No. 06-42                                                                                                                  October 20, 2006

• JAN AGUIRRE, Specialist & Training Coordinator

 Registration is still open for the remaining Newspaper Database Workshops.

These workshops will give you and your staff the tools and confidence to assist patrons in their search for information on current events.

NOVEL – Keeps You Current with Today’s Events

Do your patrons want full-text articles from The New York Times?  Do you need current events information for your K-12 patrons?  Do you just want to beef up your periodicals collection? 

Join TCPL Reference Librarian Jennifer Schlossberg as she shows you InfoTrac Custom Newspapers, National Newspaper Index, New York State Newspapers (part of Custom Newspapers), and TopicSearch.  You will learn which titles and years are covered in these databases, and how to search them effectively.  This workshop is hands-on so there will be a laptop for your use.

 Location        Date                   Topic                  Deadline to Register    Openings
WEED         10/25              Health Reference                   10/23                  2
MCGR          11/1               NY Newspapers                     10/30                  2
TRU              11/8               NY Newspapers                       11/6                   6
WEED         11/10             NY Newspapers                       11/8                   4

As an incentive to attend the training, $20 will be awarded per participant. These workshops will run from 9-11am. 

To register for a class, please contact Jan Aguirre at 607-273-4074 x36, or email her at jaguirre@flls.org.  Space is limited to 10 participants and space will be reserved for at least one participant per library.

 

 Polaris “Tip of the Week”

I was asked recently how to sort the results by call number when using the Item Record Find Tool. 

Under the Cataloging Menu, select Item Records

This displays the Find Tool

Set up your search, limiting by branch and collection code if desired

 

To search for ALL records regardless of the Title use the wildcard, which is an asterisk *

Retrieve all the records using the Control/Shift A command.

Left click on the Call Number column header and the results will now sort by call number. Left clicking on it again sorts the records in descending order.

 

•  LINDA BEINS, ILL/Reference Coordinator

I will be out of the office next Thursday and Friday, Oct. 26-27. If you have an immediate question about interlibrary loan, please call 273-4074, ext. 43. Otherwise I will get back to you soon after I return on Oct. 30.

 

DATABASE Training You can still register for these training workshops:

Ø      Health               Oct. 25 (WEED)

Ø      Newspapers    Oct. 16 (CAN), 20 (FLLS), 

     Nov. 1 (MCGR), 8 (TRU) 10 (WEED)

 

ReferenceUSA – Wed., Nov. 8 (FLLS) at 3 PM. RSVP by Nov. 3

 

 DATABASE Trials

I need your feedback by October 25. We are seriously considering upgrading MasterFile Select to MasterFile Premier. If we did this, we would drop our current subscription to the InfoTrac’s General Reference Center. MasterFile Premier would give us access to twice as many full-text journals and numerous reference books.

 

Please look at MasterFile Premier and compare its search screens, ease of use, and search results to InfoTrac General Reference Center and to MasterFile Select.  Go to http://www.flls.org/databases.htm to access MasterFileSelect (MasterFile Select → EBSCOHost Web→ MasterFILE Select) and InfoTrac General Reference Center.

 To access MasterFile Premier:

 Go to:         http://trial.ebscohost.com

 User ID:      flls

 Password: trial

Publisher information about the three different databases is available at:

Gale Products Fact Sheets  [Scroll down to Online - General Reference Center PDF] and MasterFile Select; MasterFile Premier

Last Week’s Question of the Week: What do Pluto, the asteroid Ceres, and 2003 UB313 have in common? The Grolier Online database articles reflect this summer’s action by the International Astronomical Union to categorize Pluto as a dwarf planet. There are links (Media tab) to a photograph of Pluto and its moon Charon and schematics of Pluto’s orbit and composition.

This Week’s Question of the Week On Tuesday, Oct. 17 the population of the USA reached 300,000,000. Who was the US president when the US population reached 200 million? 100 million?

 

• MARISA IACOBUCCI,  Adult Services Coordinator

 “Sustaining Public Access Computing in YOUR Library”

  Workshop Follow-up          

For those of you who attended the August 24^th workshop, you should know that your reimbursement checks – for mileage, etc. – will be arriving at your library by the end of the month.  If you did submit a reimbursement claim form, and you have not received a check by November 1^st, please contact me.  Thanks.

 

 The Lamont Library in McGraw will be closed 10/23 – 10/28 for repairs to the library.

 

• DIRECTORS’ ADVISORY COUNCIL (DAC) MEMBERS:

If you have any questions or concerns regarding FLLS library service, you are welcome to contact a DAC member from the list below. 

Janet Steiner, TCPL, Ithaca
Judy Barkee, Ulysses Philomathic Library, Trumansburg
Lois Maki, Newfield Public Library
Kay Zaharis, Cortland Free Library
Mary Frank, Peck Memorial Library, Marathon
Sally Otis, Hazard Library, Poplar Ridge
Stephen Erskine, Seymour Library, Auburn
Beverly Dann, Waverly Free Library.