wrapping it up!!

I have to admit that when we were told to do these exercises I wasn't thrilled. I do not like to read and retain but once I got going and there was plenty of hands on stuff, I relaxed alittle!

Starting with Worldbook, Learning Express and SIRS was a good start. I liked these the best and think these would be the easiest for others to navigate through. If the schools could utilize the library site would be great. Not sure if they have a different site they use or nothing at all.

I enjoyed Learning Express' pretesting area on basic jobs and even with school subjects. Would be a very good review for kids, like my daughter in math! I enjoyed looking at job description, reading and then taking the test. Was very interesting.

The GaleVirtual Reference got a little deep for me in some catagories. Subjects and info are out there but just wasn't interested enough. The same with the rest of the exercises. If it's not my thing I would prefer not spending my time on it.

WorldCat is familiar to me and we do use that here to order books for patrons. Just hadn't realized there was so much info on each book we borrow. We could find all the books on one author for the patron if they were interested.

Overall, it was a good thing. Not sure how I will promote it to others. Maybe we can put a blurb in our weekly paper article or let the school know somehow, too. Posters or flyers in the library to let the kids know about a few of the sites.

That's all as I wrapped it up! 

#9 Ancestry, Heritage Quest & Sanborn Maps

Have to say I was a little frustrated with the AncestryLibrary. My name didn't work real well and I tried maiden name and married name. Must be too young to be noted! When I put in my maternal grandfather I didn't know his birth but remembered his death date. This was helpful. The more information the better. Census had been taken  when he was 2 or 3 so all his older siblings were listed on the page from the book. Seeing his parents names and the whole family was kinda neat.   Also tried the yearbook statis from the public school in Freeman. the 70's were the last ones listed but a person could go through the whole book page by page.

The HeritageQuest went a little better for me. First I put in our town of Freeman and clicked the books. Got 13 resaults with only afew about our town. Others were on different places. Not sure why they even came up. Then I did the same under the Persi catagory. Typed in Hutchinson co. with keyword of Mennonite. Here there were 4 resaults. I clicked on a couple and was surprised to see what articles I could find on this. Its a big part of our community so nice to see it come up in print.

The Sanborn Maps didn't have the two towns I was most familiar with. Not sure why. The other town I picked I didn't know enough about to figure out where things were in the town.  It would be very cool to see the growth of the town from the span of years given. 

These sites are not ones I would use alot. The Maps maybe when I thought of it or if I could get my hometown in Iowa to come up. Can't believe we are on the last challenge!

#8 ArchiveGrid and CAMIO

   Sitting Bull autograph card - something I would have never thought of looking for! Not alot of old artifacts from him except the one card with envelope. The information on him was also short but I would have guessed that. He wasn't a showy type person but stood up for what he believed and tried to keep his indian culture and heritage alive. He was an active force against the white man take over and led the Sioux and Cheyenne warriors in battles. I didn't realize he died while resisting arrest which was about a traditional dance he was trying to keep alive.
   I then typed in Rapid City SD flood and got tons of stuff. Anything related to SDak, a flood in any part of the country and  a few things on Rapid City.  So I narrowed down the search to just Rapid City SDak and got 133 resaults coming from Augustana and MN historical society and Uof M. Yale University even has something on Wounded Knee.
   The CAMIO section wasn't my thing and started by putting in VanGogh. 48 prints appeared and the locations of these prints.  Thought this was pretty neat. Did the Paul Revere and found he had 35 items listed which was 35 more than I thought there would be! He had paintings, metal works and decorative items and prints. The next word "Sioux" I didn't know what to expect. Turned out to be mostly Sioux Indian stuff of jewelry, clothes, books, prints and paintings. There locations were listed, also.
   I then typed in a 19th century artist by the name of Asher Durand. He had 13 prints and I enjoyed looking at them closer, putting 4 on my favorites and moving them around to my liking. I do like his outdoor scenery pictures.
   With our museum in Freeman, I think we would be able to do more research on some of the items we have here.  If we could find out more info on some of the pieces we have on hand that we don't know much about, that would be awesome.  I will have to bring this up to the director of the museum. She probably knows all about it but it can't hurt!

#7 WorldCat

I felt a little more at ease when I saw that we were looking at WorldCat since I do use this to borrow books for patrons. I was pleasantly surprised at all the things I did not know was there.  I started by searching for the book "Oogy" which I just finished as an audiobook. There were 13 resaults and 1303 libraries that carried it. I clicked on the first/top resault and saw the info it gave and some options you could choose from there. The call #, other books the author has in print, year published and a short synopsis on the story. Clicking on the subject line brought up total count of books, series info, whats on the internet, if book can be gotten in sound or visual and even archival options.

To be able to look for a subject and hopefully find it in different variations, like ebook, archives, sound, visual is a plus for some research projects. I looked at the "i" icon button from a few of the options under the database search.

