In light of Townsville’s recent baby boom there is no doubt in my mind that I am not the only expectant mother confused by the overwhelming wealth of web information concerning every aspect of impending parenthood. From nutrition to nappies, caffeine to cravings, exercise to epidurals, caesarean section vs. natural birth, the list truly is never ending.
To add to this perplexing pregnancy plethora, when it comes to babies, it seems everyone has an opinion and wants to ‘weigh-in.’ With a paediatrician brother, midwife mother-in-law, and a whole tribe of nurses in the family, I truly have heard every bit of advice under the rainbow, and here-in lies the problem: as a parent-to-be, how does one sort the baby information designed to keep mum and baby happy, from the information that could, quite frankly, fill your baby’s nappy?
For better or for worse, the internet is a highly accessible tool and anyone with the know-how can publish an internet site, regardless of qualification or agenda. This unregulated nature of the internet presents a unique set of challenges when trying to determine the reliability of information retrieved. As you might do when purchasing a new product in the supermarket, when researching any topic, it is always important to ‘read the label.’ When researching on the internet, some examples of questions you should ask are: Does the site have a reputable author? Is it up-to-date? Is there an obvious bias? Is the site trying to sell you something? Can the information be verified on other similar sites? Does the page contain links to other reliable sites?
To get you started, CityLibraries provides a number of reliable health related online databases through the CityLibraries website (http://tinyurl.com/66awf2): Medline Plus, HealthInsite, Health and Wellness Resource Centre and Credo Reference.
The Townsville General Hospital also provides a good resource at http://tinyurl.com/6czt2k (click on ‘Having a baby’ in the left hand navigation bar). Bellybelly at http://www.bellybelly.com.au
is also a great place to start for all things maternity and be sure to read their ‘about us’ and ‘disclaimer’ links before proceeding.
Of course, before making any medical decisions, consult your qualified healthcare provider.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Friday, December 05, 2008
Finding stuff you like
Have you been searching for some new music to listen to, a new author to read, or a new travel destination to visit? By using some simple search techniques in an internet search tool, you can mine the wisdom and opinion of millions of internet users to find things similar to what you like.
Firstly we need to explore phrase searching. Google and most other search engines enable you to search for phrases by enclosing your search words in inverted commas. Typing “Sydney ferry timetables” will force Google to search for those three words as they appear in the phrase, not as separate words within a webpage. This can dramatically increase the accuracy of your search results.
By using this technique and a few different search phrases, you can make new discoveries based on other people’s opinions. If you are searching for music similar to your favourite band (we’ll use the band Coldplay as an example), use a phrase like “reminds me of Copldplay”, or “similar to Coldplay”, or “sounds like Coldplay”. In the results you should find websites and blogs where people are discussing a band or artist that they think sounds like your favourite band.
To find reviews that are more opinionated, try using a phrase like “better than”, for example “better than Melbourne”.
Phrase searching can also be useful for finding answers to questions. Simply imagine how the answer you are looking for would be written, then search for that phrase. For example, if you want to find the longest river in the world, your search phrase would be “the longest river in the world is”.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Firstly we need to explore phrase searching. Google and most other search engines enable you to search for phrases by enclosing your search words in inverted commas. Typing “Sydney ferry timetables” will force Google to search for those three words as they appear in the phrase, not as separate words within a webpage. This can dramatically increase the accuracy of your search results.
By using this technique and a few different search phrases, you can make new discoveries based on other people’s opinions. If you are searching for music similar to your favourite band (we’ll use the band Coldplay as an example), use a phrase like “reminds me of Copldplay”, or “similar to Coldplay”, or “sounds like Coldplay”. In the results you should find websites and blogs where people are discussing a band or artist that they think sounds like your favourite band.
To find reviews that are more opinionated, try using a phrase like “better than”, for example “better than Melbourne”.
Phrase searching can also be useful for finding answers to questions. Simply imagine how the answer you are looking for would be written, then search for that phrase. For example, if you want to find the longest river in the world, your search phrase would be “the longest river in the world is”.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Monday, November 24, 2008
Roll your own
Sometimes when searching the web, the results list of your search engine is cluttered with websites that aren’t relevant. For example, if you are searching for historical information about your suburb, you may find the results filled with real estate sites mentioning houses for sale in your area.
One way to overcome this in Google is to add a minus sign in front of words you want to exclude from your search. For example, searching for “Kirwan –real –estate” should help weed out unwanted websites.
