Lesson #7b: Small Engine Repair Reference Center

I spent quite a bit of time looking around and couldn't find info or found it to be limited. I think to benefit from this resource you definitely should have good basic knowledge of small engines.


The download time could be considerable at times and the information limited.

I also found the advanced search not particularly accurate. I jotted down a couple of terms that I found within the toubleshooting text and then tried to go back in and do an advanced search using words within the full text and came up with "no results found"...grr.

Sorry, I could not provide a more successful experience...

Lesson #7a - Auto Repair Reference Center

Discovery Exercises:
1. First, I tried to look up the Partridge Family Bus (1955 Chevrolet 6700 series bus) but was unable to find it on ARRC. When the year 1955 was chosen, the only information found was for the make of Volkswagen. I then looked up the 1977 AMC Pace (from Wayne's World) and found only "Repair Information". Within this category, the information based on the certain systems was rather "hit or miss". Sometimes, the information was generic and not particularly helpful; other times,the information that could be found was helpful.
  
I must say it was fun to look through The 50 Most Famous Cars of All Time article.

2. I searched for my vehicle. I found 61 Technical Service Bulletins and Recall listings. I then put "recall" in the search field to narrow my results and found only one result. I wanted to know about any recalls but was getting frustrated at clicking through all the individual systems and their results to find them.

I found nothing startling in the Maintenance Intervals info but I always keep up on this and refer to the owner's manual for this anyway.

Lesson #6 : Mango Languages

1. Done
2a. I like the Dashboard feature so I can easily see where I have been and what was studied. Shiver me timbers! Brush me barnacles! I can't believe they have a PIRATE language category!

Lesson #5: Oxford Reference Collection

Answers to Discovery Exercises:
1. 6 entries for habeas corpus were found
2. A Noun is a Person, Place or Thing
3. 14 examples of boats are found in the Visual English Dictionary
4. 18 titles are offered in the English Language Reference link
5. The search results can be sorted "alphabetically" or "by relevance"
6. The end of law is, not to abolish or restrain, but to preserve and enlarge freedom. ~ John Locke
7. Physical and political maps are available for Syria
8. A Guide to Countries of the World: This invaluable global handbook provides a wealth of information for every country in the world. Each entry gives a brief history and outlines contemporary social, economic, political and religious issues. In addition, for each country there is a clear map and a quick-reference fact box containing data and statistics including languages, population, GDP, capital city, life expectancy, and more. Invaluable supplementary material includes detailed indicator tables showing income and poverty, health and population etc, and list of international organizations.
9. I found 25 results for the search of "recycling". I was unable to find the refine by book option. :-(
10. Not feeling "techy" enough to attempt the optional excercise of adding a ORO button or banner to my blog.. until next time...

Week #4: Lesson 4b Additional Education Datatbases

I am doing Lesson 4b first because that is what I can fit in my schedule currently. I will be back to explore the Live Homework Help lesson (4a) later.
Discovery Exercises:
1. I found 60 results. Here is an APA citation from one of them:
Alaska District Partners with Discovery. (cover story). (2010). Electronic Education Report, 17(18), 1-2.
2. I found 320 results. I found ten full text articles after 2008.
3. I found 107 results. I found 12 full text articles after 2008. There was overlap in the results.
4. I found 475 results. I found 22 full text articles after 2008.

Lesson #3 Reader's Advisory - Novelist

MUST CATCH UP...

I have used Novelist many times before. It was nice however to spend a little more time exploring in depth what it has to offer. Sometimes, I find their suggestions on, other times it is so OFF! I have never really liked to use Novelist for tracking series. I find FictFact to be MUCH better for tracking series. I did however like the print function in the read-alike lists. It was nice how it gave a reason for each recommendation in a sentence or two. I could see this as something you could easily print out and give to a patron and that they may find helpful.

As far as other Reader's advisory sites...
~~~ For tracking series, FictFact is THE way to go! I show patrons how to use this all the time. I even created bookmarks to give out about FictFact!
~~~ If you like to take quizzes or read maps, I would suggest checking out Gnod.

Lesson # 2 Genealogy Resources

I am still playing catch up with this course. Here are a few of my thoughts on the Discovery Exercises accompanying Lesson #2 on Genealogy:
- Firstly, I began trying to search the Heritage Quest Online using my maiden name "Rogers". I was uncertain on dates and places so my results were numerous using such a generic name. Finding myself getting impatient and annoyed, I decided to try to use my husband's name which is VERY unique (there are less than a hundred Czarnezkis in the US and I know many of them and their relationships). This search brought only a few results and I learned some interesting things about their family history. It looks like from the 1920 census, there were a couple of boys named Lad and Bollice that were listed as pupils within what looks like a school or orphanage. I found it chanllenging to read some of these handwritten records! Also from the 1920 Census, there was a listing for a Mary Czarnezki that listed her as the head of a household with two children and operator of a tailor shop in Illinois. I found this fascinating. I would post an image of this but for some reason I keep getting an error message when I try to upload my PDF image I saved from the Heritage Quest Online.
- Alaska was not featured until the 1900 census. Significant records are not really found until the 1920 Census which makes sense since Anchorage and that area was really developed in the 1910's. I also found it interesting that some of the "locations" from the drop down menus were listed as "SS..."; I took this to mean maybe it was a list of passengers on a particular ship in that region at the time.
- As for trying to learn how to print these records in a usable format, I was not successful. I am feeling WAY behind at this rate so I think I will continue with the lessons and return to this one if I feel I have time later.

