Wrap up

There are so many discoveries that I made. It was especially good for me to use the Archive Grid and CAMIO, since I had not used them at all yet. It definitely teaches you that the more you "play around" the more you will learn, and the better service we can provide to our patrons. When you read the intoduction to each database, and it points out how many hundreds of thousands of resources are available, I think we could spend a lot of time each day, and never see all there is to see. I'm so glad I took advantage of this. We always say we are going to spend time researching, but until there is a deadline to do it by, we just don't take the time. There are some I was frustrated with, seeing "no results" several times. I need to continue to work on my skills.

I hope to encourage our patrons to explore the databases by featuring one every month, as they are doing in Cornerstone. I think that's a good way to do it without overwhelming people. We can post flyers and handouts around the Library, and I can talk about each one in a little more detail each month in my newspaper article to peak their interest. I hope to host an Ancestry Library night in the future. I can see that as being one that many people are interested in.

Thanks again for offering the course in the format that it was presented. Even over a couple months, it takes a lot of time. But by spending more time, it was more valuable than just a 1/2 day or even a full day. Those will continue to push me, now that I made it this far.