In the OAIster database I put in SouthDakota as requested and scrolled through options until I found 'Sweet Clover in Great Plains Farming'.  Clicked access and a 30min clock started ticking. Caught me off gaurd but once I chose the 'book' and looked through some chapters the clock stopped running. If you would find something in these 'books or articles' you can also print them out. Saw just a few chapters that would be interesting so knowing I can print out is nice.  I'm sure we can find about anything from here to help a patron or student out.

#6 EBooks on EbscoHost

Was somewhat overwhelmed with this exercise. I think, again, all the information is there if you have more detailed clues. I tried Herbert Hoover and thought I would just get info on him, the past president. Instead I got anything that had Hoover or Herbert in it, which I understand. So just scrolled through until I found some things that might work.

When looking for titles on Constitution Day I was amazed at the nonfiction items. I thought Bill of Rights, Law101 and American Congress would be interesting to look into further. 

I looked up Nebraska and Oklahoma for general info on the state. Then did the PB Publisher box as requested. There I got all books published from these two companies. You really would need to know "what" they published to continue on here. That confussed me more. Would rather try and find the subject matter and narrow it down.

Once again, students and families have a wide variety of resources here from SD State Library. This website would be all they would need to get the info for reports and assignments.

#5 Gale Virtual Reference Library

Well, I started by looking up a "title"  and went to something totally foreign to me. That was Forensic Science. Looked at Biometric eye scans and Breathalyzer articles. This was way over my head but was fun reading about it. Decided to 'start over' with a new title and went with business and finance. Read about CPA's and ethics in accounting. More familiar reading here and was amazed at how much a person can find out. You do need to know what your looking for otherwise alot of time could be wasted.

In the search box I did look up zinc. Didn't really find about foods but went straight to colds, what drugs can be given and of course zinc can be taken the first onset of the cold to reduce the time span of it. More of a herbal remedy.

I also looked up Herbert Hoover in the search bar. I have always been interested in this president and did a few elementary and jr.high reports on him. Was pleasantly surprised that all the info was there in the articles. To be able to pick which book/encyclopedia you would like to research from is a plus. Found this all very easy to navigate and enjoyable during the time I spent on it.

ProQuest

I think there is just too much information out there! Technology can be great but it blows my mind that you can put one word in the search box and get thousands of options to read. It is a good site when you need to do research, once again. But not knowing a specific document or magazine that might be helpful on your subject would be a negative. I looked up "migraine" because I have had them all my life. They are getting better and I've always thought it was hormonally triggered but the last years I have also realized they may be food triggered. So I did the 'search within' and got more articles to read. Yes, if I wanted to spend alot more time on this I would have found alot out. Just feel you need to be very specific when your using ProQuest but knowing its out there is a positive.

SIRS Discoverer and Researcher

  Looked up armadillo like suggested in the Discoverer part. I was amazed at how much info was out there. If there is a favorite magazine or book you like, you could find the article that is chosen from there.For example, Ranger Rick or Britannica.
  The DataBase Features are great. There was a good variety, then you could keep narrowing it down to get more specific on the subject your researching. I struggled on the map of Germany and wanted to see more of the smaller towns that exist. Couldn't make it work but I could have been missing something. But the map, overall, was colorful and had the major cities listed.
  The dictionary section is a good feature but I found you had to spell the word exactly right. Was hoping for suggestion of "did you mean".. and give me the correct spellings. The skills discovery was a fun simple feature that gave the basics on music, drama and arts. Really liked looking around on the biography section.
  Then I went on to the Researcher. I chose cheerleading and couldn't believe the articles it listed about the pros and cons of it being a sport and also all the injuries that can occur. You can read the articles, view points and reference. Great for those research papers!
  In the Curriculum Pahtfinder part I went to Math. WOW! Sure would have been nice to have this in the late 70's. It might be hard at times to find an answer if you don't know what specific magazine or paper it would be in. But the information is definitly out there.

Learning Express Library

So the 2nd study was on the Learning Express Library. Setting up the account was very simple and getting around the site was easy. I chose to check into the court officer job and see what that was. After reading the description I gave it a try. I got a little nervous when the test was timed. I am not a fast reader and always like to go over it a few times to get the details. But I finished and did very well on the test.
  The Job Search/Workplace Skills I went to interviewing and tips on what to know to help you be more confident in doing an interview. Really good, basic ideas and alot of do's and don'ts. A good resource.
   Went back to the court officer job and checked out the sites for ebooks and courses. Couldn't believe all the books a person can use to read up on the interested job.  There is alot of info on this Learning Express and sure wish I would have known about this years ago so it could have helped my kids when they were in highschool.  Was an enjoyable lesson.

World Book Edition (A, B & C)

Finding my little possum in theWorld Book School Edition was very simple. Was so colorful and easy to get around. Moving from the kids division to the student one was much the same but more detailed info. The Advanced and the Discover books are informative and you should be able to find whatever it is you need. To be able to go to Spanish or French is also a neat feature.

    In the Public Library Edition I found it navigated much the same but I enjoyed the reference center. You could find past articles and alot of history on the subject you wanted. Again, very easy to get around for info.

    The Foreign Language is wonderful for the people who aren't quite adapted to the english language. Also easy to get around and find what you are looking for.