Ready Reference:Wham, Bam, Thank You

Librarian

Ben Conrad, Melissa Kalland, Renee Kozeal

ETT 508 Spring 2009

Ready Reference

Ready reference materials are resources in print or online that a researcher can use to find basic information, quickly.

Dictionary ThesaurusAtlas HandbookEncyclopedia Web siteAlmanac Other*

Questions for Ready Reference

– Did anyone die in the Hindenburg crash?

– What is the population of China?

– How much did a loaf of bread cost during the Great Depression?

Ready Reference: Elementary SchoolAlmanacs

State Handbook & Guide, SHG, LLC, 2009Free

•A guide to state information•Links to official sites•May be problematic for young researchers•http://www.shgresources.com/resources/almanac/

The Old Farmers Almanac for KidsYankee Publishing Inc., 2007, $9.95

•All kinds of fun facts for kids•Geared toward young grades•http://www.almanac4kids.com/index.php

Ready Reference: Elementary SchoolAlmanacs

World Almanac for Kids 2009, 2008, $9.95•Great information for kids•Child friendly content •http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com/

Fact Monster, Pearson Education, 2009, Free

•Great searchable source for kids•http://www.factmonster.com/•Child oriented content and images

Ready Reference: Elementary SchoolAtlas

World Book, World Book, Inc., 2009, Subscription•Links to more sites•Content is children oriented•http://www.worldbook.com/wb/media?id=mp000258

DK First Atlas, DK Publishing, 2004,$15.99•Easy reading•Attention getting content and display•http://us.dk.com/nf/Book/BookDisplay/0,,9780756602314,00.html

Ready Reference: Elementary SchoolAtlas

National Geographic World Atlas for Young Explorers, 3rd Edition, National Geographic Society, 2007, $19.95•Easy find information•Designed for children’s interests•http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids-world-atlas/#

Ready Reference: Elementary SchoolDictionaries

Scholastic Children's Dictionary, Scholastic, two years,$7 for the old 2002, $14.95 for new 2008?•Simple definitions•Worlds students would use•Both can still be purchased

The DK Children’s Illustrated Dictionary, DK Publishing, 1994, $19.95 •Great visual representation•Dependable information•Student liked

Ready Reference: Elementary SchoolDictionaries

Merriam-Webster Children’s Dictionary, DK Publishing, 2008, $21.99•Words children would use•Illustrations to assist in understanding•Understandable definitions

Webster’s New World Children’s Dictionary, Webster’s New World , 2006, $17.95•Definitions that are understandable•Illustrated for understanding•Entomology included

Ready Reference: Elementary SchoolDictionaries

Scholastic Children’s Thesaurus, Scholastic, 1998, $15.95•Illustrated examples•Kid friendly language

Simon & Schuster Thesaurus for Children: The Ultimate Student Thesaurus, Simon & Schuster,2001, $17.99•Visuals to help students•Large volume of words•Language students will understand

Ready Reference: Elementary SchoolEncyclopedias

World Book Encyclopedia, 2009 ed. 22 vols. $1009.00

•Readable and authoritative•Suitable for 3rd and up•Available online and on CD-ROM

Available online

Ready Reference: Elementary SchoolEncyclopedias

The Scholastic Children's Encyclopedia: An Exciting Reference Tool, Scholastic, 2004, $19.95•Multiple entries and maps•Child friendly language•Easy listings

Encyclopedia dot com, HighBeam Research, Inc., 2009, Free•An Encyclopedia for all ages•Language that students can understand•Search field for access•http://www.encyclopedia.com/

Ready Reference: Middle SchoolAlmanacs

The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2009

•Published by World Almanac

•Paperback $10.18 (Amazon.com)

•Election 2008 coverage and Beijing Olympics recap

•Downloadable trivia quiz kit

Time: Almanac 2009

•Published by Time

•Hardcover $23.07 (Amazon.com)

•Includes a Year in Review

Ready Reference: Middle SchoolAtlases

National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World

•Published by National Geographic in 2008

•Hardcover $63.00 (Amazon.com)

•Emphasizes UNESCO World Heritage Sites

•Great section on space

Oxford Atlas of the World

•Published by Oxford University Press

•Hardcover $50.40 (Amazon.com)

•Comes with a free wall map

•15th edition, published in 2008

Ready Reference: Middle SchoolDictionaries

The American Heritage Student Dictionary

•Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

•Hardcover $12.97 (Amazon.com)

•For grades 6-9

•More than 2000 full-color photographs and illustrations

Merriam-Webster’s Intermediate Dictionary

•Published by Merriam-Webster, revised 2004

•Hardcover $14.07 (Amazon.com)

•Abundant word history paragraphs

•Designed especially for middle level students

Ready Reference: Middle SchoolThesauruses

Merriam-Webster’s Intermediate Thesaurus

•Published by Merriam-Webster, 1st edition, 2004

•Hardcover $12.50 (Amazon.com)