Another way to overcome this is to build your own search engine, and include only the sites you want to search. Rollyo is just one of many free services that you can use to create a personalised search engine.
Click the ‘Create Searchroll’ link on the Rollyo homepage and then fill in the form. You can add up to 25 web addresses that you would like to search. Once completed, your personal search tool can be used in a number of ways. All of your search rolls are saved to a dashboard, so you can create a number of different ones depending on your hobbies, job or study.
If you have your own blog or website, you can add your new search tool to your site. Rollyo can provide the HTML code which you can paste on your website, which will produce a search box just like a search engine.
Rollyo already has quite a few search rolls prepared which you are free to use. These include topics like golf, cars, news and computer games.
Another similar service to try is the Google Custom Search Engine.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
One way to overcome this in Google is to add a minus sign in front of words you want to exclude from your search. For example, searching for “Kirwan –real –estate” should help weed out unwanted websites.
Another way to overcome this is to build your own search engine, and include only the sites you want to search. Rollyo is just one of many free services that you can use to create a personalised search engine.
Click the ‘Create Searchroll’ link on the Rollyo homepage and then fill in the form. You can add up to 25 web addresses that you would like to search. Once completed, your personal search tool can be used in a number of ways. All of your search rolls are saved to a dashboard, so you can create a number of different ones depending on your hobbies, job or study.
If you have your own blog or website, you can add your new search tool to your site. Rollyo can provide the HTML code which you can paste on your website, which will produce a search box just like a search engine.
Rollyo already has quite a few search rolls prepared which you are free to use. These include topics like golf, cars, news and computer games.
Another similar service to try is the Google Custom Search Engine.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Information you can trust
The Librarians’ Internet Index (www.lii.org) is a subject directory where the web sites have been chosen and reviewed by librarians. The slogan of LII says it all – Websites you can trust.
LII is organised into categories for easy browsing such as business, computers, sports, and environment or you can enter a search term to search LII only. By entering a search term or browsing a category you are taken to a list of sites which have been described by an information specialist. Beneath each description is a list of subject terms used to catalogue the site - by clicking on these you are taken to all the sites with that subject in their description - much like browsing on the shelves in a library.
A very useful feature on the LII homepage is the Featured Collection section which provides many resources on topical current affairs such as the 2008 US Presidential Election. The LII homepage also shows new sites that have been added or you can opt for a free subscription to receive a weekly email newsletter or RSS feed showing new resources added to LII.
LII is an excellent resource for reliable information for everyone. School or university students should find it useful for assignments. It is a great site to have in your Favourites but bear in mind that it is an American source and not many Australian sites are included. Of course, this can be an advantage if you are researching a topic such as the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. If you get no results from your search, as LII itself explains, "lii.org has records for about 10,000 of the hundreds of millions of available websites … it's possible the resource you are looking for isn't described."
LII provides a More Search Tools section for recommended search engines and news engines where you may have more luck.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
LII is organised into categories for easy browsing such as business, computers, sports, and environment or you can enter a search term to search LII only. By entering a search term or browsing a category you are taken to a list of sites which have been described by an information specialist. Beneath each description is a list of subject terms used to catalogue the site - by clicking on these you are taken to all the sites with that subject in their description - much like browsing on the shelves in a library.
A very useful feature on the LII homepage is the Featured Collection section which provides many resources on topical current affairs such as the 2008 US Presidential Election. The LII homepage also shows new sites that have been added or you can opt for a free subscription to receive a weekly email newsletter or RSS feed showing new resources added to LII.
LII is an excellent resource for reliable information for everyone. School or university students should find it useful for assignments. It is a great site to have in your Favourites but bear in mind that it is an American source and not many Australian sites are included. Of course, this can be an advantage if you are researching a topic such as the Civil Rights Movement in the United States. If you get no results from your search, as LII itself explains, "lii.org has records for about 10,000 of the hundreds of millions of available websites … it's possible the resource you are looking for isn't described."
LII provides a More Search Tools section for recommended search engines and news engines where you may have more luck.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Tuesday, November 04, 2008
National Library card unlocks wealth of online resources
We all know that there’s more information available on the internet than you could ever sensibly need in one lifetime, but did you know that there is a genuine treasure-chest of quality information locked away to select users? Fortunately, all you need to unlock these vaults is a library card, which is usually free.
Now most people will be familiar with visiting their local public library to borrow materials, and regular Searchlight readers will also know about the range of online services they can use their library card for. But did you know that you can now become an online member and use the services of one of Australia’s most important libraries? The National Library of Australia, situated in Canberra, has a role in collecting and making available information for all Australians. Recently they have taken an impressive leap forward by allowing people around Australia to register for a library card, and then use that card to unlock dozens of websites where the quality information is stored.
