Kimberly Wirth Libr 210-11

Reference and Information Services Michelle Holschuh Simmons

05 March 2012

PRACTICE QUESTIONS #1

1. I am doing some research for my sociology of education course, and I need to know the

percentage of Caucasian, African-American, Latino, and Asian people in the United States

over the age of 25 who have at least a bachelor’s degree. I need relatively recent data,

probably from sometime in the last ten years. I’ve been poking around on Google for more

than an hour, and I can’t find anything that just gives me the numbers. Can you help me?

(You need to list the percentages for each group in addition to explaining your process and

providing a source.)

a) Certainly. You can find the answer in the 2012 Statistical Abstract located at

http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/. Select “Education” from the list at the left,

then select “Educational Attainment” and from there choose “Educational attainment by

Race and Hispanic Origin” you will find the answer. Table 229 provides percentages

from selected years dating 1970 through 2010. Here are the percentages for the years

available from 2000-2010 for persons 25 years and older with four-year college degree or

more:

Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic Hispanic

White Black Asian Total-other Mexican Puerto Rican Cuban

2000 26.1 16.5 43.9 10.6 6.9 13.0 23.0

2005 28.1 17.6 50.2 12.0 8.2 13.8 24.6

2007 29.1 18.5 52.1 12.7 9.0 16.4 27.2

2008 29.8 19.6 52.6 13.3 9.1 15.5 28.1

2009 29.9 19.3 52.3 13.2 9.5 16.5 27.9

2010 30.3 19.8 52.4 13.9 10.6 17.5 26.2

b) After reviewing the list of sources, my first instinct was to search the Statistical Abstract.

Initially, I searched for the answer in Education – Higher Education: Degrees – Degrees

Earned by Level and Race/Ethnicity. However, this did not indicate age. Next, I went into

the Educational Attainment section and found the answer in the PDF file for Educational

Attainment by Race and Hispanic Origin.

c) Question: Who is more sleep deprived on a monthly basis, young adults, middle-aged

adults, or the elderly?

Answer: According to Table 195 in the Health & Nutrition: Health Risk Factors in the

2012 Statistical Abstract 13.8% of 25 – 34 year olds claim to have not received

enough rest or sleep for 30 days out of 30. In an interesting side note, 45.5% of 18-24

year olds claim to have insufficient rest for a period of 1-13 days.

d) Time spent looking for the answer - 5 minutes.

2. Skipped.

3. I am doing some research on trends in the agriculture industry. How many farms were in the

state of Iowa in 2001, 2003, and 2006? I don’t necessarily need those exact years, but I

would like data from a range of years in the 2000’s so that I can see the trend. Where should

I look? (In your answer you need to include the actual numbers for a span of years to show a

trend.)

a) If you check the Statistical Abstract you should be able to find all the information you

need. Let’s go to the Agricultural section and look under Farms and Farmland. From

there I see Table 825 is labeled as Farms—numbers and acreage by state. This shows

information for the years 2000 and 2010. On Table 825 Iowa recorded 94,000 farms in

the year 2000 and 92,000 in 2010. In order to find information for any other years, we

will have to click on the “Earlier Editions” tab to search for the years we want. The 2006

Abstract shows that in the year 2002 Iowa had 91,000 farms. Table 808 in the 2007

Abstract shows 89,000 farms in Iowa in the year 2005, and the 2008 Statistical Abstract

Table 803 shows Iowa with 89,000 farms again in the year 2006. Table 797 in the 2009

Abstract records Iowa with 88,000 farms in 2007.

Year # of Farms

2000 94,000

2002 91,000

2005 89,000

2006 89,000

2007 88,000

2010 92,000

b) Fortunately, I had already noticed the Agriculture tab in the 2012 Statistical Abstract

when I was searching for the answer to question 1 and knew that the Statistical Abstract

would probably be the best source for finding the answer to this question. At first, I was a

little thrown when I saw that the 2012 Abstract did not show numbers for more than two

years. However, I remembered noticing the Earlier Editions tab and decided to give it a

try. I decided to include the stats for the year 2010 because it showed an increase while

all the other years revealed a steady decline in the number of farms. I thought this might

be relevant to the patron’s research.

c) Question: There’s talk of building a nuclear power plant in my Ohio neighborhood.

Where can I find out how many units are already in my state?

