Ancestry Library Edition - Part 2

AncestryLogoAs promised back in Week 1 of the SLP for Library Staff, here is the second part of Ancestry Library Edition. (And, truthfully, I could do many, many posts dedicated to Ancestry!)

AncestryCollectionsIn addition to Census records, Ancestry has eleven other categories of resources. They include: Birth, Marriage, and Death; Military; Immigration & Travel; Newspapers & Publications; Pictures; Stories, Memories & Histories; Maps, Atlases & Gazetteers; Schools, Directories & Church Histories; Tax, Criminal, Land & Wills; Reference, Dictionaries & Almanacs; and Family Trees. To get this list of collections, select the New Collection tab from the toolbar.

In addition to the listing of collections, you can also see all the new and updated databases and the number of records associated with each. My plan for this week's post was to focus on Military Records... but this AncestryMilitaryupdated resource caught my eye. My dad and husband both served in the U.S. Navy, and both of their ships are covered here. I just had to explore these resources.

According to the description on Ancestry, U.S. Navy Cruise Books are "yearbook-style books assembled by volunteers on board ship to commemorate a deployment." As I browsed through them, they reminded me of my high school yearbooks—without all the signatures. AncestryNavyCruiseYou can browse the collection by ship name by using the drop down menu and choosing the appropriate ship. Or you can search by name or keyword. A couple things I discovered in using this particular resource are that most sailors were identified by their first initial and last name, and the yearbook is organized by their duties and rank. It might be helpful to know the rank of the person you're looking for. For example, the 1983 USS Carl Vinson Yearbook is 478 pages long! As I can personally attest, it's great fun and an easy way to lose track of time to browse through these resources!

My dad served on the USS Tattnall from 1962 - USSTattnall64. While the yearbook for the time he served isn't in Ancestry, I browsed through the 1966 yearbook and learned more about the USS Tattnall and found this photograph of the ship. I'll be sharing this one with my dad!

This is one small piece of the Military records collection in Ancestry. You can also explore WWI and WWII Draft Registration Cards, lists of casualties, prisoner rolls, pension records, and more. You'll find military records from the U.S. including some from the Revolutionary War and records from other countries, too. For example, you can find the records from Australia, Imperial Force Burials at Gallipoli, 1915. What resource catches your eye?

Thank you for reading and participating in our first SLP for Library Staff. I hope you enjoyed exploring some of our online resources and learned something along the way. I know I did. Have a great rest of the summer!

August 17, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

EBSCO Explora

Explora_final_logoIt's August (where did the summer go?) and school supplies are back in the stores. It's a good time to look at EBSCO Explora - the search interface that is designed for students and teachers (and public libraries, too). There are three versions of Explora: Explora for Elementary Schools, Explora for Middle & High Schools, and Explora for Everyone.

ExploraElementaryLet's start with Explora for Elementary Schools. As you can see by the screenshot, this is a very visual experience and designed with young people in mind. Students can enter keywords in the search bar or browse through the topics. The panel at the top includes a variety of topics to explore. When you click on Learn More, you'll get many articles, photos, and, in some cases, videos on the topic. As with other EBSCO resources, once you have a list of results, you can limit them by a variety of factors including Lexile Range.

Next, let's look at Explora for Middle & High Schools. You'll notice some similarities with the Explora for ExploraMiddleElementary Schools. The interface is very visual and easy to use. There is the search bar at the top for entering keywords. The rotating bar at the top has a variety of topics—a little more advanced than the ones shown in the Elementary School version. Students also have the option to browse a variety of topics. Notice that the images are smaller and there is more text on the screen. While offering a similar experience, the Middle & High School version is definitely geared towards older students.

ExploraEveryoneLast, but not least, is Explora for Everyone. At first glance, this interface looks a lot like the Middle & High School version. There are some subtle differences, though. There's still the search bar and ability to browse through topics. The rotating panel of topics cover issues that are more geared to the general public or college students. Also notice that the the categories are slightly different, too. In the Middle & High School version, the topic is Business & Government while in the Everyone version it's Business & Careers and the Current Issues topic is now Current Events.