Head to www.nla.gov.au/app/eresources and fill out the online application form. All you need is a residential address in Australia, so they can post the card to you. It only took four days for a card to be delivered to North Queensland – and remember it’s all free!
Some of the treasures waiting to be unlocked cover business directories, art, history, music, book reviews, bioethics, economic data and much more. Mixed in with these databases are a selection of the very best free websites available, so if you can’t wait to get your library card, you may still find something useful from the free site.
Your National Library of Australia card will be good for two years, and the eResources are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Just the thing for last minute business reports or homework research.
Don’t forget that the State Library of Queensland also has an e-Services Card. Visit www.slq.qld.gov.au/services/ecard and complete the form. Once again a card will be sent in the mail and you can then unlock a wealth of online databases and e-books from the State Library website.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Searching for Internet gems
An online subject directory is a database of websites that have been collected and organised by people. Imagine a bookshop where the books are shelved according to their subject. Each subject - like sport - is broken down and organised into smaller more specific subjects - like cricket or swimming. A subject directory does the same thing with websites, and this makes them very useful for browsing. The great strength of subject directories is that people, not computers, choose and evaluate the websites in the directory. The main disadvantage of a Directory is their relatively small size. You may have several thousand websites to search through, rather than the tens of millions that a search engine can offer.
Infomine (http://infomine.ucr.edu) is such a directory. Don your hard-hats for an underground tour of this gem of a website.
Infomine is a collection of web resources mostly collected and organised by librarians, the original information experts. Although Infomine is aimed at an academic audience, it contains resources of use and interest to most people. Secondary students will find it great for homework help! Web resources listed in Infomine have a short description or review about the content of online resources. This alone saves valuable minutes while searching, as you don’t have to check every resource to see if it’s useful or not.
One the greatest strengths of Infomine, after its contents, is the many ways you can search through those contents. Try browsing through the list of broad topics, such as Biological, Agricultural and Medical Sciences, Business and Economics, Government Info, Visual and Performing Arts and more. You can also enter your search words into a search box, and then manipulate and refine the results using the “Modify Search” button.
Visit the “Advanced Search” page for more search options, including the ability to browse by Author and Title. This is particularly useful considering Infomine has a good collection of electronic journals, textbooks and conference proceedings.
Finally, make sure you check out the “Search Tips” page, available from the homepage. It’s very clear and easy to use. Simple but effective tips include using a truncation at the end of a search word. For example, entering “industr*” with a star at the end, the will retrieve results with the words industry, industries, industrial and industrialisation.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Infomine (http://infomine.ucr.edu) is such a directory. Don your hard-hats for an underground tour of this gem of a website.
Infomine is a collection of web resources mostly collected and organised by librarians, the original information experts. Although Infomine is aimed at an academic audience, it contains resources of use and interest to most people. Secondary students will find it great for homework help! Web resources listed in Infomine have a short description or review about the content of online resources. This alone saves valuable minutes while searching, as you don’t have to check every resource to see if it’s useful or not.
One the greatest strengths of Infomine, after its contents, is the many ways you can search through those contents. Try browsing through the list of broad topics, such as Biological, Agricultural and Medical Sciences, Business and Economics, Government Info, Visual and Performing Arts and more. You can also enter your search words into a search box, and then manipulate and refine the results using the “Modify Search” button.
Visit the “Advanced Search” page for more search options, including the ability to browse by Author and Title. This is particularly useful considering Infomine has a good collection of electronic journals, textbooks and conference proceedings.
Finally, make sure you check out the “Search Tips” page, available from the homepage. It’s very clear and easy to use. Simple but effective tips include using a truncation at the end of a search word. For example, entering “industr*” with a star at the end, the will retrieve results with the words industry, industries, industrial and industrialisation.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
Old Skool Google
Sometimes it's scary to look through a photo album and realise that you really did wear some of those weird fashions and hairstyles not-so-long-ago!
It can be just as interesting looking back through a "photo album" of old web pages.
Recently Google celebrated its tenth birthday by revealing the 2001 version of the Google search engine (www.google.com/search2001.html) –be quick to check it out as the site won’t be up for long. Technical issues prevented them from making the 1998 version available, but it’s still amazing to see how far the web has come in the last seven years. Click on a link in the results page and you’ll be taken to the current live version of that page, if it still exists. Look closely at the results and you’ll see a link to “View old version on the Internet Archive”.
