Rediscovering the Treasure

Since its public launch in 2009, Trove has proved to be a dynamic Australian resource, not just for providing a national catalogue but also as a source for discovery. As library professionals, we use Trove to locate not only books and articles but also videos, newspaper articles and images as well. But there are even more ways to use Trove as a tool as a professional resource.Here are three suggestions

 

Cite this

 So you’re decided to finally submit a piece to Incite. You’ve written your 500-700 word article, asked a few colleagues read it, had a couple of good edits and you are just about ready to go. Problem is you have cited a local council report and you are not 100% on how format the citation you’ll need to include. Trove to the rescue! Trove includes the records to many local and national reports and also has a handy little ‘cite this’ feature’. Just locate the work you want to cite and click the ‘cite this’ button, a pop up window will provide the formatting in APA, MLA and Harvard styles. 

Where, oh where? 

 From time to time books need to be purchased sight unseen. This can be due to the item being suggested for purchase or possibly the vendor has sent through a list of specials. Most of the time it is easy to tell where items can fit into a collection (children’s adults, reference, etc) but occasionally a title can be deceiving. Why not ask your librarian colleagues? Search for the questionable title in Trove to see where others have placed it in their collections. While each library needs to fit its collection to the client’s needs, a little input from other professionals never hurt. 

 

Inspiration 

 We all contribute (or should be contributing) to the professional conversation by participating in blogs, newsletters and journals. Most of the time the inspiration comes from a recent activity or pet project but once in a while we need something more. Trove can be a space to play, to help find that direction or spin on a subject. Browse the diaries or maps to see what has happened in the past. Find an old newspaper article about your subject like this article about Children's Book Week from 1945 (note the photo of Princess Elizabeth). Looking around for 'future libraries' in the videos has revealed this gem of a video created by Mosman Library. 

But these are just a starting point. There are so many possibilities. How have you used Trove in your professional life?  

-Amy Barker