Citation Pearl Growing

A citation pearl search begins with the retrieval of a specific title from a database. Using the subject or keyword terms provided for that title, users can find other items related to their topic. For this search, I began with a search in WorldCat.org for the title I found in the LibraryThing competency.

Citation pearl

This search did not yield a great variety of hits either because I was only looking at books or because the topic has not been widely covered. I have not fully used WorldCat to search for articles because this feature has only been added to the database in the past few years, but it would be interesting to see what would be retrieved.

While the titles retrieved were focused on national and library policies and best practices, it would be useful for a public access staff person to be able to explain policies to patrons.

Successive Fraction Search

A successive fraction search begins with a search for a broad topic, then narrows down successively to the smallest possible result. I did my search in the ASP database.

I began with interlibrary loan:
Successive Fraction

This was an interesting search to do because I had never really done one to this extent before. I was able to narrow down the search to one hit, but I am not sure that this would be very useful for doing research. Typically, a searcher wants a variety of articles to choose from so that they would stop after the first two refinements. However, if the articles selected either did not meet the research need or further refinement was needed to focus the topic, it would be useful to narrow it down to that extent. And it may not always be possible to narrow a search down to one hit with other topics.

Multimedia

There is no one image that encapsulates interlibrary loan and any graphic logo is copyrighted by the library using it. This image of the woman in the red wig wearing a placard is dressed as an ILL book with a yellow slip. I chose this image because it is a clever way to create awareness of ILL and to have fun as well.

UCI Staff. (October 31, 2007). The Fearsome Interlibrary Loan Book. Posted on Flikr.com. Retrieved from Google.com. http://flickr.com/photos/51799074@N00/1812001852

LibraryThing Tags

Genealogy(1) Interlibrary Loan(1) Library science

http://www.librarything.com/work/3517399
I selected Interlibrary Loan Sources: A Guide for Librarians and Genealogists
by Mid-Continent Public Library.

I had expected to only find guides and best practices for ILL librarians, so it was a nice surprise to find that this book also includes tips for genealogists. Genealogy is a popular hobby these days and there are many challenges in trying to fill requests for these titles. It would be very helpful both for librarians and patrons to have access to such a guide to help us help them. While it may not be necessary to have a guide for all types of requests, I think that this publication is a great idea.

Resource Sharing RSS Feed

To the right is the RSS feed for OCLC Resource Sharing. Resource Sharing is the term used for the interlibrary loan services offered through OCLC. OCLC WorldCat links national and international library catalogs so that patrons can connect to materials not available in their home libraries.

While not strictly limited to public libraries, OCLC Resource Sharing is widely used by many public libraries so that they can offer interlibrary loan for their patrons. The feed would be useful mainly for ILL practitioners, but has the potential for offering information to patrons as well.