As the RISE Consultant and Public Services Librarian with the Shortgrass Library System (located Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada), I was involved in many projects. One project that I pioneered was the creation of video tours of electronic resources to which the Shortgrass Library System subscribed.
At first, I was producing these video tours on my own. However, as the value of these tours become apparent, an e-Resources Training Committee was created. The three members of this committee were: Shannon Vossepoel, (at the time) Head Librarian of the Brooks Public Library; Sheila Drummond, the Head of Reference Services at the Medicine Hat Public Library; and yours truly, Jim Dunbar. In addition to creating these videos, the team also created sets of questions to test your knowledge about these electronic resources along with the answer keys. There are also brochures are available for Ancestry Library Edition and Hobbies and Craft Reference Center.
These videos were originally posted to “TheShortgrassLibrary” channel on Youtube.com. On May 17th, 2012 this channel was taken down and replaced by the “ShortgrassLibrary” channel. Prior to this change, these videos had received over 6,000 video views, a total that absolutely amazed and delighted the e-Resources Training Committee.
After leaving Shortgrass at the end of 2011, I copied these videos over to my personal account on Vimeo so that they would be preserved and archived.
Created between June 2010 and November 2011, the content in these videos may be out of date. However, I post them here because they still provide an idea of the wealth of high quality information available in electronic resources at libraries in Alberta and as record of something I firmly believe in – namely, providing easy ways to connect the services of libraries to patrons and the community at large.
Jump to:
Ancestry Library Edition | Auto Repair Reference Center | Career Cruising
ConsumersReport.org | Health and Wellness Resource Center
Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center | Mango Languages | NoveList
NoveList K-8 | Small Engine Repair Reference Center | Tumblebooks
Let’s look at some of the great electronic resources available to you at a Shortgrass member library or from home anytime with your Shortgrass library card. Please note that Ancestry Library Edition is not available for use from home, due to a restriction imposed by the publisher.
Ancestry Library Edition
This electronic resource is one of the largest online resources to help you with your genealogical and family research. It contains billions of records for individuals from North America, Europe, Australia and elsewhere. Ancestry Library Edition even has forms for organizing the information you find (including a family tree layout).
Due to a restriction from the publisher of this electronic resource, Ancestry Library Edition may only be used in a Shortgrass member library.
A few questions have been prepared to give you a chance to practice using Ancestry Library Edition at your local Shortgrass member library. These questions are provided in Word format and PDF format. The answer key for these questions is available in PDF format.
Here is a print brochure (in PDF format) to share with friends and family, letting them know about this very useful genealogical resource.
Auto Repair Reference Center
Like the title of this electronic resource suggests, this is a great tool for learning about your car and for information on how to repair it. From replacing turn signal bulbs to wiring diagrams to instructions and diagrams to perform complex procedures such as disassembling an automatic transmission from a 2007 Dodge Magnum SXT, this electronic resource can help you out. The Auto Repair Reference Center even has information on vintage cars such as a 1963 Chevrolet Chevy II. Watch this video for more information.
To practice using this electronic resource, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
Here are a series of questions about the Auto Repair Reference Center in either Word format or PDF format. Here is the answer key to these questions in PDF format.
Career Cruising
If you are looking to update your resume, prepare for a job interview, or looking into possible careers you would enjoy, Career Cruising offers you tools and information that will make the process much easier. Watch this video for more information.
To practice using this electronic resource, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
A set of questions has been created to help you explore this electronic resource and become familiar with the type of information and assistance Career Cruising can offer. These questions are available in either Word format or PDF format. The answer key for these questions is available in PDF format.
ConsumersReport.org
Consumers Union, the not-for-profit organization that publishes Consumers Report magazine now makes their highly regarded magazine and product reviews available online to subscribers. Shortgrass has one of these subscriptions and with your Shortgrass Library Card, you may use this electronic resource from home 24/7. Or come into your local Shortgrass member library and use it during library hours.
To use the ConsumersReport.org electronic resource, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
To help you explore ConsumersReport.org, a short series of questions have been created and are available in either Word format or PDF format. Once you’ve tried these questions, check your answers with this answer key in PDF format.
Health and Wellness Resource Center
While, there is some good health information from credible sources on the Internet, it also has a lot of incorrect and down right dangerous health information, too. To provide high quality health information to our communities, the Shortgrass member libraries are please to offer the Health and Wellness Resource Center. This electronic resource is full of current and high quality health information on a variety of topics, including Alternative Medicine and Herbal Remedies.
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To explore the Health and Wellness Resource Center, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
A short series of questions have been created to help you learn to use this electronic resource. These questions are available in either Word format or PDF format. You may check your answers with this answer key in PDF format.
If you are determined to find health information on the Internet, Shortgrass recommends these sites: MyHealthAlberta; Health Canada; the Mayo Clinic; and, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center
For a wealth of information, including project ideas, for a wide variety of hobbies ranging from indoor hobbies like knitting, woodworking, quilting and model building to outdoor hobbies like camping, astronomy, fishing and horseback riding, turn to the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center. There is bound to be something in this electronic resource that will help you have more fun, stretch your imagination and develop your hobby or crafting skills.
