Term Paper Help Part 4--Proquest Digital Microfilm Database

To supplement the Historical Newpapers database, the Proquest Digital Microfilm database provides full text images of New York Times and St. Louis Post-Dispatch articles from 2008 through 2013.  The beauty of this database is that users can see the images and advertisements from the newspapers as well as see the papers as they were published.

For those who recall that an article appeared on a given day or during a time period, the viewer can browse the newspapers as if laid in front of them.  They can adjust the image size and resolution.  They can also save the image or print it out.

To compare with the Proquest Newstand database, for the same month, April 2008, that database features only four dates for the month and the user must select an image of each article. This database is most effective!

For browsers, or those seeking to see articles in context, or view photographs and graphs, the Proquest Digital Microfilm database is invaluable.  It also eliminates the need to use a micofilm reader for articles in these newspapers for the past five years.

--Harry C., Reference

Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos/World Book's Student Discovery Encyclopedia

La Biblioteca del Condado de St. Louis ofrece recursos en línea para los estudiantes que hablan español también! Esta versión en español de la Enciclopedia Estudiantil Hallazgos del mundo libro contiene temas que hacen la búsqueda fácil y actividades para ayudar a los niños a aprender. Leer periódicos españoles, como "El Nuevo Día", "El Universale," y "El Mundo". Descubre nuevos hechos asombrosos sobre los animales o aprender nuevas palabras visuales. Todo está en sus manos!

The St. Louis County Library offers online resources for Spanish speaking students too! This Spanish language version of World Book's Student Discovery Encyclopedia contains topics that make searching easy and activities to help kids learn. Read Spanish newspapers, such as "El Nuevo Dia," "El Universale," and "El Mundo." Discover wondrous new facts about animals or learn new words visually. It's all at your fingertips!

---Anna H., Jamestown Bluffs

Term Paper Help - Part 3: Historical Newspapers

An overlooked resource in writing research papers is the historical newspaper database.  The library offers the Historical New York Times (1851-2009) and the Historical St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspapers. These databases are easy to access and offer full text of the articles as they appeared at the time.  This primary source information is invaluable for the student needing to cite primary print sources.

For example, the Historical New York Times has a June 17, 1931 page 1 article on gangster Al Capone's guilty plea to tax evasion, containing tidbits such as Capone beaming as he seated himself in court, wearing a "sulphur-colored suit," pleading guilty in a scarcely audible voice, and considering himself still young at 32.  The Historical St. Louis Post-Dispatch also has articles such as this one from July 28, 1885: "A Brewery Switch: the Trouble and Turmoil it Causes in Southern St. Louis."

Accessing these databases is easy.  Go to www.slcl.org, then click on the Research tab at the top of the page.  Select the category "News, Sports & Weather" from the subject guides and then click on Historical New York Times or Historical St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
After logging in with library card number and PIN number, the articles are available in pdf format and searchable by keywords.

--Harry C., Reference

Morningstar - Security Certificate Error

A few pages in our Morningstar database are displaying a security certificate error. The vendor is working to resolve the issue. Thanks for your patience!

--Heather

ReferenceUSA slow for home users [RESOLVED]

This issue has been reported to the company and they are working to fix it. I will update this post when the issue is resolved.

--Heather

ReferenceUSA: Data Visualization

ReferenceUSA, one of St. Louis County Library’s business databases, has recently added data visualization capabilities to its list creation service.  Data visualization can help customers create pie charts, bar graphs and heat maps to represent the data they find through a ReferenceUSA Custom Search.  These charts, graphs, and maps can be useful for market research, inserted into presentations or used in marketing materials.  Job seekers can use data visualization to map the highest number of companies within a certain area. 

The pie charts and bar graphs can show sales volume, employee size, city and zip code.  Heat maps can be generated for number of employees, sales volume and location.  When looking at a heat map, areas of low concentration are green and areas of high concentration are red.  For example, a customer looking to open a pizza parlor can create a heat map that shows all of the pizza restaurants in a chosen area.  Areas with many pizza parlors will be red. 

Another data visualization tool is Map Based Search.  A map area, such as a metro area, can be divided into zip codes.  The zip code with the highest concentration of companies can be shown on the map.  Our pizza parlor customer could use Map Based Search to draw a map that shows which areas have the most, or least, number of pizza parlors. 

To launch a charting visualization, first use the Custom Search tab and create a list of companies.  From the Search Results page, you’ll soon see two new buttons:  “Chart,” and “Map.”  Click the button for the type of chart you want to create.  You will have links and sliders on the charting page to help you navigate and adjust your criteria.  The charts and heat maps can be printed and downloaded.  Clicking “Back to Results” will take you back to the results page. 

If you have any questions about ReferenceUSA’s data visualization capabilities please contact the Reference Department at extension 2050.  

--Paul S., Reference

The Resume Writing Blues

If you’re just looking for a summer job or plunging into the job market, the one thing you’ll need, and future employers expect, is a resume. This is often one of the most difficult parts of the process for people, distilling a lifetime of job skills or making the most of academic and volunteer experiences onto one page. Whenever I’ve sat down to create a resume, I fret about wording and formatting to the point where I could spend hours working on it, but most people don’t have that kind of time.

Optimal Resume is an online database that simplifies the resume writing process. After creating a personal account, you can import an existing resume, choose from a template based on occupation and skill level, or build one from the ground up. Optimal Resume goes a step further with help in crafting cover letters and uploading your resume to professional and social sites to connect you with potential employers. It also allows you to present materials online in your own professional website.

Happy job hunting!

--Anna H., Jamestown Bluffs