I know it sounds ridiculous, but for me the biggest discovery was that all these resources were available to our patrons. As a new librarian, I have been steadily working to learn all that I need to know to fulfill my job responsibilities. The previous librarian either wasn't really technologically savvy or she didn't see the possibilities for patrons. I have spent some time in the past few months making resources accessible to our patrons (we didn't even have an online catalogue) so it was great news that these databases were available! I very much appreciate the opportunity to learn what these databases contain and how to use them so I can then transmit information to our patrons.
As I have worked through this class I have printed out the information sheets provided by the State Library. I made a binder at the library that is labeled "Online databases" and put these info sheets in the binder and placed it on our computer table along with a sign. I have also made an effort to tell people who I think might be interested in using them like students, college students, and community members who do research. I intend to launch a media campaign shortly to inform the community of all the new happenings at our library - new hours, databases, weekly story time, book club, and ebooks coming in the summer.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Ancestry Library - photos and maps
After talking with Julie I was able to navigate to the photos and maps section of Ancestry. I did a search on South Dakota in the panoramic maps section and that turned up 151 records. There were amazing photos from many of the SD towns, Rapid City, Lead, Sioux Falls, Yankton, Deadwood, etc. There were also photos of Indian Schools and a stock parade. All of the photos seemed to be from the late 1800s through early 1900s. I also looked at a couple of the maps, I just love old maps! There seems to be alot of stuff kind of hidden away in this database. I'm glad I found the links to other things besides the name search. I'll probably have to go back and look at the photos of the old ships because that sounds really cool also!
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Ancestry Library, Heritage Quest, Sanborn Maps
These are really cool databases! A real time sink! Okay, when I searched for my own name I found my husband's name and his records from about 15 years ago plus. I had to search on my maiden name before I found myself and then it seemed like old census records, no birth records or anything. While messing around in this database though I did find a copy of my parent's marriage record - the original obviously typewritten with a carbon copy, nearly impossible to read, but there it was.
Next I searched on my grandmother and found that using her maiden name didn't work well. When I finally searched on her married name I found a death record and an obit notice. I also found a census record from the 80s. Kind of funny that we'd have opposite results, but I guess it makes sense since she was her married name for longer than her maiden name and I was my maiden name longer than my married name. I am wondering if there are incomplete records from the early 1900s (when she was born) and maybe that affected my search.
I looked and looked for the photos and maps tab in Ancestry and honestly couldn't find anything that even remotely resembled that. Am I looking in the wrong place? I do not know how to search for a place in Ancestry.
In Heritage Quest I searched books for Tucson, AZ and got 6 results. I clicked on the Arizona State Business Directory from 1930, Denver, CO Gazetteer Pub. It was really cool! It was a listing of all the businesses, banks, hotels, senators, universities, forests, dept of labor, etc from that time. I found a listing for the lumberyard that my grandfather managed during his working life. It was so interesting to see all the names of people who ended up having a huge impact on Tucson as it grew into a huge city. I grew up in Tucson and remember it being a small to mid-sized city but these records are of a Tucson that was a bustling town - pretty neat!
In Sanborn maps I wanted to look at Wall, but since that wasn't available I search Rapid City since that is really the only other town in South Dakota that I know anything about. In 1885 there wasn't much to Rapid City, lots of liveries. I couldn't find anything I recognized. In 1915 there was more to choose from, although not too much. I did find the courthouse. It seems like things really started happening in 1930 because the town really grew and there were alot more recognizable buildings such as the Masonic Temple and the Alex Johnson Hotel, that are still in use. I wonder what happened to cause the boom. This was a fun assignment because I just LOVE looking at maps. I could pore over old maps all day! What a great resource! Why aren't these available for smaller towns like Wall?
Next I searched on my grandmother and found that using her maiden name didn't work well. When I finally searched on her married name I found a death record and an obit notice. I also found a census record from the 80s. Kind of funny that we'd have opposite results, but I guess it makes sense since she was her married name for longer than her maiden name and I was my maiden name longer than my married name. I am wondering if there are incomplete records from the early 1900s (when she was born) and maybe that affected my search.
I looked and looked for the photos and maps tab in Ancestry and honestly couldn't find anything that even remotely resembled that. Am I looking in the wrong place? I do not know how to search for a place in Ancestry.
In Heritage Quest I searched books for Tucson, AZ and got 6 results. I clicked on the Arizona State Business Directory from 1930, Denver, CO Gazetteer Pub. It was really cool! It was a listing of all the businesses, banks, hotels, senators, universities, forests, dept of labor, etc from that time. I found a listing for the lumberyard that my grandfather managed during his working life. It was so interesting to see all the names of people who ended up having a huge impact on Tucson as it grew into a huge city. I grew up in Tucson and remember it being a small to mid-sized city but these records are of a Tucson that was a bustling town - pretty neat!
