Tuesday, November 20, 2018

November 15, 2018
Topic:  Reference Resources We Aren't Using

Attendees:
Shannon, Hoover
Deidre, Bessemer
Judith, Homewood
Emily, BPL
Michael Paul Lopez, Mountain Brook
Jon, Avondale
Bridget, Homewood
Heidi, Homewood
Edward, Homewood
Maura, Trussville
Bryce, Hoover

Thanks go out to both Michael and Bryce for bringing us new resources and showing us tricks with older resources!  This meeting was quite popular and might need to be an annual event, like the adult program swap!

Other things:  in the pipeline, AVL will be adding an Open Resource Directory allowing professors and teacher to post text and classroom assignments on the depository, hopefully cutting the costs of textbooks for students.

If you didn't already know, the Foundation Center Cooperative Database, which only BPL downtown and Hoover have on site, provides a wealth of information on grants for individuals and nonprofit organizations. Hoover routinely holds classes for the public on the use of this unique resource.  Another free resource is FoundationCenter.org which gives all types of information for granters and grantees.

Also, Hoover has begun to provide "Niche Academy" -- which is a link on our website.  This resource offers how-to videos on all types of resources -- such as Overdrive's Libby, Chilton's Auto Repair library, using GoodReads, Homework Help, Twitter, etc.  It also allows the host library to post self-made videos on unique resources.  This resource might benefit a library when helping patrons over the phone -- refer them to help videos on Niche instead of trying to walk them through it on the phone!  Evidently pricing is based on population but did not break the bank -- for more information, feel free to go through this online tutorial https://my.nicheacademy.com/help/course/1259 or contact the rep. Jim Wilson at jim@nicheacademy.com. 

Lastly, Bryce shared some unique features of ReferenceUSA that may be underutilized.  For instance, on the front page you can see where you can choose U.S. Consumers/Lifestyles...  Using consumer data, users are able to create lists of customers with predictive buying habits or predictive charitable giving patterns.  Using geographic limitors, an organization can narrow down by geography, type of charitable giving and, say, the type of car they own.  Lots of individuals and organizations pay top dollar for this type of consumer data.  And it's all here for free to those willing to dig for it!!!!

Also, if you've gotten rid of your Morningstar paper resource, simply google "FINRA Morningstar" or bookmark: http://finra-markets.morningstar.com/MarketData/Default.jsp
This site has the up-to-date market data.  It gives market indices and bond market activity available for your patrons.

Michael gave a presentation at JCPLA Staff Day several years ago and has updated it for our purposes.  Fortunately, Michael has given me a link to his presentation so that all of you can take advantage of the outstanding (and sometimes strange) resources available on the Internet.

The one resource that stuck out to me was GNOD.com.  Each point of the star let's you explore books, music, movies, art, products, using artificial intelligence to predict what you will like "The origin of Gnod is my interest in artificial intelligence and new user interfaces. Meanwhile we are 3 people working on the system and over 300,000 users use it each month to discover new things they might like."  It uses crowd sourcing and predictive analytics to present you with choices.  Very cool to use and very cool to show off to patrons!















Please link to the resources mentioned so that you can see what they do and how they can help you!  
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1hsW6FIfCrIad8LC8_opc3MJqiHdkgieX/view

For those of you that cannot get to Google Drive, here is a handout of the resources Michael shared: 


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