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 * Core Reference Collection: High School Media Center**

LIS 60630: Reference Sources and Services for Youth

October 2009, Dr. Harper

Central Intelligence Agency. //The CIA World Factbook 2010//. (Paperback) Skyhorse Publishing, October 2009. 904 pages.
 * Almanacs **

This is a standard and credible resource for information about countries. It contains maps and data that high school students will need in a variety of classroom situations, especially in the social sciences.

Janssen, Sarah, ed. //The World Almanac and Book of Facts 2010.// 8th ed. (Paperback) World Almanac, November 2009. 1008 pages. = = This is a standard and credible source for facts and stats in many fields, including geography, history, sports, and pop culture. It is an indispensable ready reference source that is less formal than the CIA book. It will appeal to a different audience.

//National Geographic Visual Atlas of the World.// Illustrated edition. (Hardcover) National Geographic, November 2008. 416 pages.
 * Atlas **

Every library needs a hands-on atlas with physical, political and thematic maps. This book is gorgeous eye-candy, so it may entice teens to spend some time with it. It is not your everyday book of maps. This version is also more current than the other atlases I liked.


 * Biography:** There is one biography database with Infohio.

Gale. //Biography// //Resource Center//. Cengage Learning.

As assignments on people are a big part of the high school curriculum, it is important to have current and in-depth biography sources. While Infohio has a biography database, it may not be as detailed as others (this is from personal experience). Therefore, I have included a note-worthy resource. This database contains more than 450,000 biographies about approximately 380,000 people. As an online resource, it will be much updated frequently; this is a necessity for a biography. I can’t justify buying expensive print biographies in the electronic age as biographies will become outdated as soon as someone passes away.

//Concise Oxford English Dictionary.// (Hardcover) 11th Edition. Oxford University Press, August 2008. 1728 pages.
 * Dictionary, English **

A tried-and-true source for definitions, spelling, etymology, usage notes, and a quick-reference word lists. It is up-to-date with technological words that students need. (//Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate// was last updated in 2003, so it does not fit the 5 year criteria for this assignment.)

Students need immediate access to foreign language resources when doing homework in the library and simply for ready reference. There is a dramatic rise in native Spanish speakers in the United States, so a Spanish-English dictionary just makes sense. Random House is a reputable company for dictionaries, so I chose their brand for Spanish and French dictionaries; they did not have an updated Latin version, so I chose Oxford for Latin. French and Spanish will need to be updated yearly, so paperback is ok. I chose hardcover for the Latin dictionary as it would not become out-of-date and could be kept longer in hardback.
 * Dictionaries, World Languages (school offers Latin, French, and Spanish) **

Gold, David L. //Random House Webster's Spanish-English English-Spanish Dictionary.// 2nd ed. (Paperback) Random House Reference, September 2006. 720 pages.

Gutman, Helene. //Random House Webster's French-English English-French Dictionary.// (Paperback) Random House Reference: Bilingual edition, September 2006. Morwood, James. //Oxford Latin Desk Dictionary// 2nd edition. (Hardcover) Oxford University Press, July 2005. 496 pages.


 * Directories **

// Columbus Yellow Pages // and //Columbus White Pages// (telephone books) Telephone directories are a useful and necessary reference tool for every library. This is a free resource. Many people use the internet to search for phone numbers, but the need for a print source has not ended.

I have opted not to purchase print encyclopedias as the trend is toward electronic resources. I know this is a controversial subject, but if I have a library with a computer lab of 30 terminals and there are computers in many of the classrooms, students should have ample access. Also, in my experiences with high school aged-students, they prefer online to big print reference books. Print encyclopedias are “outdated” to them, and in fact, they are as soon as one fact changes. I wholeheartedly believe the most current form of encyclopedia is online.
 * Encyclopedias **


 * General:** Infohio: //Worldbook// = free

//Grolier Online.// Scholastic. 2009.

This source contains several “books” in one: //Encyclopedia Americana,// //Multimedia Encyclopedia//, //The New Book of Knowledge,// and //Lands and Peoples.// Each book caters to a different ability level, so this resource would be good for differentiation and for special education. The teacher or student should be able to find material that is appropriate for each child’s needs. The collection also includes dictionaries and atlases.

//McGraw-Hill’s Access Science: Encyclopedia of Science and Technology Online//. McGraw-Hill. 2009.
 * Science **

While this encyclopedia may be geared toward college-age students, it will provide the in-depth coverage needed in a high school with numerous AP science, technology, and math courses. The database covers a wide range of science topics, including math and Family and Consumer Science. The formats include biographies, a study center, news, images, and multimedia resource. It is user-friendly and appealing, and high school students would enjoy using it.

ABC-CLIO Social Studies Databases With nine databases ranging from US History to World Geography, this is a great, current resource for finding out any social studies related information. One link is to History Reference Online, which could save much time when handling reference requests. The interface is teen-friendly. The Issues tab takes students beyond facts to analysis of topics; this site would be great for students’ research needs.
 * Social Studies **

CultureGrams. ProQuest LLC and Brigham Young University. 2009.

