like to read a copy of the book. I don’t see myself using this resource. If a parent comes in looking for a children’s book I would suggest the Tumblebooks which we subscribe to.

SD Library Lesson 4 - Gale Reserach

I found it easier to use the subject listing rather than the titles. It’s a simple step to find the subject then look at the materials on the subject. I looked under History and then explored the History of the Middle Ages… I would have been as tall as an average man at 5 feet 5 inches tall… of course since I’m over 25 my life would have expired.




When I used Middle Ages as a basic search it was nice to see the search broken down into subject matter on the left hand side. You were able to narrow the subject matter. It was easy to navigate through. I looked at the for the textiles of the Vikings. I also listened to the article. I noticed you could download as an MP3 format… see any high school aged kids doing that?


The articles are easy to print and cite. All in all its easy to navigate and to use.

Proquest Experience

I have had some experience with Proquest. I like how you can limit the searching just to full text articles. For the exercise I did a search for Public Libraries... when I used all sources the newest article was from 2005.

The topic guide is easy to use and gives more options.

I was able to find this is full text article on Breast Cancer Research. I know one of the researchers on this project.

Yan-gao Man, Sidney W. Fu, Arnold Schwartz, Joseph J. Pinzone, Samuel J. Simmens, & Patricia E. Berg. (2005). Expression of BP1, a novel homeobox gene, correlates with breast cancer progression and invasion. Breast Cancer Research and Treatment, 90(3), 241-7. Retrieved March 10, 2010, from Research Library. (Document ID: 824373081).

SIRS

This is a picture I found in SIRS Discoverer. I think I would have to spend more time researching this site before recommending it for current events.

However the country facts are easy to use. The historical maps are nice - incase you need one in a timeline project. The outline maps are there but the selection is quite small. I know a book in the reference section that has some great outline maps!
I explored the World Almanac for Kids. This is a nice resource if our book is checked out. Its nice to have the Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus available.

SIRS Researcher: I find this has an excellent jumping off point for people wanting ideas.... I like the pro & cons that are easy to choose from. The links on the left are easy to navigate - such as Natural Disasters.

For the Course Study I  clicked around in the Health section. Here the categories were easy to use.

A couple of things I like: The Top 10 issues and the spotlight feature. Sometimes this is all that's needed to get the ideas flowing.

SIRS Discoverer ® on the Web: Document Picture

SIRS Discoverer ® on the Web: Document Picture

Lesson 1C - Languages

It was great to explore this website. The website is easy to navigate.

I don't know when I'll use it however I'm going to point it out to some students who are taking Spanish...

Lesson 1b

World Book Public Library edition searches and gives mostly the same info as the Student version. However the games are cool - perhaps I'll point this out to some little friends.

World Book Info finder - adds in current events on page. Gives same info as found in the student version. Its nice to have ideas for Science projects.... I'll certainly remember where that is!

World Book Reference Center. Easy to navigate compares well with WB Advance

My conclusion is that in a Public Library setting either the set of the World Books will be helpful. It doesn't matter which one is used as long as it is easy for the patron to use.

Lesson 1a - world book lessons

Skunk

Skunks are small furry animals with black and white markings. They are known for the bad-smelling liquid they spray when they are scared or in danger. The smell lasts for days.
This bad-smelling liquid, called musk, comes from a part of the body near the skunk's tail. Before it sprays, the skunk gives a warning. It stamps its front feet and hisses or growls.
Many skunks live underground. They are active at night and sleep during the day. Skunks eat insects and small animals. They have very few enemies, but bobcats and large owls called great horned owls sometimes attack them.

CuadroMofeta
Las mofetas son animales peludos pequeños con las marcas blancas y negros. Se saben para el líquido malo-que huele que rocían cuando se asustan o en peligro. El olor dura por días.
Este líquido malo-que huele, llamado almizcle, viene de una parte del cuerpo cerca de la cola de la mofeta. Antes de él rocíe, la mofeta da una advertencia. Estampa sus pies y silbidos o gruñidos delanteros.

"Skunk." World Book Kids. World Book, 2010. Web. 8 March 2010.

World Book Kids - its nice to have the pictures you can see, but instead of pages upon pages of animals they should have a letter you can click on. To find a picture of a skunk, I had to guess what page it would be on. However aren't you amazed by my translation? Actually one click and it was translated for me. Also citing is quite easy to do - not that may young people will be citing their articles.

Comparing with the World Book Student version the articles are longer, there are more languages to translate to and the site is evloving as the child ages. For example on the opening page there is a video clip. That certainly catches the eye. Its nice when you search for a topic more options are availible.... articles, pictures, dictionary definitions.

World Book Advance: I can see this resource being used for general reference. It's easy to use. I was surpised when I did an image search for NORWAY the Minnesota State coin came up. Go Figure that one out!

World Book Discover: We are able to patrons by using the translate key.

Electroic Resources Challenge

Today I had to reactivate my blog from the last SD Library Challenge... Off I go!