Internet Competency-LibrisDesign

I chose Libris Design after a search on Google for databases for library design and space planning. "Libris Design "is a library facility-planning database that assists local library officials with the planning of public library buildings. it includes a website with recent information on facility planning topics, a database of recently constructed California public libraries, an area for users to communicate with each other, user help documentation and a trial version of the Libris Design database." I chose this site because it provides assistance and guidance for librarians and local officials who are planning or preparing for a building project.

Browsing Search-ERIC/EBSCO

This was the first hit:
1. Attitudes of Older Adults toward a Computer Training Program Preview . By: Segrist, Kathleen. Educational Gerontology, v30 n7 p563-571 Aug 2004. (EJ680243)
PDF Full Text
I conducted a browsing search in ERIC/EBSCO. I searched the thesaurus for Senior Citizens and found the correct subject heading as Older Adults. I searched Older Adults and received 11,821 hits.
I then narrowed my search by using Computer Training and received 15 hits. I narrowed again by using Adult Education and received 4 hits. Using ERIC I was able to look at left side panel which provided narrowing terms for me. This made the search much easier and very effective. I was interested in this search because we have been providing computer training for Senior Citizens for about 5 years and this is a topic that interest me.
I do not think this search method was very productive. I could have more easily created a building block search that would have pinpointed the information I was seeking. Searching in this manner was awkard and more time consuming than the others I attempted.

Citation Pearl Growing-LISTA

This was the first hit:
Planning, communication are key in building new libraries.Preview By: Ames, Kathryn S.; Heid, Greg. Georgia Library Quarterly, Winter2008, Vol. 44 Issue 4, p5-7, 3p; (AN 28783224)
PDF Full Text (179KB)

I located a book in the TWU catalog entited Planning for a New Generation of Public Library Buildings by Gerard B. McCabe. I then looked at the Subject headings: 10 were given, 4 were not relevate since they dealt with other countries and Electonic Books (?)
I then searched in LISTA using these subject headings, selecting the most relevant
Set 1> library buildings AND Design and construction received 241 hits
Set 2> Set 1+library architecture received 39 hits
Set 3> Public libraries and United States and Design and Construction received 95 hits
Set 4> Set 3 and Library Architecture received 6 hits all of them were relevant.

This is an excellent search strategy when you have identified a topic of interest. This method provided guidance for finding similiar items and provided more depth to the subject. LISTA is an excellent database for Library Science students and information professionals.
LISTA is an excellent database and one I have used repeatedly for research. It is lively and colorful, with bright and graphic icons for functions like printing, RSS feeds, Saving, etc. LISTA provides many resources with full text, which students naturally are seeking.

Successive Fractions-ERIC/Internet

Successive Fractions
This was the second hit:
2. FBI Attempt to Screen Archive Prompts Fears: Journalist's Family Wants to Block Search of Papers Held by University (EJ788877)

Author(s):
Carlson, Scott
Source:
Chronicle of Higher Education, v52 n34 pA1 Apr 2006
Pub Date:
2006-04-28
Pub Type(s):
Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Peer-Reviewed:
No
Descriptors:News Reporting; Crime; Academic Libraries; Archives; Information Policy; Access to Information; Federal Regulation; Resistance (Psychology); Advocacy; Censorship
Abstract:During his life and career as a muckraking journalist in Washington, Jack Anderson cultivated secret sources throughout the halls of government--sources who passed on information that allowed Anderson to investigate and write about Watergate, CIA assassination schemes, and countless scandals. His syndicated column, Washington Merry-Go-Round, earned him the enmity of the corrupt and powerful--so much so that during the Watergate years, associates of Nixon had discussed assassinating the columnist. They never went through with the plot. Anderson died in December at the age of 83. His archive, some 200 boxes now being held by George Washington University's library, could be a trove of information about state secrets, dirty dealings, political maneuverings, and old-fashioned investigative journalism, open for historians and up-and-coming reporters to see. But the government wants to see the documents before anyone else. This article reports on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's interest to examine the Anderson archive which caused outrage among members of the Anderson family and has stoked the fears of librarians and academics. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract
Full-Text Availability Options:

Set 1= librar* or public librar* or school librar* or academic librar* HITS= 58,196
Set 2 = Set 1 AND crimes or crime HITS= 186
Set 3= Set 1 AND Set 2 AND policies or policy or procedure* Hit=46

I examined the first 40 hits of the 46 and of these hits 70% dealt with crime of some type in libraries. I think this was a successful search in that it produced additional information to the building block search above. However, I have found it difficult to build a successive fractions search and in many cases it returned hits I did not anticipate.

Building Block Search in LibLit

This was my third hit:
3
Indianapolis Opens Tangled in Fiscal Woes. American Libraries v. 39 no. 3 (March 2008) p. 23-5

My begining set was
Set 1> llibrar* or public librar* or community librar* AND
Set 2> Architecture or build* or construct* AND
Set 3> trends or issues or problems
I received 564 Hits
I then modified search to limit to full-text only between 2006-2008
I received 73 hits, some of them still not relevant to my search, however of the first 5 hits 4 were right on target.
This was a good search, and it produced a large number of hits that then lead me to explore the subject and narrow my focus. It gave me enough relevant hits to guide me through the search process. I think that a building block search is an excellent way to begin research on a topic.
LibLit is an excellent resource for LS students and I have used this database many times. The building block search is always a good starting point if you are developing a topic or trying to locate a specific angle for a topic.