This online resource provides quick information about how people live. Students can choose from world, states, provinces, or kids editions. They can find graphs and tables and can even create comparisons. With information like flags, religions, languages, and famous people, CultureGrams is a useful and teen-friendly reference source.

// Opposing Viewpoints. // Gale: Cengage Learning. This online database is a must for high school students. It includes 91,00 pro-con essays on controversial topics; 500 topic overviews; biographies; 700+ legal cases; 300 primary source documents; a collegiate dictionary; almost 6,000 statistical table, charts, and graphs; and many other features. The interface is teen-friendly and the site includes configurable content tables (you can determine the reading level).

Research shows that many inquiries in a typical high school LMC are related to English classes. This makes sense as English is very book and research oriented. Also, as libraries are supposed to encourage reading, it makes sense to have a few literature resources available for ready reference.
 * Literature Resources: **

Barr, Catherine, and John T. Gillespie. //Best Books for High School Readers, Grades 9-// //12.// 2nd edition. (Hardcover) Libraries Unlimited, March 2009. 1075 pages.

This book is helpful for librarians when recommending books to teachers and students. It is set up thematically and is very user-friendly. I consider it an essential reference tool as readers advisory is a reference function.

Harmon, William, and Hugh Holman. //A Handbook to Literature// 11th edition. (Paperback) Prentice Hall, March 2008. 720 pages.

This is considered a necessary and definitive resource for literary terms and literary criticism. It contains an alphabetical list of 2,000 terms. It is ready reference as literary terms are not always literature-specific in a dictionary.

A local and national newspaper must be on hand for current events reference needs. High school students may want information such as the weather for the football game, sports scores, election results, and popular events like music concerts. They may also need to read editorials for a persuasive writing assignment or look for a job in the employment section. They may need the business section in the classifieds for school or personal reasons (ie, comparing car prices). There are many uses for newspapers in the school setting. Columbus only has one paper, so that is the only one I can choose. I picked //USA Today// over The //New York Times// for its more friendly appearance and approach. //The Columbus Dispatch//. 34 S 3rd Street. Columbus, Ohio 43215. 614/461-5000.
 * Newspapers **

//USA// //Today//. Customer Service Phone Number:1-800-USA-0001. [|www.usatoday.service.com].

//Oxford// //American Writer's Thesaurus// (Hardcover) 2nd ed. Oxford University Press USA. November 2008. 1128 pages.
 * Thesaurus **

A thesaurus is necessary for ready reference in all libraries. This thesaurus got great reviews from //School Library Journal// and //Booklists//. It has 300,000 synonyms. It is better than a traditional thesaurus in that it includes word notes from published authors, sample sentences, and other information to help put words into the right context. Words do not exist in isolation, so I like the writing focus of this thesaurus.

Strunk, William, and E. B. White. //The Elements of Style: 50th Anniversary Edition// (Hardcover) Longman, October 2008. 128 pages.
 * Writing Resources: Style Manual **

Long considered the best style guide, this book is a great reference staple for inevitable questions about writing.

American Psychological Association. //Publication Manual of the American// //Psychological Association.// 6th edition. (Paperback) APA, July 2009. 272 pages.
 * Writing Resources: Citation Style Manuals **

An APA handbook is helpful in a high school library to teach proper formatting to avoid plagiarism. While students can use EasyBib.com for formatting, they need a print source in the library to verify accuracy. APA is used to document in the social and behavioral sciences, and several high school courses will use this format.

Modern Language Association. //MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers// 7th ed. (Paperback) Modern Language Association, March 2009.

An MLA handbook is crucial in a high school library to teach proper formatting to avoid plagiarism. While students can use EasyBib.com for formatting, they need a print source in the library to verify accuracy. MLA is the most common format for English classes, so this source will be frequently used. Also, there is no hardcover version (that I could find), but this is a resource that will need to be purchased yearly as it has to be updated for web technologies.

Shapiro, Fred R. //The Yale Book of Quotations// (Hardcover) illustrated ed. Yale University Press. October 2006. 1104 pages.
 * Quotations **

This was the most updated quotations book I found; Bartlett’s did not have an edition as current as this one. This book is valuable for ready reference and for incorporating quotes into writing or speeches. It is smaller than Bartlett’s but has more contemporary value. The origins of the quotes were highly researched using critical documents.


 * Infohio** is a free database for Ohio schools. My students would have access to the following:

The ART Collection Biography Reference Bank Digital Video Collection Ebsco HOST Learning Express Library Literature Online NewsBank Newspapers Oxford Reference Online: Premium Collection School Room Science Online WorldBook Web Spanish and French encyclopedias

This turned out to be an incredibly time-consuming yet beneficial project. I found myself exploring resources, playing with them, comparing them to other resources, and ultimately learning a great deal about what is out there for a reference collection. There were many publishers I had never heard of (Salem Press), and I was amazed to see some publishers everywhere (ie, Oxford). I was also amazed at how many “good” reference books on the market and in libraries were over five years old. I found some resources that I thought would be wonderful only to be dismayed at their publication date. As I provided some rationales within my annotations (I had to think through and explain my choices as I went along), I will supplement those notes while explaining my decisions throughout the process.
 * Description and Rationale **

