eBooks on EBSCOhost

After playing researching eBooks on EBSCOhost, I had to take a deep breath, step away from my computer, and indulge in a cup of hot cocoa....  This was a most frustrating experience!  In the first place, I am not a great fan of ebooks.  I do not own a Kindle or a Nook.  But I was willing to give eBooks a try, because I know our library does not own all the books in the world, and it's a trustworthy source of information.  However, I found the experience to be cumbersome and as stated previously, frustrating.

My first search was for a recipe for a corn soup I ate in Guatemala.  I searched for Cookery Guatemala, but had no results.  So I tried Cookery Central America, and got two titles:  Cooking the Central American Way appeared to be the best choice.  Although the recipe I am searching for is not included, the book was interesting.  Photos of the prepared food made my mouth water!  The Table of Contents was listed at the side of the page, so I could scroll down and click on any recipe I wanted to read.

Then I searched for Quilting:  of the various titles listed, I looked at Idiot's Guide to Quilting.  I couldn't get the Table of Contents to appear as it did for the cookbook, but when I looked at the full text, I went to the Contents, saw what chapter I wanted to read, and typed in the page number at the bottom and clicked Go....    

Moving on to the next part of the assignment, I searched for Constitution and United States, and Constitution Amendments.  The resulting titles were definitely more scholarly and detailed than your average public library collection (especially in the Children's Department where I work)!  The easiest was probably Idiot's Guide to the Presidents, but that really only deals superficially with the Constitution.  I also looked at Companion to the United States Constitution and It's Amendments (3rd edition) by John R. Vile, 2001.  It contains background information about events leading to the writing of the Constitution, as well as court cases dealing with various amendments.  Working on the assumption that "more is better," I perused another title, Our Elusive Constitution, by Daniel N. Hoffman (1997). 

This is when I began to get frustrated....  I wanted to specifically look up the 14th Amendment in the book.  I found the index, searched to find the 14th amendment listed, and saw there were about a dozen pages listed.  I searched several of those pages, before I gave up, opened a new window on my computer, and googled it!  But I figured there must be an easier way to find specific information, so I went back to my ebook and studied the screen.  Eureka!  I found the "search within" button under Tool on the right side!

So then I figured I should investigate some of the other buttons there on the right....  I created an account so I could have a folder.  I want back to my previous searches (quilting and cookery) to find information I wanted to save.  I thought I could put a recipe in the folder, but it only puts the entire book in the folder.  Then I tried to email pages from the Quilt book to myself, but I got an error message, and was told I had to sign in again,  But when I tried to sign in, it wouldn't accept my name or password!  So I exited out and started over, only to find that the quilt book was in use. 

I decided to print a recipe, but was told I exceeded the print limit (must be because of copyright?).  Then I couldn't access the cookbook either, because it said it was in use!

That's when I knew I needed to step back and indulge in some chocolate!

Oh yes, I did do the third part of this exercise.  By searching for Nebraska or Oklahoma in the PB Publisher field, results are limited to books published by presses that contain those words (University or Nebraska or University of Oklahoma Press).  There were some interesting titles listed.  I read the introduction to a book about baseball and the military during World War II, and also looked at a book about an Indian Boarding School in Rapid City.

There is no doubt that there is a lot of information available on eBooks on EBSCOhost, but it was difficult to get to.  I am not giving up, but I will need to work with this more before I feel comfortable suggesting it to patrons. 

Gale Virtual Reference Library

My first impression of the Gale Virtual Reference Library was that there were alot of titles on various topics.  Then I thought, "well, that's what a Reference collection is supposed to be like!" 

The American Civil War Reference Library caught my attention, and I spent some time looking at biographies of several women listed.  Many of them were spies.  I think they were successful because men underestimated their skill and determination.

Then I figured I should check out some titles and topics that would be more pertinant for my work.  Since we often have students asking about endangered animals for school reports, I looked at Endangered Species (2nd ed. 2004).  It contains information on endangered mammals, birds, bugs, and more.  Our library does not have books about many of the animals listed (numbats, for example), so this could be a good resource for students.

We also had someone asking about the water cycle, so that was the topic I searched for.  There were many articles listed, but I found two especially helpful.  Both the UXL Encyclopedia of Water Science and the Gale Encyclopedia of Science had articles on the "hydrologic cycle."  The UXL Encyclopedia seemed a bit easier to understand and more helpful to younger students.  The listen feature will benefit kids needing extra help to understand more technical vocabulary.

I also emailed an article to myself.  Having this option means a student wouldn't have to stay at the library to work on their assignment - they could email it home.  Or if students are working on a group project, they could share information easily.

Proquest

There are more than 10,000 articles written about Charles Dickens that are available in Proquest, and I attempted to read several of them in this assignment. It was a challenge! I've always thought I have a decent vocabulary, but I needed a dictionary to decipher the article about Dickens's view on slavery! Proquest is definitely more scholarly - for those serious about their research.

My first search was for Quilting, an activity I wish I had more time to do.  Most of the articles listed were for book reviews in Library Journal.  I think this topic is better searched in a different database.... 

Then I decided to look up Charles Dickens, whose 200th birthday was February 7.  I figured he would be fodder for more scholarly research, and I was correct.  The focus of the 10,000+ articles varied, from Dickens's first visit to America in 1842, to his views on slavery, even to the cause of his death in 1870.  Articles were from a variety of publications as well.  Some were more scholarly than others. 