Answer: A list of the number of units per state can be found in the 2012 Statistical

Abstract found at http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/ . In the Energy &

Utilities section, click on Nuclear and go to Table 942. From there you can see that

Ohio has 3 units.

d) Time spent looking for the answer - 12 minutes.

4. I heard on TV that there is an association dedicated to humor. They hold huge conferences

with people coming from all over the world. I’d like to find out how to join. I want to ask my

boss to send me since I’m a manager and we desperately need some humor in our

workplace…. (In your answer you need to include the association’s name, a contact’s name,

and a brief explanation of its purpose.)

a) Yes, the HUMOR Project is an association dedicated to helping people develop their

sense of humor in their lives and on their jobs. This association sponsors the popular

international conference on The Positive Power of Humor and Creativity. The primary

contact is the founder, Dr. Joel Goodman; 10 Madison Avenue, Saratoga Springs, NY

12866. Phone: (518) 587-8770 E-mail: info@humorproject.com URL:

http://www.humorproject.com

b) Associations Unlimited seemed like the perfect source to check first, so I pulled it up in

the alphabetical listings of the King Library databases. From there I clicked on the

Subject Search link and used the List of Subjects link found next to the Subject

Descriptor box. From that list, I selected the word “humor” for my subject descriptor and

clicked the Search button. There were 11 choices provided in the results and, from those,

the HUMOR Project struck me as the one I wanted to check first. When I opened up the

information I discovered that this was the association the patron wanted. It met all the

needs requested by the patron; it addressed finding humor in the workplace and

sponsored conference that drew people in from around the world.

c) Question: I love wine. I love to taste it, cook with it, pair it with meals, and talk about it

with my friends. Is there an association where I can learn more about wines?

Answer: Definitely. You could try the American Wine Society. It is for everyone from

wine enthusiasts to professional winemakers. In this society you can further your

knowledge about wine. The society arranges wine tastings and trips to vineyards and

wineries. John Hames is the Executive Director and primary contact. You can write to the

American Wine Society at PO Box 279, Englewood, OH 45322. Phone: (937) 529-7800

E-mail: executivedirector@americanwinesociety.org or visit their website at

http://www.americanwinesociety.org

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 5 minutes.

5. I am doing research on Barack Obama’s life, and I’d like to find the very first article the New

York Times ran about Barack Obama. What was the title of the article, and when was it

written? (You need to include the actual headline and date of publication.)

a) If you go to ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times in the King Library

databases you can find the article “First Black Elected to Head Harvard’s Law Review”

printed on 06 February 1990. Simply type “Barack Obama” and click on the “search”

icon. When you receive your list of results, on the right side of the page is an area to sort

results. Drop down the arrow and select “Publication Date (Oldest First)” and click the

“Sort” button. The second item on the sorted result list is the article.

b) My first instinct was to search the ProQuest Historical Newspapers database for this

question. I went to the ProQuest New York Times database from the King Library

webpage and typed “Barack Obama” and, just as I suspected, I received numerous hits.

My next step was to look for a way to narrow the search but I discovered I could sort the

results by “Publication Date (Oldest First)” and found the 06 Feb 1990 article “First

Black Elected to Head Harvard’s Law Review” as the second hit on the result list. The

first hit was simply a notification about the same article, something like what you’d find

on the front page showing highlights of what is in that particular edition.

c) Question: I would like to research the Influenza Epidemic of 1918. Do you know where I

can find some primary sources?

Answer: Yes, if you go to the ProQuest Historical Newspapers: The New York Times

(1851-2008) open up the advanced search screen and type “influenza, epidemic, 1918 in

each of the three boxes and then scroll down to the Sort Results By section and use the

drop down arrow to select “Publication date (oldest first)” then click the search button

you will receive quite a few results with the earliest being published on May 18, 1918

discussing the problem in China, then on to Germany, and reports discussing its arrival

via ships in New York and then more stories as it sweeps through the United States.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 3 minutes

6. I am going to a wedding with my boyfriend and I’ll be meeting his family for the first time.

His family is very prim and proper. I saw on the menu for the dinner that they will be serving

artichokes. I am not sure if I’ve even seen an artichoke before, and I surely don’t know how

to eat one. How should I eat it without embarrassing myself? I really like him and I don’t

want him to break up with me. Maybe I’ll just break up with him to save myself the

embarrassment. (You need to include a BRIEF explanation of how to eat an artichoke

politely.)

