Oh my goodness..........late again. Where does the time go? Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center - Oh no, I'm in trouble!!! so much to explore, must stick to the exercise. Give me strength.

I'm a knitter, so it was pretty easy to pick a subject category - Needlecrafts & Textiles - then I picked "Knitting" which lead me to sub-sub categories of knitting such as "Knitting: men's / Knitting: socks & stockings, etc. I decided to check out "Knitting: Mittens, hats & Scarves - with winter coming and Hurricane Sandy at our doorstep thought this would be an interesting section to peruse. I found several beautiful patterns and even emailed one to myself (love that feature) I'd like to knit the Twisted rib mitts and hat set ( if I have the time). Also found a pattern for Celtic vine hat and fingerless gloves, beautiful!!! I even noticed there is a video on How to knit a scarf.

Unfortunately our library doesn't subscribe to any of the magazines titles but with this database I can refer patrons to the wonderful articles, projects, etc available to them. Really cool!!!

In looking at the Help section, I noticed the visual search option which sounded interesting, but noticed that didn't seem to apply to this database. Really liked the feature in advanced search to access the publication listings. This could be very useful. I recently had a patron looking for macrame - low and behold  Hobbies & Crafts has macrame. I can't wait to share this with our patron - very exciting when you can help someone.

Our library has a newly formed knitter's group who meet at the library. I can't wait to give a brief presentation of Hobbies & Crafts Reference Center to them at their next meeting. Another great way to spread the word!

Thanks again for another wonderful database to explore. I'll certain do more exploring, once I get caught up in my weekly homework.

So long for now. Anxious to get my knitting needles out......  Oh boy, just noticed NoveList Plus is next. Love that database, great for Reader's Advisory.  Later...
       Cheryl
                  So many "resources", so little time

Hurray!!! on our Snapshot Day - Wednesday October 17th  I was able to share my new knowledge of Britannica with a mom who's son is doing a project on Argentina - using World data analyst, etc. Even told her about accessing MARVEL from home.  Perfect timing. So rewarding to help someone find the information they are looking for. - a great snapshot day.
Til' next time, Cheryl
                                 So many resources, so little time!

I'm late, I'm late for a very important date - to check out "black and white and read allover" resources - What that's you say? - Newspapers silly.  Maine newstand in  particular.

I decided to search for "Maine earthquakes" to shake things up, using "basic search" and "full text". I had 1086 results, too many so I thought I'd try using "advanced search" - 7 results. The interesting part is within the basic search found great article (2nd one listed) titled "Quake leaves area shaken, not stirred" from Kennebec Journal  covering the most recent earthquake which I had hoped to connect with, but this article never showed up within the advanced search. I thought that was odd - my guess is I need to play around with how I used the advanced search features - will try later.

The Cite feature with options for different citation styles is a definite plus. I don't like the idea of creating another username and password for saving  my research - thought I could use my Marvel username and password (home access) no such luck. Being able to create an alert or save my search can be very useful for people doing research, writing papers, etc but wonder if they'll get frustrated with the steps they have to go through???

That's all for now, back to library land I go.
         Cheryl
                              So many resources, so little time!

PS. Tried to leave a comment on 1ibrarylady with no success, so very, very frustrating. It wouldn't recognize the "character" word I had to match - tried at least 12 times, so I gave up. Sorry. Will try again later.

Exploration continues - Hi ho, hi ho off to "Research Tools" I go -

So excited to learn about the Primary sources & e-books, and Gateway to Classics - definitely want to share these resources with others!!!!  Gateway to Classics is so cool, love the bio note & eb bio ( link to article in Britannica) features - excited to tell my classic readers about this.

World Data Analyst and Country comparison great tools too -especially for school reports and  for someone wanting information on a country they are traveling to.

Little disappointed with Timelines - not as detailed as I expected, wonder how they determine what year to list and what information to include.

Britannica Daily are more interesting features - Biography of the Day offers very brief information on a person but leads you to other links. Particularly liked the key events timeline window for the individual (Dwight D. Eisenhower) of the day.

Exploring Britannica was an eyeopening experience, so many features I didn't know about. Excited to share what I've learned about.

Goodbye for now .....  Cheryl
                                             So many "resources", so little time

I'm back - so begins my search on "Arab Spring".

I decided to try the search Arab Spring as both words and as phrase to see how different the search results would be -  both words resulted in 144 articles &  "Arab Spring" as phrase resulted in 41 articles  - conclusion exact phrase gives me more exacting articles to read. 1st article titled "Arab Spring" is clear, informative information with links (in blue) to detailed coverage of individual countries involved in Arab Spring as well as links to key people of interest. Good solid article.  Like the feature of other links to advance my search and expand my knowledge.

My search also resulted in 12 media regardless of using both words or phrase with zero results in other content sources such as web sites.

Google translator is a great option. I can see referring this option to a patron learning a foreign language, who wants to practice reading something in that particular language.

That's all for now -  back soon to dig into the research tools and check out Biography of the Day.
           Cheryl       
                        so many "resources", so little time

I'm blogging again and exploring too!!!

Now it's time  - Open sesame "Britannica Public Library edition" time to explore and learn. But first let's watch the short tutorial on the public library edition of Britannica - again another excellent presentation - clear, informative - very helpful. Thanks. Can't wait to share it with our patrons.

Shall I begin my exploration? yes - but what current event should I research? and I only have a few minutes right now. Presidential election ? meningitis outbreak ? can't decide - I'm going with Arab Spring the suggested search. Need to stop shortly so only had time to explore Britannica's home page, interesting "research tools" to play with, anxious to explore the Britannica daily and blog: Need to sign off right now , but I will be back.
         Cheryl  
                 so many "resources", so little time

Great tutorials!!!

Watched the three short MARVEL tutorials, very informative and a great resource to share with our patrons. I'm excited to start my exploration into the land of MARVEL. I use Novelist a great deal for Reader's Advisory, series order, etc. but realize there is so much more. I still can't believe I'm blogging!!! What's next?
Cheryl

Into the world of blogging

Hello world,
Oh My!!! I've just enter the world of blogging, and adventure into the MARVELous Maine Invitational. Until now, I've just been a reader. This is a whole new experience for me. Excited to expand my horizon in the social media arena. Here goes ....... Cheryl