Guten tag. Hola. Bonjour. Yo.

For the Week 6 topic, databases, I first chose EBSCOHost, and searched for great white sharks and clicked on the full text box. I got a number of results in well known publications such as National Geographic and Smithsonian. I like EBSCO for general searching, before one has narrowed down a topic. Also, I like that Northland users can access it remotely.

I also played with Ancestry. I looked up my paternal grandfather and found the 1920 census results. He was about 16 at the time and had 7 siblings: Lena, Katie, Elizabeth, Ernest, Alma, Elwood and Clara (who was written as "Claud" by the Ancestry summary, though you can tell it's Clara in the original document). His parents, Ernest and Sofia (alternately written as Sofa and Sophie) were born in Germany, so Grandpa Harry was in the first generation born here. By the 1930 Census, he'd moved out of the house, and his dad, my great-grandfather, must have died, because he wasn't listed there. We have a lot of patrons using Ancestry here, so getting to know its nooks and crannies always is important.

Finally, I checked out the newest database, Mango. It is so fun and cool. The interface is very easy for users, and it's great having someone pronounce the words as you see them (I'm quite visual in my learning, so I can't just hear the words when I acquire a new language). I chose Japanese because I wanted something different from the usual French/Spanish/German choices. The only criticism I have is that I would've liked to see the words in Roman script as well as the traditional Japanese. I know that in Japan you're going to see the kanji, but as a Westerner, I need the extra help. However, I overall enjoy Mango and hope it overtakes Rosetta Stone as the go-to for immersion lessons, especially since Rosetta refuses to give library discounts.