1. What was your biggest discovery?

I really enjoyed the Learning Express Library. I have pointed this source out to many patrons but I've never taken any of the tests. I think this will be very useful especially now that I know all the different tests available. Commercial driving test will be big! and resume writing, etc. I'm going to use this source lots!

2. How will you promote or use the resources with your patrons?

When a reference question comes my way, I try to direct patrons to the State Library databases. Even if I find an answer within our collection, the potential for more research is just a click away. They always seem to appreciate being shown this wonderful wealth of information!

Thanks for this opportunity to learn more about the databases!

AncestryLibrary: Search for your own name in AncestryLibrary and report the results.

I guess I'm not very important. I finally found my name in U.S. Public Records Index, Volume 1. At least it had my address from when I lived in Watertown and my current address here in Brookings. It is fun to search for people on this site.

In AncestryLibrary, search for a grandparent or great-grandparent and see if you can locate them in the census. Report your findings.

I found my grandparents marriage license. Cool!

In AncestryLibrary, Perform a search under the "Photos and Maps" tab for "South Dakota" as the keyword. Report your findings.

I love the Library of Congress photo collection. I don't know how that would help patrons much but it was interesting.

In HeritageQuest, there are over 28,000 family and local histories in their online historical books. Search for a place or browse the publications. Report back on something that interested you.

Lots of family histories to look at.

Sanborn Maps, select South Dakota. Then select your town or a town with which you are familiar. Choose a date. Look at the first page containing the Index. Then navigate around the pages and see what you discover. Try to find a building on the map that is still in use today. Report your findings.

I found the Ward Hotel in Aberdeen, South Dakota. My Dad even worked there. I don't even know if it's a hotel now. The map is not real user friendly and it took some time to get to the location but once there, you see stuff about construction. Nice to know it's there.

LEARNING EXPRESS LIBRARY: I started taking the ACT English Practice Test 1. I only answered 5 questions but I did get them all right. I can see why this would really help those people who are getting ready to take these tests. What did you think about this test experience? It's great. I've already recommended to to patrons but I've never tried a test before.

In the lower right hand corner of the page, click the link for eBooks. The list will open in a new window. Browse or search through the titles and take a look at one that interests you.

That's really terrific.

1. Type “Sitting Bull autograph card” in the search box, using the quotation marks. Click the link and read the description. What did you learn about Sitting Bull? He toured with Buffalo Bill. I didn't know that. And that I clicked on Cornell University Library and found myself on their site with their address and hours, etc. Very nice.

2. Do a search of your own. What results did you get? What institutions have the materials? What other observations can you make about this resource?
I put in my maiden name and found two genealogies from Wisconsin Historical Society once of which might be my great, great grandfather on my dad's side. He came from Ireland about 1828.
Looks like a great site to do research on genealogies.

2. Choose Title Phrase search, and click on the limiter (below the search boxes) “Books.” In the search box, type a book title. Note the number of results.
(9) How many libraries worldwide have item #1? (485) Click the link. What is the top library? Since we own the book, the Brookings Public Library comes up first!

3. Click into result #1 and look at the full record. What is the call number (class descriptor)? What other information do you see?
The call number would be PS3602.U2645; Dewey: 813/.6 but we use author's last name. Does give a brief description of the book. WorldCat is a valuable resource that we use for cataloging and we use it at the circulation desk when Aleph is down to find materials in our collection.

1. Do a search for a topic that interests you. Note the default search is "full text." You may want to change the search to keyword. Review your findings and observations. When I put in the search "Weddings" "full text" and "ALL" formats, I got 955 hits. When I put in "Weddings" "keyword" "e-books", I only got 7. What a difference.

2. The leader of your exercise class needs some new material. Do a keyword search for "fitness" and sort by "Newest First." View a book or two and make a recommendation. I would of course recommend "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fitness!" Hah. Of course, she's the leader of MY exercise class. Good to see they had other books she could use.
3. You have a patron who wants to read everything about Western history. He has exhausted your collection. In NetLibrary, click "Advanced Search." In the Publisher box, type "Nebraska" or "Oklahoma." Report your findings. I didn't find anything when I put in Nebraska but when I put in Oklahoma, I found two books.

Lesson 4 -- Gale Virtual Reference Library
1. Getting to know the titles in GVRL is similar to getting to know the titles of your own reference collection. Click "show all" to view all the titles available in your collection. Click a book title of interest to you and access an article via the table of contents. Notice with the multi-volume titles, you can also select which volume you look at. Discuss the title you selected and how you may use it in your library.
I picked Encyclopedia of Science, Technology, and Ethics. Carl Mitcham, ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2005. 2378 pp. 4 vols. I went to the ebook index and put in a search for nuclear. From there I selected nuclear accident and got the CHERNOBYL accident. I have actually used the GVRL several times with patrons since we have been "downsizing" our reference collection. People doing research of any kind really appreciate this resource!
2. At the top of the page, click "Basic Search" and type a search in the search box. I put in weddings just to see what I could find. Review the results, selecting an article to see what kind of information you can find. Test out the "read to me" feature. Discuss your results. Very nice. Didn't know that you could listen to the information. I think GVRL is useful to all patrons.