Finding My Way » Libraries http://fmwk.edublogs.org Confessions of a Life-Long Learner Wed, 06 Aug 2008 19:33:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.2 en hourly 1 MILI Thing 4: Public Libraries http://fmwk.edublogs.org/2007/12/14/thing-4-public-libraries/ http://fmwk.edublogs.org/2007/12/14/thing-4-public-libraries/#comments Sat, 15 Dec 2007 04:08:20 +0000 Karen http://fmwk.wordpress.com/2007/12/14/thing-4-public-libraries/ Even though I’ve used public libraries all my life, I didn’t realize how much they really offer until I worked at one in Evergreen, CO.  Since I moved back to Minneapolis, I’ve gotten back into using four library systems — Minneapolis, St. Paul, Hennepin, and Ramsey County.  (Don’t think I’m that ambitious — I live right in the corner of all of them.)  After too many times of searching more than one of these catalogs in order to find something, I finally learned to search MnLink so that I could see what was in all four catalogs at once.  It’s a real time-saver.

When a friend asked me about how she could help her 4th grade son improve his reading comprehension, I suggested using audiobooks so he could read and hear stories.  However, when I did a search in Hennepin County’s catalog (their library), I couldn’t figure out a way to search for just audiobooks.  For the first time, I used “Ask a Librarian.”  I quickly got a friendly response which not only explained the way to search for audiobooks, but also a list of suggested books for reluctant readers.  Above and beyond!

Also, in preparation for a Metronet training session, I looked through ALL of the databases MPL offers — egads — there are a lot.  What a wealth of resources!  I bookmarked some language-learning sites in particular.  And I want to learn how to download audiobooks — I wish I had had that option back when I had a long commute!

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