Assignment #1-Evaluation and Selection of a Resource

LIBE 467 Assignment #1: Evaluation and Selection of a Resource

By: Minisha Manj

Rationale:

         In 2013, School District #79 reconfigured its school system, where elementary schools became K-7 and secondary schools became 8-12. Due to the reconfiguration, many of the teacher librarians have been struggling to find reference materials, especially elementary school TL’s. The reason?-With the addition of grade 7’s added to elementary schools, TL’s are still in the process of finding appropriate print copies of reference materials for that age group.

        As a new staff member working at a K-7 school, I have noticed that many intermediate students chose to use electronic devices, such as iPads, to look for research for their assignments. I also noticed that many students search using databases, some search engines, and The World Book Online, but very few asked for reference materials that are sitting on the shelf, such as the The World Book: Student Discovery Encyclopedia. I then recommended and showed students to perhaps try using an Encyclopedia to find more information about their topics-many chose not to. After interacting with some students, I learned some reasons as to why intermediate students found the Encyclopedia set as not useful:

·         It takes much longer to search a text, whereas you find information much quicker online.

·         The Encyclopedia set looks like its intended for younger students

·         Looks outdated, dirty, and in need of replacement

·         Some key pieces of information is missing-for instance, a student was writing about Martin Luther King Jr. and could not find any information about the historical figure in the ‘M’ text.

School and Curriculum Goals (Collaboration with colleagues):

This year, my school’s goals consist of focusing on all aspects of literacy, which includes improving reading, writing, and information literacy skills. Although my school is in favour of students using iPads to access digital sources, many teachers still want their students to utilize the various print materials that are available in the library collection. Due to a high volume of students using digital sources to seek information, some of the teachers have created criteria that specifically asks students to use two sources from a printed text and two from digital sources. As of now, most of the primary students have a variety of reference materials available at their level. The intermediate students, on the other hand, require more age-appropriate reference materials to help encourage them to use print text, along with digital sources.

Grade 7 Language Arts-Curricular Competencies https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/english-language-arts/7

As stated in the grade seven “Curricular Competencies,” students are encouraged to utilize various sources to comprehend and look for information. Although my school does have access to World Book Online and it is a useful reference tool, it is still critical for students to engage and search for information using other sources, such as looking through hardcopy texts.

Comparing Reference Materials-The World Book: Student Discovery Encyclopedia and The World Book Encyclopedia: 2016

        After looking at the needs of the students and colleagues, it seems that a new Encyclopedia set is needed in order to meet the needs of this particular school community. This new Encyclopedia set should be ideal for all grade levels and provide recent information: The World Book Encyclopedia: 2016.

The information listed below describes some quick facts between the two World Book Encyclopedia sets:

Reference Resource being evaluated:    The World Book: Student Discovery Encyclopedia.

Publisher: World Book Inc.

Publication Year: 2000.

Publishing Location: Chicago, Illinois.

Volumes: 13

Grade Level: 3-5

Information retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/World-Book-Student-Discovery-Encyclopedia/dp/0716674009

According to Riedling, “print encyclopedias should be replaced every five years,” thus, this reference resource definitely needs to be replaced (Riedling, Ann et all. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips, 3rd Edition (p. 24). ABC-CLIO. Kindle Edition).

Observations in this Encyclopedia set:

·         Overwhelming number of images (mainly cartoon version), sometimes not even directly related to the text.

·         Each volume has about 200 or more pages (which means that some current information is missing and/or may need to be updated).

·         The publication date is from 2000-a resource that has been around since I was a student myself!

·         Each summary/information topic does not provide enough content for older intermediate students to complete research-related assignments.

·         Focused mainly on people, some historical events, and places.

Image retrieved from: https://www.amazon.com/World-Book-Student-Discovery-Encyclopedia/dp/0716674009

Reference Resource being evaluated:   The World Book Encyclopedia: 2016

Publisher: World Book, a Scott Fetzer Company

Publishing Location: Chicago, IL.

Publication Year: 2016

Volumes: 22

Grade level: K-12

Observations in this Encyclopedia set:

·         Images enhance and relate to content

·         Updates and revisions are noted

·         There are over 14,000 pages

·         Each summary/information topic provides enough content for intermediate students to complete research-related assignments.

·         Focuses on a wide variety of topics

https://www.worldbook.com/store/p/399-World-Book-Encyclopedia-2016.aspx

Images retrieved from: https://www.worldbook.com/store/p/399-World-Book-Encyclopedia-2016.aspx

As seen in the text sample above, the World Book: 2016 edition provides a good amount of information, such as text, images, and other prominent features for students to use for their research assignments.

Rubric Overview:

       This rubric will help me assess both The World Book: Student Discovery Encyclopedia and the World Book Encyclopedia: 2016 sets recommended reference resource as well. The rubric is divided into the following five categories: appropriateness, presentation, I selected these particular categories that were suitable for the selection and evaluation of a reference resource.

Content:

Refers to the type of information that is presented and if that information is appropriate for all grade levels (full text, images, search features).

Authority:
Refers to the authors level of education, experience, and the publisher’s reputation-
“Indicators of authority include the education and experience of the authors, editors, and contributors, as well as the reputation of the publisher or sponsoring agency.” (Riedling, p. 22 Kindle Edition).

