ACCESS PA POWER Library ACCESS PA POWER Library for Public Librarians &for Public Librarians &

School Library Media Specialists School Library Media Specialists

©Pennsylvania Department of Education, 2000

Pennsylvania Department of EducationOffice of Commonwealth Libraries

Bureau of Library Development

Prepared by:Marilyn Parrish, Library Consultant

Bonnie Popdan, West Shore School DistrictJulie Straub, Ephrata Area School District

Development of this workshop was funded by a Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) grant administered by the Office of Commonwealth Libraries

ACCESS PA POWER LibraryACCESS PA POWER Library (Pennsylvania Online World of (Pennsylvania Online World of

Electronic Resources) Electronic Resources)for Public Librarians & School Library Media for Public Librarians & School Library Media

SpecialistsSpecialists

POWER Library ResourcesPOWER Library Resources

AccuNet/AP Photo Archive

EBSCOhost

Searchasaurus

SIRS Discoverer

Today’s training includes:

The search for information in your library--The search for information in your library--developing information literacy skillsdeveloping information literacy skills

Define the information needSelect the database that matches the

information needUse the databases efficiently and

effectivelyExamine and extract relevant information

from sourcesSynthesis & Evaluation

Information Literacy Requires The Information Literacy Requires The Searcher To:Searcher To:

Identify possible sourcesUse a variety of sourcesConstruct good searchesChoose the best sourcesAnalyze the validity of informationApply information to the solution of real

problems

POWER Library OverviewPOWER Library Overview

Types of databases in POWER Library

– Bibliographic ~ citations in EBSCOhost– Full text ~ SIRS Discoverer– Image ~ AP Photo Archive, EBSCOhost, SIRS– Combination ~ EBSCOhost

For each databaseFor each database

background, update schedule, audiencesearch functions/strategies truncation, unique featuresexercisessuggestions for use/lesson planssharing results and strategies

Power Library Information CenterPower Library Information Centerhttp://www.powerlibrary.net/

To Report A POWER Library To Report A POWER Library Technical ProblemTechnical Problem

Basic Searching SkillsBasic Searching Skills

What Is A Database?What Is A Database?

A collection of organized, related data

Arranged for ease and speed of search and retrieval

Examples: telephone book, cookbook, address directory, organizer, ATM

Parts of A DatabaseParts of A Database

Record Each individual item (article, picture,graphic) in

the database

Field Each category of information, i.e. title, author,

subject, summary or abstract, etc., within a record

Need to know what fields are searched

Some databases allow specific field searches: EBSCOhost, AP Photo Archive

Search StrategiesSearch Strategies

Using the Power of Boolean Logic

AND

OR

NOT

Boolean LogicBoolean Logic : AND: AND

Narrows search by connecting parts of search statement

Reduces number of hits

Sample search in EBSCOhost: “death penalty” and pennsylvania

Boolean Logic: ORBoolean Logic: OR

Expands search

Increases number of hits

Examples: – “soviet union” or russia

– “death penalty” or “capital punishment”

Boolean Logic: NOTBoolean Logic: NOT

Narrows search

Fewer results

Eliminates a specific term

Example: marathon not boston

Types of SearchesTypes of SearchesKeyword• May search title, author, note or summary, text,

subject fields• Broad search

Specialized field searches• Searches specified field (s), i.e. subject, title,

phototype • Fast and target• Controlled vocabulary• Thank the indexer

Searching HintsSearching Hints

Use quotes around phrases, i.e. “white house” Don’t use STOP words, i.e. a, an, the, and, or Spelling and typing count Use unique, specific terms Use truncation (wild cards) i.e. teen* Does database automatically search plurals? Don’t use capital letters unless appropriate Punctuation - hyphen, apostrophe Special options - search near or within # of words