Well...we are finally done our Marvelous Maine Invitational, and I must say it has been an interesting journey.
To be honest, I found some to the exercises to be, at times, frustrating and mind boggling, (Cue : Business resources and Ebscohost, LOL), but I got through it with the help of co-workers, and shared a few
laughs along the way.
It was really a toss up for me whether I found the Hobbies and Crafts or the Ancestry Library to be the biggest discovery for me. I love to do crafts, but I think I found looking up my ancestors to be the most enjoyable and enlightening. To be able to look up and find long lost relatives was fantastic.
We have had a few patrons already who have used NoveList and the Ancestry Library, and they have been quite surprised at the amount of information available to them. We have many patrons who will be extremely interested in the Hobbies and Crafts information available on Marvel.
We will continue to try to steer patrons onto Marvel when they have a question we cannot answer or if they are looking for materials that we do not provide.
All in all, Marvel is a very informative site for patrons and staff. Thank you for an interesting 10 weeks!!!
Monday, December 10, 2012
Monday, December 3, 2012
#10 LAST ONE.................had fun but glad it's over
This has been an interesting journey, but I'm glad it's over. Back to my boring but normal live now.
GreenFile offers well researched information covering all aspects of the human impact to the environment.
The data base provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records. I found only 1 magazine that I recognized, Organic Gardening, but most of the other articles were from Academic Journals.
When I researched "zinc in foods", I came up with 116,379 results from books to newspaper articles.
One article from the Gazette, dated Feb. 15, 2000, stated that 3/4 of North Americans do not get enough zinc in their diets. A zinc deficiency might result in lower immune-system function. According to some
experts, zinc helps reduce the duration of the common cold.
In the NetLibrary, I looked up cake decorating. I only found 2 ebooks, and only one of those had anything to do with cake decorating.
After typing in "Nebraska" I came up with 5 pages of results, but only a few of those ebooks had anything to do with Nebraska. The rest of the results were all over the place.
I know I was a little frustrated at not being able to find what I was looking for very easily, so I think
some patrons will feel the same.
GreenFile offers well researched information covering all aspects of the human impact to the environment.
The data base provides indexing and abstracts for more than 384,000 records, as well as Open Access full text for more than 4,700 records. I found only 1 magazine that I recognized, Organic Gardening, but most of the other articles were from Academic Journals.
When I researched "zinc in foods", I came up with 116,379 results from books to newspaper articles.
One article from the Gazette, dated Feb. 15, 2000, stated that 3/4 of North Americans do not get enough zinc in their diets. A zinc deficiency might result in lower immune-system function. According to some
experts, zinc helps reduce the duration of the common cold.
In the NetLibrary, I looked up cake decorating. I only found 2 ebooks, and only one of those had anything to do with cake decorating.
After typing in "Nebraska" I came up with 5 pages of results, but only a few of those ebooks had anything to do with Nebraska. The rest of the results were all over the place.
I know I was a little frustrated at not being able to find what I was looking for very easily, so I think
some patrons will feel the same.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Week #9 ....One more to go!!!!!
Well, we are almost to the end of this adventure. Some of it has been enlightening and fun, while other
portions have been frustrating...but onward...
I set up an account in Learning Express, and I chose the Basic Math test in the High School level.
Now, as much as I HATE taking tests....I found the experience to be interesting. I think patrons who are looking at going on to college, the military, or any field they chose, would benefit from the practice tests available here.
In "Job search and workplace skills" I clicked on how to create and write a resume. We are always getting patrons who need to write resumes, and showing them this course would be very beneficial to them. They will learn how to create and save the information for further use, and the course pretty much explains what information should be included in their resume to give a positive impression to a potential employer, and how that information should be presented.
When I browsed the eBook List, I chose "Pass the U.S. Citizenship Exam". This eBook is designed to help a person prepare for and pass the Citizenship Exam. My Mom, who was from Germany, waited 45 years before deciding to take this exam. She was always afraid she wasn't "smart" enough to pass. She would have passed with flying colors, but unfortunately she passed before she had the chance to try!
A great resource for anyone looking to become a U.S. Citizen!!!!!!!!
portions have been frustrating...but onward...
I set up an account in Learning Express, and I chose the Basic Math test in the High School level.
Now, as much as I HATE taking tests....I found the experience to be interesting. I think patrons who are looking at going on to college, the military, or any field they chose, would benefit from the practice tests available here.
