WorldCat

I looked for To Kill A Mockingbird (using “title phrase”). Almost 3000 libraries worldwide have this book. The top library is Black Hills State College. I’m not sure how I would use this database. Obviously, I can find To Kill A Mockingbird closer than 300 miles away. Harper Lee has written no other books, but I could still click on her name. I expected there to be one entry, but there were over 1300 results and they were all for the same title. I don’t see how this is helpful. I thought the abstract was good. It was short and to the point. And the search results showed that the book won the Pulitzer Prize in 1961. That’s good information to have. When I switched to OAIster I was surprised to see that my previous search of “Harper Lee” had transferred over. I think that is really convenient. I searched “South Dakota” under “subject phrase.” I found a varied list of topics. I selected: Effect of Different Methods of Grazing on Native Vegetation and Gains of Steers in Northern Great Plains. When I clicked “Access,” it gave me some good information. It was easy to find the author. It gave me a list of the different topics addressed in the article. I liked the way the information was divided for me. ~Common Core~ When searching for “state common core standards” I think I got some pretty good results. And books that were located at South Dakota State Library were bold and highlighted, which I liked. This would be helpful with common core because of the wide variety of topics that came up under this search. There were books that would direct you in modifying your current curriculum to fit in with the common core, common core maps for different subject areas, and books that focused on the individual needs of the students. I liked the idea that common core in the classroom can be tailored to individual students.