Sack of Nails & Mermaid Tails

The internet is an amazing thing. With it I am the smartest girl in the world. Without it I’m sack of nails dumb. (I have a working theory that it’s not what you know, but the skill of finding knowledge that is key.) The catch here is that the internet can lead to some serious blunders in self diagnosis. When feeling under the weather it is not prudent to search for symptoms online. Cough and fever can mean eight million different things – mostly minor, curable with a few naps, low harm conditions. But type "cough and fever" into a search engine and next thing you know you’re racing to the ER with a confirmed case of SOMETHING BAD! It’s not just a hangnail it’s an amputation!  I know a cliché about horses and zebras if I need to drive home the point further.

With the above said it seems anticlimactic to research a commonplace health issue. No flu, diabetes or osteoporosis for this researcher.  Bring on the Sirenomelia. Also bring on the Little Mermaid theme music.

I think my search technique is better suited to a variety of publications. Especially in searching for something incredibly specific. I want to see all the info I can regardless of publication and perhaps from there sort and filter the results. However, I can see the value in selecting a particular resource for specific questions. “I think I read an article in Lancet about cancer of the toe.”  “Didn’t Health Care for Women International feature that Saudi Arabian physician’s new technique for uterine transplantation?”  The relevance filter can be sorted by source so there is crossover in that department. It is also applicable to sort by date as in the medical world the most up-to-date information should be sought.

Can I understand the full text you ask? Let me answer by saying I was stumped halfway through the title. Gibberish.  I would need a butterfly net hat to catch all the ideas flying over my head. With eight plus years of Spanish under my belt I was able to piece together some of the Latin medical terms but still was left aflutter by the jargon of science. The few articles I found were extremely doctorish. Informative but advanced in the wording department.

Over at Medline Plus the health news of the day revolved around Womb Yawning Fetuses, Teen Smoking, and Soy-Rich Diets for Menopausal Women. Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh, My! There was also an interesting piece from Reuters titled Do Drunks Have to go to the Emergency Room? To the left there were searches revolving around cholera, tuberculosis, chicken pox, shingles, and rickets. I felt a little itchy just glancing at the keywords.

My drug of choice is diet coke so I had to branch out in my discovery exercising. At random I picked Oxcarbazepine, a medication primarily used to treat seizure disorders. I was impressed with how thoroughly the drug was laid out. It was like a good conversation between the patient, his doctor and the local pharmacist. I noted the advice for what to do if a dose is missed as being important information when starting a new drug. Also pronunciation, side effects, and how to store the medication. Very informative.

A Health Topic search for “sirenomelia” yields a disappointing zero results. I tried mermaid syndrome to the same avail. I guess I deserve that for picking one of the rarest conditions. Flesh eating bacteria aka necrotizing fasciitis does give me some hits. In general Medline Plus seems more “of the people” than Health Source. It is simply formatted with easy to understand terms and lists. Of note is the Read More section to expand on the topic or topics relevant to the original search. I again say watch out with the self diagnosing as I’ve had a bruise and dizziness this week but still have all my skin. (I’m intelligent and sensical enough to know my fall of the merry-go-round accounts for both symptoms.) A general observation would be that Health Source is for scholarly research while Medline Plus is for practical knowledge. Both have their place in the library, and when combined it’s like a superpower. Stealthy ninja indeed.

Videos and Cool Tools didn’t scare me. I’ve always loved those real life ER shows, and was first in line for all the dissections in school. I watched part of a total ankle replacement, and then a robot assisted (very cool!) coronary bypass surgery. I am always a bit surprised by how violent surgeries are. The doctors (or robots) are often elbow deep inside the patient manhandling parts and pieces like they were tossing a salad. I also watched an anatomy video on breathing to make sure I was doing it right. Other “cool” things include quizzes and games. I rocked the fighting bacteria game. The NIH Senior Health Videos could be of particular interest to my library’s patrons as I live in an aging community.

