Finale

The biggest thing I learned in studying Marvel was that I could navigate the Gale Business Databases. I avoided the business databases like the plague and now I feel  I can help a patron find what they are looking for without having a MBA. I learned so much about the databases we studied that I feel very comfortable exploring them on my own or teaching others how to use them.  Understanding databases will be useful in helping my young patrons do those dreaded book reports. I will be able to help them find extra reference materials that are not in ours or the school's library stacks. Novelist is wonderful for reader reference and for knowing what book is next in a series.  Marvel is also great for teachers and parents who come in looking for help with lesson plans or fun activities.  This course has also forced me to create my first blog and maintain it which was not as nearly as hard as I thought it would be. Thank you to all who put this course together! It definitely has helped make my job easier.

Exiting through Ebsco

    Little l.a. traveled down the yellow brick road till she came to large marble building with two stone lions posed outside of it. This must be some sort of library she thought.  She opened the massive wooden doors and walked into a beautiful room with mosaics on the ceiling. Little l.a. explored the room, only to find rows and rows of books. There was books on any subject but if that wasn't enough anytime Little l.a. said aloud the type of book she wanted it would appear out of thin air. The library seemed to be alive, it seemed to want to please Little l.a.and make her feel right at home. After finding several interesting books, Little l.a. found the most cozy couch to snuggled in for a good read. Unfortunately the time had come for Little l.a. to leave the Land of Marvel and return home. Little l.a. had learned many great things in the Land of Marvel and could not wait to share it with all her friends. Little l.a. left Marvel knowing she would visit again but could not wait to get home because of  course there is no place like home.
  I have not used the Ebsco Database before so much of what  I learned was new to me. I did not realize that Ebsco contained so many books and magazines. I was pleasantly surprised to find several art and artist magazines. I will definitely use this database in the future to find resources I need.  I did a search for "what foods has zinc in them?" and  got over 400 results. I used the subject tab on the left hand side to narrow down my results and get what I was looking for.  I then went through the articles and found that zinc is found in red meat, poultry, seafood, beans, nuts and cheese.
   The Ebsco E-books is also a database I have never used. I did a search for the artist Frida Kahlo and was surprised to see a biography e-book about her. I will definitely read more of this later. I searched for Constitution Day and kept getting results about Constitiution Day in other countries and not the United States.  After much frustration I checked out some of my fellow students' blogs to see if they had the same problem. One person had the same problem and suggested doing a visual search. The visual search produced the information I was looking for and I had no problem finding information about Constitution Day in the United States. I found a book called "We the People Constitution and Citizenship" by Linda Joseph.  I did a search for Western History with  Oklahoma in the Publisher box. This search resulted in 6 books about various topics published by the University of Oklahoma Press. I found doing a search this way is helpful in finding information that might be specific to certain areas of the country.  Over all the Ebsco Databases are easy to use but sometimes narrowing the results down to what you are looking for can be a little work. I would recommend this database to anyone of my patrons.
   My exploration of  Marvel has been an enlightening experience and it will definitely help me in sharing Marvel with my patrons and co-workers.  Thank you for the opportunity to learn more about Marvel.
   My book recommendation of the week is "Pushing the Limits" by Katie McGarry. This teen novel is a gripping story about Echo and Noah. Echo is trying remember what happened to her the night that resulted in with scars on her arms and Noah wants to be reunited with his brothers who have been adopted. Together they will try to break into the counselor's office and get the answers, but was falling in love part of the plan. Check it out in "Pushing the Limits". I am a little bias to this book especially since the author is my sister. Happy Holidays to all!

ChooChoo! Riding the Learning Express

   Little l.a. loved trains and she could not wait to ride the Learning Express. Waiting at the station Little l.a. could see the steam from the train coming up ahead. The train rumbled in to the station and the passengers exited the train. Little l.a. went to the ticket station and asked  for a ticket only to find out that all she needed to ride the train was her library card. Her anticipation grew as she mounted the train and found a comfy seat near the window.  This train was a special train that  took it's passengers to places where they learned new skills. Little l.a. loved to learn new things so she loved all the different train stops and all the wonderful new things that she learned. Before she knew it Little l.a.'s journey was over and she was back at the train station a little tired but full of new ideas. After staying the night at a local Bread and Breakfast called the Marvelous Inn, Little l.a. started down the yellow brick road to the finale part of her journey in the Land of Marvel. What exciting things laid ahead of her...
   Having been to a workshop on the Learning Express I was already quite familiar with it but I still learned some new things. Setting up an account on the Learning Express is quite easy and took no time what so ever. Since my son is a high school student I decided to give the SAT a try. I did the SAT Writing Multiple Choice test. I am so glad I am not in high school and even happier I do not have to take the SAT. Needless to say I did not do so well. I did find the test easy to use and understand. I like that you can review the test with what the correct answers should of be and why.
  I did the Career Course, Creating a Great Resume and I found it easy to use and understand. This course is perfect for someone who has never created a resume or needs to be refreshed on how to do a resume. This course helps you determine what is the best resume format for you and helps you put it together. By the end of the course you have a complete resume.
  When I was searching threw the Ebooks I was surprised to find a book on homeschooling. This book is perfect for many of the patrons we get who have questions about homeschooling. I found the book had good information and is one I would definitely recommend to patrons. Overall I find the Learning Express a great database that is useful to a variety of patrons.
   My book recommendation of the week is "Extra Yarn" by Mac Barnett and illustrated by Jon Klassen. It may be because I am cold that I am recommending this book but I really do love this story of a little girl with a box with a never ending supply of yarn. With this yarn the little girl knits for everyone and everything in the town but what will happen when someone steals the box of yarn? Read it and find out.