a) Don’t worry, Emily Post has written extensively about nearly everything to do with

proper etiquette. If you go to the website http://www.emilypost.com you can search their

encyclopedia of etiquette which they call the “Etipedia.” Simply type “Artichoke” in the

search box and click the search button. The results will show one hit in their Guide to

Food and Drink section. Click on the provided link and you will find Artichokes at the

top of the list. Their instructions for eating artichokes are as follows: the leaves are

always eaten with the fingers by removing an outer leave and dipping the meaty base in

the melted butter or sauce. Place it between your front teeth and pull forward to scrape

the meat off the leaf. Place the discarded leaves on the edge of your plate if a separate

plate is not provided for that purpose. When you reach the either the artichoke itself or

leaves that are too small or meatless, then you will hold a knife at a 45 degree angle to

remove the remaining leaves from the choke and exposing the artichoke heart. Cut the

heart into bite-size pieces and use a fork to dip in the sauce and eat.

b) Obviously this was an etiquette question, so I figured Emily Post would be the best

source to answer this person’s dilemma. I searched the OPAC for my library but

discovered that my library does not have an Emily Post etiquette book, or any other

etiquette resources. Fortunately I remembered seeing a link to a website in an annotation

by one of my classmates, so I typed “emilypost.com” and found the site. In their

“Etipedia” search box I typed “artichoke” and received a result for the Guide to Food and

Drink. After clicking on that and artichokes were the first food listed.

c) Question: I am starting a new consulting firm and want to make sure that neither I nor my

employees make any etiquette blunders when dealing with clients and potential clients. I

know there are books out there, but we don’t like to read. Is there any other way to brush

up on our manners?

Answer: Certainly, the Emily Post Institute offers seminars on Business Etiquette. If you

go to their website http://www.emilypost.com across the top of the page you will see

several tabs. Click on the tab labeled “Business Etiquette” and it will open a new page.

Right underneath the tab is another list you can select from to focus the results to suit

your needs. This list contains Corporate Seminars, Train the Trainer Business, Image

Consulting, Etiquette Abroad, and Business Correspondence. Further down that same

page is a list of two seminars: Business Etiquette and Business Etiquette Train the

Trainer. Simply put, you can send everyone to the seminar, or send one person who can

then return and train everyone else.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 4 minutes

7. I’d like to find out which schools in California offer a Ph.D. in Japanese. Can you help me?

(You need to include the names of the schools.)

a) Definitely, I can help you. We need to check Peterson’s Guide to Graduate &

Professional Programs in the Reference Stacks. The call number is L901 .P46 Bk2. Book

2 covers the Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences. On page 429 in Section 9: Language

and Literature is a list of Universities offering advanced degrees in Japanese. There are

three institutions in California offering a Ph.D. in Japanese. They are: Stanford

University; University of California, Berkley; and the University of California; Irvine.

b) Since I staff the Reference Desk at the Library where I work, I knew that the Peterson’s

Guide would be a great resource to find the answer for this question. After a quick look at

the 6 volumes I felt that I would find foreign languages in Book 2 which had the

Humanities section. I checked the contents at the beginning of the book and found

Japanese listed easily. I actually found four universities that offered advanced degrees in

Japanese but the one I did not list in my answer was San Francisco State University.

Since it only offered a MA degree, it did not meet the requirements of the question which

asked for Ph.D. programs.

c) Question: I am currently in college majoring in foreign languages and am thinking about

continuing my education in a graduate program once I receive my BA degree. I would

like to focus on the Irish language. Are there any colleges in the United States that offer

either a Master’s or Doctorate level degree in the Irish language?

Answer: Yes. I checked Book 2 of the Peterson’s Guide to Graduate & Professional

Programs and on page 358 under the Celtic Languages header saw that Harvard

University offers a Ph.D. in Irish and another in the Welsh language. They list the

following requirements for the degree: thesis/dissertation, proficiency in 2 Celtic

languages, reading knowledge of French, German, and Latin. For further information,

you can view Harvard’s Department of Celtic Languages and Literatures website at

http://www.celtic.fas.harvard.edu/index.shtml.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 6 minutes

8. I am on four different prescriptions, and I put all of my pills in my pill box so that I know

which ones I am supposed to take each day and at each meal. This morning I was carrying

the pill box and I tripped on my cat, so all the pills scattered all over the kitchen floor. I

picked them all up before my cat ate them, but now I can’t remember which pill are which

ones. I can’t afford to throw them all away, and so I am wondering if there is a source that

shows what each pill looks like. Can you help me? (You need to list the title of a source that

shows images of a wide range of prescriptions medicines as well as how to use the source.)

