All the books are not online

More and more reputable materials are available online. They aren't free (and that's why you need a password). You pay for these resources through your tax dollars. Librarians try to be ever so careful when spending your money to get you the best resources possible.

At North Metro we added full access to Credo Reference

Credo Reference gives you a complete reference collection (266 titles) from over 50 publishers, powered by a network of cross-references that cut across topics, titles and publishers to provide answers - and new connections - in context.

Along with multiple articles, there are videos, audio segments, and pictures galore (check out the Bridgeman Art Library Archive).

Get the password to use Credo Reference from the NMTC library staff and go exploring.

Handy for you, a link to Credo has been added to GALILEO (hopefully we'll get the authentication added soon so you will only need the NMTC GALILEO password to access Credo inside GALILEO). GALILEO makes a very useful portal for Georgia residents to access the resources that just aren't available with a Google search.

The miracles of technology!

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears

Encyclopedia of Animals is an Ebsco product

a full-text database of over 2,200 entries about the life and habitat of mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and dinosaurs appropriate for the research needs of school students. Some entries include photographs.

According to the description this database is "appropriate for the research needs of school students". It looks like a traditional Ebsco product - blue, green, search boxes, no illustrations.

I've seen student friendly Ebsco products so I know they can do it. This particular product has the information but not the sparkle to pull a school (K-8) student in to look for the facts.

You may get the current password to use GALILEO at home from your Georgia librarian.

Robots, laptops and WII

Computer Science Index™ an Ebsco product

(CSI) (formerly Computer Literature Index) offers abstracting and indexing of academic journals, professional publications, and other reference sources at scholarly and technical levels of computer science. The collection covers more than 670 periodicals and books, with coverage going back to the mid 1960s. Computer Science Index focuses on subjects such as artificial intelligence, expert systems, system design, data structures, computer theory, computer systems and architecture, software engineering, human-computer interaction, new technologies, social and professional context, and much more. Enhancements to the original database include hundreds of new titles and searchable cited references for key academic journals. This database also includes editor-selected articles from magazine and journal titles in related areas of study.

There are articles about the WII, gaming, and robotics. Dip in to read what the pros say about the technology of today and tomorrow!

The password to use GALILEO at home is available from your Georgia librarian.

To read or not to read

The more notes in GALILEO for Library, Information Science & Technology Abstracts (LISTA) note that it "indexes more than 600 periodicals, plus books, research reports and proceedings. Subject coverage includes librarianship, classification, cataloging, bibliometrics, online information retrieval, information management and more. Coverage in the database extends back as far as the mid-1960s."

LISTA is an Ebsco database, with RSS feeds, Publication list, Journal Alerts.

Book reviews are one source to help you decide- do I spend the time reading that book?

The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman, now a movie, may create some concern. Some folks are noting that the movie will lead children to the books which may or may not be appropriate for the child.

There is a starred review in Library Journal 2/15/96, Vol. 121 Issue 3, p176, 2p, by Michael Rogers. At that point it was the first of the series.

A search for Philip Pullman and Dark Materials pulls up 32 articles. The 2000 review in Booklist is not available through LISTA. There is a delightful tool in GALILEO called "Find It" which lets you know the article is in ProQuest. This article includes an interview with Philip Pullman, where he notes "In my experience, people who object to books usually have not read the books; they've read about the books and what others say is in them."

LISTA offers you a source for reviews and articles if you want to know what someone else thinks about a book . Don't stop there, go ahead and read the book yourself to make a truly informed opinion.

The password to use GALILEO at home is available from your Georgia Librarian.

7 days and counting

The new and improved GALILEO rolls out the week of December 17.

Right now you can access the Beta edition. It works OK but the list of databases available to North Metro has a glitch (it says we have 89 and most of those are links to web sites I've added). They know about the glitch and are working on it.

The improved GALILEO looks like it really will be an improvement! The folks at GALILEO do read the surveys and respond to patron issues.