In Sanborn maps I wanted to look at Wall, but since that wasn't available I search Rapid City since that is really the only other town in South Dakota that I know anything about. In 1885 there wasn't much to Rapid City, lots of liveries. I couldn't find anything I recognized. In 1915 there was more to choose from, although not too much. I did find the courthouse. It seems like things really started happening in 1930 because the town really grew and there were alot more recognizable buildings such as the Masonic Temple and the Alex Johnson Hotel, that are still in use. I wonder what happened to cause the boom. This was a fun assignment because I just LOVE looking at maps. I could pore over old maps all day! What a great resource! Why aren't these available for smaller towns like Wall?
Thursday, March 1, 2012
Archive Grid and CAMIO - take 2
Now that I can access the databases, let me tell you what I learned about Sitting Bull:
I searched on Monet and got 198 entries. There were such things as letters, exhibition catalogues, bills, artist files, books in French, miscellaneous uncatalogued material, institutional files including clippings and reviews of an exhibition, and special collections of research work. The institutions included the Brooklyn Museum, MOMA New York, The University of Virginia, the Research Library of the Getty Research Institute, the National Gallery of Art, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, and the Smithsonian Institute. Each entry had similar information as the Sitting Bull autograph card, there was information on the holdings and contact information for the institution. If you were doing research on a specific subject, this would be a great place to begin your search although I suspect your would need to be independently wealthy to visit all the institutions who had items of interest, could be kind of fun though!
In CAMIO my search on Paul Revere turned up many objects such as teaspoons, tea urns, sugar bowl, cream pots, a sauceboat, goblet, wine quart and Federal style tea service; in short, everything you might expect a master silversmith to make.
My Sioux search brought up 63 works including artifacts of and made by the Sioux and art done by and about the Sioux. There were beaded artifacts, like a shirt and gauntlet and doll, sculpture, jewelry, drawings, paintings, and photographs. Each entry included the what, where, dates, format, size, a good photo, and copyrights.
I searched on Nampeyo, a famous Hopi potter. There were 4 results and each included the what, where, dates, format, size, picture and copyrights.
Let me just say that these are incredible photos of the object, high resolution, very nice! I think one might be able to use this site for research and information gathering if your were looking for a specific artist. It could also be used for educational purposes or your own pleasure, but the entries I looked at were very specific that the images not be used for public purposes.
For my search I continued with the Hopi theme and selected the pots as my favorites. The slideshow is very cool, as are the comparison tools. I'm not sure what I would use the web page feature for - could you add it to your library webpage for special events or would that violate copyright issues? Pretty fun little interactive tool!
- AKA Tatanka Iyotake, Tatanka Iyotanka, Ta-Tanka-I-Yotan
- Native American shaman from the mid to late 1800s
- fought against the Crow Indians
- wounded in battle on several occasions
- opposed the encroachment of the white man
- led Sioux and Cheyenne warriors against US soldiers of the 7th Cavalry at the Battle of Little Bighorn
- after battle, led tribe into Canada where they lived until surrendering to the US
- after capture, toured with Buffalo Bill Cody's Wild West Show
- killed in 1890 while resisting arrest for Ghost Dancing
I searched on Monet and got 198 entries. There were such things as letters, exhibition catalogues, bills, artist files, books in French, miscellaneous uncatalogued material, institutional files including clippings and reviews of an exhibition, and special collections of research work. The institutions included the Brooklyn Museum, MOMA New York, The University of Virginia, the Research Library of the Getty Research Institute, the National Gallery of Art, Columbia University, Dartmouth College, and the Smithsonian Institute. Each entry had similar information as the Sitting Bull autograph card, there was information on the holdings and contact information for the institution. If you were doing research on a specific subject, this would be a great place to begin your search although I suspect your would need to be independently wealthy to visit all the institutions who had items of interest, could be kind of fun though!
In CAMIO my search on Paul Revere turned up many objects such as teaspoons, tea urns, sugar bowl, cream pots, a sauceboat, goblet, wine quart and Federal style tea service; in short, everything you might expect a master silversmith to make.
My Sioux search brought up 63 works including artifacts of and made by the Sioux and art done by and about the Sioux. There were beaded artifacts, like a shirt and gauntlet and doll, sculpture, jewelry, drawings, paintings, and photographs. Each entry included the what, where, dates, format, size, a good photo, and copyrights.
I searched on Nampeyo, a famous Hopi potter. There were 4 results and each included the what, where, dates, format, size, picture and copyrights.
Let me just say that these are incredible photos of the object, high resolution, very nice! I think one might be able to use this site for research and information gathering if your were looking for a specific artist. It could also be used for educational purposes or your own pleasure, but the entries I looked at were very specific that the images not be used for public purposes.
For my search I continued with the Hopi theme and selected the pots as my favorites. The slideshow is very cool, as are the comparison tools. I'm not sure what I would use the web page feature for - could you add it to your library webpage for special events or would that violate copyright issues? Pretty fun little interactive tool!
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