a) If you open an internet browser and go to www.drugs.com and click on the tab “Pill

Identifier” and then click on “Get Started,” read the terms and click “I Agree” so that you

can use their Pill Identification Wizard. This wizard will allow you to search for your

medications by name; imprint, shape, & color; or by National Drug Code. In the wizard,

the first box allows you to search by imprint, shape, and color. The second box is the

name search and the third box is the National Drug Code search. Enter the information in

whichever type of search you choose and click “Search.” The results will show pictures

of the pill (both front and back side) and may give you a couple of different dosages to

choose from. There is also a “View Pill Details” option for further information.

b) The PDR was my first choice, but even though it has color pictures, without an index, I

thought using this source would not be intuitive for the casual user and the type of search

that was needed. Therefore, I thought I would look for a source that anyone could easily

use and that had better pictures. I opened an internet search browser to gather some ideas

and as I started to type in “pill identification” it revealed the phrase “pill identifier” and I

could see a hit for www.drugs.com. I decided to abandon my search term and investigate

this site. I immediately saw that it had a pill identification wizard and after agreeing to

their terms gained access the wizard. I searched for some common medications just to see

what the results would look like. My search for Lisinopril gave a result of two different

dosages with pictures of each pill. Then I searched for a medication I knew could be

purchased over the counter, Claritin. However, with this search, I misspelled the word as

Clariton and discovered that the wizard had a spell checker. With the correct spelling in

place, I found Claritin and when I clicked on the box to “View Pill Details” I was able to

see that this medication could be obtained either with a prescription, or over-the-counter.

With this, I was satisfied that this would be a good resource for this patron.

c) Question: My doctor just put me on a new medication called Methylprednisolone. Even

though he told me the name of the drug, I cannot remember how to pronounce it. Is there

a way I can learn how to say the name of this medication?

Answer: If you go to the website http://www.drugs.com and click on the box labeled

“Medical Transcription” then click the “Get Started” button it will take you to a Phonetic

and Wildcard Search page. Type in the name of your medication in the phonetic search

box and click the “Search” button. From the result list, click on the medication you are

taking, such as Methylprednisolone Tablets. In the next screen, click on

Methylprenisolone one more time and it will take you to a page with a box that contains a

speaker icon with the word “Pronunciation.” Make sure you have your sound turned on

and click on the speaker to hear the correct pronunciation of the medication.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 5 minutes.

9. For my history class, I need to find biographical information about a notable African

American person. I am sort of interested in applying to law school, so I was kind of thinking

that I should learn about important lawyers in history. Could you help me find the first three

African American women lawyers in this country? I’d like to read over information for all

three and then choose one that I find most interesting. (List the names of the three earliest

African American women lawyers and their birth/death years.)

a) Due to the inconsistency of records back in that era, it may be difficult to identify “the

first three” but we can definitely find some of the earliest African American women

lawyers in this country. Let’s go to the American National Biography database and type

in the word “lawyers” in the Full Text Search box, select “Female” for the gender, then in

the Search Special Collections section click on the boxes next to Black History. Click the

Search button. From the results you will find Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander (1898 -

1989); Mary Ann Camberton Shadd Cary (1823-1893); and Charlotte E. Ray (1850-

1911) all of whom were early lawyers noteworthy enough to have their biographies listed

in this database. Many claim that Charlotte E. Ray was the first. Another notable early

African American female lawyer is Lutie A. Lytle (abt 1875 - ?). She is mentioned

several times in the book Emancipation: The Making of the Black Lawyer 1844-1944 by

J. Clay Smith, Jr. Call Number KF299 .A35 S65 1993 located in the stacks.

b) I tried the African American Experience but was not able to find anything relevant. Since

I am not familiar with this database, I spent some time in it trying to see if I could find

anything, but did not have success. I then went to the American National Biography

database and in my first search I selected both Black History and Women’s History from

the special collections section, but since the results mixed both black and white female

lawyers, I decided to go back and redo the search and only select Black History. I

searched exactly as described in the answer above and the first three women I listed were

the only three born in the 1800s. I knew there was someone else I had read about in a

book that I wanted to include, but could not remember her name. A quick search of my

library’s OPAC typing in the phrase “Black Lawyer” brought up the book by J. Clay

Smith, Jr. where I found Lutie A. Lytle in Appendix I: The First Black Lawyers.

c) Question: Were there any male supporters of women’s rights before the 20th

Century?