EBSCO has created a consistent patron experience across all three of these versions of Explora which ExploraToolbarencourages students and patrons to move easily between them as their needs change. Another consistency among the three Explora versions is the toolbar. Educators can use the Curriculum Standards and the For Educators section to better utilize Explora in their classrooms. And, if students or patrons have an account in another EBSCO resource, the same login works here. They can add items to their folder, create saved searches and alerts, and more. 

No quiz this week—I encourage you to take a few minutes and browse through a highlighted topic of interest to you.

What You Need to Know

Explora for Elementary Schools, Middle & High Schools, and Everyone are available to all Wisconsin residents through BadgerLink. If accessing BadgerLink resources outside of your library, you may be asked to log in with your library card.

Training Resources

August 10, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

LearningExpress Library

LEL_Logo_VerticalWhere do you turn when a patron is looking for help setting up an email account or learning how to use Microsoft Office? How about the student who is looking for the LSAT, MCAT, ACT, SAT, or GRE? These are a few of the things you'll find in LearningExpress Library.

In all, there are nine different topic centers for you and your patrons to use. They include: Adult Learning, College Preparation, Career, College, Computer & Internet Basics, Popular Software Skills, High School Equivalency, School, and Recursos Para Hispanohablantes.  LEL2

Here's what you'll see when you select the Adult Learning Center. The tabs across the top remain constant across all the centers. You can use either the drop down menus for Guidance and Resources or the icons to access the content in this learning center.

To take full advantage of the resources offered in LearningExpress Library, I encourage you and your patrons to create an account. It's necessary to have an account to take a practice exam, save your progress in an exam or tutorial, or download an ebook. LELRegisterStart by entering your library card number and then fill out the form on the next screen. An email account is required to create an account.

While I won't make you take a practice exam or course, this week's quiz will take you through the contents of a few of the different centers in LearningExpress Library.

If you have time, though, I encourage you to set up an account and try taking a test. If you're like me and it's been a few years since you've taken a test, it's fun to see how much you remember! By doing this, you'll have the first-hand knowledge and experience to better help your patrons use this valuable resource.

What You Need to Know 

LearningExpress Library is available to all Wisconsin residents through BadgerLink. If accessing BadgerLink resources outside of your library, you may be asked to log in with your library card.

Training Resources

  • BadgerLink Webinar - View this 30-minute webinar (from 1/30/2014) to learn about the features of the new LearningExpress Library.
  • LearningExpress Library videos - Available from within LearningExpress Library and found under the "Video Guides" menu.

August 03, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

HeritageQuest Online

HQLogoWe talked about genealogy research in the first week of the SLP for Library Staff with Ancestry Library Edition (and I promise, there will be a part 2!). This week, we'll explore another genealogical resource, HeritageQuest Online.

Since we covered the US Census Records back in Week 1, I'm going to tell you about the other resources available in HeritageQuest Online. Click on Search to bring up the following resources:

  • Books & Directories
  • Revolutionary War
  • Freedman's Bank
  • PERSI
  • U.S. Serial Set.

The Books & Directories section includes over 40,000 family histories, genealogy books, local histories, and city directories. All of these books are fully digitized and indexed for easy full text searching.

The Revolutionary War section includes the Revolutionary War and Bounty-Land Warrant Application Files from 1800-1900. The collection contains about 80,000 application files - images of the originals! - from men who served in the Revolutionary War. Just for fun, try searching for Benedict Arnold or George Washington.

The Freedman's Bank Records, 1865-1871, is an index to the Freedman's Savings and Trust registers of signatures of depositors. In addition to names, you may also find information like their employer, age, name of parents, place of birth, their occupation, and family members.

The PERSI (Periodical Source Index) Archive is an index of over 2.3 million genealogy and local history articles from genealogical and local history newsletters. This database covers the years 1800-2009. To obtain copies of the articles, patrons will need to go through Interlibrary Loan at their local library.

