Lesson 2: Genealogy Resources

My family has done quite a lot of genealogical research on my maternal line, so I wasn't expecting to find anything new. We already have the census data available, but it was fun to search for it again, as I haven't looked at it in a few years. Plus, it was also a good test of HeritageQuest to see if the information we have is really included in this database.

Here is a snip from the 1920 Skamania County, Washington census with my great-grandfather (Jacob Horn) and family listed. My grandmother wasn't born yet, so she is not listed. It was interesting to see the next household, which were also my relatives--Isabella Underwood was my great-great-great grandmother. I didn't realize that these six people were living in the same household--I'll have to ask my mom about that. I'm glad I learned that only Heads of Household are indexed in HeritageQuest census records--this explains why I wasn't finding certain people I knew were on the census.

I also looked in the book and PERSI collections, but didn't find anything new. (One can always hope!) There are several publications that include my ancestors, though, so it was fun to see them online. (We only have photocopies of some of these publications.)

I knew that the 1890 census records had been destroyed by fire, but I didn't realize that any records had survived at all, which is so nice for people researching in those states/counties. It's so sad to think of the loss of all that information, especially when I remember how exciting it was to find information about my own family members on census records.

It looks like Alaska wasn't included in the federal census until 1900. I looked at the 1900 census records for Yakutat--the lower left side of each page is all black, obliterating some of the information--very unfortunate.

Week 1 ADR-Anchorage Meetup

ADR-Anchorage Week 1 Meetup (Photo by Kristi Powell)

The first week of the Introduction to Alaska Digital Resources e-course has passed and a group of us met up at Cafe del Mundo in Anchorage to discuss our thoughts on the course so far. Most of us learned something new, some of us ran into frustrations, and everyone had feedback.

Some of the highlights of our discussion included:

• An explanation of SLED vs. the Digital Pipeline would have been helpful
• Some people saw different interface features depending on how/where the resource was being accessed (BSI)
• Business resources might not have been the best lesson to start with
• Misunderstanding/misinterpretation of lesson questions
• Frustration setting up/using blog features
• Questions about functionality of websites/databases (we had a particularly lengthy discussion about the location drop-down boxes and the go buttons on the Alaska Local and Regional Information site--people got different answers depending on what they selected or didn't select)

Overall though, everyone thought the course was very useful and we are all looking forward to Week 2 and genealogical resources.

Lesson 1: Business Resources

1) Go to the Business Search Interface. Click on Company Profiles. Find the Microsoft Corporation company report. Open the Datamonitor Report. Who is the Chief Financial Officer? What did he do before coming to Microsoft?

Peter Klein

"Prior to joining Microsoft, Mr. Klein spent 13 years in corporate finance in the Seattle area, primarily in the communications and technology sectors. This included senior roles at McCaw Cellular Communications; Orca Bay Capital, a private equity firm; and several startups, including Homegrocer.com, where as the Vice President and Treasurer."

Observations:

• The BSI Basic Search screen threw me off at first as my library has most of the EBSCO databases default to the Advanced Search screen.
• BSI Country Reports were nice and I can see using these to get a good overview of a country. However, I didn't like the way each chapter was a separate pdf file. I would have liked to see a table of contents for the entire report instead of having to page through 6 pages of results to see what the 56 different chapters were.

2) Visit the Small Business Reference Center. Do a search for handicrafts or crafts. Where could a person sell their work online? In person? Are there any books or book chapters on starting a crafts business? Search using words from a small business owner you've worked with recently. Anything of value in the results?

Online: Cooperative websites (etsy), online auctions (eBay)
In person: craft and art exhibitions, craft festivals, trade shows
Starting a crafts business: "Starting a Successful Business", "199 Internet-Based Businesses You Can Start with Less than One Thousand Dollars"
Search terms: A search on the term crocheting (I have a friend who sells crocheted items on Etsy) only brought up country and regional trade reports.

Observations:

I floundered a little with this search. I entered a search for handicrafts OR crafts and got a lot of results, but I tried numerous limiters before I decided to limit to source type--books. This gave me some book titles that looked helpful.

3) Staying with the Small Business Reference Center, find at least one item using the browse by category. What did you find? Use the browse by popular resource to look at one or two books. What did you find and did they look helpful to you and your patrons?

Browse by Category: I browsed the Small Business Startup Kit category and found a chapter called "Picking a Winning Business Name" that was interesting.
Browse by Popular Resource: I looked at the book "Marketing Without Advertising" (a Nolo Press book, which I have heard are good). This book would be helpful for both patrons and librarians.

Observations:
I was glad that the books in the SBRC had tables of contents on the left navigation pane (unlike the resources I found in BSI).

4) Visit the Alaska Department of Law Consumer Protection Unit. What are TWO resposibilities that a landlord has toward a tenant? What are two examples of frauds and scams? Where can you file a consumer report?

Landlord's Responsibilities: maintain a fit premises, give adequate notice of rent increase
Frauds and Scams: phishing, pyramid schemes
Consumer Report: State of Alaska Office of Attorney General in Anchorage

5) Visit Alaska Regional Information. Pick your community from the places menu. How many female workers are there in your community? Who is your top employer?

Female workers: 64,427 (2010)
Top employer: Anchorage School District? It wasn't clear from the table if the employers were in order.

6) Visit the Alaska Small Business Development Center. What are the stages of the small business cycle? Where can you find a checklist for starting a small business?

Stages of Small Business Life Cycle: think, launch, grow, reinvent, exit
Checklist for Starting a Small Business: under Tools in the top navigation menu

7) Visit the Institute of Social and Economic Research. What are two publications done about broadband in Alaska in 2011? Has Small Scale Modular Nuclear Power been considered as an option for Alaska? Do any of the Institute's research areas seem relevant to you?

Broadband: "Rural Broadband: Opportunities for Alaska", "Digital Diversity: Broadband and Indigenous Populations in Alaska"
Nuclear Power: There is a recording of the presentation: "Small Scale Modular Nuclear Power: An Option for Alaska?"
Relevant areas?: All of the research areas would be relevant for my libraries patrons, especially those researching Alaska-specific topics, as these resources are sometimes difficult to find.

Observations: The publications search box worked pretty well for this exercise, but it helps to know the right terminology. I have tried searching for topics that patrons have given me and I have not been as successful. In those real life situations, I always wonder if I am using the right terms.

8) Do you see a need for business information in your community? If so, what kinds? Do you think the resources here can make some or all of your communities business information needs?

There is definitely a need for business information in my community. My library's patrons are often looking for company information and economic statistics, particularly in regard to Alaska and Anchorage. All of these resources will be helpful and I'm glad I learned about the Alaska Local and Regional Information site. I have not used this before and I think it will be helpful.

One of the problems I run into with business statistics information, however, is that the kind of statistics gathered and published don't always meet the needs of the patrons. They either don't cover the date needed or they are missing some characteristic. Learning about these resources, however, has helped expand my knowledge of what data is available.