Monday, February 27, 2012

SD Library Challenge Lesson #7: WorldCat

I am familiar with the First Search option for searching our catalog, and I like it for several reasons:
1. It has a more intuitive (or at least more familiar) interface compared to the "regular" WorldCat or ALEPH.
2. If you use citations software (such as EndNote), you an export a full citations (ALEPH can't), and First Search provides a more complete citation compared to "regular" WorldCat.

I searched for the title "Unfamiliar Fishes," a book about the annexation of Hawaii I read recently. There are 1343 libraries worldwide that have the print version of this edition, the first one listed is Augustana College in SD (interestingly, I checked it out of the Univ. of South Dakota library, and we are not listed. That may be because this book is part of our "Best Sellers" collection, which are mostly "rented" books - our library doesn't own them; but it should still come up in the catalog). The call number in LC is DU625.

When I clicked on the author's name (Sarah Vowell), I could see that she has written several other books (and the results list shows multiple versions of each title, such as audiobook and large print).

When I tried the OAIster database (I always forget about OAIster!), and put "South Dakota" in a subject search, the first result that came up was "Flood Tracking Chart for North Dakota" ; -) (I assume the document contains something about South Dakota), and the title I chose to click on was: Gastrointestinal Morphology of Female White-Tailed and Mule Deer: Effects of Fire, Reproduction, and Feeding Type, because who isn't interested in the gastrointestinal morphology of female deer?


Overall, I like the First Search WorldCat interface. It seems to "work better" than ALEPH, and there are more options, such as OAIster.

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

SD Library Challenge Lesson #6: EBSCO e-books

I routinely inform my patrons about e-books (we have EBSCO and two other platforms); with the national migration toward e-readers, one would think more students would be interested in e-books. However, when approached  at the reference desk by college students seeking books, I frequently hear: "Don't you just have some regular books I can check out?" I suspect that those who are acclimated to e-books are more self-sufficient at finding them online, and those who approach the desk to ask about books are less comfortable with self-navigation of the catalog, etc.

I can sympathize with both camps. I'm all in favor of electronic resources that are available to more patrons in more locations, but, for personal/recreational reading, I, too, still prefer print.

I like the EBSCO e-books because it is a familiar platform to college students. Many of them have used an EBSCO database at some time for research, so the home page and search interface is already familiar.

For this challenge, I tried several searches related to Constitution Day. For example, I put "United States" as a SU subject search on the first line, and constitution in the second search box alternatively as "all text," "subject," and "title." Results were varied, but constricting "constitution" as subject or title only yielded 3 results, all of which seemed appropriate for a research project:


Hoffman, D. N. (1997). Our Elusive Constitution : Silences, Paradoxes, Priorities. State University of New York Press.
Levin, D. (1999). Representing Popular Sovereignty : The Constitution in American Political Culture. State University of New York Press.
Stewart, J., & Burger, W. E. (1987). The Constitution, the Law, and Freedom of Expression, 1787-1987. Southern Illinois University Press. 

Of course, one can adjust the search terms, such as changing to "all text" to increase results, etc.

I also tried the PB Publisher search; for fun, I substituted "South Dakota" instead of Nebraska or Oklahoma, and there were no results (presumably, there is no publisher with SD as part of their name with books in this platform), but changing "Publisher" to "subject" returned nice results for a research project on South Dakota history!  
I look forward to the time when e-books are more accessible and user-friendly for all.

Monday, February 13, 2012

SD Library Challenge Lesson #5: Gale Virtual Reference Library

I first clicked on the "medicine" link in the subjects area, and chose the Encyclopedia of Medicine. After a couple of searches, I was disappointed because 0 results were being returned! Eventually, I learned that I was using the "search within results," rather than starting a new search (so all previous limits and search terms were still being applied).
Once I figured out how to start a new search from scratch, the results were much more reasonable.

I went back to the home page, and typed "nighthawk" in the general search box at the top of the page. Much to my pleasant surprise, the first result was:
An actual entry titled "Goatsuckers!"
I opened the first result link, and wanted to try the "read to me" feature, but it took me a while to locate the cryptic "listen" tab (this feature could benefit from an icon). The voice-over was very smooth, and not too robot-like. A great feature for students with learning/reading disabilities (or anyone who needs "eyes-free" reading).

Tuesday, February 7, 2012

SD Library Challenge Lesson #4 - ProQuest

When I first clicked the link to the ProQuest resource through the SD State Library, the interface looked familiar (even though ProQuest had recently re-designed its user interface). I then went to our school's (USD) database list and entered ProQuest, and, indeed, the resources are identical! (As it turn out, USD has access to ProQuest thanks to the State Library of South Dakota!).

Even though I work at an institution that has access to this database, I am not extremely familiar with it because of my narrow discipline (Health Science). I decided to search for medical-related information, and was surprised at the wealth of full-text articles available. I searched the general term "bioinformatics," and the result list was long and detailed. But then I decided to try a more targeted search, so I typed in "ubiquitin," which is a protein that is the focus of some of our researchers. Surprisingly to me, there is a wealth of research articles available via ProQuest.

I am somewhat surprised at the depth of articles available on medical topics because ProQuest is not considered a "go to" database for these topics (I tend to direct patrons to PubMed or CINAHL first). This exercise helped to remind me that there are many other databases that apply to my subject area! The search interface is very familiar to those familiar with similar databases (convoluted, yes), and seems very straight-forward to navigate, but I imagine that many of these databases are not "intuitive" to library professionals and patrons that don't normally use these types of resources.


Since the beginning of the Challenge, I have tried to "Follow" the other participants' blogs (though the list keeps getting longer!), and it is fascinating to see all the variations on format and design! I see that some others, like me, have fallen behind, so this is truly an asynchronous experience. I wish there were enough time to read everybody's posts every day, but that would cut into my Facebook time ;-)
Seriously, I do hope to eventually connect with fellow "Challengees" on this project, and continue the explorations and collaborations beyond the scope of this activity.  Next year, I hope to attend SDLA conference for the first time - perhaps there can be an informal meeting of the "State Library Challenge Group?"

SD Library Challenge Lesson #3 - SIRS

I have finally gotten back to the SD State Library Challenge! For this entry, I examined SIRS Discoverer and Issues Researcher databases.

As an academic librarian, I am very impressed with the SIRS Discoverer resource for k-9 students. I searched "coyote," and the results were lists of articles in age-appropriate magazines, like "National Geographic Kids," and "Ranger Rick." The results list and links are very much like the databases that USD subscribes to, and citations for each article are included. This is an excellent resource for k-9 teachers or librarians to help kids get the "feel" for academic research at a level that is more comprehensible to them.

The SIRS Issues Researcher was also formatted much like a university database (I see these are ProQuest products, so that is not surprising). I searched "global warming," and the available resources and articles form the results list were very impressive. I also clicked on the link to "Curriculum Pathfinders," with led to more resources, but I couldn't quite determine whether the pathfinders are geared more toward teachers or students. In either case, the materials provided seem to be of high quality.

I would strongly recommend both of these SIRS resources for k-12 assignments because they can help hone students' research skills and prepare them for college-level research.