All this talk of health and medicine and healthy living makes me want to eat some tofu and go for a run.  And by tofu I mean Doritos. And by run I mean sit on the couch.

Happy Reading & Cheers!

Business Schmissness.

There's not much humor in this week's lesson. Not much fun either. No fancy pictures or puns. Bear with my learnings. I'll tell a joke at the end maybe. I thought about putting on a suit to write this but that would simply be amusing for me and probably wouldn't translate into the blog. Either way picture me, briefcase at my feet, clad in a suit. A suit Cee Lo would wear. Now there's humor.

Business Source Complete
FM radio. It's apparently way more complicated than four AV nerds hamming it up in someone's basement. With thousands of hits it was nice to be able to filter some of the results. I also like the limit to full text feature.
Visual search creates a sort of flow chart of information which could be useful in research and linking references and articles. Not particularly necessary but perhaps visually appealing.

EconLit
"Investigating Whether a Lack of Marketing and Managerial Skills Is the Main Cause of Business Failure in South Africa" is not really what I was expecting when attempting to find "resources for small business owners". With a little tweaking I did indeed find some helpful info particularly on how small business owners can be better leaders, how small businesses have more of an impact in their communities than expected. The publication date slide bar is handy. Especially in regard to standards that may quickly change. A resource on the EPA circa 1970 might not be prudent to dive into in 2012. Also useful when looking up tax info as standards can change quickly.

Regional Business News
A search for Barnes and Noble yields results all over the map. Several features promoting John Lehrer's Imagine caught my eye. Guess B&N backed the wrong pony at that race. Also some interesting stuff on author announcements and new titles released. I can't leave a business lesson alone - there must be reading!

I looked up Hannaford as a regional business and then couldn't remember if they were New England or just Maine. Nifty stuffs either way. I found the plans to open up the "most environmentally advanced supermarket in the US" fantastic.

Though I contend that toothpaste should always be minty I admire Tom's of Maine for its creative toothpaste flavors. It's beyond me how brushing with "fennel" or "honeysuckle" could make a mouth feel clean but hey whatever floats your boat. Or bubbles your tooth. In addition to being hygienic, Tom's of Maine is greatly philanthropic. I found several articles about initiating recycling programs, community outreach, and even a story time with Kristi Yamaguchi.

Value Line
My portfolio is pretty much tied up in food and shelter at this point (plus new shoes) so talk of stocks, funds and midcap surveys is Greek indeed. Other than a craving for yogurt I got nothing. It is amazing how much info can be crammed into one screen. I was overwhelmed for sure. Netflix NFLX seems to be doing okay. As does Home Depot HD.

Wall Street Journal
Small business and health care. I thought election week was over and we could stop endlessly hearing about this. No such luck. But ProQuest was a familiar sight. More politicos could be found under the Person tab. I again liked the Publication Date filter option. And the now familiar save research options.


Without any prior business knowledge it seems the resources in this week's lesson are more for show than anything else. It seems the people who would benefit from the different websites would already have go-to sites of their own. Maybe the reason business men and women are underserved in the library setting is that said business men and women know more than the average librarian regarding businessy things. I'm sure Van Gogh could have whitewashed a fence, but seems a little out of his wheelhouse. Or something. This statement mostly pertains to Value Line.

WHEW.

As promised: two nuts are walking down the street. One's assaulted.

Happy Reading & Cheers!

Apparently I'm a Polygamist

Had I dated NoveList five years ago we would be happily married. Perhaps making low interest mortgage payments on a quaint three room bungalow near the beach. No kids. One happy retriever frolicking about. But in the bookselling world I started dating fantasticfiction.com. And really I was playing the field because I was also dating Ipage and B&Tonline. And when I was really desperate, and when no one was looking, amazon.com. I'm a tramp what can I say. So while I recognize the possibilities with NoveList it isn't my go-to book source.

Most of my Discovery Exercises happen first by randomly playing around with the weekly resource. I click to my heart's content and delve into the meat of the resource though trial and error. NoveList is great for this method because of the volume of info and opinion provided.