Answer: A search of the American National Biography database using the words

“Women’s Rights” and clicking “male” for the gender gave one result. Thomas

M’Clintock (1792-1876) along with his wife Mary Ann Wilson M’Clintock were key

organizers of the first Woman’s Rights Convention.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 27 minutes.

10. I stumbled upon this fabulous novel called Cat in Gloves by someone named Denis Delaney.

I haven’t been able to find anything else that he has written, and I am dying to learn more

about this author. Can you find some information about him? I’d like to see a list of the

things he has written and find out about his personal life. (You don’t need to recap his life,

but you should find a source that provides all the information that the patron needs.)

a) Denis Delaney is a pseudonym used by the British author Peter M. Green. You can find

more information about him in our database called “Literature Resource Center” which

can be accessed from the alphabetical listing of databases on the King Library webpage.

Once in Literature Resource Center you may type “Cat in Gloves” in the Name of Work

box and type “Denis Delaney” in the Person-By or About box. You will receive a result

for Peter M. Green. Click on his name and a biographical page will open up. This page

will have the author’s personal information, career, awards, works, a sidelights section,

and a list of resources for further readings about the author.

b) Since this question mentioned both a title and an author, I thought either the Literature

Resource Center, or the Fiction Catalog/Fiction Core Collection would be good places to

check. I went to the Literature Resource Center first and typed “Cat in Gloves” in the

Name of Work box then typed “Denis Delaney” in the Person-By or About box, and enter

to begin the search. I only received one result for someone named Peter M. Green. I

opened this result and saw that it opened up a biography and one of the first things I saw

was that Denis Delaney is one of the pseudonyms used by Peter M. Green. I scrolled

further down the page and saw Cat in Gloves listed as one of the works by Peter M.

Green and it even noted that it was written under the pseudonym of Denis Delany. That

was enough to show me I had the correct person.

c) Question: My mother-in-law and I are having a debate over the book Moonraker’s Bride.

The cover of the book claims that author, whose name I cannot remember, is a

pseudonym for another famous author. My mother-in-law believes that it was written by

Victoria Holt. I am a huge Victoria Holt fan, and although she wrote under many

different pseudonyms, I don’t think she wrote Moonraker’s Bride. Can you help me find

all the pseudonym’s Victoria Holt used and who is the real author of Moonraker’s Bride?

Answer: Certainly. If we go to the Literature Resource Center database, we can probably

find the answer to both parts of your question. When I type in the search for Moonraker’s

Bride, it shows me that Madeline Brent, the author, was a pseudonym for Peter

O’Donnell who was probably best known for writing the Modesty Blaise series of novels.

Now let’s look for Victoria Holt. Okay, I’ve received two results for a biography for

Victoria Holt and for Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert. When I look at the biography for

Victoria Holt, one of the first things I can see is that this is actually a pseudonym for the

author Eleanor Alice Burford Hibbert. Let’s look at the biography for Eleanor Alice

Burford Hibbert. Okay, right at the top of the page is a list of names she used. Ms.

Hibbert is also known as: Victoria Holt, Phillipa Carr, Eleanor Alice Hibbert, Jean

Plaidy, Kathleen Kellow, Ellalice Tate, Eleanor Burford, and Elbur Ford. Further down

the page is a list of everything she wrote under her pseudonyms and the variations on her

real name.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 7 minutes

11. I am thinking of writing a children’s book about in baseball, and I believe that there was a

teenage girl who played for a minor league team in the early 1930’s who struck out Babe

Ruth and Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees. I’d like to find the original newspaper

articles about this young woman. Can you help me find out her name and some specifics of

this situation? I’d really like the actual newspaper articles and dates of publication about this

particular game. (You need to list her name, a headline, and a date of publication.)

a) The Proquest Historical Newspapers: New York Times database has the following article

“Girl Pitcher Fans Ruth and Gehrig: Hurls Only Six Balls to Strike Out the Yankee Aces

in Chattanooga Game” which was published on April 3, 1931. Jackie Mitchell was the 17

year old female pitcher. The article will give you the specifics of her role in the game.

b) The Historical Newspapers Archive appeared to be the best place to begin this search.