The Internet Archive (www.archive.org) is a great way of looking at various web page fashions over the relatively brief history of the internet. From the Internet Archive homepage, type an internet address into the Wayback Machine search box and click the "Take me Back" button to search. If that web site has been archived, you will be presented with a list of dates when the site was "captured" for archiving. Click on a date to see that webpage as it looked in the late 1990's. Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) from 1996 certainly looks different to today's version. The archive isn't complete, and there are plenty of broken links and missing graphics, but it's a fun site to visit.
The Internet Archive also has a serious role preserving the wealth of social, intellectual and cultural information that appears and disappears all too quickly on the Internet. This function makes it a great search tool for web-based information that is several years old. For example, an ABC News page (www.abc.net.au) archived in August 1997, has breaking news stories of the Thredbo landslide disaster.
As well as regular web pages, the Wayback Machine has also archived audio and video files and it has a pretty good Advanced Search feature which is worth a look. Have fun searching the early days of the web.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
It can be just as interesting looking back through a "photo album" of old web pages.
Recently Google celebrated its tenth birthday by revealing the 2001 version of the Google search engine (www.google.com/search2001.html) –be quick to check it out as the site won’t be up for long. Technical issues prevented them from making the 1998 version available, but it’s still amazing to see how far the web has come in the last seven years. Click on a link in the results page and you’ll be taken to the current live version of that page, if it still exists. Look closely at the results and you’ll see a link to “View old version on the Internet Archive”.
The Internet Archive (www.archive.org) is a great way of looking at various web page fashions over the relatively brief history of the internet. From the Internet Archive homepage, type an internet address into the Wayback Machine search box and click the "Take me Back" button to search. If that web site has been archived, you will be presented with a list of dates when the site was "captured" for archiving. Click on a date to see that webpage as it looked in the late 1990's. Yahoo (www.yahoo.com) from 1996 certainly looks different to today's version. The archive isn't complete, and there are plenty of broken links and missing graphics, but it's a fun site to visit.
The Internet Archive also has a serious role preserving the wealth of social, intellectual and cultural information that appears and disappears all too quickly on the Internet. This function makes it a great search tool for web-based information that is several years old. For example, an ABC News page (www.abc.net.au) archived in August 1997, has breaking news stories of the Thredbo landslide disaster.
As well as regular web pages, the Wayback Machine has also archived audio and video files and it has a pretty good Advanced Search feature which is worth a look. Have fun searching the early days of the web.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Friday, October 17, 2008
What will I read now?
It’s always satisfying to get to the end of a series of books by your favourite author. The comfort of a familiar writing style, subject matter and engaging characters all combine to make reading a pleasurable experience, but the downside is always ‘what am I going to read now?’
Citi Libraries’ online databases include a resource called “What do I read next?” The database is accessed through the library’s online catalogue (http://catalogue.townsville.qld.gov.au/spydus.html) by clicking on the link for ‘online databases’.
Do a search by author name to find a list of books by an author you like. Click on one from the list and plot details, character lists, subjects, reader age range and even the time period of the book appear. Searching is also possible by genre and story type.
Perhaps you really enjoyed a particular book and would like to find something similar, but by a different author. You can do a search for similar books by clicking on the ‘Help Me Find a Book’ link. Simply enter the name of the book you enjoyed and then click on the link that comes up.
Try entering the book title ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. You can then choose from a range of options on subjects within the book that you are interested in, as well as settings, time periods and major characters. Take care to spell the title correctly though, as it will return a ‘sorry - no matches’ message if there are any mistakes.
Additionally, you can select whether you want to find books for adults, young adults, children or fiction or non-fiction to narrow down the results.
Another useful feature is the ability to search for award-winning books. The prize-winning lists are extensive, with everything from the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards to Pulitzer Prize winners. Type in Miles Franklin Awards and every book awarded this prize since it was first presented in 1957 comes up. Have a browse and see what takes your interest!
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Citi Libraries’ online databases include a resource called “What do I read next?” The database is accessed through the library’s online catalogue (http://catalogue.townsville.qld.gov.au/spydus.html) by clicking on the link for ‘online databases’.
Do a search by author name to find a list of books by an author you like. Click on one from the list and plot details, character lists, subjects, reader age range and even the time period of the book appear. Searching is also possible by genre and story type.
Perhaps you really enjoyed a particular book and would like to find something similar, but by a different author. You can do a search for similar books by clicking on the ‘Help Me Find a Book’ link. Simply enter the name of the book you enjoyed and then click on the link that comes up.