Lastly, the U.S. Serial Set contains "Memorials, Petitions, and Private Relief Actions of the U.S. Congress." The documents in this collection are from 1789-1969.

As you look at these resources, you'll probably notice that the search screen for PERSI and U.S. Serial Set look different from the others. This is how HeritageQuest Online (HQ) looked in the past. From a brochure that I found on the ProQuest website (the distributor of HQ), there will be a new interface and other enhancements for HQ and that HQ is "powered by Ancestry." I would guess that PERSI and the U.S. Serial Set will be updated to look more like the other resources in the near future.

HqMapsIn addition to the six resources available in HQ Online, you can browse through the Research Aids that cover topics from Getting Started to Military and Immigration research. The Maps section is a guide to the U.S. Federal Censuses. This is pretty neat tool! Click on the state you're interested in to explore how the boundaries changed over time.

Now it's your turn to look at each of these resources a little bit more by taking this short quiz.

What You Need to Know

  • The search screens for each resource within HQ are tailored to that resource. There isn't a way to search all the resources at the same time.
  • HeritageQuest Online is available to all Wisconsin residents through BadgerLink. If accessing BadgerLink resources outside of your library, you may be asked to log in with your library card.

Training Resources

Visit the ProQuest HeritageQuest LibGuide group to access database information, support materials, videos and more.

View this BadgerLink 25-minute webinar (from 4-16-2015) to learn about the new content and features in HeritageQuest Online.

Register for a webinar or listen to a recorded session on HeritageQuest Online and other ProQuest genealogy databases! 

Review HeritageQuest Online Tips:

July 27, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

Health Resources in EBSCO

LogoEhost"My doctor prescribed this new medication called ---, can you help me find more about it?" I'm having a --- procedure next week. The doctor gave me some information, can you help me find more?"

These are a couple examples of the types of health questions that you could get at the library. Lucky for you, among the thousands of resources in EBSCO, there are a number of great health related resources.

CHCFor the non-medical professional, I recommend starting with the Consumer Health Complete resource. It looks a bit different from other EBSCO databases that we've explored so far. In addition to the traditional search bar, it offers an easy way for patrons to browse through categories like Images & Diagrams or Videos & Animations. The Quick Find section takes you to an index of reports on a variety of diseases, conditions, injuries, and more. Here's a screenshot of the beginning of the G section. CHCQuickFindThe Health Highlight spotlights a different topic and links to reports, encyclopedia entries, fact sheets, newspaper & magazine results, and more.

In addition to Consumer Health Complete*, EBSCO offers five additional health related databases: Alt HealthWatch, Health Source - Consumer Edition, Health Source - Nursing/Academic Edition, AHFS Consumer Medication Information, and MEDLINE. Select one or more databases that fit your needs and start searching.

*There are two different versions of Consumer Health Complete. The one pictured and used mostly in this post is the one with the visual front page. The other version that you can access uses the more standard EBSCO search page. The content is the same in both, it's presented differently to the end user. Use whichever works best for you.

Reference Tip: Remember that health inquiries may be hard, embarrassing, or emotional topics for patrons to ask about and for librarians to help with. If you notice or sense that a patron may be more comfortable talking privately, move away from other patrons to finish the reference interview. It's also good to remind patrons that we're not medical professionals and they should verify any information with their doctor.

EBSCOSignInLastly, at the top of the results page (and every page in EBSCO) is the toolbar, where you'll see these three options:  Sign in, Folder, and Preferences. Creating an account in EBSCO is easy—all you need is an email address and a password. Here are some things you can do when you sign in:

  • Set your preferences including how results appear, turning autocomplete on/off, setting a default format for printing and emailing records
  • Save articles to your folder
  • Save your search
  • Set up an alert

MyEBSCOIt's easy to know that you're signed in as the logo will look like this. For anyone doing research, saving items to your folder(s) is essential to the research process. Items saved to your folder are accessible from anywhere you have an Internet connection. You can also print all of them at once, get citations for your items in a variety of formats, email them to yourself or someone else, and more.

Want to know more? Check out this short quiz and expand your EBSCO horizons.

