Lesson 4b: Additional Education Databases

1. 

Alaska District Partners with Discovery. (cover story). (2010). Electronic Education Report, 17(18), 1-2.

Lesson 3: Reader's Advisory

Since I use NoveList almost everyday, I spent some time looking at the reader's advisory websites from the the article, "7 Book Recommendation Websites."  The one that I had never played with before was Whichbook.  It seemed like a fun and more user friendly to pick books based on appeal factors.

One reader's advisory website that I really like for tracking series is FictFact (http://www.fictfact.com/).  You can use it to "follow" your favorite series. You can mark off the titles you have read and track which book is next in the series.  FictFact will notify you when a new book in your series is published.  You can also get recommendations for new series.



Lesson 2 -- Genealogy

I was unable to find any of my grandparents before the 1920 census but I hit the jackpot and found all four of them in South Dakota in 1920.   I could not find my maternal grandmother’s family using the search feature, but I did find them by browsing through records for the town of Wagner.  Luckily it is a small town.   The family is listed below on lines 40-44.   I was curious why “Place of Birth” for my family was listed as “mixed blood” and “Sioux” rather than a place name (state, country, or maybe Dakota Territory?) like the other entries on the page.  I love it that my great-grandmother was listed as the head of household rather than her son-in-law (my grandfather) and that her occupation was librarian.  I was not surprised to see my mother’s name spelled “Jurene” rather than the correct spelling of “Guriene.”  Most people still misspell it.   Genealogy becomes very challenging with difficulty in reading the handwriting, misspellings, the poor reproduction of the records, and missing records like the 1890 census.

Lesson 1 -- Business Resources (continued)

Lesson 1 – Business Resources (continued)

4.  The website for the Alaska Department of Law Consumer Protection Unit includes helpful information for landlords and tenants.  It includes full text of the publication, “The Landlord & Tenant Act: what it means to you.” This publication summarizes the “Alaska Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act” which is also available in full text on the website.  Among landlord’s responsibilities are maintaining a fit premises, making repairs, and giving the required notice before demanding that a tenant move out.

Two examples of frauds or scams that are explained on the website are phishing and pyramid schemes.

A form for filing consumer complaints with to the Attorney General’s office is available at the Alaska Department of Law Consumer Protection Unit’s website.  There is a “File a Complaint” tab near the top of the webpage.  There is also a separate form for filing complaints related to motor vehicles.

5.  In the City of Wasilla, there are 1601 female workers.  The top employer in Wasilla is the Mat-Su Borough Schools. 

6.  According to the Alaska Small Business Development Center’s website, the stages of the small business cycle are Think, Launch, Grow, Reinvent, and Exit.  In the ‘Online Tools’ section of the SBDC website, you will find a checklist for starting a small business.

7.  The two most recent publications about broadband on the Institute of Social & Economic Research website are:

Broadband Policies for the North: A Comparative Analysis /Heather E. Hudson

Rural Broadband: Opportunities for Alaska /Heather E. Hudson

There is a presentation called Small Scale Modular Nuclear Power: An Option for Alaska? by Ginny Fay and Tobias Schworer on the ISER website.

ISER’s research is relevant to Alaska libraries – especially the areas of applied social policy and education.

8.  There is a definite need for business information in my community.  Wasilla is one of the fastest growing cities in Alaska with new businesses popping up all the time.  I’m not sure that many in the business community look to the library for information, though.  If we had the time and resources, an outreach effort to highlight these resources for the business community would be valuable in our community.

Lesson 1 -- Business Resources

1.  According to the Datamonitor report in Business Source Premier, Peter Klein is the Chief Financial Officer of Microsoft.  Before joining Microsoft, Klein spent 13 years in corporate finance in Seattle area communications and technology sectors.

2.  A search for "handicrafts" in Small Business Reference Center yielded several helpful sources on where to sell crafts.  The article "State of the market" in the publication AMERICAN CRAFT, features the online websites for selling crafts such has Etsy.  A book chapter, "Crafts"  in LEISURE MARKET RESEARCH HANDBOOK talks about places to sell crafts in person including fairs, festivals and craft galleries.

The advanced search feature of Small Business Referernce Center was useful because I was able to limit the search to a publication type of book.  I found a book chapter on crafts in the book, 199 INERNET-BASED BUSINESSES YOU CAN START WITH LESS THAN ONE THOUSAND DOLLARS.

I also did a search on personal training in Small Business Reference Center.  I found many articles and also a book that looked helpful entitled HOW TO OPEN & OPERATE A FINACIALLY SUCCESSFUL PERSONAL TRAINING BUSINESS.

3.  Using the 'browse by popular resource' tool in Small Business Reference Center, I found a NOLO publication called DEDUCT IT.  It was a current publication and one that small business owners would find helpful since it is tax time.