Classes Offered April 12-16, 2010
The State Library is offering a week of free classes to celebrate National Library Week
| Improve your information research skills and enhance your job performance by attending these one-hour classes during National Library Week at the State Library of Iowa. |
All classes are taught in Room 310 in the Ola Babcock Miller Building, corner of E. 12th and Grand.
Register online for the classes using our online catalog. (Scroll down for the class titles.) If you have any problems with registration call Fran Fessler at 515-281-5790.
Google Goodness: How to Get the Best Results From Your Web Searches
Location One Information System (LOIS)
Maximize Your Effectiveness: Using Webinar Software
Open Meetings Law: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
Public Health/Vital Statistics
Public Records Law: Keeping the Balance
Reliable Health Information – Where Can I Find It on the Internet?
Save Your Documents: Iowa Publications Online
Searching FirstSearch Databases
State Archives and Records Program
Survey of Popular Social Networking Websites
Using the Iowa Administrative Code Online
Using the Legislative Web Site
Westlaw: Using Advanced Features
Digital Sanborn Maps
Iowa fire insurance maps are useful in the historical research of the evolution of specific buildings, residences, districts and building materials, as well as the study of urban growth and decline in Iowa's cities. Find out the original purpose and characteristics of the maps, which maps exist today, how to navigate through them, the easiest way to make copies, and comparisons of Sanborn maps to other online mapping sources.
Class time: Fri-April 16, 8:30 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Get the Most from EBSCOHost
A variety of EBSCOHost databases are available free of charge for State Library card holders from any Internet connection. Databases range from broad coverage of popular newspapers and journals to in-depth collections of medical and educational publications with many available in full-text. Learn the basics of the EBSCOHost search interface. Topics include a review of available databases, a tour of the search interface and tips on how to build a good search. |
Class times: Mon-April12, 1:00 p.m.; Tue-April 13, 8:30 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Google Goodness: How to Get the Best Results From Your Web Searches
Are you tired of trying a simple Google search only to end up with 1.6 million responses that don’t help? Then this class is for you. In this class, students will:
• Learn search strategies and techniques to improve Internet searching skills
• Explore various aspects of the Google search engine including advanced features for narrowing searches and improving results
• Learn how to evaluate search results
Class times: Mon-April 12, 8:30 a.m.; Fri-April 16, 10:00 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Iowa Population Trends
| Join us for an overview of Iowa population trends including the historical perspective, factors in population change, and projections for the future. Link: www.iowadatacenter.org |
Class time: Tue-April 13, 11:30 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Location One Information System (LOIS)
| This session will help you use the Web site of the Iowa Department of Economic Development to find demographic, transportation, environment, labor force, average wage, taxation, and building size and type information by locality, county, metro, building, or site as well as other resources on the site. |
Class time: Tue-April 13, 1:00 p.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Maximize Your Effectiveness: Using Webinar Software
| Webinars provide new opportunities for conducting meetings, conferences, and training at a distance. Join a discussion about the best uses for webinar software and some features to look for when shopping around for products. |
Class time: Fri-April 16, 11:30 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Open Meetings Law: Know Your Rights and Responsibilities
Assistant Ombudsman Angela McBride of the Office of Citizens' Aide/Ombudsman specializes in complaints and information requests regarding open meetings. This session is intended for every government official who serves as a member of a board, commission, or task force, and for staff members who are often relied upon to know the law. Angela will walk you through your responsibilities to comply with the law. You will also learn about electronic meetings and closed sessions, as well as how to take minutes and post agendas.
Class time: Mon-April 12, 11:30 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Public Health/Vital Statistics
| Learn about Iowa vital statistics—births, deaths, marriages, dissolutions—and how they are registered, collected, published, and how they may be access for research purposes. |
Class time: Thu-April 15, 8:30 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructors * Class length is one hour
Public Records Law: Keeping the Balance
| Assistant Ombudsman Angela McBride of the Office of Citizens' Aide/Ombudsman specializes in public records. This is a practical session dealing with hard-to-answer questions about providing access to public records, confidential records, and retention and destruction of records. Learn how to make smart and reasonable decisions regarding this topic -- and where to find answers yourself. This subject is for every front-line staffer who fields record requests and supervisory staff members who are called upon to answer questions about their agency's decisions. |
Class time: Wed, April 14, 1:00 p.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Redistricting in Iowa
After the 2010 Census is over attention will turn to redistricting, a process to draw congressional and legislative district boundaries based on the new population counts. Learn about why we have a redistricting process, historical perspective, population and non-population criteria in redistricting standards, and the Iowa redistricting process.