What You Need to Know

EBSCOhost is available to all Wisconsin residents through BadgerLink. If accessing BadgerLink resources outside of your library, you may be asked to log in with your library card.

Training Resources

July 20, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

Newspaper Archive

NewspaperARCHIVE This week, we're going to look at one of Kerri's favorite online resources, Newspaper Archive (NA). According to their About Us page, NA is the "largest historical newspaper database online" and contains millions of pages from 1607 to the present. They are also adding about 80,000 images a day - that's a lot of pages! 

In addition to US newspapers, NA covers papers from 18 countries and the US Virgin Islands. You can easily search the entire collection by using a name or keyword search. Or, you can start by browsing by location. Here's what you get when you choose Wisconsin from the US map: NASearchWI

Hover over any red dot to see the city and publications. Then click on it to search it. Or, below the map is a listing of all the Wisconsin cities with newspapers. At each level, you can search by name or keyword. There's also an advanced search option where you can add options like dates, locations, phrases, and more.

As this is Kerri's favorite resource, I'm going to NASearchHilbelinkuse her family as my sample searches (with her permission). I started by browsing to Wisconsin, then Sheboygan and searching for Hilbelink. Lots of Hilbelink references! If you find 2,164 results a bit intimidating, you can further refine your results by selecting one of the four papers or choosing a date range. The numbers behind each option indicate how many results are in each category. The search term is highlighted in the snippet of the article, too. Revise your search by adding an additional name or keyword.

NADaveI added Dave to my search and went from 2,164  to 67 - much easier to go through that list of results! To see the article, click on thumbnail image and Adobe Reader will open up with the entire page of the newspaper - ads and all! Or you have the option to use the JPEG viewer and the image will appear. I selected the first article in the list and found this great article. Note that our search terms "Dave" and "Hilbelink" are highlighted.

If you were to go looking in NA for the original article and photo that appeared in December of 1962, you won't find it. There aren't any December 1962 issues of the Sheboygan Press in NA. You'll find this with other papers too - some have lots of issues available and some have only a couple. As I said earlier, images are being added all the time.

I originally used "David" as my additional search term and ended up with 23 results. That's 44 articles I would have missed if I hadn't tried another version of his name. When searching databases, it's always good to try multiple spellings, expand your date range, and other keywords to broaden your results. You might miss the most interesting articles if you don't!

You can print or save the PDF images. NA does have an option to create a free account. I tried it out and you can save your results into your "Treasure Box" and log in and print them later. With your account, you can also save your searches, create folders, and more.

Now, it's your turn! Take this short quiz and explore Newspaper Archive a little more.

What You Need to Know

Training Resources

July 13, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

Business and Consumer Resources in EBSCO

Have you gotten these types of questions: LogoEhost

  • I need to buy a new lawn mower. Do you have Consumer Reports to see if they've reviewed mowers lately?
  • I'm interviewing at American Family in Madison. Can you help me find out more information about the company?
  • Do you have any information on SMEs? What does that even mean?

To find the answers to those questions (and many more), we'll look at the Business resources of EBSCOhost. The search options outlined in my previous EBSCOhost post can be used here - and in other EBSCOhost resources. For today's post, we'll focus on a couple other ways of finding information.

EBSCOPubsFirst, let's look at Consumer Reports*. Because we know the name of the publication the patron wants, let's start there. In the toolbar, select Publications. Then, type in the publication name in the lower search box to browse publications. Then select the publication you're interested in—Consumer Reports in this case.

On the next screen, you have a couple of options. If you know the issue date, you can navigate directly there. EBSCOPubSearchOr, my favorite, you can "Search within this publication." When you select this option, simply add your keyword(s) to the search bar and search. This is a time-saver when your patron knows the magazine or newspaper they're interested in.

On to the next question. Next to Publications on the Toolbar is Company Profiles. EBSCOAMFamThere are over 10,000 company profiles and 2,400 industry profiles from MarketLine available in EBSCOhost. Similar to the Publications search, either browse for your company name or enter it in the search box. From there, you can download a PDF profile on your company. You can also search other sources for your company. 