•Created for middle level students

•Contains synonyms, antonyms, related and contrasted words, and idiomatic phrases

The American Heritage Student Thesaurus

•Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, updated 2006

•Hardcover $11.67 (Amazon.com)

•Parts of Speech table

•For middle and high school students

Ready Reference: Middle SchoolEncyclopedias

One Million Things: A Visual Encyclopedia

•Published by DK Children, 2008

•Hardcover $16.49 (Amazon.com)

•Divided into eight sections

•Stunning photographs

Britannica Encyclopedia

•Published by Encyclopaedia Britannica, revised 2008

•Hardcover $1093.68 (Amazon.com)

•65,000 articles

•Unique 4-part organization, 32 volumes

Ready Reference: Middle SchoolElectronic Resources

The

Ready Reference: High SchoolAlmanacs

The World Almanac and Book of Facts, 2009 ed. Pocket Books. $12.99 pa.

•Most comprehensive and well-known almanac•Wilson’s Senior High Core Collection *selection

Old Farmers Almanac Online

•http://www.almanac.com

Ready Reference: High SchoolDictionaries

American Heritage College Dictionary, 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin, 2007. $26.95

•Includes CD-Rom (complete text of dictionary and thesaurus)•Wilson’s Senior High Core Collection *selection.

Random House Webster’s College Thesaurus, 2nd ed. Random House, 2005. $22.95

•Alphabetical listing of over 400,000 synonyms and antonyms•Examples—used in a sentence•Wilson’s Senior High Core Collection *selection

Ready Reference: High SchoolEncyclopedias

World Book Encyclopedia, 2009 ed. 22 vols. $1009.00

•Readable and authoritative•Suitable for 9th-12th grades•Available online and on CD-ROM

World Book Online•Entire contents of 22 vol. print set, and more•More than 20,000 pictures, maps,

videos and sounds•Contact sales rep for pricing•For 650 student building, $595.00/year • http://tryit.worldbookonline.com

Ready Reference: High SchoolHandbooks

MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, 6th ed. Modern Language Association, 2003. $22.00 pa.

•Guidelines and examples for handling research, outlining, formatting and documentation in MLA style.

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association,5th ed. APA, 2001. $27.95 pa.

•Guidelines and examples for handling research, formatting, and documentation in APA style.

Ready Reference: High SchoolHandbooks

Writers Inc, 2006 ed. By Dave Kemper, Patrick Sebranek, & Verne Meyer. Great Source Education Group, $23.50 pa.

•A writer’s handbook •Includes: various forms of writing, usage help, punctuation, citation guides•Has online components:•http://www.thewritesource.com/books/handbooks/writers_inc/

Ready Reference: High SchoolOther

Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, 17th ed. Little Brown & Co., 2002, $50.00

•Classic ready reference•Famous quotes listed chronologically by author.•Excellent author and keyword indexes•Wilson’s Senior High Core Collection *selection.

Bartleby.comhttp://www.bartleby.com/

•Full-text reference books•Also full-text fiction, nonfiction, verse•All free!

Ready Reference: High SchoolOther

The Value of a Dollar: 1860-2009, 4th ed. Grey House Publ., 2009. $155.00

•Excellent for historical research•Includes: income, prices, tables of price trends •Some prices included are: golf clubs, washing machine, baked beans, a suit•Some job incomes included are: actor, bookkeeper, manager, teacher, truck driver

Ready Reference: High SchoolWeb Sources

The Internet Public Library --www.ipl.org•Incredible collection of ready reference web sites•Easy to access by general subject•Compiled by students in information science field•http://www.ipl.org/div/subject/browse/ref00.00.00

Ready Reference: High SchoolWeb Sources

Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2008-2009 Edition, Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Dept. of Labor•http://www.bls.gov/oco/•Online version of standard OOH publication•Quick access to occupation information—education/training, salary, skills, nature of work

Ready Reference: High SchoolWeb Sources

American Fact Finder, U.S. Census Bureau•http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en•Census statistics•Population•Household/family size•Education •Demographics—race, gender

Ready Reference: High SchoolWeb Sources-Biography

Biography.com, A&E, Free

http://www.biography.com/

•Brief biographies of celebrities, politicians, historic figures, etc.

•Born on this day

•Photo gallery

Strengths and WeaknessesPrint Resources

+ Quick and easy to access+ Electronics not required

- Become outdated quickly – Biography, Statistics, Geography

- Intimidating

Strengths and Weakness Electronic Resources

+ Provides remote access+ Frequently updated/ current + Appealing to students

? Searchable through search engines

- Issues with technology requirements- Limited access due to electronics

sources• Baker & Taylor. (2008). School selection. Retrieved from

http://schoolselectionb.btol.com/titlesource_SS/Search_SS.asp• Barber, R. W., & Bartell, P. (Eds.).(2007). Senior high core collection: A selection

guide (17th ed.). New York: H. W. Wilson.

questions