WEEK #2 - Still getting caught up

Discovery Excercises from Lesson #1 on Business Resources... The Answers...
1} Peter Klein. Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Klein spent 13 years in corporate finance in the Seattle area, primarily in the communications and technology sectors. This included senior roles at McCaw Cellular Communications; Orca Bay Capital, a private equity firm; and several startups, including Homegrocer.com, where as the Vice President and Treasurer.
2} Ideas found to sell crafts online in the database were ebay or websites like www.craftmall.com. Names of several craft fairs such as Maker Faire in the San Francisco Bay Area or the American Craft Council Craft Show in Baltimore was also found if you wanted to sell crafts in person. There was a book entitled How To Market & Sell Your Art, Music, Photographs & Handmade Crafts Online: Turn Your Hobby into a Cash Machine. I found a cool article about a group of woodworkers that made guitars to donate to the Guitars for Vets (G4V). G4V is a Milwaukee (WI) based group that supplies free guitars and instruction to veterans as therapy for PTSD. My husband and I own CZAR of GUITARS in Palmer. It has been a dream of mine since opening the guitar shop in 2008 that some day we may be able to create a branch of G4V here in Alaska. It is always inspiring to me to read about this valuable program. I was glad I stumbled on this article in my search of the SBRC.
3} The full text versions of the NOLO guides are a great resource on SBRC. Oftentimes, our copies of these popular books are checked out; it will now be nice to a have another way to get these resources into the hands of our patrons.
4} Landlords must supply running water and reasonable amounts of hot water and heat at all times AND if requested by the tenant, provide and maintain locks and furnish keys reasonably adequate to ensure safety to the tenant's person and property. Examples of scams:
Phishing: "Phishing" occurs when Internet fraudsters send an email or pop-up message that claims to be from a business, organization, or even a government agency that you may deal with. The message states that there is a problem with your account and directs you to a website that looks just like the legitimate organization's website. But it is a fake website designed to trick you into revealing your account information, passwords, or other personal information.
Pyramid schemes: Participants in a pyramid scheme are led to believe that they can make money from the "investments" paid by new recruits into the program. Participants are promised huge returns in a short period of time. The pyramid promoters will often go to great lengths to make the program look like it is a legitimate multi-level marketing program or they will say it is a legal "gifting" program. The schemes often have names like The Dinner Party, Friends Helping Friends, or the Airplane. The fraudsters use the money coming in from new recruits to pay of early investors, and at some point the pyramid will collapse because the promoter cannot raise enough money from new investors to pay off early investors, and many people will lose their money.
Consumer reports can be filed with the Better Business Bureau.
5} My community of Palmer has 1212 female workers with the State of Alaska as the top employer.
6} Stages of Small Business: Think, Launch, Grow, Reinvent, and Exit. A Checklist for Starting a Small Business can be found under Tools at the ASBDC wesite.
7} Broadband Policies for the North: A Comparative Analysis, Heather E. Hudson, November 2011,35 pp. & Rural Broadband: Opportunities for Alaska, Heather E. Hudson, November 2011, 35 pp.,presentation to the AFCEA ( Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association). Small Scale Modular Nuclear Power has been considered as an option for Alaska. I was amazed at all the information available right at your fingertips on the ISER site. I think this could definitely be helpful to patrons looking for detailed statistics regarding Alaskan economics.
8} The library I work in (Wasilla) is one of the busiest in the state located in one of the fastest growing communities in the state. We get patrons with questions about starting a business in the local area; it will be nice to be able to direct them to these online resources. Wasilla is fornate enough to have one of the offices for the Alaska SBDC. Oftentimes,I send patrons down the street to the SBDC office but now it will be nice be able to hook them up with these other online sources too.

Now, onto the assignments for this week... stay tuned...

Intro 2 AK Digital Resources - WEEK #1

Lesson 0 complete! Not sure if I should feel a sense of accomplishment or not... I'll get back to you next week.

OK, I'm Busting Out the old Blog Again!

It has been several years since I used this blog. Last time I used this blog it was for a 2.0 training session. I decided to just add onto my experience here... now it will be used to track progress in my newest endeavor... Introduction to Alaska Digital Resources. May the journey begin!