Evaluation of a Reference Work
Evaluation of a Reference Work
I'm so pleased to have the opportunity to look into the reference section of my Library-Learning Commons. It is abysmally evident that our reference section is minimal and outdated. Our print resources include a handful of dictionaries, thesauruses, atlases and topic-specific books. I chose one of our specific reference books to evaluate, "World Book looks at the Sea and Its Marvels ".
The content and information in this book is organized haphazardly. There is no obvious way search the information, other than consulting the index for the animal you are searching. It has vague groupings of information into chapters. Some examples of chapters include, "Strange Sea Shapes", "Ocean Wanderers", and "Exploring the Reef". Although the title claims to explore the sea, there is no mention of tides or the way the moon affects the ocean. There are no mention of pollution, climate change, fishing or overfishing, oil spills, or any other current ocean topics. On page 30, in a paragraph entitled “Shell Collecting”, there is no mention at all of environmental concern regarding removing shells from the beach. On page 44, while discussing the Great Barrier Reef, no mention is made of extinctions or pollution to the coral reef. Approximately 97% of the focus of this book are the animals in the sea. The content is also very generalized with only the Great Barrier Reef being mentioned as a specific location in the ocean. There are minimal connections made to the global location of habitats.
The arrangement and presentation of this book include crowded pages, a mixture of graphs and illustrations, short paragraphs of information, as well as captions for photographs. The page numbers are clear and legible and there are highlighted boxes of specific information. There is a suggestion on page four, for the reader to consult the glossary for new terminology.
There are some very minor curricular connections in this book for grades 2 and 3. In grade 2 they study the water cycle and life cycles, this book minimally discusses the salmon life cycle in a short paragraph. For grade 3, the connection is “Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact with ecosystems", this book is very inadequate in details for this grade level. For kindergarten, grade 1, and grades 4 through 7, there is no substantial, curricularly relevant information. This book excludes evolution, natural selection and tides.
When considering the accessibility of this book for diverse readers I must say that this book lacks cultural perspective. It includes no attempt at helping with word pronunciation or origin for second-language learners. There are no website or internet links mentioned and the reader has no online connections. A link or extension to the world book conglomerate would be beneficial for readers to have further information.
Originally this book was priced at 10.95, twenty years ago. As far as the accuracy, authority, and bias of this book it is presented as a condensed compilation from World Book Encyclopedia. The authors and publisher are affiliated with World Book Incorporated. World Book Incorporated is based out of Chicago, Illinois and the contents of this book seem to have a North American viewpoint with no global perspectives shared in the book.
The currency of this book is outdated, the publication date is 1997. Reidling states “...pure science books, print format (except botany and natural history), are out of date within five years” (p.24) I can confidently determine that this particular reference book, being twenty years old, is far out of date and excludes some very vital current information about our oceans and ocean animals. The terminology is outdated as on page fifty, the orca is discussed as ‘killer whale’. The relevance of this book is questionable as it focuses on the natural world, but so much has changed since this publication came out. This book is no longer relevant and it is unacceptable to omit climate change, human interaction, pollution, oil spills, and extinctions when discussing the ocean. Is no longer relevant for students and readers today.
I found the World Book’s World of Animals iOS app as a new source of reference material. This online app focuses on animals much in the same way that the “World Book looks at the Sea and Its Marvels” focused on animal information. It is still the World Book brand, ensuring it’s accuracy and authority of information. Because it is digital and fluid, it eliminates the difficulties in remaining relevant and current. The content of this app includes photos, videos and sound clips of over 200 animals, both alive and extinct. The ability to include video and audio is a great addition for the various learners who will access this information.
It links to encyclopedia articles for deeper research and an educational game to test the reader’s growing knowledge. The app includes facts about each animals’ habitat, lifespan and conservation status, which was highly lacking in our last reference material. There is a comparison tool for readers to understand the differences and similarities between animal species, and further their learning. The app costs $6.99 through the Apple store and is only for iOS devices. This app could be installed individually on our school iPads for research purposes.
This app will give students access to information that will meet their curricular needs. Information about observable animal features and behaviours (K/1), life cycles and survival (2,4,5,6) and evolution and diversity (3/7), will be beneficial throughout the student population. I believe this updated and current version of an animal encyclopedia is a great answer to our insufficient supply of accurate, age-appropriate material. The only negatives to be stated while regarding a digital resource, is the reliability of the hardware, software and digital connections needed to access the information when needed. I believe this negative far outweighs the unattainable cost of replacing outdated reference books or continuing to use irrelevant information.
To purchase app:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/world-books-world-of-animals/id441771838?mt=8
Common Sense review
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/world-books-world-of-animals
Short Video tour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrAYw5xFmSU
**If the Learning Commons was to replace ‘The Sea and Its Marvels’, the set is currently $199.oo at https://www.worldbook.com/products/a-look-at-science and includes:
Books in Series
The Age of Knights and Castles
Icy Worlds
Insects and Spiders
Inventions and Discoveries
The Sea and Its Marvels
Space Exploration
Voyages of Exploration
Wonders of the World
Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. "Reference Skills for the School Librarian". Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC. Print
I'm so pleased to have the opportunity to look into the reference section of my Library-Learning Commons. It is abysmally evident that our reference section is minimal and outdated. Our print resources include a handful of dictionaries, thesauruses, atlases and topic-specific books. I chose one of our specific reference books to evaluate, "World Book looks at the Sea and Its Marvels ".
