June 30, 2010 Note: The website referenced in this blog post has been decommissioned by the National Library of Medicine. More information about the decision to end its support is available at this technical bulletin.
The University of Minnesota Alumni Association sponsored the program for Cambridge Rotary this noon. The speaker they brought was librarian Karla Block from the UM Bio-Medical Library. Karla talked about the on-line resource My Health Minnesota Go Local, which is part of the National Library of Medicine partnership with libraries and library consortia to provide national coverage of health services. The Minnesota site is one of 24 Go Local projects with many more in development.
Go Local is a tool to bring accurate information about health services in local geographic areas, including hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, support groups, health screening providers and many others.
Go Local is linked on the ECRL site under the menu bar Reference Desk. Look at the Reference Desk section to find links and information guides from ECRL librarians.
Karla Block, Associate Librarian at the Bio-Medical Library
Barbara Misselt, ECRL Director
I just finished a presentation for the Cambridge Rotary Club. I’ve done similar presentations before, but I never get over the excitementment of being able to give away so much — and it doesn’t raise my library budget or cost me anything personally.
I started out today’s presentation by asking people to show their library cards . . . . and today’s program-sponsoring Rotarian passed out a prize to everyone who had a library card. While they were proudly holding up their library cards, I told them that was the most valuable card in their wallet. I talked about the services our 14 libraries offer, and about our online services that they can use 24/7. Wow! They were taking notes and asking questions.
As I said, I’ve done pretty much the same presentation in both Regions in which I’ve worked, and the response is the same — total amazement and appreciation for what they didn’t know they’ve had for quite some time now. I wonder how many others haven’t heard about us yet. And I’m reminded that we’ve got a lot of marketing and instruction to do.
I’m looking to go out and talk to as many people as I can and demo our fine products and services. Just call and invite me!
Barbara Misselt, ECRL Director
With the New Year fast approaching, we’re all thinking about New Year’s Resolutions. Some of us will go on a diet, some will decide to exercise more, some will tackle classic literature, and others will pledge to do something to make a difference in the world. (Some of us just might attempt to do all of the above!)
Every year I pledge to do something that will change lives…that will make our world a better place. One year I bought a goat through World Vision for an African family. Another year I sent some of my textbooks to Africa to support students there. This past year I gave my time and political voice to a variety of worthwhile projects through involvement with the ONE Campaign and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa).
Though all of those acts have been fulfilling and worthwhile, I’ve come to realize that not all of us can be like Bono and have the dedication, determination, and influence to single-handedly save the world…or even a mere continent. Besides, this year, I am looking to do some good a little bit closer to home. As I was brainstorming ideas for ways to do so, I had one of those Homer Simpson “DOH!” moments. Hello! I work at a library….why not become a paying member of my library’s Friends of the Library group!
Joining a local Friends of the Library group is a fabulous way to give back to the community and to support the library. Friends groups, like the one here at the Chisago Lakes Area Library, are vital to the success of the library. Think about the many things that these groups do: They purchase new library materials for their libraries; they fund library programs; they raise money for the library through book sales and other wonderful activities; and their members often volunteer at the library. Whether you become an active Friends member who helps set up programs or a dues-paying “inactive” member, your support effects every single library user who comes through the doors. And, you know, you might just benefit, too…think of all the local contacts you will make by becoming involved in this community group! Plus, there is that whole Pay It Forward concept to keep in mind…
Needless to say, I’m excited about the opportunity to make a difference in my library and in the local community. So come on! Join me! Call or stop by your local library to find out how to join your community’s Friends of the Library group!
~~~Angela~~~
Chisago Lakes Area Library Branch Librarian
With MnLINK, you can request books, music, and videos from any library in the state. You’ll be surprised what you can find, for free.
Basic Use
To request materials with MnLINK:
- Search the ECRL Catalog first, to see if we have the item in our own collection.
- If not, visit MnLINK.
- Type in your search keywords. For example: Wuthering Heights or Le Rouge et le Noir or Toy Story. Use quotes if you want to search for a specific phrase, for example “Science and Pseudoscience in Clinical Psychology”. Then click the Search button.
- MnLINK will take a minute to show your results. Scroll the results until you see the item you want. Click Details.
- At the bottom of the Details page, check if one of the copies is available. If all copies say something like “Date Due: ____”, go back to your search results and find another copy of the item, and click Details.
- If a copy is available on the Details page, click Get It.
- Sign in with your library barcode, then click Request via ILL.
- On the next screen, choose your Pickup Location. Then click Submit.
