Assignment 1: Evaluation of a Reference Work

LIBE 467

Assignment 1: Evaluation of a Reference Work

Laura Fletcher

Introduction

This evaluation process is based on the suggested considerations outlined in Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips (Riedling, Shake, & Houston, 2013). In summary the evaluation criteria to consider includes:

1.       Content Scope: "...basic breadth and depth question of what is covered and in what details."

2.    Accuracy, Authority and Bias: "... education and experience of the authors, editors, and contributors, as well as the reputation of the publisher ... Objectivity and fairness of a source."

3.    Arrangement and Presentation: "... a particular sequence such as alphabetical, chronological, or classified...flexibility of the reference sources... Physical makeup, binding, illustrations, and layout..."

4.    Relation to Similar Works: "...assessing the potential value of the new resources to the collection. What will this resource add to the current collection?"

5.    Timeliness and Permanence: "Printed resources are often considered to be out of date before they reach the student. All sources should be checked for currency." As well, be aware of the probable lifespan of a resource in order to determine its value to the collection.

6.    Cost: "...determine if the price is appropriate in relation to the needs of the students, as well as anticipated frequency and length of use."(Mueller, 2019)

In addition, based on General guidelines for replacing reference materials (Riedling et al., p. 24), print encyclopedias, a synoptic source type, and books in the subject area of science have approximately a five year shelf life. Printed formats of encyclopedias “are useful for ready-reference, factual-type questions…, to background information questions…, to pre-research information (teaching systematic approaches to gathering information and becoming aware of larger issues and related concepts)” (Riedling et al., p. 71). In assessing our school reference collection, the encyclopedias available to students are currently dated and potential replacements would offer more current information and formatting that better complements our students learning needs.

Methodology

A rubric (Appendix A) was designed base on the Brief Evaluation of Encyclopedias (Riedling et al., p. 72), to evaluate the current set of encyclopedias in the school library’s reference section as well as a potential replacement resource. The majority of potential replacements were previewed first-hand using a public library collection or chosen based on familiarity with certain publishing companies.

Current resource in the library learning commons reference section

Currently, the reference section of our school library contains a set of encyclopedias from 1995. Offering the New Grolier Student Encyclopedia to students as a research tool to students in 2018 often fails, and the books return to the shelves to gather dust. When introducing and teaching students information literacy skills relevant and current reference resources should be made available to better support diverse learners, and engage students in the research process in a meaningful way.

Using the rubric to evaluate this resource, it falls into the “weak” to “adequate” columns, primarily based on being a twenty-three-year-old resource.  The formatting feels dated and images are not up to modern standards. Content areas of specific concern are those regarding world cultures, science and technology, and also a lack of contemporary issues.

Potential replacement resources

While some may argue that the district’s licensing to the digital database World Book Online is sufficient, a well-rounded reference collection consists of both print and electronic resources. Although the electronic format offers elements of interaction, user-friendly content searches, and access from a variety of locations among other strengths, a barrier still exists in access to technological devices and reliable internet access. Additionally, for some students, the accessibility of other websites during research time poses as a tempting distraction; therefore quality print resources are often a better format to ensure these students remain focused in their work.

A full set of encyclopedias that better complements our students’ reading abilities (evaluated as “strong” using the rubric), would be the World Book Discovery Encyclopedia 2017, which retails around $400-$500 (World Book, 2019); however, this would also land us in a similar position five years from now. At an even higher retail value, the World Book Encyclopedia 2019 (which although it says for ages 9-18 tends to be less accessible for our students’ reading levels) retails for $900-$1100 (World Book, 2019). For that reason, a potential replacement strategy could be to purchase a number of smaller subject area encyclopedias* that each focus on specific areas of the curriculum (eg. science, animals, countries, cultures). Doing this would also increase the number of students who could use the resources at one time, since a student researching “gravity” would not be contending with a student researching “giraffes”. It also provides a variety of formatting and text-image ratios, which makes it easier to reach a diverse reading population. This list includes books that would rank as “adequate” to “strong” using the evaluation rubric.

Suggest titles include:

Curriculum area – Indigenous studies

·         Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada (The Royal Canadian Geographical Society); $89.99 Amazon.ca

·         Indigenous Peoples Of Canada Gr 4-6 (Colin Turnbull); $15.99 Amazon.ca

Curriculum area – Natural World – Animals, Insects, Arachnids, etc.

·         Kingfisher Animal Encyclopedia (David Burnie); $34.70 Indigo

·         Firefly Encyclopedia of Insects and Spiders (Christopher O’Toole); $17.04 Amazon.ca

·         First Animal Encyclopedia, Seas and Oceans (Anna Claybourne); $18.00 Indigo

·         Animals, A Visual Encyclopedia - An Animal Planet Book (Cari Animal Planet); $21.78 Indigo

·         National Geographic Animal Encyclopedia (Lucy Spelman); $22.51 Indigo

·         Firefly Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians (Chris Mattison); $44.96 Indigo

·         The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs (Dougal Dixon); $15.99 Indigo

Curriculum area – Natural World – Geography

·         The Kingfisher Geography Encyclopedia (Clive Gifford); $39.99 Indigo

·         First Encyclopedia – Weather (Make Believe); $3.99 Indigo

·         First Encyclopedia – Earth (Make Believe); $3.99 Indigo

Curriculum area – Outer Space/Discovery/ Science & Technology

·         First Space Encyclopedia (DK); $21.99 Indigo

·         First Encyclopedia of Space (Usborne, Paul Dowswell); $16.33 Indigo

·         How Things Work Encyclopedia (DK); $18.02 Indigo

·         DK First Science Encyclopedia (DK); $20.09 Indigo

·         Super Earth Encyclopedia (John Woodward); $24.65 Indigo

·         The Elements Books – A Visual Encyclopedia of the Periodic Table (Tom Jackson); $21.08 Indigo

