Using "Not" when searching Workflows

You may have noticed that typing the word “not” in a title search yields some wacky results. For example:

This is because Workflows recognizes the word “not” as a Boolean operator, which is used to narrow a search by exclusion. So, when I search for Eat This Not That books, Workflows thinks I want books with the words “Eat This,” and to eliminate those titles that have the word “that.” So, I get every book, but the one I want.

When typing in titles that have the word “not,” simply eliminate “not” and type the title without it. Example:

To learn more about Boolean operators, go here.

Webinar - Health Research Using FEL Resources

There is an abundance of high quality health related material available through the FEL for both the layperson and the health professional. Discover the strengths of each of the resources for different types of health research projects and queries. Using sample questions, learn which resources are best for health research and how to use them. This session is ideal for all library staff.

• Always available on demand
• Live webinar Monday, December 20 at 1:00 p.m.
  

Register online at http://www.flelibrary.org/training/.

Other courses available include:

• The World of FEL/Gale Resources: A General Product Overview
• Homework Help: Using FEL Resources
• Patron Outreach: Creating Easy Access and Increasing Usage of FEL Resources
• FEL QuickStart: General and Academic OneFile Searches
• The Power of Web 2.0: Best Practices Using FEL Resources
• Getting Down to Business: Effective Use of FEL Business Resources
• Following the Trends: Understanding FEL Reports and Analysis Data
• Making It Personal: Customizing Your FEL Products
  

Webinar - Dealing with Difficult Patrons

Need tips and tricks on how to deal with difficult customers? Check out this online archived webinar from WebJunction called “Dealing With Difficult Patrons.”

If you scroll down the page and click on “View full archive,” you will a see a link to playback the entire webinar within your browser. It will feel like you’re actually there except you won’t be able to physically participate.

Check out the other archived webinars from WebJunction. You never know what you’ll find.

Searching for new DVDs in the public catalog

Library staff are often asked by customers how to find the new DVDs in the public access catalog. Because we work with a different program on a daily basis, it's easy to forget how to use the public side the catalog. Here's a refresher. :-)

1. After opening i-bistro (public access catalog), click on "power search" beneath the library selection window.
2. Scroll down a bit to the "Type" drop down menu. Select DVD.
3. Scroll to the "Pubyear" box and type the current year.
4. Click search.
5. A list of DVDs will appear.
6. You can also limit this list by genre. Click on "Limit search" at the top to take you back to the search screen.
7. Under "Item Category 1" pick a genre of interest, such as drama or comedy. Your list will get sorted down to those.
   

Help with ePub, eBooks, and eReaders

Can I download Library ebooks on to my Kindle? How do I use the Nook? What is an epublication or an ebook?

If you've received these questions, but didn't know how to answer them, check out the information on this website called Digital Delight. This site is full of brief, easy-to-understand answers to the most common ePub questions. It also has links to sources of free eBooks on the Web. Most of the documents are in Word and PDF format and have been created by library staff in the TBLC area in response to patron questions. Check it out and be informed the next time a customer asks you an ePub question.

Agriculture Collection

The Agriculture Collection Database available through the Florida Electronic Library has a collection of more than 400 titles is focused on agriculture and its related fields: from practical aspects of farming to cutting edge scientific research in horticulture. In addition, over 20 Delmar reference titles provide in-depth coverage on a variety of agricultural related topics.

What can it answer?

• All kinds of questions about pesticides, soil conservation, mammal physiology, agricultural economics, poultry science, health foods and more are easily answered with instant access to over 3.5 million articles.
• The cow farmer can evaluate statistics related to the impact of new management information systems on the production of calves.
• The agricultural historian can discover when ornamental plants became widely popular in midwestern states.
• The student of agronomy can find out what crops grow well in volcanic soils.
• The food-science student can report about the bacterial infections that sickened spinach consumers in 2006.

How do I get there? Click on the links above or:

• Go to http://flelibrary.org/
• Click on "view all resources"
• Scroll to Agriculture Collection and click on the link.

Need help searching? Ask a Librarian.

Florida on Florida

Want to learn more about Florida’s history? Check out FLE’s Florida on Florida, a catalog of digital materials, such as maps, photographs, postcards, books, and manuscripts all related to Florida. The materials come from multiple collections from museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies throughout Florida.

