I thought this would be a really easy assignment because I have used Ancestry Library some already. But, not all of it was simple. First, the tutorials were very straightforward. One thing I found here that I had never noticed before was the family tree chart which will be very useful.
When I looked under the alphabetical listings for Heritage Quest and Sanborn Maps, I couldn't find either of them.
In Ancestry Library, I started by looking for myself. When I put in just my name, date of birth, and town where I had lived, I didn't come up with anything. However, when I added some other family member names and a marriage date, I did come up with a marriage certificate. No matter how much information I added, I never did come up with my birth certificate.
I looked up one of my grandfathers and easily found him in the 1910 census when he was 3 years old.
I tried to perform a search under the photos and maps tab, but I couldn't find it anywhere.
So, I guess that I can do a basic ancestor search, but still have more to learn in Ancestry Library.
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Health Resources
Wow! I had no idea we had such extensive health resources online! (I wish this had been available when I was raising my three kids. Could have been very helpful.)
In Health Source, I researched ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease). There were a number of articles available. Although the listings tell the subjects discussed in the articles, there is not actually a synopsis of the articles which would be helpful and save time.
Next I went to Medline Plus. In the news column were these headlines: Head Injury, Pesticides Tied to Parkinson's Disease, Migraine _ Associated Brain Changes Not Related to Impaired Cognition, US Pre-term Birthrate Continues to Drop. (I went back next day to see if these had changed or were the same, and they were all different.) Under top searches were cancer, diabetes, polio, and vitamin D.
Drugs and Supplements: I looked up Advair. Nothing came up. Suggested that my search might be too specific. So I tried Salmeterol which is one of the active ingredients in Advair. This time I got some information about the uses of this drug, problems with patients not knowing how to take it effectively, etc.
Health topics: It is nice that it starts with a basic definition of the disease. This source seems more basic than and more aimed at the patient, while Medline seemed more aimed at the doctor/researcher.
Videos and Cool Tools: This is a very helpful resource. I watched a video on diabetes. It was informative and easy to follow. It was nice that you could go at your own pace, so that you could go over something a second time if you didn't take it in the first time.
I will definitely keep these sources in mind for patrons with medical questions.
In Health Source, I researched ALS (Lou Gehrigs Disease). There were a number of articles available. Although the listings tell the subjects discussed in the articles, there is not actually a synopsis of the articles which would be helpful and save time.
Next I went to Medline Plus. In the news column were these headlines: Head Injury, Pesticides Tied to Parkinson's Disease, Migraine _ Associated Brain Changes Not Related to Impaired Cognition, US Pre-term Birthrate Continues to Drop. (I went back next day to see if these had changed or were the same, and they were all different.) Under top searches were cancer, diabetes, polio, and vitamin D.
Drugs and Supplements: I looked up Advair. Nothing came up. Suggested that my search might be too specific. So I tried Salmeterol which is one of the active ingredients in Advair. This time I got some information about the uses of this drug, problems with patients not knowing how to take it effectively, etc.
Health topics: It is nice that it starts with a basic definition of the disease. This source seems more basic than and more aimed at the patient, while Medline seemed more aimed at the doctor/researcher.
Videos and Cool Tools: This is a very helpful resource. I watched a video on diabetes. It was informative and easy to follow. It was nice that you could go at your own pace, so that you could go over something a second time if you didn't take it in the first time.
I will definitely keep these sources in mind for patrons with medical questions.
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Business resources
Okay, feeling a little over my head with all of the stock information on Value Line. However, it is good to know it is there. We often have business men and women here on vacation who are very disappointed to find that we do not have any of the national papers, only the local newspapers. I think that they could easily find any information they need on this site.
The Wall Street Journal site seems very user friendly. There is a great deal of information for those in business. I found some interesting and informative articles about the new health care law when I searched for small business and health care. (They confirmed my feelings that the new healthcare law is going to put further strain on those who already cannot afford healthcare.)
In searching for articles on FM radio, it did make it much easier to tell which articles I might want to explore further when I used the visual search option. Then I had a clearer picture of where the article was going without actually having to go there, and possibly waste time on an article that was not on the topic I was researching.
The Wall Street Journal site seems very user friendly. There is a great deal of information for those in business. I found some interesting and informative articles about the new health care law when I searched for small business and health care. (They confirmed my feelings that the new healthcare law is going to put further strain on those who already cannot afford healthcare.)
In searching for articles on FM radio, it did make it much easier to tell which articles I might want to explore further when I used the visual search option. Then I had a clearer picture of where the article was going without actually having to go there, and possibly waste time on an article that was not on the topic I was researching.
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
NoveList Plus is my favorite database on Marvel so far! It is easy to use with lots of useful information. This will be very useful in our library. Patrons frequently ask for author recommendations similar to their tried and true authors. Sometime I tell them to type in "If you like (author's name)" on an internet search site, which gives them some suggestions, but this gives them so many more details. One feature I like is that it suggests which of the author's books you should start with if you are new to this author. I will definitely use this site frequently.
I never realized Marvel had a hobbies and crafts section before. I have already shared that fact with one other person. I spent quite a lot of time looking at the variety of hobbies represented there. Although there appears to be a wealth of information there, I wish there was an easier way to preview what you are going to find in each article. For instance, if I am looking for a new quilt pattern, I like to be able to glance at a lot of pictures until one catches my eye. But, with this, I have to click on the article, wait for it to come up, then find out if I like it, before going on to another. I don't see it replacing actual quilt magazines and books any time soon, but I could be wrong!
I was really surprised to find that the hobbies and crafts site included ourdoor activities like fishing and hiking. I read a very interesting article from Backpacker Magazine which is funny, because our library gets a subscription to that magazine and I never read it because I didn't think it would be of interest to me. (I like to hike, but not read about hiking. :)
I will definitely recommend this site to patrons to check out, even though I do not personally prefer it to physical magazines. Obviously it puts a lot more material at your fingertips that you would not have otherwise.
I was really surprised to find that the hobbies and crafts site included ourdoor activities like fishing and hiking. I read a very interesting article from Backpacker Magazine which is funny, because our library gets a subscription to that magazine and I never read it because I didn't think it would be of interest to me. (I like to hike, but not read about hiking. :)
I will definitely recommend this site to patrons to check out, even though I do not personally prefer it to physical magazines. Obviously it puts a lot more material at your fingertips that you would not have otherwise.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
Frustration level mounting
Okay, I am really starting to feel like a failure. Although I was successful in responding to one person's post, I have not been able to respond to a second. I noticed that Andrea had the same problem with looking up obituaries that I had. I wrote a response to her and tried to post it. I had to prove that I was not a robot in order to post, but apparently I do not pass the human being test. I tried five times, but was unable to prove that I am indeed flesh and blood.
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