Lesson 10 - the wrap up!

My biggest discovery was the genealogy section.  We have so many patrons/visitors that come to our library searching for information on their heritage.  Although we have many sources in printed materials, quite often then want "the rest of the story", or more information on other names they come across in their searches.  HeritageQuest and Ancestry will be so helpful as we assist them.  I was always skeptical on the validity of the information these sites concerned, however after finding out so much about my family, I believe these will be great resources.  As you know people who research genealogy are usually quite tenacious, so I am looking forward to having a couple more sources to assist them.

I enjoyed the challenge, and as time permits, I look forward to doing more exploration in the various databases.  As a library "weeds" the non-fiction section due to the age of most materials, these will all come in handy when we are helping students with their research.

Lesson 9 covered genealogy, and I found this to be terribly frustrating.  I searched my name, and on the first try, I found hundreds of people with similiar names, however, I never did find any information on ME.  I tried limiting the search with my exact information, to no avail, and then broadening the search, again to no avail.  I was born in South Dakota in 1962, shouldn't there be something about me in there somewhere?

I then tried searching my grandmother who was born in 1899 in South Dakota.  I found her birthdate and social security number.  In searching further, I found information about her husband, and her three daughters.  I did know my grandfather, who died before I was born, was born in Denmark, however I didn't know my grandmother was born in Illionois.

I searched location, South Dakota, and found numerous bits of information regarding South Dakotans, such as their birthplace, age, occupation, and weekly income, among other information.

In HeritageQuest, I researched my father's family.  I found that his grandfather and grandmother were born in England, and his father was born in Bon Homme County, South Dakota. My grandfather was 5 years old at the time of tine 1880 census.

In Sanborn Maps, I researched Spearfish, from 1885 and 1903. I noticed how much the town had grown, and there were many of the same buildings in both maps.  I was disappointed they did not have a map of my hometown, Gregory, but did enjoy browsing other towns in the area that I have a "history" with.

Lesson 8 of the South Dakota Library Challenge covered the use of Worldcat and more.  I think I enjoyed this section the most, my familiarity with this site enabled me to navigate quite easily.

I searched for the title, A Cricket in Times Square by George Selden.  There are 1,637 libraries that have this title worldwide and the top library in my search is Dakota Wesleyan University McGovern Library.  The full record was very detailed, can't imagine there is anything else I need to find this book.  The call number in the Dewey system is Fic, and in the LC the call number is PZ737154.  Many other works by this author, and many, many other materials available on "crickets". 

I did find it interesting that there are versions of this material offered in Spanish, as well as the English version.

For Lesson 7 in the Ebooks on Ebsco, I did some research on angioplasty.  I was thrilled with the amount of resources that are available and that I could refine the search, or broaden the search.  The variety was also helpful in reading in laymen's terms or the technical terms.  With the page numbers denoted with specific information, it saved time and didn't bog down the research through information not related to exactly what I was looking for, or defeat my purpose.

For the research on Constitution Day, I first searched Constitution Day and then refined the search to Constitution Day in United States.  I found some resources that I wasn't sure how they fit into the category of the subject, and lots of other resources that may prove too cumbersome, at least for K-12 students.  College students would probably have an easier time of navigating through the barrage of information.  I did find one source that specifically discussed Constitution Day, however did not bookmark the source, and was unable to go back and find it.  This site would definitely take practice to navigate, however, I will definitely recommend to researchers.

For the third part of this lesson, I used search term "Nebraska", and was recommended 56 titles on Native Americans.  A very wide range of topics about Native Americans, however, I am curious if there is a way to sort the list according to reading level.  It seems to me that many of the books recommended are upper grade level reading levels, and wonder how the lower grade level readers would be able to gather usable information.

I researched zinc as a nutrient, and found a number of useful publications.  I also researched zinc in nutrition, though only one publication was found.  I love that you can word the search narrative in different ways, and come up with different titles.  When a person is not quite sure how to articulate what it is they  are looking for, this helps, along with the related articles that are mentioned.  As I listened to the text being read, I was curious about the "voice" but it sounded normal and not grating as some computer generated readings can be.  I found this helpful in the thought that there would be words I did not know how to pronounce or find the meaning of.

I the Gale Virtual Reference Library, I found The College Blue Book, which was of great interest to me as my youngest daughter is preparing to graduate this spring.  We have been on many college visits, and learning about the campus this way was awesome, because at the time of the visit there is so much information coming your way and there are many questions you fail to ask, or are unable to comprehend the answers.  

My oldest daughter is majoring in Genetic Counseling, with a minor in Biology, so did some research on the practice of Genetic Counseling.  I must say I am much better able to describe what she is going to be when she grows up, through the research I have done here.  I will definitely recommend this site to her as she writes the many papers she is required to write in pursuing her bachelor's degree, and when she continues on to get her master's degree.

Monday, February 23, 2015

I researched obesity in Proquest, and was amazed at the number and variety of articles I found.  It was so interesting because there were articles from many other countries, as well as from the United States.  It seems they are all in agreement about the cause of obesity, and I did find it interesting that economic and racial trends are, in part, thought to be a cause.  In my mind, it really boils down to poor eating habits and inactivity, regardless of age.  My eyes have been opened through this research project.  

In the publication portion of Proquest, I first researched investments, and finally 401(k) investments.  What a vast array of  information on investments to make, why one should be investing, and many mistakes to avoid.  I was aware of the basics about investing in a retirement plan, but was never very clear in my understanding about the differences.  I will be talking to my investment coordinator to make certain that we are investing in the right areas, and making the most of our investments, so when we reach retirement age, we will be able to retire!

I also did research in the publication section of Proquest, on librarians.  Though only one entry was provided, I widened my search to "books" and could have spent all day researching the many publications regarding books.  There are publications about books for all ages.

Living in an ag-based community, I did some research on publications on agriculture, and once again am amazed at the number and variety of things I found.  I enjoyed that I could widen the search or easily narrow the search.