Lesson 3 -- Proquest

I found 'Proquest' to be very interesting. At first, I thought it was just another 'search engine' type. Wrong.

I chose a basic topic, 'teddy bears'. Who knew a basic topic could return with a variety of information. I found out about teddy bears being used to comfort traumatized kids (a wonderful idea) to teddy bear picnics to a teddy bear through the eyes of a child. I think my best discovery was the teddy bear poem in 'Turtle' magazine.

My teddy is fuzzy
And cozy to hold.
There's a patch on his ear,
And he's faded and old.
They got me a new one;
He has a red vest.
But still I like hugging
Old teddy the best.

'Proquest' is very helpful tool available for the patrons. We have a club in our area where each month someone gives a report about a topic. Usually they visit the library for info. I can't wait to introduce them to this.

I used the 'libraries' as my key word for publications. I did not realize there was that much publications. Also, I found that you can enter any word and there is at least 1 publication for this. This is nice because with us being a small library we are limited and now the patrons can find anything.

Lesson 2 -- SIRS

When I first started Lesson, I thought SIRS is just another World Book. Boy, was I wrong.

I stayed with my 'cat' subject for SIRS Discoverer. I like that there is a summary for each article. I found it to be helpful. The legends after the titles is handy. I was able to tell which article had pictures without having to check each article individually. Also, the reading levels are beneficial. I did not realize there was that many articles about the 'typical' cat.

I chose the country of Canada again. I found the information to be simple to understand for the patron and also detailed. I found everything I needed about Canada from the motto to the history to the population. The maps of the World are thorough. I like all the detailing. Also very easy to use.

For my third exercise, I decided to check out the 'Fiction'. I enjoyed the short stories that were provided. I like that after each story, SIRS provides questions for discussion. I thought this would be handy to use sometime for 'Story time'.

SIRS ISSUES RESEARCHER -- I thought I would check out what there was for 'Beauty Pageants'. The Topic Overview was interesting. I also found the pros and cons question and answers to be 'eye opening'. Before researching this subject, I never thought much about the behind the scenes of 'Beauty Pageants'. It was interesting that everyone feels the same about themselves but some show it and some don't. SIRS puts everything right at your fingertips. Too bad this was not available when I went to school.

Well, there is Lesson 2. This is turning out to be very helpful. When I am done with this, I will encourage our patrons to check this out. Well until next time, make sure to read a good book for me.

Lesson 1 -- World Book

When I was deciding which mammal I would like to find info on, I had a hard time. There was so many that I was interested in. So I decided to go simple and choose 'cat' because I already had 3 at home.

World Book Online for Kids is simple. This is a good thing because it is for the younger kids. It needs to be easy for them to understand. I like that you can print or save your articles. Also, for the wee ones who are just starting to read, they can have the article read to them. Good job World Book.

World Book Info Finder is 'WOW'. This is more in-depth. Looking up the simple cat was now more detailed. I did realize that there was so many breeds. I have had a cat majority of my life and have now learned some things that I did not know. Very helpful.

World Book Online Reference Center is informative. I decided to check out Canada. I found that if the patrons can not find the info they need, the ref. center provides access to other ways of accessing more info. Another item I found helpful is by providing access to a dictionary if you do not know what something is. Even more helpful.

The World Book in Spanish and French would be useful if you spoke the languages. This feature may not be used as much in our library. The only time I could see it being used is for the foreign exchange students we have or patrons visiting the area. Luckily enough this has pictures so that I was able to find info on the cat. I remember a little bit of French so I could out parts but not enough to help. Darn!

Listening to the article may be helpful to the patrons who understand the language by hearing instead of seeing. Because I am not very good in foreign languages though, this was a hard for me either way.