Since the question deals with the New York Yankees, I looked for the New York Times

to begin my search, but did not see them there. The closest choice was the New York –

Mercury, but it did not cover the time period I needed. I went back to the alphabetical

listings, went to the “N” section and found the New York Times listed there. Once in the

NY Times, I clicked on the advanced search link and entered the following: Teenage

Girl, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig using the Boolean “and” for my search and hit enter. That

gave me four hits, but none of them were what I was looking for. I removed the phrase

“teenage girl” and replaced it with “female pitcher” to see what would happen. I received

nine results, but again, nothing I could use to answer this patron’s question. I then

removed “female pitcher” from the search and replaced it with “girl” and hit enter. I

received 20 hits, so I sorted the results to list them by oldest to most recent and number 9

on the list looked promising, so I opened it and found the article “Girl Pitcher Fans Ruth

and Gehrig: Hurls Only Six Balls to Strike Out the Yankee Aces in Chattanooga Game.”

I skimmed the article and saw that Jackie Mitchell was 17 years old and knew that this is

the article the patron was looking for.

c) Question: My ancestor Mary McGrath married a man named McDougall in New York

sometime between before 1860. Is there any way I can find out the date of their wedding

and what her husband’s name was? I’m working on my family tree and no one in the

family can remember what our ancestor’s name was.

Answer: We can try looking for a marriage announcement in the Proquest Historical

Newspapers: New York Times. I will do an advanced search and type in “Mary

McGrath” with the quotes in one line, and type in McDougall in the second line, and

click the box next to Marriage in the Document Type line I get a result for a Miss Mary

McGrath who married Mr. Wm H. McDougall on Thursday, September 18, 1856. They

were married by Rev. George McCloskey at the Church of the Nativity. In order to verify

whether or not this is the correct couple, you might want to check the 1860 and 1870

census records to see if you can find their household with children. You can also check to

see if there are any records from the Church of the Nativity showing their marriage and

the baptisms of their children.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 13 minutes

12. I heard Terry Gross interview the historian Garry Wills on NPR’s Fresh Air recently. They

talked about his book Bomb Power: The Modern Presidency and the National Security State,

and it got me really interested in the history of the atomic bomb. I’d like to read the first

public statement of any sort delivered by a US president that includes any mention of the

atomic bomb. Can you help me find the president, the date, and the actual text of the

statement? (You need to list the president’s name and the date as well as a source that will

give the full text of the statement.)

a) Yes, if you go to The American Presidency Project at http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu

and scroll down to the Document Archive you can search for presidential mention of the

atomic bomb. In Option 1: Search type “atomic bomb” in the box and select January 1,

1945 through December 31, 1945 and you will find that on August 6, 1945 President

Harry S. Truman issued a statement announcing the use of the A-Bomb at Hiroshima.

b) Even though I have never used this resource, I feel like the American President Project

would be a good place to start this search. I scrolled down to the Document Archive and

typed “Atomic Bomb” and selected the years of January 1, 1918 through December 31,

1945 for the initial search. I received 15 results with the earliest mention being on August

6, 1945. All of the results were from the year 1945, and the August 6th

mention was

made sixteen hours after the deployment of the atomic bomb over Hiroshima. I went back

and double checked that I had not accidentally only searched for the year 1945, and this

time elected to include documents from the Office of the Press Secretary and to include

election campaign documents, but received the same results. So it appears that an

American President did not mention the atomic bomb until after it was used.

c) Question: I have often heard of the Fireside Chats given by Franklin D. Roosevelt. Is

there a place where I can find out more about what he discussed in these radio

transmissions?

Answer: Certainly. If you go to The American Presidency Project at

http://www.presidency.ucsb.edu and scroll down to the Document Archive you can

search for the Fireside Chats by using Option 3: Browse. In the first box, use the drop

down arrow to select Oral: Address – Fireside Chats. In the second box, use the drop

down arrow to select Franklin D. Roosevelt, then click on the Submit button. You will

receive twenty seven results for chats airing from March 12, 1933 through June 12, 1944.

You can click on any of these to access a transcript of the chat.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 4 minutes.

