Looking for WorldCat

I must admit, WorldCat is amazing. I do a limited amount of work on WorldCat here at the library -- mostly searching for inter-library loans for our patrons when we do not have what they need. So, while I am familiar with WorldCat, I am by no means proficient. What a great opportunity to play around and familiarize myself with features on WorldCat!

Looking for Alaska by John Green is on my mind (my personal book group meets in a week and a half and -- yikes -- I haven't started reading it yet!). I discovered 2,675 copies of this book worldwide on the first entry. And of course, the number one library on the list, is Siouxland Libraries. But the next library on the list is Augustana. A number of libraries in the state own this book. No big surprise there, as John Green books are hot right now. Class descriptors include LC: PZ7.G8233; PS3607.R4344; and Dewey: Fic; 813.6.

Now, OAIster is a database I've never even heard of, much less used. (My mind keeps picturing an open oyster -- or a bowl of steaming oyster stew!) I discovered it is a "Union catalog of digital resources". When I commenced my search of South Dakota, I found numerous entries of annual reports. Since I am a mother of school-age children, I decided to check out "Facts on Kids in South Dakota"; the report I zeroed in on was "Child Poverty in South Dakota, Part 2". The statistics, broken down into various categories and mapped out by county, were alarming. I wasn't as alarmed by my current county of residence, but more by my home county. Poverty rates for children 18 and under in 2008 were at 45 percent. I can see that OAIster is a great tool in locating statistics for a variety of needs.

I was introduced to CAMIO at Library Boot Camp last summer. What an amazing resource! When I typed in "Sioux", 63 items were available to view. The objects range from George Catlin paintings found at the Smithsonian American Art Museum to a pipe bowl housed at the Detroit Institute of Arts. A few of the other owning museums listed include the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, the George Eastman House in Rochester, NY, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Having worked as a museum interpreter for many years, I was particularly interested in viewing the various artifacts. Our museum was home to an exhibit of George Catlin paintings a few years ago. One of the neat features of CAMIO is the ability to view artifacts in high resolution -- which I did with several of Catlin's paintings. The detail really is quite astounding. I can see that CAMIO would be invaluable to a great many people, including -- but not limited to -- scholars, historians, teachers and artists. When adding the paintings to my favorites, I could then put them into a slide show, which would be beneficial in many ways.