Category

Electronic Resources

Electronic Resources
Census 2010: Map of MN Question Assistance Centers and Be Counted Sites
March 10th, 2010 | Permalink | Comment?

Those assisting the public with census questions will find this new tool useful. There is a new map of Minnesota Question Assistance Centers (QAC) and Be Counted (BC) sites for Census2010.

Tips from Barbara Ronningen, Minnesota State Demography Center (which just released the map today):
–Click on the teardrops to get information for the site.
–To find a specific place or location, you can use the browser search function – in Firefox, it’s ctrl/F.
–The map will be linked on their site soon: www.mn2010census.org
–Direct Link: http://www.mn2010census.org/centers/
–For updates on Minnesota census activities, follow Census2010MN on twitter.
ELM, Electronic Resources, MN Libraries in the News
One of the State’s Best Kept Secrets
December 18th, 2009 | Permalink | 1 Comment

If you are interested in promoting ELM, the Electronic Library for Minnesota, take a look at the article in today’s Alexandria Echo Press (MN), Learn about one of the state’s best kept secrets.

It’s a great example of local promotion of the ELM databases to the public, written by Betty Ann Hegland, Reference Librarian, Douglas County Library.
Electronic Resources
La Prensa Online
September 10th, 2009 | Permalink | Comment?

Many public libraries offer paper copies of the newspaper, La Prensa, for pickup by patrons. For those interested in online access, La Prensa has announced that it now has a digital version of its newspaper, available at http://www.laprensademn.com/.

La Prensa de Minnesota is “the newspaper for the Hispanic community in Minnesota”. Or, as they say in Spanish, “La Prensa de Minnesota – El Periodico de la Comunidad Hispano en Minnesota.”
Continuing Education, Electronic Resources
Minnesota Learning Commons: New Online Resource
August 26th, 2009 | Permalink | 1 Comment

There’s a lot to be gleaned from the new resource for online learning in Minnesota, the Minnesota Learning Commons (MnLC). While a quick site review reveals that it’s currently focused on K-12 and higher ed resources for students, educators, advisors and parents (note navigation tabs and content), the MnLC blog entry for 8/26/09 indicates it’s intended to also cover lifelong learners.

I like that it pulls various educational resources together from the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU), and the University of Minnesota (U of M). One of my favorite sections so far is the Tools tab, which centralizes some resources library staff know well, including ELM, the research calculator, online portfolio, distance ed calculator, and more. Another favorite is a blog entry on Comparing degrees, which pulls together the links to online degrees available at MnSCU and U of M. If you look around, you can also get to a searchable U of M catalog of non-credit courses for Professional Development or Personal Enrichment.

For more information on this new resource, view the press release.
Electronic Resources, Statewide Databases
Statewide Electronic Resources Announced for 2009-2012
June 3rd, 2009 | Permalink | 1 Comment

From Mary Parker, Minitex:

On behalf of Minnesota’s State Library Services, Online Dakota Information Network (ODIN), the North Dakota State Library, South Dakota Library Network (SDLN), the South Dakota State Library, and itself, Minitex is pleased to announce our joint, 3-state participation in licensing the databases and database packages recommended by the Minitex Electronic Information Resources (MEIR) Task Force as a result of the Request for Proposal (RFP) that was issued in 2008-2009. These partners realize the importance of statewide access to a common suite of databases to the libraries and school media centers within and among the three states.

In coordination with Elaine Kelash, Buyer, University of Minnesota Purchasing, Minitex will finalize license agreements with the following vendors for access to the following statewide electronic resources. These resources will be available beginning July 1, 2009 – June 30, 2012. (* denotes a database added to the suite of eresources for the coming contract period.)

EBSCO databases (Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota)
o Academic Search Premier
o Alt HealthWatch*
o Business Source Premier
o Consumer Health Complete*
o ERIC*
o Health Source: Consumer Edition*
o Health Source: Nursing/Academic Edition*
o MAS Ultra – School Edition*
o MasterFILE Premier
o Middle Search Plus*
o Points of View Reference Center*
o Primary Search*
o Professional Development Collection*
o Regional Business News
o Science Reference Center*

Gale Group for K-12 electronic resources (Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota)
o Discovering Collection
o Expanded Academic ASAP*
o Educator’s Reference Complete*
o General Science Collection*
o InfoTrac Student Edition
o InfoTrac Junior Edition
o Junior Reference Collection
o Kids InfoBits
o Student Resource Center Gold*

Gale’s Spanish-language database ¡Informe! (Minnesota and North Dakota only)

ProQuest for Newsstand Complete, our current package, PLUS two Gannett papers, the St. Cloud Times and the Sioux Falls Argus Leader (Minnesota only)

ProQuest Newsstand Complete, the current package (North Dakota only)

OCLC for the FirstSearch Base Package (Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota)
o OCLC WorldCat
o ArchiveGrid*
o CAMIO*
o OAISter*
o OCLC ArticleFirst*
o OCLC Electronic Collections Online A&I*
o OCLC PapersFirst*
o OCLC ProceedingsFirst*
o Clase/Periodica*
o ERIC*
o GPO Monthly Catalog*
o MEDLINE*
o World Almanac/Book of Facts*
o OCLC Electronic Books*
o OCLC WorldCat Dissertations and Theses*

Encyclopaedia Britannica’s General Reference for K-12, public, and academic libraries (Minnesota and North Dakota only)
o Britannica Online School Edition*
o Britannica Online Public Library Edition*
o Britannica Online Academic Edition*

These databases/resources were available at the RFP Trials website during February – April. Access will begin July 1, 2009.

Additional information will follow over the next few weeks as we work with the vendors to set up links and so on. We understand the work and time these changes may take to implement in your libraries and schools and will provide needed information as quickly as possible.

The Minitex CPERS staff, Rita Baladad, Tim Peters, and Anne Hatinen, and the vendors’ sales teams will work closely with you as some of you transition between vendor products. If you are a current subscriber to any of these resources, they will work with you to prorate your subscriptions and credit your accounts. Similarly, the Minitex Reference Services staff, Jennifer Hootman, Matt Lee, Carla Steinberg Pfahl, and Beth Staats, and vendors’ staff will work to provide training for you and your colleagues on the resources we license.

On behalf of Minitex and the libraries and school media centers in Minnesota, North Dakota, and South Dakota, thank you to the MEIR Task Force members and their institutions for participating in the RFP process. Their dedication and commitment to the process and their expertise in writing and evaluating the RFP responses were awesome!