Curriculum area – Human Body/Development

·         Children’s Human Body Encyclopedia (Clare Hibbert); $17.75 Indigo

·         First Human Body Encyclopedia (DK); $20.19 Indigo

·         First Encyclopedia of the Human Body (Fiona Chandler); $15.97 Indigo

·         First Encyclopedia – Body (Make Believe); $3.99 Indigo

Curriculum area – World Studies/Humanities

·         People and Places: A Visual Encyclopedia (DK); $34.35 Amazon.ca

·         The Arts – A Visual Encyclopedia (DK); $23.10 Indigo

·         The World Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments (Max Wade-Matthews); $14.23 Indigo

·         Big Book of My World (Kali Stileman); $20.95 Indigo

·         The Travel Book – Mind-Blowing Stuff on Every Country in the World (Lonely Planet); $24.76 Amazon.ca

General

·         Smithsonian The New Children’s Encyclopedia (DK); $34.74 Amazon.ca

·         Knowledge Encyclopedia (Dorling DK); $27.43 Indigo

·         Smithsonian Picturepedia (DK); $31.08 Indigo

·         Mathepedia: for elementary students grades 3 – 8 (Popular Book Company); $22.95 Indigo

Total approximate cost: $742.58 for 31 titles

*Note: this is not an exhaustive list, but rather beginning suggestions

Conclusion

When teaching students information literacy skills, relevant and current reference resources should be made available to better support diverse learners, and engage students in the research process in a meaningful way. Therefore, after assessing our school reference collection based on a rubric, the encyclopedias available to students are currently dated and potential replacements would offer more current information and formatting that better complements our students learning needs. While some may argue that the district’s licensing to the digital database World Book Online is sufficient, a well-rounded reference collection consists of both print and electronic resources. If this prospective replacement is to be considered, then a small committee of colleagues of classroom teachers could be assembled to further test and evaluate the potential use of this resource.

References

Mueller, A. (2019). Lesson 3: Building a Reference Collection for your School Library, course modules LIBE 467 63C: University of British Columbia Vancouver, online. Retrieved from Canvas learning platform. 

Riedling, A. M., Shake, L., & Houston, C. (2013) Reference skills for the school library media specialist: Tools and tips (3rd ed.). Santa Barbara, CA: Linworth.

World Book. (2019). World Book – Discovery Encyclopedia 2017. Retrieved from https://www.worldbook.com/Discovery-Encyclopedia.aspx

World Book. (2019). World Book Encyclopedia 2019. Retrieved from https://www.worldbook.com/world-book-encyclopedia-2019.aspx

Appendix A

Rubric to evaluate encyclopedias for student use as library reference resources

Weak Resource	Adequate Resource	Strong Resource
Accuracy ·         Non-reputable publisher ·         Contributors/ authors unapparent ·         Lacks objectivity and obvious bias present	Accuracy ·         Generally reputable publisher ·         Contributors/ authors generally apparent ·         Objectivity and no obvious bias mostly present	Accuracy ·         Highly-recognized reputable publisher ·         Contributors/ authors apparent ·         Objectivity and no obvious bias present
Authority ·         Authors writing the articles or the publishers who distribute it are non-reputable ·         Contributors are not prominent in that subject area ·         Publishing company is non-reputable	Authority ·         Scholars who write the articles or the publishers who distribute it are generally reputable ·         Contributors are recognized in that subject area ·         Publishing company is generally reputable	Authority ·         Scholars who write the articles or the publishers who distribute it are reputable ·         Contributors are prominent in that subject area ·         Publishing company is reputable
Currency ·         Information dated (<10 years)	Currency ·         Information mostly current (>5 and ≤10 years)	Currency ·         Information current (<5 to10 years)
Format ·         Illustrations are dated, not functional, indistinct, difficult to follow, and inappropriate for the intended audience ·         Page layout is dysfunctional, unclear, and not suitable for the audience ·         Organizational formatting is not user friendly	Format ·         Illustrations are mostly current, functional, clear, easy to follow, and generally appropriate for the intended audience ·         Page layout is usually functional, clear, and suitable for the audience ·         Organizational formatting is generally user friendly	Format ·         Illustrations are current, functional, clear, easy to follow, and appropriate for the intended audience ·         Page layout is functional, clear, and suitable for the audience ·         Organizational formatting is user friendly and supports diverse learners
Indexing ·         Lacks detailed index for subjects and major subtopics ·         No image index	Indexing ·         Index for subjects, but major subtopics may not be present ·         Image index present or not	Indexing ·         Detailed index for subjects and major subtopics ·         Image index
Objectivity ·         Obvious or implicit biases excluded, emphasize, or deemphasize particular beliefs or groups of people ·         Obvious biases towards sponsors ·         Advertisements obviously embedded in text or images	Objectivity ·         Some obvious or implicit biases that exclude, emphasize, or deemphasize particular beliefs or groups of people ·         Some biases towards sponsors ·         Some advertisements embedded in text or images	Objectivity ·         No obvious or implicit biases that would excluded, emphasize, or deemphasize particular beliefs or groups of people ·         No obvious biases towards sponsors ·         No advertisements implicitly embedded in text or images
Scope ·         Inappropriate for the age group it claims to serve ·         Subject coverage uneven from discipline to discipline ·         Contemporary issues excluded	Scope ·         Generally appropriate for the age group it claims to serve ·         Subject coverage uneven from discipline to discipline ·         Some contemporary issues included	Scope ·         Appropriate for the age group it claims to serve ·         Subject coverage uniform from discipline to discipline ·         Contemporary issues included