Try entering the book title ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. You can then choose from a range of options on subjects within the book that you are interested in, as well as settings, time periods and major characters. Take care to spell the title correctly though, as it will return a ‘sorry - no matches’ message if there are any mistakes.
Additionally, you can select whether you want to find books for adults, young adults, children or fiction or non-fiction to narrow down the results.
Another useful feature is the ability to search for award-winning books. The prize-winning lists are extensive, with everything from the Queensland Premier’s Literary Awards to Pulitzer Prize winners. Type in Miles Franklin Awards and every book awarded this prize since it was first presented in 1957 comes up. Have a browse and see what takes your interest!
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Monday, September 15, 2008
Finding information on children’s health issues
Parents are often faced with the issue of how to best care for a sick child. After other avenues of help, such as medical professionals, have been explored, people sometimes turn to the internet for health information.
The most important thing to remember when searching for health related information on the internet is that you need to stay alert to the origins of what you find. When looking for authoritative health information it is a good idea to restrict your search initially to government sites. You can do this in Google from the “Advanced Search” page by entering .gov in the domain field. To restrict your search to Australian government websites simply use .gov.au
A search using the exact phrase “information for parents” and restricted to Australian government sites leads to a varied list of relevant topics relating to child health in the broadest sense, from communicable diseases to child protection orders. An alternative search which adds the search words “child” and “health” results in a more focused result.
One Australian government health site stands apart from the rest because of its features and searching capabilities. HealthInsite is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. It acts as a gateway to other websites which contain authoritative information on a broad range of contemporary health issues. Websites go through a stringent quality assessment process which involves a number of groups of professional people.
From the left hand navigation bar on the homepage, click on ‘A to Z Health Topics’ to gain access to a substantial listing of health topics arranged in alphabetical order. Go to the ‘Child Health’ section and you’ll be able to choose from a list of specialised subjects ranging from Dental health for children to Child Safety to an A-Z listing of Childhood conditions.
Don’t miss the ‘Life Stages’ link also in the left hand navigation bar which leads to a nifty visual timeline of health events related to different stages in our lives, including birth, childhood and adolescence.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
The most important thing to remember when searching for health related information on the internet is that you need to stay alert to the origins of what you find. When looking for authoritative health information it is a good idea to restrict your search initially to government sites. You can do this in Google from the “Advanced Search” page by entering .gov in the domain field. To restrict your search to Australian government websites simply use .gov.au
A search using the exact phrase “information for parents” and restricted to Australian government sites leads to a varied list of relevant topics relating to child health in the broadest sense, from communicable diseases to child protection orders. An alternative search which adds the search words “child” and “health” results in a more focused result.
One Australian government health site stands apart from the rest because of its features and searching capabilities. HealthInsite is funded by the Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing. It acts as a gateway to other websites which contain authoritative information on a broad range of contemporary health issues. Websites go through a stringent quality assessment process which involves a number of groups of professional people.
From the left hand navigation bar on the homepage, click on ‘A to Z Health Topics’ to gain access to a substantial listing of health topics arranged in alphabetical order. Go to the ‘Child Health’ section and you’ll be able to choose from a list of specialised subjects ranging from Dental health for children to Child Safety to an A-Z listing of Childhood conditions.
Don’t miss the ‘Life Stages’ link also in the left hand navigation bar which leads to a nifty visual timeline of health events related to different stages in our lives, including birth, childhood and adolescence.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Citi Libraries online
If you are reading this column because you have the internet at home, then you might like to know about library services that you can use on your home internet. Many services are available to library members online. We love it when you visit us at the library but we know that sometimes it is quicker to do some things from home.
From the Citilibraries homepage (http://tinyurl.com/5vgktp), click ‘online catalogue search’ to find the library catalogue, which contains a listing of all items (books, DVDs, magazines etc) held by the three branches, Aitkenvale, Flinders Mall and Thuringowa. The mobile Neighbourhood and home services are also listed in this catalogue. You may have children who would prefer to use the Kids’ catalogue, which has easy-to-use navigation menus and contains only materials from the children’s sections of the library.
If you are not a member already, you can apply for membership online – just click the 'join online' option on the library catalogue page (http://tinyurl.com/5zu64v). After completing your online registration you will receive an online membership number. Current members will find their membership number on the back of their library card. Membership is free and available to all Townsville residents.
