Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Search for a different point of view

Hot topics such as climate change can receive significant attention from the media. Such controversial issues do periodically gain coverage and debate in the mass media, however they are also frequently set as debating topics or SOSE assignments for high school students. Trying to find information about disputed issues can be difficult on the internet. Entering the subject in a search engine can bring up a range of sites which vary from sensible and authoritative to extremist and misleading.

One way to avoid dealing with these types of sites is to use the Opposing Viewpoints Resource Centre (OVRC) which is available through the CityLibraries Townsville website. You will need your library card to login. Don’t forget that it is free to join CityLibraries Townsville to get a library card.

OVRC covers "social issues, such as gun control, genetic engineering, censorship, endangered species and terrorism. It brings together viewpoint articles, contextual topic overviews, government and organisational statistics, biographies of social activists, court cases, profiles of government agencies and special interest groups, newspaper and magazines articles, as well as links to more than 1,400 reviewed and subject-indexed web sites".

Before using OVRC it is advisable to check the Toolbox and Help sections for advice on how to best approach the material on offer. For example, they suggest that users should consider the author's credentials and affiliations and identify the author's supporting material.

Searching of OVRC is easy as many topical issues are listed on the home page in alphabetical order or you can enter a direct search. Take advantage of the advanced search page. Documents returned from the search are divided into categories according to their type such as Magazines & Newspapers or Web Sites.

OVRC will provide you with good coverage and recent articles (newspapers and periodicals updated daily) of ethical issues affecting the world, particularly America. To find more information relevant to the Australian debate another database on offer through the library website is the Australian and New Zealand Reference Centre.


Need some help searching the Web? Contact your local public library:
Thuringowa Library Services 4773 8601 infodesk@thuringowa.qld.gov.au
Citi Libraries Aitkenvale 4727 8312
Citi Libraries Flinders Mall 4727 9665

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Easy homework help online

School is well and truly back and the homework is coming thick and fast. Some parents struggle to help their children with homework, either because of work and other commitments, or simply because “they don’t teach maths like I learnt it back in my school days!”.

Help is at hand. YourTutor is a free online classroom where students can connect to qualified tutors for one-one-one help with homework, assignments, exam preparation and study questions. All you need to access this free service is a library card from any public library in Queensland.

English, Maths and Science subjects are included and the service is available 4pm-8pm, Monday to Friday from either library or home computers. Help is immediate, professional and secure and it’s free to library members. Students in Years 4-12, simply log on to the YourTutor website, and follow the links to log on using their local library card number.

Tutors are certified teachers, professional tutors, post graduates and advanced undergraduates from Australian universities. All tutors have been security screened are specially trained to work with young people online. Tutors can review specific homework and assignment questions with students on line, using features like controlled chat, an interactive white board and shared web browsing.

Students can now communicate with tutors the way they love to learn – via the internet- which makes the experience enjoyable as well as educational.

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, February 10, 2009

Wet Weather

The weather is always a popular topic of conversation, even more so at this time of the year with extended periods of rain and the threat of tropical cyclones. There are a host of useful websites covering this topic, so here are some search tips for finding them.

When searching for information, one of the best questions to ask yourself is “Who cares?”. Who would care enough about that information to collect, organise and publish it? Who would be the best person or organisation to consult for an answer?

In this case the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is an obvious answer. Their website holds a wealth of information about current conditions, cyclone and flood warnings, satellite images, forecasts and more. Townsville residents should check out the updated radar images from the Mount Stuart station and the local rainfall maps.

Another search strategy when using internet search engines, is to type the answer you hope to find, rather than the question you are asking. For example, if you’re travelling to another place and want to know the weather forecast, instead of typing “what is the weather in Christchurch?”, try typing “the weather in Christchurch is”. This strategy takes advantage of the fact that search engines index the words on a page, and most information is written as answers, rather than questions. This doesn’t always provide better results, but it should certainly make you aware of different websites that may not appear in your first search.

A third search strategy to consider is to enter your search words into a number of different search engines, as the results that each one provides can be very different. Try typing “Townsville weather” into four different search engines - Google, Yahoo!, Ask and MSN Search – and compare the results. You might find out what the weather is like in Townsville in North Carolina!

To finish up on something a little bit different, check out 50,000 years of weather expertise at the Indigenous Weather Knowledge site by the Bureau of Meteorology.



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

Friday, February 06, 2009

The largest library in the world – Library of Congress

Have you been searching for a good website to start researching a topic or to increase your general knowledge? Where better to start than the largest library in the world - the United States Library of Congress.

"The Library's mission is to make its resources available and useful to the Congress and the American people and to sustain and preserve a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations." For those of you fortunate enough to visit Washington D.C. in the future, go take a look around the actual library and be amazed. Luckily for the rest of us in Oz, the Library of Congress website offers abundant opportunities to exploit the
rich resources and information expertise held within the Library of Congress. It is worthwhile to read the section “About the Library” on the home page to gain an idea of the breadth and depth of knowledge the Library is charged with collecting and organizing.

The huge wealth of online resources is probably best encapsulated in the Global Gateway. This area offers a wealth of knowledge and opportunity to explore - from Portals to the World, International exhibitions, and access to the Library's 21 reading rooms which are specialised areas of expertise organised by international regions and subject. You can either try a direct search in the search box or browse through these resources.

A useful search option is to browse through the reading rooms of your
interest by clicking on “Research Centers” from the home page. Most of the reading rooms offer access to expert guides to Internet resources and digital projects. For example, if you were looking to keep up with the 2008 United States election, take a virtual look around the Newspaper & Current Periodical research center.

Other online experiences offered are the Wise Guide - a monthly
magazine highlighting different aspects of the Library; and Exhibitions
providing access to a large number of enduring online exhibitions.

The Library of Congress website is recommended as an important starting point for research on worldwide topics - especially those with an American historical or cultural aspect. The website should also be a consideration for people thinking of travelling to America or the rest of the world as a good general guide to international Internet resources

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