When I saw the faded "Describe a book. Ex. Japan 1930 woman" I thought two things. Thing one, Memoirs of a Geisha. Thing two, ooooh fun game! So I spent too many minutes trying to get the computer to guess my entries. "Lawyer, daughter, trial, ham costume" didn't immediately present To Kill a Mockingbird but lose the ham and substitute either "race" or "Alabama" and bam, spot on. "Boston, detectives, Bubba" was perhaps too easy as NoveList knew it could be none other than Dennis Lehane. "Antarctica, intersection rant, blackberry bush" comes up short. "Antarctica, mother, funny" lists Where'd You Go, Bernadette? as the top answer. (Check this book out. It's fantastically hilarious!) The lesson here is be specific without being too specific. Focus on the general themes and not a particular scene.

"Canadian Fiction" is a legitimate subset? I know every other patron through the door sings the praises of Louise Penny but really is there a call for fiction set in British Columbia? For maple syrups lovers? For Ehs? These aren't off-putting sections by any means, they just seem comically random. I did learn that Sara Gruen is of the North so there's that tidbit.

The Professional Resource "Award Winners" is a good grouping of titles. It's a handy feature as the local English teachers like to assign book reports from several award categories. A generic search engine can just as easily bring up a list of Caldecott Medal Winners, or Orange Prize nominations (I've been dating Google for years too.) but it's a smart move to have so many options in one location. I'll have to read a few of those Canadian Library Association Book of the Year for Children titles.

My favorite idea is an easily stolen idea so let me confess that I will be stealing myriad ideas for book displays from the Recommended reads lists. This thrills me.

Book discussion guides could be a great starting point for any book club. Current choices and intelligent discussions.

Playing around with a searchable series I turned to the peculiar 11 year old with a penchant for poisons and a bicycle named Gladys. Oh, Flavia de Luce, how entertaining you are. Detailed is my preferred visual as it gives both cover and synopsis.  With this option finding that "blue book, you know the one with the words on the cover" could be made less agonizing; a tilt on the monitor and the patron can pick which blue book exactly. The Grid option is pleasing visually as well and could perhaps be incorporated into a book display. I have a beef with the Title Only option as it's more than a simple list of titles. The fuzz is cut down in the print version, yes, but I'll stick with Fantastic Fiction on the print me a list date. I stuck with Volume as my sort by. There didn't seem to be a use for the other options. Granted my series has only five listings. I imagine Mr. Patterson would have pages and pages so the other options might be relevant. I'll spare you my Patterson rant for now but live in fear.

Read-alikes are a tricky beast. I get it, really I do. You like David Baldacci so you may like Stuart Woods. In addition to some of the suggestions seeming hit or miss, let's branch out. You just read this particular fast paced, sensitive comedy how about you now try this hilarious, action packed drama. Or -gasp- some nonfiction. My reading tastes are eclectic and I have always found this to be beneficial. It leads to the well-rounding of my suggestions. Read-aliking can be useful but I suggest pushing things a bit to broaden a patron's reading experience

Novelist is dandy for librarians but even dandier is NoveList in the hands of a voracious patron. It seems fairly user friendly as far as navigation goes. I see myself promoting the site more than using it personally. Appreciative patrons will be inspired to try new things, or revisit old series after browsing. Share the MARVELousity!

The moral of the love story is that I may stick with Fantastic Fiction but when he doesn't take out the trash, or he insists on wearing that hideous shirt out for drinks I will make room for NoveList in the dating rotation. Guess I'm moving to Utah with my polygamist ways.

Happy Reading & Cheers!

Mr. Boole Hocks a Loogy

I'm not crafty. I don't have fond memories of sitting on grandma-scented couches learning to knit. Or crochet. Or make those plastic, yarn covered tissue holders. I did learn to sew from my mother. She said, "Go get the stapler, we're going to hem the curtains." Incidentally this was the same week she taught my brother how to cook. To this day he overcooks the microwave mac and cheese in order to get a crispy crust. I don't darn socks either.