- That’s all! ECRL will contact you when the item is ready for pickup. You can now do another search if you want.
7 Cool MnLINK Tricks
But that’s not all MnLINK can do. Here are a few more tips:
- View and cancel requests.
When signed in (click Sign In on the left of the MnLINK page), click My Requests under My Account. Change Records per page to 20, then click Search. This is a list of your current MnLINK requests. Click Cancel to cancel any request.
- Use advanced search.
Sometimes a basic MnLINK search returns too many results. To narrow your search, click Advanced Search. Here, you can search for a specific author, title, publisher, ISBN, or other field. You can also specify a publishing date (“nothing older than 1995”), a format (“only DVDs”), a language (“nothing but English or Spanish”), and a reading level (“juvenile only”). Select your options, then click Search.
- Search libraries in North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin, too!
Did you know we get some free item loans from North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin? You can search their databases from MnLINK, too. On the basic search page, change Current profile from All Catalogs for MnLINK Gateway [shared] to ELM – WorldCat [shared].
Here are some titles I’ve found in out-of-state libraries but not in Minnesota:
Getting Rich in Your Underwear by Peter Hupalo
Self Help Stuff That Works by Adam Khan
Lifemaps: a step-by step method for simplifying 101 of life’s most overwhelming projects by Michael Antoniak
Maybe right, maybe wrong by Dan Barker
Searching all Minnesota libraries greatly expands the resources that are freely available to you. Searching 3 more states expands your resources even more!
Of course, there are limitations. Libraries in other states restrict what they do and don’t share.
Also, searching WorldCat shows results from OCLC libraries. But since ECRL is not an OCLC library if you make a request from an OCLC library outside Minnesota, there will be a service charge.
In fact, getting free loans from outside the state is somewhat unusual, and depends on the good graces of the lending libraroes.
But it might be worth a try.
- Save items for later.
You may want to save an item you find to request it later. Or maybe you’ve reached your limit (20 requests) and have to wait to request it. When you find an item you want to request later, just click Save. You can pull up your list of saved items by clicking Saved List under My Account.
You can also save a particular search. On any search results page, click Save Search in the upper-right of the screen. View them later by clicking Saved Searches under My Account.
- Change how search results are sorted.
On any search results page, click Sort Options under Results. To choose what you want to sort by, click next to Index. Type in a number next to Number of records to Sort, and click the Sort button.
- Filter search results.
If you get to many search results, you can filter out what you don’t want. From the search results page, click Filter Options under Results. Now you can choose to filter by publishing date, format, language, or reading level.
- Get help.
On any page, click Help under My Account to get instructions for using the page you’re on. You can also browse the help pages to learn about other features of MnLINK.
Summing Up
MnLINK is a great resource available to ECRL patrons. You can often find rare and expensive items, and request them for free from almost any library in the 4-state region. Enjoy!
If you like MnLINK, be sure to thank MINITEX for providing it.
Luke Muehlhauser, Computer Technical Aide
This past Monday was the three-month anniversary of my first day at East Central Regional Library. The last three months have been good ones and how quickly they have flown by!
One of my initial goals was to go to a meeting of the the County Board of Commissioners in each of our six counties. Of course, at the outset, this was a pretty daunting undertaking, but I’ve enjoyed it, and it’s gone well. As of today, I’ve got five down and one to go. I’ll be traveling to Aitkin County on January 8th for the sixth county board visit.
This morning I visited Isanti County and this afternoon I was in Pine County. Two questions have come up (in various forms) repeatedly. Both of them are excellent questions, and I’ve pondered both of them for a long time. I wish I had a crystal ball. The questions as they were asked today are: (1)How do I see library services changing? and (2)Do I see library funding requests continuing with percentages of increase in double digits?
My initial response is that in my experience, our customers want all the services they traditionally have received and more. They especially want information access anywhere at any time delivered through technology. And they expect library staff members to be expert information guides for any and all formats.
As we review the ECRL strategic plan, I will be seeking help in answering these questions. The answer to #1 will drive #2. What do our customers expect of us? What needs in our communities do libraries answer?
Thanks to ECRL Board Members for accompanying me to meetings today — Ron Drude this morning in Isanti County and Bayliss and wife Margery Swanson this afternoon in Pine County.
The Swansons took the opportunity to visit the Sandstone Library while they were in town for the Board meeting. Left to right: Margery, Sandstone Librarian Jeanne Coffey, and Bayliss.
Barbara Misselt, ECRL Director