In "Job search and workplace skills" I clicked on how to create and write a resume. We are always getting patrons who need to write resumes, and showing them this course would be very beneficial to them. They will learn how to create and save the information for further use, and the course pretty much explains what information should be included in their resume to give a positive impression to a potential employer, and how that information should be presented.
When I browsed the eBook List, I chose "Pass the U.S. Citizenship Exam". This eBook is designed to help a person prepare for and pass the Citizenship Exam. My Mom, who was from Germany, waited 45 years before deciding to take this exam. She was always afraid she wasn't "smart" enough to pass. She would have passed with flying colors, but unfortunately she passed before she had the chance to try!
A great resource for anyone looking to become a U.S. Citizen!!!!!!!!
Monday, November 19, 2012
Week #8....Now THIS was FUN !!!!!!!
This weeks lesson was all about Ancestry. When I searched for my name, I found very little information, gee does that mean I'm boring???. The information I did find about my residence was out of date and not accurate. I did find my marriage certificate, but I had to use my maiden name to find it. Using my married name I had gone through at least 20 pages and still hadn't found it. Apparently, WILSON is a common name!!!!! LOL.
I decided to look up my paternal grandfather. The first one I came to was actually my cousin who was named after my grandfather. He was 18 when he committed suicide, I guess I wasn't even thinking that I might find him, and that threw me off a little. I finally found my grandfather, his marriage certificate and his death certificate. He was only 51 when he passed. I also found my paternal grandmother's death certificate and she was only 56 when she passed.
Under the "Photo and Maps" search for Maine all I found was a Data Collection. There were statistics from the Maine Census dating from 1800-1890, marriage, birth and death data, Maine Military, immigration, and travel, etc...
All in all I found Ancestry to quite interesting. I could have a lot of fun researching my ancestors.....just have to find the time!!!!!!!!!!! LOL
I decided to look up my paternal grandfather. The first one I came to was actually my cousin who was named after my grandfather. He was 18 when he committed suicide, I guess I wasn't even thinking that I might find him, and that threw me off a little. I finally found my grandfather, his marriage certificate and his death certificate. He was only 51 when he passed. I also found my paternal grandmother's death certificate and she was only 56 when she passed.
Under the "Photo and Maps" search for Maine all I found was a Data Collection. There were statistics from the Maine Census dating from 1800-1890, marriage, birth and death data, Maine Military, immigration, and travel, etc...
All in all I found Ancestry to quite interesting. I could have a lot of fun researching my ancestors.....just have to find the time!!!!!!!!!!! LOL
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Week #7....Much better than WEEK FROM HELL #6
Well I found the Health Source-Consumer Edition to be very helpful. When I went to the Publications link I found that they have a magazine or journal for just about any topic you would want to research. A patron could spend hours looking up medical conditions of diseases.
I looked up "Scoliosis", which I suffer from, and found 50 results dating from June 2012 to 1997. When I clicked on the newest article about Scoliosis I found the article very easy to read and understand. There were several diagrams of a human spine showing what Scoliosis looks like and what a normal spine should look like. The article gave a very clear defination of what Scoliosis is, what causes it, the symptoms, which I have 4 out of the 5 listed, and the treatments available for Scoliosis.
When I went to the news column for November 13, in Medline Plus there were several articles listed.
From : Cholesterol tests, Scientist find gene differences in non-smokers with lung cancer, Spinal steroid shots may have little effect on Sciatica, and Battling back pain. The last two I found extremely interesting since I suffer from both conditions.
I looked up Prilosec, which is used to treat acid reflux (GERD), which is not a fun thing to have, and it tells you why the medicatin is prescribed and how it should be used. There is quite a long list of precautions and side effects for Prilosec, and people who take this drug for several years are more likely to fracture wrists, hips or spines.
When I looked up Scoliosis in Medline Plus I had to really search more for the information than I did in Health Source. With Health Source the information was more readily available, which I think patrons would find more appealing.
I found the videos very informative. I'm sure patrons could get a lot of medical information about whatever topic they are interested in.
I looked up "Scoliosis", which I suffer from, and found 50 results dating from June 2012 to 1997. When I clicked on the newest article about Scoliosis I found the article very easy to read and understand. There were several diagrams of a human spine showing what Scoliosis looks like and what a normal spine should look like. The article gave a very clear defination of what Scoliosis is, what causes it, the symptoms, which I have 4 out of the 5 listed, and the treatments available for Scoliosis.