To get started using the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
Practice using this electronic resource with this short set of questions in either Word format or PDF format. Check your answers with this answer key in PDF format.
Because there is so much information in the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center, about so many hobbies, it’s easy to get overwhelmed. A series of brochures, grouped around specific types of hobbies, has been created to make it easier to find the type of information suited to your interests.
If you enjoy arts and crafts hobbies such as ceramics or pottery, painting or sculpting, stained glass or woodworking then this brochure is the one for your interests.
Perhaps you enjoy home and leisure hobbies like baking or cooking, playing the piano or guitar, singing, or photography. If so, take a look at this brochure
Are model railroads, radio controlled vehicles (planes, cars, boats), or rockets your passion? Maybe you enjoy building scale models of cars, ships, or military equipment. If so, you’ll want to take a look at this brochure
Is your creativity expressed by making quilts, doing needlepoint or knitting? This brochure will point you to a wealth of ideas and projects.
Do you live to hike into the back country and camp or maybe fish and hunt? Does white water run through your veins? Or perhaps you enjoy the outdoors by watching birds or stars. This brochure on outdoor and nature activities will give you lots of ideas on getting the most out of your time outdoors.
Mango Languages
For anyone learning a new language Mango Languages is a great tool to use. It offers language courses for both English speakers and for those individuals learning English as a second or additional language (ESL learners).
For English speakers there are 37 languages available to learn. The usual suspects are here such as French (both Continental and Canadian), Spanish (Latin American) and German. Plus, you could learn Greek, Danish, Turkish, or Irish. And for fun, you can even learn Pirate, me hearty (my friend).
For ESL learners, English lessons are available in these fifteen languages: Arabic, Chinese (Cantonese), Chinese (Mandarin), French, German, Greek, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Polish, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish (Latin American), Turkish, and Vietnamese.
The video below is the revised version that was published on December 8th, 2011. This revision features an updated and rerecorded audio track and is about two minutes shorter than the previous version.
To get started using the Mango Languages, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
To learn more about Mango Languages and to get a chance to explore this electronic resource, try this short set of questions in either Word format or PDF format. Check your answers with this answer key in PDF format.
NoveList
When you have read everything your favorite author has written, turn to NoveList to find another author you’ll enjoy. NoveList has author read-alikes to help you find a new author that writes in a similar style or uses a similar setting to those used by your favorite author. Also, with NoveList, you can make sure that you are reading a particular series of books in the correct order and make sure that you haven’t missed any titles in a series.
To get started using the NoveList, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
A series of questions has been created to help you explore the wealth of information available in this electronic resource. This set of questions are provided in Word format or PDF format. Check your answers with this answer key in PDF format.
NoveList K-8
Similar to NoveList, NoveList K-8 is intended to help parents, teachers and children to find stories that will interest children from Kindergarten to Grade Eight. It also can help you to develop the reading abilities of children. Find stories that are based on the child’s preferences rather than just subjects that interest her or him. NoveList K-8 will help you track down great stories at a suitable reading level. With NoveList K-8 you can even find all the books in a series.
To get started using the NoveList K-8, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
NoveList K-8 is a powerful tool and to learn about (and practice using) some of the many features available, try answering this set of questions in either Word format or PDF format. The answer key to these questions is available in PDF format.
Small Engine Repair Reference Center
Whether you’re wanting to get your snowblower ready for use, or getting ready to store your boat motor or personal water craft (SeaDoo or Jet Ski to mention a couple of brands), the Small Engine Repair Reference Center can help you. The information in this electronic resource is arranged by categories: All Terrain Vehicles; Generators & Other Small Engines; Marine/Boat Motors; Motorcycles; Outdoor Power Equipment; Personal Water Craft; Snowmobiles; and, Tractors. You’ll even find service manuals in the Small Engine Repair Reference Center!
To get started using the Small Engine Repair Reference Center, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
Once you’ve watched the video, you may want to explore this electronic resource for yourself. A series of questions has been created to lead your exploration of the information available in this electronic resource. This set of questions are provided in Word format or PDF format. Check your answers with this answer key in PDF format.
TumbleBooks – eBooks for Kids
Animated, colourful electronic stories (complete with narration, music and sound effects) await children, parents, teachers and adults in TumbleBooks. With story books, read-alongs, puzzles & games, and non-fiction books, TumbleBooks is packed with things to lots to see and do. Stories are available in five languages, including English, which means that TumbleBooks can support language learning. Some of the stories are read by the authors, including Robert Munsch and John Lithgow. This amazing electronic resource even has iPad compatible stories!
To get started using TumbleBooks-eBooks for Kids, click on the title above, enter the bar code number from your Shortgrass Library Card and your PIN. If you don’t have a PIN, please visit your nearest Shortgrass member library and have staff setup one for you.
To learn how to use some of the many features of TumbleBooks, try answering this set of questions in either Word format or PDF format. Check your answers with this answer key in PDF format.