This has been an interesting, educational and often fun set of challenges. I'm a big proponent of online databases, and I think they're one of the most underused resources in many libraries. Seeing the effort put out by so many librarians to learn and explore these tools has been wonderful, and I know my voice will be one of many promoting these wonderful tools in the future.
While teaching students to use databases was a big part of my earliest years of a librarian, I have found that I've learned a lot by undergoing these challenges, and it will definitely have an impact on my work. One of the things I've learned will help out 'behind the desk' through the Crafts and Hobbies section we studied early on. As a Children's Librarian I'm often looking for craft projects to make the children's area more exciting and interesting as well as for craft and art projects that I can do with the children.
Another of the sections that really impressed me was the Learning Express section. There were a number of wonderful guides and practice tests there, a lot that the older students to visit my library could benefit from. I'll definitely be promoting these tools. I just wish I had known in advance of the most recent round of the SAT's!
While many of the other weeks don't find an -immediate- use for me as a children's librarian, as I'm sure is true with all my colleagues, I often end up wearing a stack of different hats at the library and I'm quite sure that the business, medical, genealogical and other databases will be useful resources, and my practice with them over the recent months will hopefully let me provide the proper answers and resources when I might otherwise have been stumped.
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