Digital Maine Library

MARVELous NoveList!

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Recently, I was in search of a new-to-me author – one I had never read, and, perhaps, had not heard of?!?! Several months ago, a new feature appeared in our catalog – suggestions of books readers might like.  Off to check the Minerva catalog I go.  I know I enjoyed Gail Carriger’s Steampunk series, The Parasol Protectorate, so I do a search for Gail Carriger.  Once I bring up the first title in this series, I scroll to the bottom of the page – several book covers are displayed, with author, title, and “Why this match?”  I hover my cursor …

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American FactFinder

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Time for another MARVEL database! For those who have not taken the time to peek at the MARVEL database provided by the Maine State Library, I would suggest you poke around a little here and there.  What an AmAzInG amount of information! Today I will take a chance on American FactFinder – US Census.  Clicking on this link in MARVEL takes me to what appears to be a United States Census Bureau hosted website. Across the top of the page the tabs include Main, Community Facts, Guided Search, Advanced Search and Download Center.  As I am on the Main page, …

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Windows On Maine

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I was poking around the MARVEL database recently – and I found something new! Windows On Maine This looks like a very interesting database to work with.  It is a collaboration of Maine Public Broadcasting, the University of Maine, the Maine State Museum, and others.  I like the sounds of that! The home page has a click-able window What is Windows on Maine? Click to view.  I try this – it’s a very short video showing the variety of information available in this database.  There are streaming videos, maps, sound files, resources for teachers, and related databases to name a …

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MARVELous Blog The Final Chapter (Plus Week 8)

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The week of Thanksgiving I was given a choice of blogging or not blogging.  At the time, not blogging seemed to work better for me, but now I plan to do the week 8 blog about Ancestry Library Edition and the final few questions of the blog exercise – Blog 11. Ancestry Library Edition looks very similar to the paid for version of Ancestry.com.  This is a site that I am rather familiar with, so I may jump around a bit more than I have when learning the other databases.  Please accept my apologies up front on this!  Ancestry Library …

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MARVEL Blog – Week 10

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Back to the MARVELous Blog assignments, what will we discover this week?  It looks like a have a choice.  My options are Academic Search Complete ; Masterfile Premier ;  MiddleSearch Plus or Primary Search.  I’m sure that I will look at ALL of these, but for now, I look at Masterfile Premier. First I take a few minutes to glance through and see what publications are available as resources.  At this point, all I can say is “WOW”!  Truly an amazing and broad range of resources in this database.  There are both PDF and HTML formats of complete articles. I …

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LearningExpress Library – MARVELous Blog 9

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What piece of the MARVEL resources are we learning about next?  Hmmm . . .  LearningExpress Library for Public Libraries – this looks to be a very interesting part of MARVEL. To begin this lesson, I register with LearningExpress Library.  This is a quick and simple process – just a user name and a password.  Now to play with some of the features.  Along the left side of the page are the Learning Centers.  These range from Elementary, Middle and High School through College information.  Also available in this column are Software Tutorials, Skill Building information, information about  gaining U.S. …

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