#4 The Online Library

If you've made it this far, you already have three items or "things" completed of the 24 that are required to earn your staff reward. Way to go!

To continue this week's theme of blogging, we're going to get a little practice with our blogs. Your goal for this Thing is to write a blog entry about one of the LPLS online resources.

LPLS makes a wide variety of databases and other resources available for our patrons to access, for free, from our website. These resources cover a vast range of topics, providing quality, reliable information to our patrons. Traditionally, people have thought of libraries strictly as physical buildings, but most libraries now have websites that essentially serve as virtual library branches offering a full array of services, collections, and information. Just like it's important for you to be aware of the types of books, videos, and other materials available within your library branch's four walls, it is important that you're informed about the online resources we offer our patrons.

Discovery Exercise

1. Visit the LPLS website and read about the online resources available to our patrons. Pick out one of the resources listed on that page and spend some time searching or browsing within it. Conduct some practice searches to find information of importance to you. For example, you could use TEL to search for health information or conduct reader's advisory for yourself. You could use the P4A Antiques Database to find out how much that antique dresser in your bedroom is worth. Or you could use Rosetta Stone to brush up on your Spanish.
   
   
2. Write a blog entry about the resource you selected, what you searched for, and what you discovered. Here are a few questions to help you get started:
• What made you pick this resource?
• How useful was the information you found?
• Did you find anything that surprised you?
• When would you recommend this resource to a patron?

Discover More
TEL is powerful resource, offering multiple databases within one interface. Many of these databases are cross-searchable, meaning you can enter one term or phrase and search within multiple databases at the same time. TEL is a great resource for students (elementary to college), but it also offers valuable information for adults in their business or personal lives. Take a tutorial about TEL for more information.