The content and information in this book is organized haphazardly. There is no obvious way search the information, other than consulting the index for the animal you are searching. It has vague groupings of information into chapters. Some examples of chapters include, "Strange Sea Shapes", "Ocean Wanderers", and "Exploring the Reef". Although the title claims to explore the sea, there is no mention of tides or the way the moon affects the ocean. There are no mention of pollution, climate change, fishing or overfishing, oil spills, or any other current ocean topics. On page 30, in a paragraph entitled “Shell Collecting”, there is no mention at all of environmental concern regarding removing shells from the beach. On page 44, while discussing the Great Barrier Reef, no mention is made of extinctions or pollution to the coral reef. Approximately 97% of the focus of this book are the animals in the sea. The content is also very generalized with only the Great Barrier Reef being mentioned as a specific location in the ocean. There are minimal connections made to the global location of habitats.
The arrangement and presentation of this book include crowded pages, a mixture of graphs and illustrations, short paragraphs of information, as well as captions for photographs. The page numbers are clear and legible and there are highlighted boxes of specific information. There is a suggestion on page four, for the reader to consult the glossary for new terminology.
There are some very minor curricular connections in this book for grades 2 and 3. In grade 2 they study the water cycle and life cycles, this book minimally discusses the salmon life cycle in a short paragraph. For grade 3, the connection is “Living things are diverse, can be grouped, and interact with ecosystems", this book is very inadequate in details for this grade level. For kindergarten, grade 1, and grades 4 through 7, there is no substantial, curricularly relevant information. This book excludes evolution, natural selection and tides.
When considering the accessibility of this book for diverse readers I must say that this book lacks cultural perspective. It includes no attempt at helping with word pronunciation or origin for second-language learners. There are no website or internet links mentioned and the reader has no online connections. A link or extension to the world book conglomerate would be beneficial for readers to have further information.
Originally this book was priced at 10.95, twenty years ago. As far as the accuracy, authority, and bias of this book it is presented as a condensed compilation from World Book Encyclopedia. The authors and publisher are affiliated with World Book Incorporated. World Book Incorporated is based out of Chicago, Illinois and the contents of this book seem to have a North American viewpoint with no global perspectives shared in the book.
The currency of this book is outdated, the publication date is 1997. Reidling states “...pure science books, print format (except botany and natural history), are out of date within five years” (p.24) I can confidently determine that this particular reference book, being twenty years old, is far out of date and excludes some very vital current information about our oceans and ocean animals. The terminology is outdated as on page fifty, the orca is discussed as ‘killer whale’. The relevance of this book is questionable as it focuses on the natural world, but so much has changed since this publication came out. This book is no longer relevant and it is unacceptable to omit climate change, human interaction, pollution, oil spills, and extinctions when discussing the ocean. Is no longer relevant for students and readers today.
I found the World Book’s World of Animals iOS app as a new source of reference material. This online app focuses on animals much in the same way that the “World Book looks at the Sea and Its Marvels” focused on animal information. It is still the World Book brand, ensuring it’s accuracy and authority of information. Because it is digital and fluid, it eliminates the difficulties in remaining relevant and current. The content of this app includes photos, videos and sound clips of over 200 animals, both alive and extinct. The ability to include video and audio is a great addition for the various learners who will access this information.
It links to encyclopedia articles for deeper research and an educational game to test the reader’s growing knowledge. The app includes facts about each animals’ habitat, lifespan and conservation status, which was highly lacking in our last reference material. There is a comparison tool for readers to understand the differences and similarities between animal species, and further their learning. The app costs $6.99 through the Apple store and is only for iOS devices. This app could be installed individually on our school iPads for research purposes.
This app will give students access to information that will meet their curricular needs. Information about observable animal features and behaviours (K/1), life cycles and survival (2,4,5,6) and evolution and diversity (3/7), will be beneficial throughout the student population. I believe this updated and current version of an animal encyclopedia is a great answer to our insufficient supply of accurate, age-appropriate material. The only negatives to be stated while regarding a digital resource, is the reliability of the hardware, software and digital connections needed to access the information when needed. I believe this negative far outweighs the unattainable cost of replacing outdated reference books or continuing to use irrelevant information.
To purchase app:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/world-books-world-of-animals/id441771838?mt=8
Common Sense review
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/app-reviews/world-books-world-of-animals
Short Video tour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrAYw5xFmSU
**If the Learning Commons was to replace ‘The Sea and Its Marvels’, the set is currently $199.oo at https://www.worldbook.com/products/a-look-at-science and includes:
Books in SeriesThe Age of Knights and Castles
Icy Worlds
Insects and Spiders
Inventions and Discoveries
The Sea and Its Marvels
Space Exploration
Voyages of Exploration
Wonders of the World
Riedling, Ann Marlow, et al. "Reference Skills for the School Librarian". Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, LLC. Print
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