Next is the Thesaurus—next to Company Profiles on the toolbar. If you're not finding the results you expect with your keyword, check out the Thesaurus to see the subject terms used in the database. Type in SMES and see what you come up with. 

Want to know the answers to the questions asked above? Take this quiz and you'll see them when you submit yours.

What You Need to Know

EBSCOhost is available to all Wisconsin residents through BadgerLink. If accessing BadgerLink resources outside of your library, you may be asked to log in with your library card.

*In addition to Consumer Reports through EBSCOhost and BadgerLink, 24 SCLS libraries subscribe to the online version. Access outside subscribing libraries is available for patrons with a valid library card who have designated a subscribing library as their home library.

Additional Training Resources

July 06, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

Auto Repair Reference Center

ARRCCropped629.28—Anyone recognize this Dewey number? How about this book (the big one, not the Nancy Pearl one)? In addition to Chilton, there are also auto repair manuals from Mitchell and Haynes. Patrons interested in wiring diagrams, repair, or maintenance information for their vehicles used these books often as evidenced by the grease spots often left behind.

I remember these manuals taking up many, many shelves worth of space in the library. Now, though, you can find much of this information—and more—online.

ARRC_logoAuto Repair Reference Center, available through BadgerLink, is a collection of repair and maintenance information for thousands of vehicles from 1954 to the present—including wiring diagrams—and much more.

It's as easy as 1,2,3. First, select the year of your vehicle, then the make, and model. Then, select your vehicle—there may be more than one to choose from. When you choose select, you see all the topics related to your vehicle, including Repair Information, Bulletins (recalls are in this section), Diagrams, Specifications, Labor Times (helpful to find out how much a repair might cost), Diagnostic Information, and Maintenance. Much, but not all, of this information is directed at the automotive professional. To switch topics, select a new topic from the drop down menu at the top right of the screen (circled in red below).

ARRC2As a car owner who's (definitely!) not an automotive professional, I appreciate the Auto IQ, Care & Repair Tips, and Troubleshooting sections of ARRC. Auto IQ consists of articles, videos, images, and descriptions of different parts of a vehicle. It explains the systems in a way that anyone can understand. The Care & Repair Tips covers everything from Interior Care to the Air Conditioning System to the Brakes. The Troubleshooting section navigates you through topics and subtopics and suggests possible solutions to your problems. You don't need to be an automotive professional to understand these articles.

While there are thousands of vehicles covered in ARRC and more—especially current year models—are Das_bootcroppedbeing added, you may find some older vehicles not covered. For example, this photo is of a 1969 Pontiac Bonneville that my husband affectionately called "Das Boot" and bought for $80. In this case, heading to the library for a repair manual might be your best option.

Want a little more? Take this short quiz to explore ARRC. I look forward to seeing your answers to question 4!

What you need to know

Auto Repair Reference Center is available to all Wisconsin residents through BadgerLink. If accessing BadgerLink resources outside of your library, you may be asked to log in with your library card.

Training Resources

  • Auto Repair Reference Center Tutorial—this 5-minute video demonstrates the features of the AARC interface, including how to search for a specific vehicle, as well as accessing repair procedures, wiring diagrams and more.
  • AARC Help is available from within the Auto Repair Reference Center interface.

June 29, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

Magazines & Newspapers in EBSCOhost

LogoEhostEBSCOhost is an online reference system with databases on many different topics like business, consumer, health, history, literature, science, and much more. In this week's post, I'll cover some general search tips by using the General Magazine & Newspapers databases in EBSCOhost. This collection includes three of the largest databases in EBSCO: Academic Search Premier, Masterfile Premier, and Newspaper Source Plus. Select the Publications tab from the toolbar at the top to see the publications included in each database.

EBSCOSearchBefore we do a search, let's look at the search options available. At the top of the screen is a basic search box. This looks and acts a lot like a Google search box. As you enter your search terms, the auto-complete function provides you with additional possible terms to add to your search.