Walking in to the Past

   Little l.a.  merrily skipping down the yellow brick road when she noticed a glow ahead. As she got closer she realized it was a large tree with a door that had light oozing from its edges. Being the curious type Little l.a. walked up to the door and opened it. After briefly being blinded by the bright light she saw a beautiful meadow and her Grandma. Having not seen her Grandma in many years since her death Little l.a. was excited but very confused. She rushed up, hugged her Grandma, and asked her why she was there. Grandma explained that  Little l.a. was in the Meadow of Memories and this is where one can go to find information about ones past. After a tour of the Meadow, Little l.a. learned that she could not only find information about her own past but information about anyones' past.  Little l.a. enjoyed learning about her family but sad to have to leave her Grandma. Grandma told Little l.a. that she was always with her and that she could always come to the Meadow and be with the memories at anytime. After a pleasant stay Little l.a. said goodbye to Grandma and exited threw the tree.  Grandma had told Little l.a. of a wonderful train called the Learning Express and she could not wait to see it so she headed down the yellow brick road...
   Having used the Ancestry Library before I was excited to get to explore and learn some more.  I was not aware that you could search for information on people who are still living. I did a search on myself using my maiden name and came up with my birth certificate, marriage certificate and information on where I have lived. I then did a search of my married name and came up with pretty much the same information.
   I did a search for my Grandmother and found much information about her as well as many census records. What I found fascinating about the census records is that you can also get parent and sibling information, where they lived, occupations and who else was living with them. In one of the census records I found that at one point my grandmother's mother took in boarders.
  When I did a search for Maps and Photos for Maine I did not find any. I am not sure if this is due to the way I searched or if there are actually no photos. I do very much like the Ancestry Library and find it a valuable research tool in doing Genealogy  and will continue to recommend it to anyone who is need help doing this type of research.
   My book recommendation of the week is "Run, Turkey, Run!" by Diane Mayr. This silly and fun story tells of a turkey who trying to escape being Thanksgiving dinner. The children at story time help tell the story by saying "run, turkey, run"  after each page. Will turkey get away? Read it and see!

Hamlet of Health

    Little l.a. skipped down the yellow brick road till she spotted the beautiful town on a mountain ahead of her. This was the Hamlet of Health complete with spas, healing springs and of course skiing. Little l.a. marveled at how healthy and active the towns people of  Health were. She couldn't wait to find out what their secret was. The towns people were eager to share their information with her. The information Little l.a. acquired was very helpful and she could not wait to share it with all her friends. After a restful stay and much fun Little l.a. left the Hamlet of Heath to continue her journey in the Land of Marvel. She couldn't wait to see what was next...
  I was very interested in this assignment on the Consumer Health Resources databases.  At some time or another I or someone I know needs medical information.   I always want to make sure that the information I am acquiring is good medical facts and not some one's opinion. I found both Health Source Consumer Edition and  Medline easy to use and wealth of information.
   Health Source has many different types of magazine articles and medical journals. I found that the majority of the articles are well written and easy to read.  The academic articles are a little hard to understand because they are geared toward medical professionals but the information in them is very good.
   When I studied the Medline database of found current news articles on:
        "Head Injury, Pesticides tied to Parkinson's Disease"
        "Migraine-Associated Brain Changes not Related to Impaired Cognition"
        "U.S. Premature Birthrate Continues to Drop"
The top key word searches I found were cancer, diabetes, polio and vitamin D.  I found both of these links easy to use. 
  The Drug Information section is useful in finding information about why a medicine is prescribed, how to take medication, possible side effects or drug interacts.  This information is easy to understand and to find.
The Health Topics section is broken down so that it is easy to find what subject you are looking for and what topics that may be related to that subject.  The Video section is easy to search and to find topics to view. I found the video very informative and helpful.
  Both Health Source and Medline are very helpful in finding any medical information that one is looking for and  I would definitely recommend them to anyone I know looking for medical information.
  My book recommendation this week is "Snow Rabbit, Spring Rabbit: A Book of Changing Seasons" by Il Sung Na. I was just processing this book and I fell in love with the illustrations and the it's simple text. I can't wait to read it at story time!

