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!