As I am not a librarian, I started by brainstorming what I thought a librarian would need for ready reference. What kinds of questions would I be asked by teachers and students? I broke my list into traditional reference categories: dictionary, thesaurus, directories (telephone books), almanac, atlas, newspaper, encyclopedia, biography, and other miscellaneous reference sources (ie, quote books and citation manuals). To look for titles, I went to several library publishing sites: Follett, BWI, and Scholastic. Then, I went to the RUSA and OELMA websites to see what they had available about reference sources. For more examples, I looked at the reference collections in my school and in the Columbus Metropolitan Library. (My school has NO print reference section; it is all online now.) I made a trip to the Main Library to see what they had on hand. (Their collection in the teen section was not great, but I did get a few ideas, including //Best Books for High School Students 9-12.// The adult reference section was BIG and scary!! There were so many books it was impossible for me to determine which would constitute a “core” reference source.) Ultimately, I found myself on Amazon.com browsing for reference books and ideas.


 * My overall goal was to create a list that aligned with a typical suburban high school curriculum and to target the unique needs of teens.** I was careful to look for age-appropriate information; teens do not want to use anything marked “children” but “collegiate” may be too challenging. I paid attention to the book covers, fonts, and organizational systems to see if they were teen-friendly. This was particularly important with the dictionary and thesaurus. To begin my collection list, I used the Infohio sources as a given and built up from there. I tried to address all the disciplines in some form, and the almanacs and encyclopedias certainly contain information about everything. I kept in mind the article “What’s Missing in the Reference Section?” I made sure that world religions were addressed (CultureGrams) as well as some of the other missing Dewey fields. (I did find an outstanding world religions encyclopedia and also wondered if I should include the Bible as a core reference.) In my list, I emphasized English and Social Studies as those fields represent a large percentage of frequent library users. For English, the citation guides are an integral part of teaching literacy skills; I see these as part of MY library curriculum. Literary terms are not always found in dictionaries in the correct context, so I thought the Harmon and Holmon guide was essential for both students and English teachers. I looked at several literature databases that I liked, but my English list was getting too long and I didn’t want it to be lopsided. I noticed my own biases; I teach English. Depending on the needs of the school, I would add //Bloom’s Literary Reference Online// as it contains critical articles; this isn’t purely reference, but it would be a good database. For social studies, I considered that the government provides many free websites for original historical documents, laws, and state statistics. (The Mediasite presentation was very helpful, and I would provide links to these sites from the library page.) I did not want to include this kind of resource on my list since this information is a given. The sources I included cover the width and depth of social studies and social issues in engaging, teen-friendly ways. The science database seemed like a necessity as many schools are intensifying their STEM-related courses (ie, AP Science everything). I could see AP science students using the McGraw-Hill //Access Science// for simple reference and for extensive research. This source also includes information that can be used in the areas of math, health and wellness, psychology, physical education, family and consumer science, and technology. It was a beautiful and easy-to-use resource that students would enjoy.

I included a combination of print and online resources. My rationale for not having a print encyclopedia is presented in the annotation. Even in the Google Age, some print sources are needed for ready reference; the almanacs and atlas are easy and fun to use. The entire reference collection is intended to appeal to as many users as possible and to accommodate various learning styles. Our most recent class readings suggested that special education kids’ needs are underserved. I kept this in mind; I wanted resources that provided a range in detail level and ways to get information. I chose resources that were illustrated or had multimedia features if they were available. The multimedia databases provide sound and video so that all learners can gain access to information. Furthermore, I assessed each source for clarity, ease of use, and vocabulary level. I also chose online sources that included extras for teachers, librarians, and students to get the most bang for the buck.

Miscellaneous items I considered: There were many college and career books that belong in a high school. I omitted them from my list with the expectation that my school would have a college resource center with resources such as the //Occupational Outlook Handbook// and the //Peterson’s Guide.// I also thought it may be good to have a //Rand McNally Road Atlas// (maps), but I thought that teens would just use MapQuest anyway. I also scoured the resources for a tidy Humanities encyclopedia (music and art), but I couldn’t find the right one. Some of these needs can be met through The ART Collection, encyclopedias, and the other resources, but I would feel better if I had a specific encyclopedia of music, etc. However, as these disciplines are small, I did not consider this a core reference.

In summary, my core reference collection would meet a SLMS’s basic reference needs. I limited myself to “just the facts” as much as possible while attempting to cover all the standard academic disciplines and basic reference needs (ie, the phone book). I’m honestly very overwhelmed by all of the resources out there. I assume that when I have a budget in hand, this process will be both easier and harder. I will know what I can’t buy and will have to make some challenging decisions. A big lesson I learned is that a lot of research will have to be done to select appropriate resources. I assume that when working with a vendor, I may get a discount for buying several types of sources. I felt that my list covered a lot of publishers (I picked the resource I liked best regardless of publisher), and I am not sure if that is reasonable on the job. I also noticed that some print books come with free one – three year online trial or online databases come with a print source. I’m sure these types of details will enter into my ultimate decisions. Hopefully, one day I will be a savvy librarian who provides great resources for her patrons by taking the time to research.