3. 3
What about reference sources?
reference source
• Any publication from which authoritative
information can be obtained, including but not
limited to reference books, catalog records, printed
indexes and abstracting services, and bibliographic
databases. Individuals and services outside the
library that can be relied upon to provide
authoritative information are considered
resources for referral.
4. 4
And reference books?
reference book
• A book designed to be consulted when authoritative information is
needed, rather than read cover to cover. Reference books often consist
of a series of signed or unsigned “entries” listed alphabetically under
headwords or headings, or in some other arrangement (classified,
numeric, etc.). The category includes almanacs, atlases, bibliographies,
biographical sources, catalogs, concordances, dictionaries, directories,
discographies and filmographies, encyclopedias, glossaries, handbooks,
indexes, manuals, research guides, union lists, yearbooks, etc., whether
published commercially or as government documents. Long reference
works may be issued in multivolume sets, with any indexes in the last
volume. Reference works that require continuous updating may be
published serially, sometimes as loose-leaf services.
6. June 23, 2014
6
Know your reference books
When you pick up a reference book:
• Note the author and publisher, and perhaps the author's
credentials.
• Check the copyright date. Given the type of information the
tool covers, is it likely to be current enough?
• What is the purpose and scope of the book (check for
preface)?
• Review the table of contents. What is the scope of the
material? Is it biased toward one viewpoint?
• Review the index (if there is none, is that a significant
drawback?). What approaches does the index use?
7. June 23, 2014
7
More know your books
• Page through to see what special features may be there. Are
there photos? Charts and graphs? Appendices?
• What is the level of the book? Who is the intended
audience?
• Make up a short “test” for the book. Think up some
questions that you feel, based on the review you've done,
that the book should be able to answer. Does it?
• Has anyone else on the staff had experience with this book?
How do they feel about it?
9. Alphabetical order
There are two methods of alphabetizing. The letter-
by-letter system ignores punctuation and spaces
between words. The word-by-word system organizes
by the first word, then the second word, and so on.
Here is an example:
• Letter-by-letter Word-by-word
Bookcase Book club
Book club Book fair
Bookend Bookcase
Book fair Bookend
• Glossary Of Library and Research Terms
Introduction to Library Research
9
10. Need to evaluate information
June 23, 2014 Information Resources
10
http://caspian.switchinc.org/~tutorials/modeval/01-
why.html
http://caspian.switchinc.org/~tutorials/modeval/index.html
11. 11
Criteria for evaluation
Evaluation Criteria
• When evaluating printed texts or electronic
documents, consider the following criteria:
• Source
• Authority
• Purpose
• Objectivity
• Currency
• Completeness
• Relevance
http://libguides.santarosa.edu/evaluate
13. 13
Critical Evaluation of Resources
How do you make sense of what is out there
and evaluate its authority and appropriateness
for your research?
• Suitability
• Authority
• Other indicators
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Evaluation.html
14. 14
Suitability
Scope
• What is the breadth of the article, book, website or
other material?
Audience
• Who is the intended audience for this source?
Timeliness
• When was the source published?
Scholarly vs. Popular
• http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Evaluation.html
15. 15
Authority
Who is the author?
What are his or her credentials?
• Sometimes information about the author is listed
somewhere in the article. Other times, you may
need to consult another resource to get background
information on the author. Sometimes it helps to
search the author’s name in a general web search
engine like Google.
• http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Evaluation.html
16. 16
Other indicators
Documentation
• A bibliography, along with footnotes, indicate that the
author has consulted other sources and serves to
authenticate the information that he or she is
presenting.
Objectivity
• What point of view does the author represent?
Primary vs. secondary research
• In determining the appropriateness of a resource, it
may be helpful to determine whether it is primary
research or secondary research.
• http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/Guides/Evaluation.html
17. Distinguish Between Primary
and Secondary Sources
17
http://www.yale.edu/collections_collaborative/primarysources/primarysources.html
19. What about Tertiary Sources?
19
You’ll find some
differences in
interpretation about
these examples. As
you see, some would
consider encyclopedias
secondary sources.
See this guide from the
University of Illinois,
for example.
http://www.lib.umd.edu/ues/guides/primary-sources
20. Which is best: print or online?
June 23, 2014 Information Resources
20
The full article is available on Canvas
Source:
Reference Librarian;
2005, Issue 91/92, p39-
51, 13p