When I went to the news column for November 13, in Medline Plus there were several articles listed.
From : Cholesterol tests, Scientist find gene differences in non-smokers with lung cancer, Spinal steroid shots may have little effect on Sciatica, and Battling back pain. The last two I found extremely interesting since I suffer from both conditions.
I looked up Prilosec, which is used to treat acid reflux (GERD), which is not a fun thing to have, and it tells you why the medicatin is prescribed and how it should be used. There is quite a long list of precautions and side effects for Prilosec, and people who take this drug for several years are more likely to fracture wrists, hips or spines.
When I looked up Scoliosis in Medline Plus I had to really search more for the information than I did in Health Source. With Health Source the information was more readily available, which I think patrons would find more appealing.
I found the videos very informative. I'm sure patrons could get a lot of medical information about whatever topic they are interested in.
Monday, November 5, 2012
Week #6.....OMG
Now this was a challenging lesson!!!!
In Business Source Complete I found several sources from Academic Journals to Periodicals and Reports. I also found the Visual Search option to be a little much, I feel that the patrons would sometime be a little overwhelmed with so much information coming at them.
In EconLit I found 7 results for Resources for small business owners.
In searching items pertaining to the EPA and small businesses, I found several results such as :
Innovation research programs for small businesses, and also an article on the EPA awarding small business grants.
Several articles on tax policies and small businesses were "on-line" articles, but there were a few books and government documents available for small business owners to check out.
In the Discovery Exercise I looked up Weight Watchers and got 5 pages of results. Most were
newspaper articles about quarterly earnings. there were a few articles about Jessica Simpson's deal with WW and a article about WW contribution to Hunger Relief Organizations. For the Maine Company I looked up Huhtamaki, the former Keyes Fibre Company, but I mostly got quarterly earning reports. Unless I had stock in Huhtamaki, that would not hold much interest for me!!
I could not access the Value Line after several attempts. I guess everyone was checking out their
portfolios!!
The Wall Street Journal provided 20 newspaper and 3 magazine articles about small businesses and health care. There was data about affordable health care that small business owners could use to find insurance for their employees, although,one article stated that many of the small businesses still have the biggest jump in health care cost.
In Business Source Complete I found several sources from Academic Journals to Periodicals and Reports. I also found the Visual Search option to be a little much, I feel that the patrons would sometime be a little overwhelmed with so much information coming at them.
In EconLit I found 7 results for Resources for small business owners.
In searching items pertaining to the EPA and small businesses, I found several results such as :
Innovation research programs for small businesses, and also an article on the EPA awarding small business grants.
Several articles on tax policies and small businesses were "on-line" articles, but there were a few books and government documents available for small business owners to check out.
In the Discovery Exercise I looked up Weight Watchers and got 5 pages of results. Most were
newspaper articles about quarterly earnings. there were a few articles about Jessica Simpson's deal with WW and a article about WW contribution to Hunger Relief Organizations. For the Maine Company I looked up Huhtamaki, the former Keyes Fibre Company, but I mostly got quarterly earning reports. Unless I had stock in Huhtamaki, that would not hold much interest for me!!
I could not access the Value Line after several attempts. I guess everyone was checking out their
portfolios!!
The Wall Street Journal provided 20 newspaper and 3 magazine articles about small businesses and health care. There was data about affordable health care that small business owners could use to find insurance for their employees, although,one article stated that many of the small businesses still have the biggest jump in health care cost.
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Week 5 : Half way there
Due to a family emergency this past week. I am a little behind on my blog.
I found Novelist quite interesting. When you click on "View" you can search for Title only, which is how most of our patrons seem to search. But if you want a brief description of your choice that is also available. If you check on "Detailed" you get title, author, how popular the book is, and a brief
overview of the book.
"Series Read Alike" is a great feature. It will give you a list of several books and authors that are in the same genre and have a similar writting style to your author of choice.
I found the "Grab and Go" book list to be not easily assecessible. I had to really search to find it!
I found Novelist quite interesting. When you click on "View" you can search for Title only, which is how most of our patrons seem to search. But if you want a brief description of your choice that is also available. If you check on "Detailed" you get title, author, how popular the book is, and a brief
overview of the book.
"Series Read Alike" is a great feature. It will give you a list of several books and authors that are in the same genre and have a similar writting style to your author of choice.
I found the "Grab and Go" book list to be not easily assecessible. I had to really search to find it!
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