Class time: Tue-April 13, 10:00 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Reliable Health Information – Where Can I Find It on the Internet?
Do you need to find reliable health information for yourself, family or friends? Find out about reliable health information sources that are available through the State Library of Iowa as well as those that you can use free of charge over the Internet. We will explore MedlinePlus, a free full text database available through the National Library of Medicine, HealthInfoIowa, a free health database geared toward Iowans, and medical resources available through EbscoHost, an online database available through the State Library of Iowa. Please join us as we explore resources that are available to you.
Class time: Wed-April 14, 11:30 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Save Your Documents: Iowa Publications Online
State employees who create electronic publications for their departments should permanently archive them in Iowa Publications Online (IPO). IPO is for documents meant for distribution to the general public. In this class you will learn about IPO, what documents and what formats are accepted, and why you want to store your documents there. You will also learn how to search for documents; how to load electronic documents into the archive; how to enter metadata; and how to select the best descriptions for your documents so that they can be easily found.
Class time: Tue-April 13, 2:30 p.m. * THIS CLASS IS LOCATED IN ROOM 372 OF THE MILLER BUILDING *
Register now * Find out about the instructors * Class length is one hour
Searching FirstSearch Databases
Why not just use the Internet to find information? Most scholarly research needed for on-the-job decision making is published in journal articles and reports which are not available for free on the Internet. FirstSearch gives you access to a variety of databases which contain citations to materials in all areas of professional interest ranging from education and medicine to U.S. and world statistics and government documents. Many of the databases contain full text articles, reports, and pamphlets. Learn how to navigate the databases and search for the information you need by using the powerful search options available in FirstSearch. State Library card holders may use FirstSearch databases from any Internet connection by using their card number to log-on.
Class time: Tue; April 13, 2:30 p.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
State Archives and Records Program
This session is intended for records officers and authorized agency users of the Infolinx records management application. Records officers and authorized users are encouraged to ask any questions they may have regarding the program and procedures.
Class time: Mon-April 12, 10:00 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Survey of Popular Social Networking Websites
| Everyone has heard of Facebook and Twitter. These are popular websites with millions and millions of users but these are not the only social networks that are out there. For example have you heard of Orkut and Bebo? What is a MMORP? What type of social Networking do elementary school children use? Do you want to know more about the most popular online social networking Web sites? This class will offer a brief survey of social networking and what it means for you and society at large. Topics covered include choosing the right social network to join to use social networking to increase your online presence and for your business, creating content in social networks, pros and cons of various social networking Web sites, important parental guidelines for your children and social networking Web sites. |
Class times: Wed-April 14, 8:30 a.m.; Fri-April 16, 1:00 p.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
Using the Iowa Administrative Code Online
| Legislative Services Agency staff will show you how to search the Iowa Administrative Code (IAC) online using the powerful advanced search feature. You’ll discover how to find what you are looking for in the IAC using Agency numbers, Chapter numbers, Section numbers, and keyword word searching. Staff will demonstrate a variety of search tools that can be used to access new and archived code sections, including the newly added IAC Index, which allows you to view PDF and RTF versions of the IAC. |
Class time: Mon-April 12, 2:30 p.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is 90 minutes
Using the Legislative Web Site
Legislative Service Agency staff will give an overview of the legislative Web site, highlighting new tools and popular tools to access bills, amendments, bill history, the Iowa Code, committee information, Senate and House journals, Senate and House floor action calendars, staff and lobbyist information, how to search for a subject and more.
Class times: Wed-April 14, 2:30 p.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is two hours
Westlaw: Using Advanced Features
and much more.
Class time: Wed, April 14, 10:00 a.m.
Register now * Find out about the instructor * Class length is one hour