13. I am studying poverty in my sociology class, and I am trying to find out what the “poverty

line” was in 1960 and then again in 1990 for a family of four. What should I do to find this

information? (You need to include the actual figures for both 1960 and 1990.)

a) If you open the Historical Statistics of the United States database and enter the phrase

“Poverty Line” in the Search HSUS box. Scroll down through the results until you find

the table entitled “Weighted Average Official Poverty Thresholds and Selected

Alternative Poverty Lines, by Family Size: 1947-1999.” Click to open the table, and to

find the figures for a family of four, click “next” to get to the next page. On this page you

will find the poverty line for a family of four in 1960 is $3,022 and 1960 is $13,359.

b) I began my search by looking in the 2012 Statistical Abstract and easily found the figure

needed for the year 1990 on Table 710: Poverty Thresholds by size of family unit.

However, a search of earlier editions did not reveal the same type of information for

1960. I next went to the Historical Statistics of the United States database and borrowed

the phrase “poverty line” from the question to use as my search term. The search returned

18 results and after a few essays I saw some tables listed in the results. I opened the first

table “Table Be95-112 – Weighted Average Official Poverty Thresholds and Selected

Alternative Poverty Lines, by Family Size: 1947-1999. The first page did not show

results for a family of four, so I clicked “next” and found the answer for every year from

1959-1999. The number given for the year 1990 exactly matched the number I had found

in the 2012 Statistical Abstract.

c) Question: I would like to evaluate government spending and revenue during the 1900s. Is

there anywhere I can find this type of information?

Answer: Definitely. If you go to the Historical Statistics of the United States database and

type in “government revenue” in the Search HSUS box you will find two helpful tables.

First is the “Total government revenue by source, 1902-1995” table. Second is the “Total

government expenditure, by character and object, 1902-1995” table.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 12 minutes.

14. I have a friend who emailed me and told me she is moving to Belgium, and she wants me to

visit. I am so excited to go visit her in Europe! I love Belgian waffles and chocolate! I

already have my passport, some comfortable white athletic shoes for walking, a big fanny

pack, and lots of batteries and 35mm film for my camera. But I’m confused, because she told

me I should fly into Milwaukee and then take a bus to Belgium. What is she talking about?

Where is she moving? (You need to state where Belgium actually is.)

a) She is moving to Belgium, Wisconsin which is located along Highway 43, near Lake

Michigan. If you go to our atlases and pull the Atlas of the United States Call Number

G1200 .G47 2006 and go to page 103 you will find Belgium, WI in section E6 of that

page.

b) Based on the question, I figured there must be a town in the United States named

Belgium, so I went to the Atlas of the United States and looked through the index. It was

quite easy to find Belgium, Wisconsin in the index and on page 103.

c) Question: Hi, I’m a big time Anglophile and am putting together a Trivial Pursuit type

game for a party I’m having with a bunch of my friends who also love all things British.

One of the questions I was thinking of asking was “How many cities in the U.S are

named London?” Can you help me find the answer to that?

Answer: Certainly. Many areas in the U.S. are named after places in England. If you use

the index in the Atlas of the United States Call Number G1200 .G47 2006 you can look

up London and see that there are three cities named London. One in Arkansas, one in

Kentucky, and one in Ohio.

d) Time spent looking for the answer – 10 minutes.

15. Select an interesting source that you discovered while you worked on your questions (print or

online – doesn’t matter). The go to the discoveries page for practice questions #1 in our

GoogleDocs site, and list the bibliographic information (include author, title, year published,

and publisher – form doesn’t matter), write a VERY brief annotation (no more than a

sentence or two – this is considerably shorter than your previous annotation), and your

question with the answer. If someone else has already included your source, just list your

question under theirs. Please be sure to include your name. (5 points)

a) PDR for herbal medicines. (3rd

ed.). (2004). Montvale, NJ: Thomson PDR

b) This source provides an index of herbal plants used for medications. It also included a

Therapeutic Category Index, an Indications Index, Homeopathic Indications Index, Asian

Indications Index, Side Effects Index, Drug/Herb Interactions Guide, Safety Guide,

Manufacturers Index, Herb Identification Guide, Herbal Monographs, and Nutritional

Supplement Monographs. It looks to be a great resource for someone searching for herbal

alternatives to traditional medications and has color pictures of the plants.

c) Question: Who is the manufacturer of the natural product called Estroven?

Answer: i-Health, Inc. is the manufacturer of Estroven. They may be reached at:

i-Health / Estroven; Attn: Consumer Resources; 55 Sebethe Drive, Suite 102; Cromwell,

CT 06416

Ulrich’s International Directory of Periodicals (either in print or online through King Library)

Primary annotator: Kimberly Wirth

Ulrichsweb. (2011). Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest

Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory, formerly known as Ulrich’s International Periodicals

Directory, is available in multiple formats including, print, online, and CD-Rom. For the

purpose of this annotation the online version, known as Ulrichsweb, will be reviewed.

