Your fellow space travelers will often look to you to assist them when they are in pursuit of information. The challenge for a good commander is to provide courteous, accurate, and complete information as quickly as possible. This mission is intended to let you wander through some useful websites to explore sources that can make you look as if you have all the answers!
The Harris County Public Library home page has a very useful starting point for your search for information. The "WEBSITES" tab includes links for handling many of the questions that are commonly asked about local issues. It can be used at your service desk to search for answers. Because it is on the library's public site, it also is a handy place to direct customers when they call or e-mail with questions.
Begin your quest by clicking on the "WEBSITES" tab. The page that comes up has blog posts on the right side that highlight websites of current interest. The most useful tool on the page is the "FIND" box on the left. Put your space vehicle into Cruise mode, and spend some time exploring the richness hidden within this small unassuming box. You will find it useful in accomplisging this mission.
Sometimes the FIND box won't have what you seek, and you will have to move deeper into space in order to locate what you need. The problem is, you are going to encounter a lot of space junk as you wander among websites. How can you sort out the good stuff?
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You can use a list of basic criteria to do your own evaluation of a website, to decide whether it shows accuracy, authority, objectivity, currency, and coverage. Another way is to start out with an authoritative collection of links, like the university-sponsored Internet Public Library. Some experienced librarians share their personal collections of useful links with others. Click here to see an example from one of HCPL's own specialists.
Another way is to find links through an online Encylcopedia like Wikipedia. Wikipedia is a project to build free encyclopedias in all languages of the world. Virtually anyone with Internet access is free to contribute, by contributing neutral, cited information.
...3,2,1 On to the Quest!
1) Some space travelers, especially the Klingons, will expect you to give them all the answers, but there are some legitimate limits on the provision of reference service. Review the "Fleet Commander's Guidebook" (a.k.a. the Harris County Public Library Reference Policy on Harriet) and list at least three circumstances in which the assistance you can provide is restricted.
2) Former Rockets player Hakeem Olajuwon owns about 40,000 sq. ft. of vacant commercial property along the East Freeway. What was the market value of this property as of Jan. 1, 2011? Provide the answer to the question, and copy/paste the link where you found it. [Hint: Check the "Homes and Housing" section of the FIND box.]
3) Today the Romulans are electing a new ruler, and those residing on earth are allowed to vote absentee at regular election day polling places. Your friend Ruanek wants to know where to go to vote. At what website can you enter his information and find out his polling place?
4) Occasionally as you move from one space vehicle to another, you will feel like you have gone through a time warp. Everything is shifting! Using the Neighborhood links, identify some of the specifics for each location. a.) What is one of the newspapers covering the Crosby area? b.) What school district serves the Evelyn Meador branch in Seabrook? c.) What's the name of the competitive swimming club in the Fairbanks area?
[In your travels through the neighborhoods, if you drop into a black hole and find a link that has disappeared or needs revision, make sure to notify ebranch@hcpl.net of the needed change.]
5) A very useful resource for your travels is this book by two authors, found in the HCPL catalog:Smithsonian Atlas of Space Exploration. You want to cite this resource in your latest funding proposal to the United Federation of Planets. Look up the details of the item in the catalog. Use the Citation Machine (found in the Ready Reference links) to create a citation for this book in proper MLA format, and copy it here.
6) Go to the Internet Public Library (http://www.ipl.org/) and follow these tracks: Resources by Subject; Science & Technology; Astronomy; Galactic. What website does this trail lead you to?
7) Wikipedia is a very useful resource when you need something that only an ardent "fan" would know. For example, many sources consider that "The City on the Edge of Forever" was the best episode of the original Star Trek series. What number was this episode, and when was it first broadcast?
If you have submitted all the correct answers to accomplish this mission, you will receive the Websites Space Vehicle to add to your command. This will let you dig through our cramped but coveted space locker for a chance at a great prize. Complete The Fleet by earning all ten vehicles, and you will also receive ten Intergalatic Training Credits.
