Help Is Always Good

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but when it comes to just about anything computer-related I can use all the assistance, explication and insight I can find. So you can imagine how happy I was (and how happy your customers will be) to see that the folks at OverDrive have significantly improved their help pages.

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about the equally useful help page we’ve created that you can get to by clicking on Need Help??  (Though it is great to know that there’s all kinds of help available, up to and including a friendly voice on the phone.)

To get to the updated OverDrive Help you’ll need to go to click on Digital Media Help which appears in two places on the OverDrive page, under “Getting Started” on the left and as one of the tabs in the upper right quadrant of the screen.

The six buttons on the help page offer a variety of avenues to users looking for assistance in downloading e-resources. Breaking the information into these six categories makes it much easier to focus in on a specific problem.  And the pages that open up are easier to search which means that finding help is easier too.

The first option, OverDrive Help  provides a wide overview from relevant topics to particular devices to most popular articles.   The second link, MyHelp, takes users to the customized information about how to read, listen to or watch each specific format.

From button number three, Device Resource Center users are taken to an almost dizzying array of the devices on which e-resources can be accessed.  The option of narrowing one’s quest for information by both device and format makes it much easier to sort through all the information and arrive at a better understanding of how things work.

Digital Books Tour the next option on the list, is perfect for aural and visual learners.  Brief video tutorials review basics like how to install the necessary software as well as explanations of how to search for titles and place holds.

Next comes Library Lending Policies which links back to our guidelines on how many items can be borrowed at one time, how to cancel holds in our system, and what to do if you get a new library card.

And last but not least comes Support which offers the opportunity to pose specific questions to our staff via email.

So even if you don’t need help yourself, take a tour of the new and improved help offered by OverDrive.  Your patrons are going to love it—which means you’re going to love it too.

Lisa, Coordinator of Children’s Collection (CLP)

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Opposing Viewpoints in Context

Last year an 8th grader came to me asking for Opposing Viewpoints book to use for her teen pregnancy project.  My response of “We no longer have that series of books” was quickly followed by the students saying, “My teacher said I have to use an Opposing Viewpoints book!”

At which point, I probably gave a too-detailed explanation of Gale’s Opposing Viewpoints database.  But, there is so much to say about it!

For Students:

For Teachers:
Plus:
  • A rotating banner of current events related to possible research topics!

-Kelly R, Sewickley Public Library of the Quaker Valley School District

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Some Thoughts from a Guest Blogger…

We’d like to welcome a guest blogger, Michelle from CLAV, who would like to share her thoughts on the importance of database training.  Thanks for posting, Michelle!  (If you’d like to be a guest blogger, please email beasleys @ carnegielibrary.org.)

The importance of database training

The library offers many resources, a great deal of which are online. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the internet has become quite a hot commodity in the last 10 or so years. Printed books, magazines, newspapers, etc. have slowly been on their way to the back burner while electronic resources have been on the rise. Not a day goes by when patrons don’t ask questions like “Can you help me with this on the computer?”

It’s important that you answer those types of question with a big YES!

“Oh, you are looking for an article on women’s rights from the sixties? YES, of course I can help you. Let me show you this awesome database called MasterFILE Premier. You can get to it from our website by clicking on…”

Our number one job at the library is to help our patrons find information. That is essentially why we are here. It is because of this that we must stay up to date with the resources we offer. The databases we have at our fingertips are there to help us. I know how busy library land can get, believe me, but when a database training or any e-resource training is offered, it is vital to our survival that at least one person per library attends.

Just this past week there was a training session offered about our history and ancestry databases. Now, we all know we have databases available, however, how many of us have really taken the time to browse through each one and learn how to use them? We could all spend hours learning how to use the different aspects of each database, but honestly, who has the time or patience? The history and ancestry databases training I went to was over two hours long and yes I did have to get up early, but I learned more about those databases in those couple of hours than I would have on my own. I learned that the two history databases had articles available that could be translated into different languages, that you could listen to an audio recording of some of them, and they were labeled based on an individual’s learning level. I know I wouldn’t have discovered that information so quickly on my own.

The library I work at is located within walking distance of two high schools. Can you say research projects? Every so many months the pattern begins. Students stream in the front doors, look around for a few moments on their own and then make their way back to the front desk with a hopeful look in their eyes. “Can YOU help me find something for my history project?”

After the first so many days pass by we notice that the books on our shelves about their subjects are slowly disappearing. If we didn’t have database-trained staff on hand when these students came in, where would they get the information they need for their projects? Google? Bing? While some of the information you find on these search engines is true and helpful, wouldn’t you rather the patron get the information they are searching for from you? Yes, they could browse our sites and find the databases on their own, but would they know how to navigate through them and narrow down their searches if we didn’t show them how to do it?

Unless WE show our patrons where to find and how to use the resources we have available, they may never know they exist. It is our responsibility to show our patrons why we are still relevant to our community. Not only will we be helping the patron, but in the long run, we will be helping ourselves.

Michelle
Circulation Manager/Adult Programmer
CLAV
Continue ReadingSome Thoughts from a Guest Blogger…

Helpful hints from the “History and Genealogy” training sessions…

Here are some helpful hints from Wednesday’s “History and Genealogy” training sessions, offered up from members of the EREC committee who attended. Representatives from ProQuest’s Ancestry.com, from Gale’s U.S. History in Context and World History in Context, and from Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Room led the training.

Helpful Hints for Ancestry.com

  • Because variation and inconsistency in indexing old records often leads to spelling variations of names, the Ancestry  representative recommended using “?” or “*” in place of variable characters.
  • There are training resources for Ancestry here: http://proquest.com/en-US/promos/ALE/Genealogy_Research_Tools.shtml.  It also includes a description of the difference between Ancestry Library Edition and Ancestry.com.
  •  In Ancestry you can only send 5 emails to the same email account, so a better option is to save your item(s) as an image file and email them as an attachment.

 Helpful Hints for U.S. History in Context and World History in Context

  • The topic pages allow you to create a bookmark to link directly to the desired page–very useful for specialized library websites for students, assignments, etc.
  • You can have the text read to you by clicking on “Listen.” Not only will it be read to you, it will highlight the words being read so that you can follow along. It also gives you the option of limiting what’s read by highlighting a portion of the text, or even just a single word.
  • Gale will soon be offering customized promotional materials.

Helpful Hints from the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh’s Pennsylvania Department

  • The 1940 Census will be made available for public inspection beginning Monday, April 2, 2012. It does not have a name index or Soundex. Searches can be done by enumeration district, which are the geographic areas in which the information was collected.
  • This website provides shortcuts to many genealogical websites: http://stevemorse.org and will help in finding enumeration districts.

 Please add your own helpful hints by clicking on “Comments.” And look for information (coming soon!) about our next training session. It will be held on April 25th at the Cooper-Siegel Community Library in O’Hara Township and will be about job and career resources.

Mary Lee (Northland)

Continue ReadingHelpful hints from the “History and Genealogy” training sessions…