From the catalogue you can login to view your current details and place reserves and requests on items you wish to borrow. If you don’t find what you are looking for, here you may wish to place a request with us to obtain the item for you by purchase or interlibrary loan. You will find the online form on the catalogue page under Services.
Library membership will allow you access to online databases – look for the link on the left-hand menu on the online catalogue. Some of these are: Encyclopaedia Britannica, World Book Encyclopedia, Access Science, Newsbank and Health and Wellness Resource Centre. For young people there is also Your Tutor, a free online tutoring service and resources such as Worldbook for Kids, Ziptales and Tumblebooks. Have a look, you may be surprised!
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
From the Citilibraries homepage (http://tinyurl.com/5vgktp), click ‘online catalogue search’ to find the library catalogue, which contains a listing of all items (books, DVDs, magazines etc) held by the three branches, Aitkenvale, Flinders Mall and Thuringowa. The mobile Neighbourhood and home services are also listed in this catalogue. You may have children who would prefer to use the Kids’ catalogue, which has easy-to-use navigation menus and contains only materials from the children’s sections of the library.
If you are not a member already, you can apply for membership online – just click the 'join online' option on the library catalogue page (http://tinyurl.com/5zu64v). After completing your online registration you will receive an online membership number. Current members will find their membership number on the back of their library card. Membership is free and available to all Townsville residents.
From the catalogue you can login to view your current details and place reserves and requests on items you wish to borrow. If you don’t find what you are looking for, here you may wish to place a request with us to obtain the item for you by purchase or interlibrary loan. You will find the online form on the catalogue page under Services.
Library membership will allow you access to online databases – look for the link on the left-hand menu on the online catalogue. Some of these are: Encyclopaedia Britannica, World Book Encyclopedia, Access Science, Newsbank and Health and Wellness Resource Centre. For young people there is also Your Tutor, a free online tutoring service and resources such as Worldbook for Kids, Ziptales and Tumblebooks. Have a look, you may be surprised!
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Ungoogling Kids
Have you searched the internet for hours to help a child with a school project and been presented with thousands of possible results by Google but still ‘couldn’t find anything on the ‘net?’ Citi Libraries could be the answer you’ve been waiting for.
Today, public libraries offer many enhanced services and so do their online catalogues. New technology means that in addition to identifying what books are in the library, online catalogues can also help to find excellent websites and display them with just a click or two. Think of the last topic your child needed help with and go to the CitiLibraries online catalogue at (http://catalogue.townsville.qld.gov.au/spydus.html)
Select an Advanced Search and type your project topic in the ‘Anywhere field – e.g. Antarctica. A little down the page, you’ll see a ‘Collections’ window. Scroll through that menu and click on “web links” then OK. When the results load, all the titles will show [website] beside it. Clicking on the title will load a page which briefly describes the contents of the website. If you think it’s relevant, simply select the website address (under the blue Electronic Access bar) and the website loads before your eyes.
Why can this be better than Google? The websites you’ll find in your CitiLibraries catalogue have been chosen by teachers and librarians especially for school students. In other words, the work of deciding whether a website contains accurate, relevant and up-to-date information has been done for you! A quick glance at the site will let you know if it is for primary or secondary school students.
Next time your child needs to research a project, ungoogle them and take them to the library … at home. Start your project research with the CitiLibraries online catalogue.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi Library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
Today, public libraries offer many enhanced services and so do their online catalogues. New technology means that in addition to identifying what books are in the library, online catalogues can also help to find excellent websites and display them with just a click or two. Think of the last topic your child needed help with and go to the CitiLibraries online catalogue at (http://catalogue.townsville.qld.gov.au/spydus.html)
Select an Advanced Search and type your project topic in the ‘Anywhere field – e.g. Antarctica. A little down the page, you’ll see a ‘Collections’ window. Scroll through that menu and click on “web links” then OK. When the results load, all the titles will show [website] beside it. Clicking on the title will load a page which briefly describes the contents of the website. If you think it’s relevant, simply select the website address (under the blue Electronic Access bar) and the website loads before your eyes.
Why can this be better than Google? The websites you’ll find in your CitiLibraries catalogue have been chosen by teachers and librarians especially for school students. In other words, the work of deciding whether a website contains accurate, relevant and up-to-date information has been done for you! A quick glance at the site will let you know if it is for primary or secondary school students.
Next time your child needs to research a project, ungoogle them and take them to the library … at home. Start your project research with the CitiLibraries online catalogue.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local Citi Library branch:
Citi Library Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Library Flinders Mall 4727 9665
Citi Library Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
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