The database for the Ulrich’s directory is essentially a bibliography of more than 300,000

periodicals covering more than 900 different subject areas and is updated weekly. The serials

contained in this database include magazines, newsletters, e-journals, academic and scholarly

publications, newspapers, and more. The record for each item contains the following

information: links to tables of contents, abstracts, full-text online availability, interlibrary

loan availability, publication information, languages, subject areas, abstracting and indexing

availability, and reviews written by librarians. The King Library has the ability to link titles

in this database to its own catalog and online serial subscriptions.

The initial search begins by entering a Title, ISSN, or Search Term. Once the list of results

populates, the user has the option to narrow the search by utilizing a list on the left side of the

screen. From this list, it is easy to narrow the results in many different areas including

refereed/peer reviewed, full-text online, abstracted/indexed, copyright permission available

through Copyright Clearance Center, website, table of contents, journals citations reports;

RSS feed; electronic only, open access, by format, by publisher. The result list itself contains

pertinent information to ease the process of deciding which record to view. From left to right,

it will provide the following information for each serial: if it has a Table of Contents, if it is

Refereed, if it is available in Electronic format, if it is an Open Access item, the Title, the

Publisher, the ISSN, the Country of publication, Status [active or ceased publication are the

most common], Serial Type, and the Format. The numerous uses for this database include,

but are not limited to, evaluating which database would be the best to use when trying to pull

up a specific article, evaluating overlaps of which databases provide access to the same

journals for identical years, determining the availability of open access serials on any

particular subject, ensuring that a student is using a refereed/peer reviewed publication, and

finding subscription information or contact information for writing to the editor. Once a

journal is selected, the user may open the record to view everything in detail. With each

record, the default setting has the Basic Information section opened and an arrow prompt to

expand sections on the following information: Subject Classifications, Additional Title

Details, Title History Details, Publisher & Ordering Details, Price Data, Online Availability,

Abstracting & Indexing, Other Availability, and Demographics. The user may manipulate the

record with icons located at the top of the record. With these icons it is possible to expand all

the sections, or contract all. There are options to print, download, email, or save to list

A search of the directory revealed that the print format is arranged by subject classification.

Since this is an online version, it is not possible to view the organization prior to conducting

a search. The results may include alphabetic and thematic elements. However, depending on

the number of limiters used, the results will be presented in order of relevance so that the

items that most closely match the search criteria will be first on the list.

Question: I need to read an article from the March 1983 issue of The Journal of American

History. Is it available online?

Answer: “Let’s check the Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory to see if there is a full-text copy

available.” When I type in the title of the journal I am presented with a list of over 123,000

results. However, since I know the name of the journal, I can see that the second item listed

is the online version of the Journal of American History. If it were not this easy to spot, I

would have narrowed the search down to help eliminate some of the results that do not meet

my criteria. When I open the record I scroll down to the section labeled “Online Availability”

and expand the contents. From there I can see that Full Text Sources for this journal appear

in many different databases but not all of them go back as far as 1983. I see that both JSTOR

and EBSCOhost have items that cover the year this patron needs. I would then inform the

patron, “Yes, you can find full text copies of the articles in the March 1983 issue by

searching in JSTOR or Humanities International Complete. Are you familiar with searching

these databases?”

Physicians’ Desk Reference (PDR)

Primary annotator: Michael Szwed

Physicians' desk reference. (66th ed.). (2012). Montvale, NJ: PDR Network, LLC.

Secondary annotator: Kimberly Wirth

The print copy of the PDR is kept up to date with supplemental sheets and the publisher is also

known as Thomson PDR. The PDR contains medications and supplements for which a

prescription is necessary. For each of these items, the PDR provides information on what the

medication is made of, dosing information, side effects, drug interactions, conditions when the

medication should not be used, and contact information for the pharmaceutical company that

makes each medication.

Question: I have not been sleeping well lately and am thinking about asking my doctor for a

prescription for Ambien. However, I am on a tight budget. Can you tell me if there are any

generic brands available?

Answer: In Section 2 of the PDR on page 127 I found Ambien CR and its generic form called

Zolpidem Tartrate.