Big Chalk eLibrary

eLibrary - Free and awesome!
Originally uploaded by barbfecteau.

ELibrary is my personal favorite. It has cute little icons that tell you where the resource is coming from. It allows you to list your findings chronologically (although only from most recent which is no fun). It has transcripts of just about every broadcast NPR has ever had. The subject search is very effective. There are many wonderful things about this database.
Most of the databases we have access to have articles from the mid-80s on. So if you are looking for primary resources, you are going to be better served by the web or more historical databases that I will get to later on.
But for anything post 1980's - eLibrary is the place I go first.

Databases are not websites!

A database is not considered an internet source. Even though we access the databases through the internet, they are actually print collections. They are articles, entries, essays, podcasts, transcripts and images that have been through the same editorial process that the printed page goes through.

The databases that we predominantly use at BHS are those available through Noble - the same Noble that has that awesome OPAC that you just looked at! (And yes, this is the first recorded instance of an OPAC being called "awesome".) See that little box over there on the right that says "reference databases"? If you click on that it will take you to the "Answers To Go" page. This is the list of databases that are provided by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners. They are my favorite commissioners of all time for just that reason.

Once you choose your database and click on it you will be taken to the MBLC page that looks a little something like this:

Now you need to enter your library card number in the little box that is near the middle of the page and click "go". If you don't have a library card, please leave your resignation at the main office on the way out. If you don't have you library card with you you can use BHS's number which is hanging on the wall of the library over the student computers.

Once you type in your number you will be taken to the database you have chosen and begin the wonderful task of database research!

In future posts I will highlight the databases that I find particularly useful and completely gloss over the ones that give me a pain in the neck. So let us recap what we have learned:
1. Databases are not websites.
2. The Mass. Board of Library Commissioners rocks! (And yes, that is the first recorded instance of the MBLC being accused of rocking. )

Coming soon - Big Chalk e-library!

In the beginning...

Our own Athena!
Originally uploaded by barbfecteau.

We used to have a card catalog. You may notice that whenever I write a pass for a student, it is on a little card with a hole in it. That is what is left of the card catalog. Now we have an OPAC - an online public access catalog. Ours is named Athena, after the goddess of frustratingly fruitless searching - I mean, wisdom and the practical arts.

The Athena catalog tells what books we have, where they are located in the library and if a book is available. However you can't view Athena's holdings outside the library.

We do belong to a consortium of school libraries called MassCat and our holdings can be viewed in their catalog. We are also in a pilot program wherein we can borrow holdings from other libraries. So if you are searching the catalog and see something you would like, feel free to come ask me to get it for you! Or if you are feeling especially adventurous you can request it yourself by clicking the "request this item" link.

The catalog I use the most and that I tell students to use is the NOBLE catalog. This is the North Of Boston Library Exchange. There are so many resources available here that you will be shocked.

You can also access the Boston Public Library's OPAC online. As a matter of fact, just about every public library has their catalog online. Since there are standard subject headings in library catalogs browsing is extremely easy when looking for books or media on a specific topic.