To go to get there, go to:

1. http://flelibrary.org/
2. Under “Featured Resources” in the middle of the page, click on “Florida History.” This will take you to the database.
   
3. Or if it is not listed as a featured resource (because websites love to change it up!), click on “view all resources” under the search box.
   
4. Click on the letter “F.” You should see Florida on Florida listed.
   

Want to know what is in the collection? Click on the “Collections” link in the menu. You’ll see a list of all the collections, along with a blurb explaining that particular collections materials.
Try searching for history on a particular area of Florida by typing in the name of the city, county, or area. For instance, type "Kissimmee" and see what you find. You should get about 900 results. Amazing, eh? Try it for yourself!

Consumer Product Reviews

I've posted before about the Florida Electronic Library, but I'm going to start reviewing some great features of this resource in celebration (sorry kids!) of the new school year. Consider this a mini-series all about the FLE!

I'm going to begin with a fun tool that's on the main page of the site called Consumer Product Reviews. It's easy! All you need to do is type in a product, such as "laptop," and click search. A listing of current product reviews from different magazines will appear after a few minutes. This is great in place of Consumer Reports because you can access this from home as well as in the library, whereas with Consumer Reports, you need to come to the library to look at the magazine or have your own subscription to their website or magazine.

Try your own search to see what you find. And stay tuned for more facts about FLE!

Goldstein Lawson Collection

Learn about author and illustrator Robert Lawson, courtesy of the Special Collection by IPL2. This website hosts copies of a collection of his art work from the Florida State University (FSU) College of Information Goldstein Library, plus a small biography.

Here is an example of his artwork.


Take a look today!

Online Lexile Resource: "Find a Book"

Here’s a neat reading advisory tool to use with parents and/or students searching for that perfect book. It’s super easy to use, performs various searches, details information on Lexile ranges, and is connected to WorldCat to let you know if you can find the book in the Osceola Library.

It is a free online search tool called “find a book” that explains Lexiles from start to finish, and allows users to perform searches that will turn up book suggestions based on interests, genre, or Lexile range. You can explore it here: www.lexile.com/findabook

What is Lexile? "Lexiles measure text complexity and have been used for years by educators and schools. Lexiles are also used by EBSCO and ProQuest and are used to measure their articles. A Lexile reader measure can range from below 200L for beginning readers (BR) to above 1700L for advanced readers, and the measures range by increments of 10. The Lexile is determined based on various factors that influence how difficult a text is to comprehend: word frequency , sentence length, number of syllables in a word and words in a sentence, complexity of grammar, sentence construction, and definitions. "

“Find a book” is made possible by a joint partnership between the Florida Departments of Education and State and Lexile-developer MetaMetrics.

Homeschooling

There are many fine schools in Osceola County, but sometimes, public and private schools are not for everyone. Many parents like to try homeschooling their children as an alternative. If you would like to learn more about homeschooling, check out the following resources.

Home Education in Florida
http://www.floridaschoolchoice.org/information/home_education/

Florida Virtual School
http://www.flvs.net/

Florida Parent Educators Association
http://www.fpea.com/

Free training from Florida Electronic Library

The Florida Electronic Library offers online training to librarians, students, and teachers. They have 3 types: self-guided downloadable webcasts, live online webinars, and in person training.

To take a look at their courses, go here: http://www.flelibrary.org/training/

Some of the courses offered are:

Exploring Community Health
FEL Quick Start – General and Academic OneFile Searches
Following the Trends: Understanding FEL Reports and Analysis Data
Getting Down to Business: Effective Use of FEL Business Resources
Healthy Perspective: Health Research Using FEL Resources, A
Homework Help Using FEL Resources
Making It Personal: Customizing Your FEL Products
Patron Outreach – Creating Easy Access and Increasing Usage of FEL Resources
Power of Web 2.0: Best Practices Using FEL Resources
World of FEL/Gale Resources: A General Product Overview

National Safety Month

June is National Safety Month! Check out the National Safety Council to see how you can make your life and the lives of your loved ones safer.

http://www.nsc.org/

Online Government services

Tired of waiting in those long lines at U.S. government offices? Do you want to replace personal documents, change your address, replace your driver's license and more from the privacy of your own home? USA.gov guides you to all the online government services.

Check it out!