High School and College students doing research should be able to find information using Proquest, but they will need to persevere.    It will take time to sift through the articles. 

For the third part of this assignment (Publications), I looked for Public Libraries and got one hit:  Public Libraries.  Then I tried Libraries and got 9 hits for Title, and 72 for In Publication Summary.  I was thinking this could be very helpful, since our library has dropped subscriptions to several professional journals.  But then I checked out Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books, hoping to read current book reviews, only to find that there is a one-year delay.  All I can read at this time is an abstract and citation for reviewed titles.  So now I am frustrated.  It's like they are holding a carrot just out of my reach!

I did check out some of the other blogs, and commented on one of them.  It's fun to see what others are looking up and to note their search strategies.  (I hope they don't mind if I borrow some of their techniques to help our patrons.)  Reading my colleagues posts is also confirmation that I am on the right track in this Challenge.

 

SIRS Issues Researcher

A friend and I were talking this past weekend about how we did research when we were in high school. Both of us have fond (and not so fond) memories of using the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature.... Times have changed! Now we can click our way through SIRS Issues Researcher and have all the information we need to present our side of almost any debate!

The issue I investigated was Alternative Education: homeschooling, vouchers, and same-sex schools. By looking at the Pro/Con Issues and Essential Questions I can learn both sides of the issue, and either form an intelligent opinion or gather facts to support the opinion I already have. The Overview article and Timeline give good background information as well as critical thinking questions to ask and answer.

The Curriculum Pathfinder I chose was Language Arts. I looked at articles on American Literature including websites, magazine articles and even government documents. I also perused Creative Writing and English Literature articles. I did a little tutorial called Hints About Print, which shows how to evaluate a book for usefulness to your topic. I thought the tutorial, while containing good information, was a bit elementary for the intended audience.

SIRS Issues Researcher has been an interesting lesson, but I personally don't think it was as fun as Discoverer!

SIRS Discoverer

This is only the first part of the SIRS lesson, but I wanted to post my results while they were fresh....

I must be a rebel at heart, because I did not want to look up armadillos. Yesterday was February 2, so I checked out information about Groundhogs. There was basic information about groundhogs (habitat, diet, lifespan, etc.), but also much more. I found magazine fiction stories, a craft idea from the Akron Beacon Journal, and a plethora of newspaper articles about Punxsutawney Phil and his Groundhog Day predictions. I also checked out a related web site (stormfax.com), where I learned that Phil lives at the Public Library in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania!

Moving on the the Database Features, I checked out both Haiti and Cuba. I think students researching countries for reports will find this very informative. The historical timeline is helpful as well. I did notice that the last date for Haiti was 2010, and for Cuba it was 2008. Students needing more current information will need to check out other databases.

Since I enjoy history, I looked at Historical Maps. There are a lot of them! Besides just being interesting to look at, these maps can be used to illustrate students' research, or even by educators to enhance presentations. I also checked out some of the Outline Maps. Once again, I can see students using them for reports. (Those lucky kids! I'm dating myself here, but I remember when we had to try to draw maps free hand for our reports!)

I investigated Activities as well. I looked at Art Projects, Science and Nature Projects, and Food Projects and Recipes. I'm looking for ideas to use in our Children's Programs, and I think I've found some potential programs!

Learning Express Library

This is the first time I've used Learning Express Library. It was fun to test my knowledge with different tests.

Because I work with children I wanted to see what the tests for elementary students looked like. I took the 4th grade Reading Test, and I am glad to say I passed it! I think this is a good resource for parents to use to give their children reading comprehension practice.

I also took the Citizenship Practice Test. I am ashamed to say I did not get all the answers correct. I need to brush up in the area of government. (I bet I can look it up in the World Book!)

In the area of Job Skills, I signed up for "Determining What You Want from Your Career." If a person is serious and puts some thought into completing the assignments, they will articulate Career Goals, compile an Action Plan, and even delineate education, experiences, and personality traits that will help them achieve their goals.

For my ebook challenge, I choose "Becoming a Culinary Arts Professional," which is actually pretty unbelievable since one rarely uses the words "cook" and "Nancy" in the same sentence. But if I ever want to become a culinary arts professional, I know where I can get the necessary information to begin.

So what have I learned? I learned that Learning Express Library is a good resource for people of all ages preparing for various exams. There is also a wealth of information for those looking to enter the work force, advance in their careers, or even to change careers. (And for all you trivia fans, the tests are a good way to test your knowledge!)

World Book 1c

Investigating the French and Spanish editions has been interesting and actually kind of fun. Trying to make my blog post interesting, however, is challenging!

In our community, I think the Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos will be more useful. I used it to look up my animal, the perrillo de las praderas (prairie dog). I don't speak Spanish, but by studying the text I was able to guess at some words. Listening to the article being read while I followed along enabled me to hear the correct pronunciation of the words. (Personally I thing prairie dogs sound cuter and less "rodenty" in Spanish than in English!) Then I switched over to the English version and compared the words. By doing this I hope to expand my Spanish vocabulary.

Having this edition of World Book available to our young Spanish speaking patrons will enable even non-readers to learn about almost anything. They'll be able to hear the text read aloud in the language they understand. They can then hear the article read in English - a great way to learn a new language! Spanish-speaking parents are able to take an active role in their children's education by using this version.

On the flip side, English speaking students learning Spanish can benefit from this edition. They can read and hear articles in Spanish and compare them to the English versions (as I did). It's a win-win situation for everyone!