Lesson 4

I have used Proquest in the past (mostly doing advanced searches) to find information for library patrons.  Today I did a basic search for the terms "healthy dieting" and had 4601 hits.  I sorted them according to date, and found there were articles posted that were from as recent as yesterday.  The search yielded results on a very wide variety of information about the subject--everything from the cardiovascular risks of consuming high fructose syrup to how Kate and Pippa Middleton stay slim and trim to how to look "7 years younger"--and those were just from the first couple of pages in my list of hits.  Obviously, I could narrow the search by narrowing my search terms.  I also could narrow the results list by choosing to view articles from particular types of publications (scholarly journals, magazines, etc.) or by time frame or by looking only at a particular publication's articles, etc.  I think the "Preview" feature is very beneficial if you just want a quick glance of what an article is about.

I commented on Librarian 2's post about bonds.

Under the Publications tab, I typed in the term "Library" to come up with all the journals that have "Library" in the title.  It showed 20 titles.  I scrolled through the list and read an interesting article in the Jan. 2012 issue of "School Library Journal."  It's great having these articles in full-text since our library has canceled several periodical subscriptions over the recent years because of rising costs.  I also took a quick look through some of the other publications listed (even though they are not in my "profession").  I was impressed by the number and variety of publications with full-text articles available.  I just wish there were more pictures!