Metropolis of Business

    Little l.a. traveled down the yellow brick road when she began to see a dark looming city ahead of her. She had heard of the this city before but she had aways managed to avoid it. This city with its tall dark skyscrapers and pitch black streets caused her to tremble from head to toe. This city was the Metropolis of Business and Little l.a. wanted no part of it, but she knew in order to complete her journey she would have to go through it.  Little l.a. straightened her self up, put on a brave face and walked in to the city to see what she could find.  After walking in Little l.a was overwhelmed with all the information and much of it seemed Greek to her but she reminded herself that she wasn't there to learn everything but to gain an overview of this great city.  With the help of  tour guides Little l.a. navigated the city  and learned enough to visit again on her own if need be. Little l.a. was eager to leave as soon as possible.  Little l.a. left the Metropolis not as scared but the city still intimidated her.  She was eager to move on to her next destination and leave the big dark city behind her...
   As you can probably tell this assignment did not excite me in the least. Anything dealing with the business world has always seemed like Greek to me so this was a challenging assignment for me. I do feel I learned a lot and that I am now more knowledgeable in getting a patron to these resources if they need to use them.
   The Business Source Complete was easy to use in finding information about "FM radio" and then being able to narrow down the subject to find exactly what you are looking for. The visual search function is useful in getting a broad picture of the search results but it can be overwhelming.
  The Econ Lit was also easy to use in finding information for small business owners. I did have problems when searching  about small business owners and the EPA. I only brought up one article and I believe it may be because of the way I was searching for it. When searching for small business owners and tax policies I pulled up more results. Over all it was easy to use.
  The Regional Business News seemed to me to have a wealth of information about major companies such as the Ford Motor Company  and less from small companies such as L.L.Bean.
   The Wallstreet Journal was easy to use when searching about "small business" and "health care". I really liked how the database then suggested topics that help you further narrow down your research.  Like other databases that we have used  you are able to send yourself email alerts or RSS feeds when new information is acquired by the database.
  Value Line was very intimidating to me and this is  because most of this subject I don't understand.  I was able to navigate the site and find the information I needed after much exploring.  I did like that Value Line had a link to "About Value Line" that explained the site and what I was looking at so it didn't seem so confusing to me.  I now feel that can help others look for some basic information on this database even though I am far from being an expert.
  Overall this assignment wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I am now more knowledgeable  in helping patrons with business resources.
   My book recommendation this week is "Nicolas St. North and the Battle of the Nightmare King" the first book in the "Guardians of Childhood" series by William Joyce. I was pleasantly surprise by how fun and fast I got through this book. I believe children who love adventure and fantasy will love this book. I also enjoyed the illustrations and of course this book is being made into a movie. Have a good week everyone and stay warm!

Wonderful City of Novelist

        After a disappointing visit to the village of Hobbies and Crafts, Little l.a. followed the yellow brick road to the City of Novelist. Reaching the city was not easy for there was a powerful hurricane that tried to throw her off track. Little l.a. was persistent, she trudged on and made it to the City of Novelist. Novelist was a city Little l.a. had been to before but she absolutely loved the city! Every time she visited there was always something new to learn and find. Novelist seemed to be always growing and it always welcomed her with open arms. On this visit, Little l.a. was excited to learn that Novelist could create a world especially for her with all the thing she loved. As much as Little l.a. loved Novelist she knew she had to continue her journey in the Land of Marvel. After much rest Little l.a. continued down the yellow brick road too her next adventure...

        Having had used Novelist before I was interest in seeing what new things Novelist had to offer. I did a search of the book series "Wildwood" by Colin Meloy. I like the "sort by" and "view" components that displays the results in various ways that are easy to read and understand. This will make it easy to help patrons look for particular books in a series or to find out what is the correct order of a series. By selecting a "brief view" Novelist makes it easy to print off a list of titles for a particular series for a patron to take home with them.  All of this can be done quickly.

        The "Read Alike" tool is awesome for finding authors to recommend to patrons who are looking for something new to read but want to read something similar to what they have been reading. This tool is also helpful to us as librarians in learning about different authors and series we were unaware of.

   Novelist is great for seeing the connections between old and new books. A lot of times older books get forgotten about and by using Novelist we are reminded of those books and are able to recommend them to patrons. I really like how Novelist allows you to search using "Appeal Terms". This allow you to look for books in a more detail way verses by just searching by subject. This way of searching opens up a whole new world. If you can't tell I LOVE Novelist!

        My book recommendation this week is "Silly Doggy!" by Adam Stower. I love the story and illustrations in this new book about a little girl who finds a doggy (really a bear) in her backyard and wants to keep him. A very sweet story that the children enjoyed at storytime.