Papier-mâché is cool enough. It's kind of like back in grade school when there was cutting and pasting. One good smear of Elmer's glue on the palm of your hand, a patient three minute wait and voilà peeling zombie hand. Maybe papier-mâché is nothing like that. It does give me a chance to utilize my alt commands to get the fancy french symbols though.

Under the category Scrapbooking & Paper Crafts Papier-Mâché is subcategorized. So off I went. Instead of viewing all tabs at once I chose to navigate tab by tab. By far my favorite was the "Projects" tab. Though I will most likely not be papier-mâchéing anytime soon the step by step picture guides and materials lists seemed handy. I will have to remember to relay the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center to the elementary school art teacher who was in the library a few weeks ago looking for ideas. She will be thrilled. Mission accomplished.

Under the "Periodicals" tab the results seemed a bit wonky. The first couple of pages were spot on papier-mâchéish. After delving further, the randomness began. "Your ticket to Wally's Train World" and "The World's Ugliest Airplanes" were lacking in papier-mâchéitude. "New Kids on the Block: A Q&A with 9 New Teddy Bear Artists" had a single mention of papier-mâché noses. I suppose that might be in the realm of relevant but I could have lived without it. Plus now I have bad 80s music on the brain. (This whole MARVELous adventure is one long memory trip for me.) There was also, randomly, an article titled "The History of the Walnut". No papier-mâché there, I read every word. Also slightly off topic was a feature on the Camden-Rockport Historical Society art show. Nothing to report on papier-mâché to speak of but an interesting ceramic display of "polychrome goat-riding Staffordshire figures". Only $1,195.00 for the pair. In general, the search result felt like a well-intended but badly executed photo album. Smack dad between the photo of the great Christmas tree tinsel explosion of '02, and the shot of cousin johnny, clad in new holiday themed pjs, big goober smile plastered across his face, holding a shiny new bb gun, is a polaroid of the cute zoo pandas from the 2nd grade field trip. (P.S. this blog is looking for an editor. A. for content. and B. for comma use.)

I did find some interesting articles on papier-mâché. In Denver there is a working playground made completely out of newsprint and glop. There was also a feature on "Oaxacan Animals in Papier-Mâché". It's fun just to say Oaxacan. It's like hocking a loogy with speech. Is it kosher to say "hocking a loogy" as a professional librarian? Will they take away my pencil skit and my low worn glasses?

I'm beginning to see MARVELously similar themes of "create alerts", "save searches", and "project folders". Cloud research is the way to go it seems.

In general I found it preferable to utilize the PDF versions of the found articles as it seemed easier to navigate and included better formatted pictures.

The "find more like this" button was hit or miss. More than half the time I attempted to "find more like this" from a particular entry nothing would result. When I used the broadest articles to "find more" there were various mores but the original search option would have been just as efficient.

My home library has just a few craft magazines so there was no overlap in materials in physical library versus the virtual library. This proves once again how grand readily available web resources can be.

The Help section seemed like too much to browse just for giggles. I usually jam the square peg into the round whole without asking questions in order to manhandle my way to the answers I want. (I also tend to have parts left over after mantling anything mechanical; directions are a last resort contention not a plan to follow.) However I did learn something. I've managed to get this far in life without knowing exactly what Boolean logic was. Whenever the term Boolean was bandied about I practiced my go-to smile and nod. (It's a classic move.) I now know the ands, ors and nots about Mr. Boole. Thanks EBSCO help.

Now that I'm done typing papier-mâché for a while I can't believe I didn't think to look up piñatas.

I promise to create some sort of prized creature out of wire, flour, water and paper for the first person to bottle Grandma couch smell for me.

Happy Reading & Cheers!

(Hedgehogs have nothing to do with papier-mâché but we had one in the library this week and it was Über cute. Must get myself a hedgehog.)