Lesson 10 - Wrap Up

1. Actually, my biggest discovery was the Learning Express Library. Throughout my school years (and even yet), I learn the best by "examples." This library is a goldmine. How I wish it would have existed years ago. I have already recommended it to other people with school-age children.

2. With patrons asking a variety of questions every day, I feel that I now know of some very good additional resources. I plan to frequently use them myself so that I can stay familiar with all of the different things available. So many people are unaware of their existence.

Lesson 9 - History and Genealogy Resources - Ancestry Library, Heritage Quest and Sanborn Maps

1. I searched for myself in Ancestry Library and found my marriage license. I also found my name under the U.S. Public Records Index.

2. I did a search for a grandparent and found their marriage license. It's kind of hard to believe that this information is out there. When you read their ages at the time, it's really amazing--you just remember them as grandparents. I also located them in the census, where it listed my mother as their daughter. It's hard to believe that the information was all handwritten--in the "penmanship" style we all learned in grade school. Also interesting was my grandfather's World War I Draft Registration Card.

3. Under "Photos and Maps," I browsed through some local high school yearbooks. (If this information was available on my home computer, I would never get anything done at home!) I actually knew a lot of the people from the local yearbooks.

4. In Heritage Quest, I didn't find any particular place, but I enjoyed browsing through the publications.

5. I found a local church in the Sanborn Maps. Although the name of the church has changed, it's at the same location. I love looking back at how things were years ago.

Lesson 8 - Learning Express Library

I chose to do Grammar Practice 1 for high school. I was totally impressed. By scoring your exam and explaining the correct answers, it is so easy to understand. This might be one of the best lessons I've taken so far in this course. It would be so helpful for students struggling in school, as well as a good "refresher" for job seekers who may need to take tests (i.e., in this case, for grammar). This is one feature that I will definitely "spread the word" about.

I checked out the eBooks and was surprised to see so many. I browsed through 501 Grammar and Writing Questions, 3rd Edition under Writing Skills and found it very easy to navigate. It makes me think back to all of the times I could have used this information. It's easy to check the contents list and then go to exactly the section you want.

Lesson 7 - ArchiveGrid and CAMIO

ArchiveGrid:

1. It was interesting to learn that Sitting Bull took his tribe to Canada, where they lived until surrendering to U.S. forces, and that he was killed while resisting arrest.

2. I did a search of "Milbank, South Dakota," and came up with information regarding Lowry Elliott, an ornithologist of Milbank, South Dakota. (I learned that an ornithologist is someone who studies birds.) It gave the location of the collection as Augustana College, Center for Western Studies, in Sioux Falls. I did some more "browsing" and somehow came across an on-line store for buying things like Cannon River Kitchens Perfect Pancake Mix from Cannon Falls, Minnesota, and Native American Herbal Tea from Aberdeen, South Dakota.

CAMIO:

1. I would have never believed that Paul Revere made so many things--sugar bowl, sugar urn, teapot, sugar basket, creampot, tankard, goblets, sauceboat, teaspoon... I wonder if he actually used these things. Unbelievable.

2. In searching "Sioux," I found the costumes and jewelry the most interesting, especially the Pictographic Baby Bonnet, which is at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, along with many other articles. I noted that the Detroit Institute of Arts also houses many items.

3. I searched for Claude Monet and found two beautiful prints described as "Pastel on Paper." They were "View of the Sea at Sunset" and "Broad Landscape" and are both at a museum in Boston.

4. CAMIO gives everyone an opportunity to view wonderful works of art. Most people will never have the chance to see these items "in person," and this is a wonderful alternative. It's too bad that it cannot be accessed from home computers--but it's another good reason for visiting the library!

5. I really liked the "View Favorites" feature too. It would be a great organizational tool when working on a project and would make the entire process more personal. All of these features continue to amaze me!