Currency:

·         Does the text contain up-to-date information?

·         Are new submissions/revisions noted?

·         Is information pulled from a variety of sources?

·         Is the information accurate?

Presentation:

·         Is a user guide available?

·         Does content and appearance of text appeal to all grade levels?

·         Is the text user friendly?

·         How is content arranged?

·         Is there an index included?

Curricular Connections:

·         Does the text connect/support the new BC Curriculum?

·         Does the text meet the English Language Arts requirements for all grade levels

·         Will the information provided in the text help enhance information literacy skills?

The chart below is the rubric that I created and will use to assess the two World Book Encyclopedias:

Legend:
3=Excellent
2=Good
1=Poor

Evaluation:

The World Book: Student Discovery Encyclopedia (2000).

Content Rating: 2.

·         The majority of the images presented in the Encyclopedias relate to the content presented

·         The search features are presented at the beginning of the text only. The following user guides are provided: “Key to pronunciation” and “How to use” guidelines.

·         Some variation in topics

Authority Rating: 3.

·     Some reputable publishers are listed.

·    Verifies some of “the reputation of lesser-known publishers.” (Riedling, p. 31, Kindle Edition).

·      Information is pulled from several sources

Currency Rating: 1

·         Last published in 2000 (over 6 years old).

·         Information is not recent

·         Updated features and information is not noted

·         Has some factual errors and inconsistencies (due to being outdated)

Presentation Rating: 1

·         Appeals to very few grades (mainly primary)

·         Indexes are not included at the end of each volume

·         Information is somewhat  displayed in an organized and thoughtful manner

·         Content is mostly arranged alphabetically

Curricular Connections: 1.5

·         Connects/supports few aspects of  BC’s New Curriculum

·         Meets some of the Language Arts (literacy) requirements for most grade levels

·         Enhances some aspects of information literacy skills (reading, writing, comprehension, and research)

The World Book Encyclopedia: 2016

Content Rating: 3

·         Images relate to content presented

·         Search features (basic and advanced) are available (Riedling, pg. 32).

·         Information is appropriate for all grade levels

·         Topics covered in this Encyclopedia set:

-“Arts,

-Business, industry, and technology

-Geography

-History

-Mythology, philosophy, and religion

-Recreation and sports

-Science and mathematics

-Society”

Information retrieved from: https://www.worldbook.com/store/p/399-World-Book Encyclopedia-2016.aspx

Authority Rating: 3.

·         Reputable publishers are listed.

·         The publisher has included the “academic backgrounds or academic structure to justify their roles in writing a bibliography.” (Riedling (p. 31). ABC-CLIO. Kindle Edition).

·         Verifi(es) “the reputation of lesser-known publishers.” (Riedling, (p. 31). ABC-CLIO. Kindle Edition).

Currency Rating: 2.5

·         Information is very recent-a year or less.

·         Updated information is acknowledged (i.e. more information about Denmark is included)

·         Most recent publication date is shown

·         Information is pulled from a variety of sources

·         Information is accurate

Presentation Rating: 3

·         Appeals to all grade levels

·         Indexes are included at the end of each volume

·         Information is displayed in an organized and thoughtful manner

·         Content is arranged alphabetically ( able to locate information quickly

Curricular Connections: 3

·         Connects/supports all aspects of  BC’s New Curriculum

·         Meets the Language Arts (literacy) requirements for all grade levels

·         Enhances all aspects of information literacy skills (reading, writing, comprehension, and research)

Cost:

            The World Book Encyclopedia is quite an expensive reference resource-The 2016 Encyclopedia set costs $899.95 USD and the 2017 edition costs $1,999.95 USD(https://www.worldbook.com). Thus, it may be ideal to purchase a recent version of The World Book Encyclopedia (1-2 years old) at a reduced price, in order to see if that resource is being used more frequently (based on evaluation and selection methods). If the TL notices that the reference resource is being utilized quite often, then he/she may want to purchase the most recent Encyclopedia set in the future.

The amount of funding set aside for library materials is also another factor to consider-this reference resource is definitely worth having in a school library, as it helps enhance information literacy skills for all grade levels. For some schools, it could take a few years to have enough funding, for some schools, budgeting is may not be an issue because PAC and/or other community partners may help with the cost.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, I feel that purchasing an Encyclopedia set, especially from The World Book would complement the reference collection in any library. Even though many school libraries are resorting to digital versions of references and resources, the use of print reference materials and how to use them is still a vital skill that students must know; for instance, how to search information in a chronological manner, using indexes/table of contents, and being able to interpret data and illustrations. I believe that students are still going to prefer digital sources as their primary ‘go-to’ place to find information, but some may be willing to use references that seem appealing and age-appropriate…only time will tell.

References:

Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/World-Book-Student-Discovery-Encyclopedia/dp/0716674009

 Province of British Columbia. (2015). Building Student Success: BC’s New Curriculum-English Language Arts (Grade 7). Retrieved from:  https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/english-language-arts/7

           Riedling, Ann; Shake, Loretta; Houston, Cynthia. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips, 3rd Edition. ABC-CLIO. Kindle Edition.

           World Book. “World Book Encyclopedia: 2016.” Retrieved from: https://www.worldbook.com/store/p/399-World-Book-Encyclopedia-2016.aspx