Below this main search box are lots of Search Options. First up is Search Modes & Expanders. Search modes give you other options for how your search is conducted. The default is to search for ALL your search terms which means that if you use multiple terms like California Drought EBSCO adds an "AND' to find article that include both words. For explanations of the other options, see this Help article.

Next is the option to limit your results. If you know that your results need to be full text or peer reviewed, you can check those boxes before you conduct your search. Additionally, you can limit by a date range, publication, or by the special limiters for each database. No worries about knowing which to use when you do your first search as you'll have the option to use these limits on your results.

Let's do a quick search on the current drought in California. For this example, I'll search for California Drought 2015 and look more closely at the first record, "Crawling out of a Dusty Grave." The Detailed Record is the default for displaying records. While the screenshot doesn't include it, the full text of the article is part of the record. If you prefer, you can also select the PDF Full Text of the article.

The bibliographic information is at the top of the record and includes the author(s), title, publication, EBRecorddate, abstract, and more. Most importantly for us, though, are the subject headings. I love using the subject headings to expand my search into other areas that I might not have considered. Also notice that the words I used, "California Drought 2015," are in bold (I highlighted them for you, too).

The subject headings, geographic terms, author, and source are also links. Click on any of them to explore and expand your search. You may be surprised by where this leads you and what you find. Serendipity is one of my favorite things about being a librarian!

Take this short quiz and explore EBSCO a little more. Answers will be shown after you submit yours. We only scratched the surface of the content and features of EBSCO today. We'll continue the exploration in the coming weeks.

What you need to know

EBSCOhost is available to all Wisconsin residents through BadgerLink. If accessing BadgerLink resources outside of your library, you may be asked to log in with your library card.

Additional Training Resources

June 22, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

Wisconsin Newspapers Digital Research Site

Wna_logoLooking for an obituary from your local newspaper? Want a copy of the article about your library fundraiser or program? If what you're looking for was published after 2005 and over 90 days ago, you're in luck. Through a partnership with the Wisconsin Newspaper Association and BadgerLink, we have access to the Wisconsin Newspapers Digital Research Site.

WNDRSearchCroppedThe search functions are pretty straight forward. Click on the Help button for search help and other information. By default, all the papers are selected. Use the Uncheck All link first and then select the paper or paper(s) you're interested in.

For my sample search, I used my hometown paper, The Rice Lake Chronotype, searched for library and limited my results to three months (December 2014 - February 2015). The earliest date available to me as of May 27, 2015 (when I wrote this article) is February 26, 2015. Use the drop-down menus by Range, County, or City to limit your search further.

WNDRResultsIn addition to a list of results with your keyword highlighted, you see the whole page with the article boxed in red. As you can see, the entire page is included - including ads! You can use the red box to help in cropping the article and printing, emailing, or saving the part of the page you're interested in.

Now, it's your turn. Using the same search as I mention above, take this short quiz to explore Wisconsin Newspapers Digital Research Site (WNDRS) a little more. Answers will be shown after you submit yours.

Bonus tip: As I was looking at the Wisconsin Newspaper Association site I saw this link at the bottom of their page: "Search Wisconsin Public Notices" I had no idea this existed! Every now and then, I'd get questions about public notices at the reference desk and would look through the print edition of the paper. This is much easier!

What you need to know

  • Available in all libraries
  • If using WNDRS from a location other than your library, you''ll need to log into BadgerLink using your library card (see these step-by-step instructions)
  • Covers 239 daily and weekly newspapers in Wisconsin
  • Dates included are from 2005 - present with a 90 day embargo (delay) for current issues
  • Newspapers are available cover to cover in a searchable PDF

Additional training resources

Wisconsin Newspapers Digital Research Site Training
View this 25-minute BadgerLink webinar (from 3-12-2013) to learn about the new searching interface and searching options in this Wisconsin newspaper database.

Searching Wisconsin Newspapers
View this 1 hour archived webinar (originally presented 5/9/13 with Kara Ripley, BadgerLink Training Librarian) to learn more about searching WNDRS.

June 15, 2015 in Database Tips | | Comments (0)

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