Grade 8/9 Library Tutorial
So, your teacher has told you that you have to use BOOKS for a research project. If you're not a regular library user, or even if you are, that doesn't sound exactly exciting. And besides, everything you need to know can be found on the internet, right? Right?
Well, maybe wrong. The internet has a lot of really great resources, but it also has a whole lot more not so great resources. If your strange next door neighbour decides he knows everything in the world about the Titanic, and creates a website about it, then , when you Google "Titanic", it might just show up in your search results. If you'd take your neighbour with a grain of salt, in real life, you'd better do the same on the web.
We all know you're going to do most of your research on the Internet. It's just easier. But, if you're going to Google, Google sensibly. You have to understand it before you use it.
Click here for some great Google search tips, AND a few short exercises.
P.S. Yes, there are many other search engines, and some are really good. See here for a short list, and some other good sites.
So, you're here. What now?
Do you...
a.) go stand in front of a shelf and hope something jumps out at you?
b.) ask the librarian if we have any books on the Titanic (or whatever)?
c.) check the library catalogue to see what's available.
As happy as I am to answer your questions, I'd be much happier if you would check the library catalogue, yourself, first. I KNOW it might be quicker and easier to ask me, but half the time I'm going to have to check the catalogue anyway, and, honestly, I'd rather you did that.
You can check the catalogue at school, or at home. The link is on the school website (click on links. It's called the INSIGNIA CARD CATALOGUE - and yes, I know there are no cards) . If you can't find it there, it's also on the library website. For future reference, the URL is http://library.hrsb.ns.ca/library/
Select Bedford South from the libraries menu in the middle of the page, and you're good to go.
Straightforward? Maybe not. Here are some things to remember.
TITLE SEARCHES: If you KNOW the title of the book you're looking for, type it in the search box and click on title. However, if you get one word, or even a letter of a word wrong, you won't get any results. Try typing Bridge to Terebithia, instead of Bridge to Terabithia, and see with I mean.
AUTHOR SEARCHES: This is even trickier. Authors are listed in the library catalogue, last name first. If you type Lucy Maud Montgomery in the search box, and click on author, you won't find anything, and if you know we have umpteen copies of Anne of Green Gables, this can be frustrating. You'd have to type Montgomery, Lucy Maud... or just Montgomery, in order to find anything.
SUBJECT: And, saving the most tricky, for last... subjects are not what you think they might be. Every single subject in the catalogue comes from a list called the Library of Congress Subject Headings. Those U.S. librarians, in their great wisdom have come up with several million subject headings, not all of which make sense to non librarians.
KEYWORD: Getting to my point, this is almost always your best bet. If you're looking for a book about sharks, type it in the box, and click on keyword. We have 11 books at MSMS, which may, or may not, be useful to you. And, just to make things clear as mud, you CAN type a single keyword and use any of the search fields. Using phrases is what makes things complicated.
SOME GENERAL LIBRARY INFO:
FICTION is organized by the author's last name. The call number (that's that letters or letter/number combination on the spine of the book) has the letters FIC (stands for FICTION) and the first three letters of the author's last name. For example, books by Scott Westerfeld are labelled FIC WES, and you'll find them with the rest of the Ws.
NON-FICTION is organized using the Dewey Decimal System. This is another one of those library mystery things, that assigns numbers to subject areas. Click here for a good, general outline of what the numbers mean. The good thing is, the Public Library organizes their books the same way, so, if you can find something here, you can find it there.
AND ON THAT NOTE we have a fairly small collection here (had you noticed?). If you don't find what you're looking for, go to the Public Library. You can access their website, and catalogue here.
EBSCO is really great tool when doing research. We subscribe to their service, which allows us to search journals, online encyclopedias, maps, reference books, and other sources, from school, or at home. Some search results will refer you to another source, but many articles are available in full-text, which means you can read the whole thing online.
You can access EBSCO, from the Bedford South website, under key links, or you can click on the icon, above.
When you've logged in, you'll probably want to go to the Student Research Centre.
Please see the librarian, or your teacher, for the username & password, or if you need help using the system.
Before you use a website for your research, you need to ask yourself whether it is a reliable source of information. There is a really good, online tutorial, developed by the University of Michigan Libraries (What to look for in a Web site: criteria for evaluation), but, basically, they suggest that you ask yourself these questions.
http://www.lib.umich.edu/ugl/guides/evaluation/. (Irwin 2002)
Remember that books need to be evaluated too. If you're looking at an atlas, from the 1970s, much of the information it contains will not be current. Always ask yourself the same questions you'd use when evaluating websites. Just because it's in print, doesn't mean it's right. Mein Kampf was a bestseller, back in the 1930s.
Since we're evaluating sources, let's talk about WIKIPEDIA. I'm sure you've all used it, and have heard lots of things about it, both good and bad. While it is true that Wikipedia can be edited by anyone, and also true that you have to be very careful to check the information it provides. In many cases, and on many subjects, it can actually be a very valid source of information, BUT, it should never be your ONLY source.
"If you didn't write it, you have to cite it".
When you are doing research, you have to name your sources. This applies not only to direct quotations, but also to ideas, theses, etc... Even if you paraphrase, you must indicate where the idea came from. Anything else is stealing... honest.
There are several different styles for bibliographies. For example, the American Medical Association (AMA) style is used in medical & scientific writing, while the Turabian style is often used by university students, for all subjects. This website from Long Island University gives a good overview of the different styles, and examples of how to use them. http://www.liunet.edu/cwis/cwp/library/workshop/citation.htm
Best advice... use the style your teacher recommends.
There are special rules governing the use of photographs. Quite simply, you cannot reproduce (and this includes right-clicking, saving, & pasting) a photograph or other image, unless you have express permission to do so. Many websites will have a copyright statement, which tells you how their images may be used. If they don't, that still doesn't mean the images are free to use. If permission for use is not given, you may have to obtain it.
For a good overview of Digital Images and Copyright, go to this site Copyright and Images @2Learn.ca
If you want to learn more about how to do research well, there is a really good overview at The Internet Public Library for teens http://www.ipl.org/div/teen/aplus/library.htm
They talk about all the things I've mentioned here, but in more depth, and probably more clearly.
Other Links
http://museum.gov.ns.ca/mma/index.html
http://www.littletechshoppe.com/ns1625/histindx.html
http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/website/index-e.html