Lesson 6 - OAIster

I tried out the OAIster database and selected "Barker the Black Hills Hermit at His Cave." The picture shows a lonely man standing in front of the cave that he lived in. The information stated that after his true love died, he decided to live entirely alone. I also checked out a picture from 1923 of "Cattle on a Western Farm." The description was "Cows Posing for the Camera." My husband (a rancher) saw the picture on the computer screen and asked me whose cattle I was looking at! I think senior citizens would really enjoy browsing through this database--I know my dad would have loved looking through something like this.

Lesson 6 - WorldCat and More First Search Indexes

I searched for the book Carol Heiss; Olympic Queen. Actually, I just searched under her name, and this was the only book that came up. I think it's the same book I read in grade school! I remember reading it over and over. I would love to see the book again. If I remember correctly, it was one of the books that was ordered through the school. WorldCat showed it being at 309 libraries worldwide, with the top library being at the University of South Dakota. I found the Class Descriptor as GV850.H38; Dewey: 927.9691; 796.91/092/. The year is listed as 1961, and it shows it as a Juvenile book with 128 pages. Yup, I bet that's the book! I also noticed that it shows the libraries having it in six nearby states--kind of interesting. WorldCat is really huge. It's amazing that so much information is in one place.

Lesson 5 - NetLibrary

I'm interested in scrapbooking, and I love the "Idiot's Guide" books, so I was thrilled to find the Idiot's Guide for scrapbooking. I didn't even know there was one. I looked at several pages, and there were colorful illustrations. It is so easy to search for a specific item in either the Contents section or the Index. There is also a section with definitions of scrapbooking terms. I might also add that the short videos about using NetLibrary were very informative and easy to understand.

I did a keyword search for "fitness"--and found another Idiot's Guide--this time for yoga. It was kind of a coincidence, because last week my doctor recommended yoga for me. Little did I know that I would find great information on yoga in NetLibrary!

I checked out Nebraska for Discovery Exercise 3 and found 88 books. In looking at the titles, a person would find plenty of reading about Western history.

Lesson 4 - Gale Virtual Reference Library

I searched the same medical condition that I used in Proquest and received 39 hits. I found some very good information in The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health. I liked the ReadSpeaker feature. I could just close my eyes, relax, and listen. Another great feature is the availability of different languages. I think this would be especially useful for our Spanish-speaking patrons. Everyone always seems to be in need of medical information at some time.

I checked for foods with zinc and was able to find them also in The Gale Encyclopedia of Nursing and Allied Health. Sources mentioned were oysters (not sure I need zinc that bad), beef, chicken, turkey, milk, cheese, yogurt, and (surprisingly) pure maple syrup. In searching for literary criticism of The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, I looked in Literary Themes for Students: The American Dream (under "Criticism"). It referred to Mark Twain's humor being "deadpan at its best" in The Adventures of Huckleberry Fin and that it was his funniest book.

All in all, The Gale Virtual Reference Library is a definite "go to" whether it be for a common everyday question or an involved term paper.

Lesson 3 - Proquest

I did a basic search for a medical condition (I'm a self-diagnoser!) and came up with 39 items, which I would consider "reliable" info. When I "Google" a medical term, I have to wade through a lot of things that do not seem factual. Proquest is like a "SUPER SIZE" magazine rack! I e-mailed a couple of articles to myself, which was so easy to do. I was also impressed with the "Search Alert" feature. I looked at the listing of publications and couldn't believe how many there were. I noticed one that did not have any info past the year 2000, so apparently the list must change every so often. I did a journal search for "library" and checked out a few articles there too. There is so much information out there!!. Proquest is DEFINITELY something I will be using from home.

SIRS Discoverer

I am once again amazed by all of the available resources that I never knew about before. And the information that is provided is "solid"--as one of the videos indicated. I looked up Shaun White and was impressed by the various resources (Weekly Reader, Boys Life, etc.). The colorful icons for such things as reading level and photos make the navigation easy. Most of the articles were "Moderate" reading level--very easy to understand. With this type of labeling, you wouldn't find yourself reading something that was too complicated (and possibly becoming discouraged with your project). It was interesting to note that Shaun White's nickname was "Tomato"--because of his red hair. The articles really emphasized how young he was when he got started. I especially liked the Classroom Ready Monthly News, which had questions and answers at the end. It serves as a good review of the article.

