Learning Express

I started with the CBEST Math test.  Let’s just say
my math skills are rusty, but I found the test to
be great practice.  Learning Express is a valuable
tool for students and the public alike.  Under
“Job Search and Workplace Skills,” I added Business
Writing.  The course gives an excellent description
and overview.  I like being able to jump around by
clicking in the left margin.  It truly allows someone
to work at his/her own pace.

Under the ebooks, I can see a great use for several
of the sections, but especially the math and reading
skills sections as well as the academic test prep and
military sections.  We don’t have many of these books
available in our library. I checked out “English to
the Max.”  The book provides excellent information on
grammar and provides good examples and practice
questions.   

CAMIO

Searching for “Paul Revere” at CAMIO, I found he created
“The Bloody Massacre” print,“The Boston Massacre” print
and several silver items.
After entering “Sioux,” I found 63 items and was
surprised there were not more items listed for such a
broad search.  On the left, I see one can search by
creator, date,and subject which make sense, but it is
interesting that a search can be done using “format.”

Since we have an original Harvey Dunn painting in our
library, I searched for his work,but was unable to find
anything.
I next typed in “Pablo Picasso” which yielded 994 works.
While perusing the works, I found there are other artists
included in the search such as Claude Monet and Georges
Braques.  I can see where our art classes would be
interested in using this as well as our public patrons.

I put a few of Picasso’s paintings in favorites and after
viewing favorites, I see I could use these on a website. 
Coincidentally, we are in the process of updating our
online library catalog to include various images.
Perhaps, CAMIO could be used for this.

ArchiveGrid

After search “Sitting Bull autograph card” on ArchiveGrid, I found a brief summary about Sitting Bull. He was a Sioux leader and shaman who fought at Little Bighorn. He led his people to Canada to avoid the white settlers and their army. After surrendering, he traveled in Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show. He was later killed while resisting arrest after being charged for practicing his Native American traditions which had been deemed illegal.

The site does not discuss the autograph card other than to give its location in the collection at Cornell University. I am curious as to where the autograph was found, what was Sitting Bull signing, and how it was authenticated.

I searched for “Abraham Lincoln letter” and found 13 possible matches. The first entry entitled “Oregon Miscellany” provides a facsimile of an Abraham Lincoln letter dated Nov. 19, 1858, but it does not discuss the content of the letter itself. This item is found at the University of California, Berkeley.

The Minnesota Historical Society houses the second entry, “William R. Marshall papers, 1853-1894,” which provides a bit more background about the letter: “a facsimile of the Abraham Lincoln letter to Henry H. Sibley listing the names of the Dakota Indians to be executed following the Dakota Conflict.” But this is the only historical information about the letter included here.

ArchiveGrid seems like a good place to start searching for historical items. As for historical information, a researcher has an idea of where to look for more details, but the database itself doesn’t give a great deal of details itself.

WorldCat

Of the databases we have been perusing, I am most familiar with WorldCat. We use it for interlibrary loans as well as for help when we are cataloging books.

I searched for "Catalog It." 127 libraries have this title. The top library is South Dakota State Library. The call number is LC:Z693 or Dewey: 025.3; 027.8. The book has two authors the first author listed has written 3 other books. The second author has written 5 other texts. All are related to the roles of library media specialists. Under subjects, I chose "Cataloging" and 545 items were found. The search includes books, internet sites, updated resources, serials, and archives.

In OAIster, I looked up an article called "Factors affecting road mortality of whitetailed deer in eastern South Dakota." The access tab brought me to a website for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. I was then able to download the entire article. Another valuable resource!

NetLibrary

Whew! I have fallen behind!
On to NetLibrary....I searched for "Catalog It," a book I need for a class this fall. It wasn't available here, but several related texts were, over 4,000 items were included in the search. The related topics are helpful to narrow the search or broaden it if needed. Searching again, this time for "information literacy," I discovered two interesting texts I'll have to come back to again...
NetLibrary can be a valuable resource for libraries especially with regard to technology. The books on technology that are available in our library become outdated so fast it is hard to keep relevant material on the shelves.

The search for "Constitution Day" pulled various items including material involving the constitution days of other countries. The book Representing Popular Sovereignty: The Constitution in American Political Culture discusses our chosen subject, explaining that the name was changed to "Citizenship Day." Searching now for "Citizenship Day," I am not finding many texts that discuss it in much detail. Maybe I am doing something wrong but I can only find books that mention it and that day that it falls on...

Next, under advanced search, I plugged in "Oklahoma" for a publisher search and found 77 related titles....very helpful, great resource...