Armed Forces Day – May 15, 2010

Celebrate Armed Forces Day by learning more about the American Military. President Truman wanted to establish a cingle holiday for citizens to come together and thank the military. On August 31, 1949, Secretary of Defense Louis Johnson announced Armed Forces Day, a single day that unites all of our armed forces into one celebration and one department called the Department of Defense.

To learn more about branches of the military, check out the following websites:

• Army
• Navy
• Marine Corps
• Air Force
• Coast Guard
  

Check out sections 355 – 359 in your local Library to find out more information.

Total Twitter Tutorial

Expungement forms

Need to find expungement forms, but can't make it to the library? The Florida Bar website has forms for download.

Here is the direct link. The forms are on pages 203-210 of the PDF

How to search for it:

1. Go to Google
2. Type in the words: Florida rules of criminal procedure
3. Click on the first link.
4. Forms are on pages 203-210 of the PDF
   

How to find it and other forms on the Florida Bar website:

1. Go to www.floridabar.org
2. Click on Professional Practice on the left hand side
3. Click on Rules of Procedure
4. Click on Criminal Procedure
5. PDF file will open.
6. Forms are on pages 203-210 of the PDF
   

National Library Week

Click on the image to find more information.

Click here to find out how the Osceola Library system is celebrating.

Mint.com

Want to have more control over your finances? Sign up at Mint.com!

Watch this demo to learn more.



Worried about security? Read their testimonials and watch informational videos.

Workforce Central Florida

Looking to brush up on your job skills? Check out the website for Workforce Central Florida at www.workforcecentralflorida.com

You'll find training class listings, current job openings, online workshops, and more.

Also, check out the local office in Kissimmee:
1392 East Vine St.
Kissimmee, FL, 34744
(407)705-1555

Ask a Librarian Day

Tuesday, February 23, 2010 is Ask a Librarian Day.

Remember to promote this service at your Library. Guide customers to our webpage or simply tell them the following:

• If you ever need help when you’re not in our library, visit askalibrarian.org (or find the link on our library’s website).
• You can use Ask a Librarian for FREE.
• Ask a Librarian is a website where you can go to get your questions answered by a real librarian.
• Ask a Librarian is open 10 a.m. until midnight ET Sunday through Thursday and until 5 p.m. ET Friday and Saturday.
• If Ask a Librarian isn’t open for chat, you can always email your question to us, and we’ll get back to you within 24 hours.
  

How to Find Government Information

WebJunction provides a continuing education program for library workers on how to find and use government information called Gi21. There is plenty of information to explore in a variety of categories.

According to the website, "current funding for the Gi21 program ended on September 30, 2008, and the information found in the program modules is up-to-date as of December 31, 2008." Hopefully, it will be updated in the future, but until then the information is quite useful.

Free Tax Aid

Beginning February 5, 2010, AARP Volunteers will be at the Hart Memorial Central Library on Fridays from 12:00-4:00.

To help customers find the location closest to them, have them go this page on the AARP website, type in their zip code, and it will give a list of places closest to that zip code.

Tax forms are available at the Library. Customers requesting W-2 and 1099 forms, must contact IRS either through phone (1-800-829-3676), online, or visiting the nearest IRS office.

Finding Titles by African-American Authors Using Novelist

Need help finding African American book titles and authors? Here are some tips in using the Novelist Database to find them.

To access pre-made lists:

1. Open the Novelist Database
2. On the left hand side of the main page, click on Feature Articles in the Adult Section.
3. Scroll down to Fiction A to Z and click on it.
   
4. The African American Fiction List is the first one.
   

Create your own lists by conducting an Advanced Search:

1. Click Advanced Search from the homepage.
   
2. Select the desired Reading and/or Grade Level from the limiter options.
   
3. Scroll down towards the bottom of the page, and select “African-American” from the Author’s Cultural Identity limiter.
4. Click Search.
5. From the result list, you can Narrow Results by selecting any of the subjects listed. For titles in a specific genre, amend this search by entering the genre, i.e “mystery,” in the first Find bar and selecting GN Genre from the adjacent drop-down. For the most recent additions, sort your result by Date Descending.
   

Protecting Reputations Online

Be careful what you post online on your "private" Facebook and MySpace pages. It turns out, these are not so private. For more information, check out the following:

Protecting Reputations Online in Plain English
~ a short video

Read this article from Forbes Magazine

Or check out a book in the 005.8 section of the library.