Under the "Country Facts" feature, I looked up Jamaica. It brings up a very organized outline of information. I especially liked the way the history was listed in order with just brief descriptions. I also noticed that it shows the country's flag. When I clicked on "Country Facts," I was surprised at HOW MANY countries were listed! I didn't realize there were so many.

I looked up a map of the Great Plains for 1600-1750 (under the U.S Historical section). It showed with different colors what areas were forest and woodland, short/tall grass, etc. Maps like this would be helpful in studying U.S. history.

I looked up Shaun White under "Pictures" in the "Database Features" section and found three pictures. I tried clicking on "Dictionary," but nothing would load (probably something wrong on my end).

SIRS Issues Researcher

Because "bullying" is so much in the news, I chose that as my leading issues. I liked the topic overview--a good starting point--and found the "Terms to Know" section helpful. We hear these terms all the time but might not know exactly what they mean. The "Further Research" column on the right side makes it so easy to find out more. How I wish we would have had these resources way back when I was in school. I dreaded doing any type of research project back then. Now it would be actually kind of fun.

Under "Curriculum Pathfinders," I chose Math Games. Under "Figure This--Math Challenges for Families," there were some fun games using numbers. Once again, the information presented is so colorful and appealing, making learning fun.

First of all, I have loved World Book since I was in grade school. In my mind, it's the best "brand name" for accurate information.

LESSON 1A - WORLD BOOK SCHOOL EDITION

The first thing I noticed is how bright and cheerful the pages are in World Book Kids, which makes you want to "dig in." I researched "skunk," mainly because we have a few in our area. I found out that they are active at night and sleep during the day--usually--we had one that apparently had its nights and days mixed up. Anyway, the bad-smelling liquid is called "musk," and before a skunk sprays, it stamps its front feet and hisses or growls. Another really neat feature in the Kids edition is all of the activities you can access (there's a square to click on at the top that says "Activities"). There are a LOT of useful ideas for both home and library. There are many times that I would use the Kids version when I just needed some very basic information. Lastly, the "Read Aloud" feature is outstanding. Technology keeps amazing me.

The Student edition is a very appropriate advancement from the Kids edition. It expands with additional information useful for older children. I learned that skunks spray up to 12 feet--I really thought it was farther than that. I also used the link for Magazine Articles and found that to be a good tool for additional info.

In the World Book Advanced, I researched Jamaica. It was very easy to navigate. I would definitely use Advanced to check out any possible vacation spot. I was even able to play some Jamaican popular music. Another nice feature of Advanced is the area entitled "In the Headlines."

World Book Discover's "Read Aloud" feature is wonderful for patrons who are not good readers of English. Also, I was amazed at the number of languages the text can be translated to.

LESSON 1b - WORLD BOOK PUBLIC LIBRARY EDITION

The Online Info Finder has a wealth of topics on the front page. I researched "skunk" again and found much more information than in World Book Online for Kids. I also noticed that Online Info Finder has an area for Current Events, which apparently is updated each day.

I think that patrons planning vacations would learn a lot from the World Book Online Reference Center. I again researched Jamaica, and you find solid, accurate information. There is also access to magazine articles about the country. It would be so much easier to research a country on this site instead of doing a general search on the internet.

LESSON 1c - WORLD BOOK FOREIGN LANGUAGE EDITION

I know very few Spanish words, but I was totally impressed with the Spanish edition. I tried the "Read Aloud," and again I was amazed. I check out animals simply going by the pictures. I think that our Spanish-speaking population would be amazed with this Foreign Language Edition, as well as anyone learning Spanish--even if you just wanted to know enough of the language to visit there.