Living Books' Ugly Stepsisters: Reference Books!

By Maggie Hogan

Research and Documentation Websites:

http://wps.ablongman.com/long_fowler_lbh_9

Excellent information and exercises. The Research Writing section includes advice and exercises for planning and writing a research project, including finding and evaluating sources, searching electronically, avoiding plagiarism, and working with and documenting sources. Includes video tutorials.

www.aresearchguide.com

The goal of this web site is to provide all the necessary tools for students to conduct research and to present their findings. Site provides a Quick Click to Search Engines, annotated Research, Writing, and Style Guides (MLA, APA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.), housing some of the best education sites in a Virtual Library arranged by the Dewey Decimal Classification System.

The site also provides guidelines on: How to write an A+ research paper, How to effectively deliver a presentation, How to format a research or term paper, How to quote passages, How not to plagiarize, How to write Footnotes and Endnotes with examples on writing First Footnotes and Endnotes in MLA style plus a Footnotes Sample Page and an Endnotes Sample Page.

www.ipl.org/teen/aplus - Internet Public Library – bookmark this site! Great place to find information on all kinds of topics.

www.refdesk.com/homework.html#tools - Reference Desk – Homework Helper – master lists of useful sites! Well organized.

www.writinghelp-central.com - Your one-stop writing help center.

www.bedfordstmartins.com/online/citex.html - Need to cite a source? This is an excellently organized, easy-to-use that covers any kind of citation imaginable.

www.bartleby.com/reference - (This is a link to different types of reference books)

Indispensable Reference Books

Bible
Bible dictionary/concordance/atlas
Age appropriate dictionary
Thesaurus - The one in your word processor doesn’t count! I prefer Roget’s International Thesaurus over an alphabetical one. Learn to use it!
Almanac – do you know what it contains?! Wow!
**Age & subject appropriate atlases (Classroom, Answer, Historical, Bible, etc.)
Either on-line encyclopedia or a hardcopy
Merck Manual
Your favorite writing reference books, for example: Writer’s Inc, or Write Right! by Jan Venolia (10.95)

Optional, but Exceedingly Useful

**Google Pocket Guide – don’t Google without it
A book of quotations – although there are good quotation sites on-line, I still love to use a book for quotes.
The Order of Things: How Everything in the World is Organized into Hierarchies, Structures, and Pecking Orders by Barbara Ann Kipfer. I love this book! (18.95)

Reference works that Kids will Use and Enjoy

**Fandex Field Guides
**Science or Nature encyclopedia
How --- Works kind of books
Pocket Tables: An Everyday Reference by John O.E. Clark (4.95)
Visual Dictionaries

** Books sold by Bright Ideas Press

Library Reference Information
Adult Reference Section
016.909

Dictionary of Historic Dates published by Facts on File by George Kohn

From the “ABC” Treaty to the Zurich Treaty of 1859. Includes entries such as “Yes, Virginia there is a Santa Claus,” The Pledge of Allegiance, The Nicene Creed, Pliny the Younger’s letters, etc. I wish I had had this! Concise explanations of the document as well as where to look for further reading. This does not include the actual primary source material.

391

20,000 Years of Fashion: History of Costumes and Personal Adornments. Not recommending this book specifically, but the Dewey Decimal number is useful for finding similar titles in both Adult and Children’s Reference. Costume books are super for history studies. (Be aware that nudity is common in these types of books.)

394.26

Chase’s Calendar of Events, A Day-by-Day Directory to Special Days, Weeks & Months. Includes searchable CD-Rom database. Use this book! Includes:

National & International Holidays
Festivals Worldwide
Historical Anniversaries
Astronomical Phenomenon
Sporting Events
Celebrity Birthdays

Facts about Presidents, States, Territories, Lists of Governors, Senators, US Supreme Court, Special Months, Major Award winners in many categories: Nobel, Pulitzer, Dover Awards, Newbery Books, etc.

609

A History of Great Inventions by James Dyson (& other similar books)

Persian ice cream to microchips and Paper clips to the atom bomb.

616

The Merck Manual of Medical Information Home Edition

Vital, easy-to-understand info about almost every known medical issue. Includes A-Z listing of brand-name and generic drugs as well as common medical tests, and other highly useful information. Easier than searching on the internet.

709

History of Art by HW Janson

Tip: check the same call number in the following sections:
Adult, Oversized, YA (Young Adult), Children

809

Master Plots - 1,801 Plot Stories and Critical Evaluations of the World’s Finest Literature published by Magill

Vol 1 From Aristophanes to Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland

Anna Karenina to Animal Farm, Beowulf to Bambi!

Bambi example:

Principal Characters:

Children’s Reference Section

011.62 A-Zoo Picture Subject Access to Children’s Picture Books

011 Beyond Picture Books

423 Visual Dictionary

510 Math Dictionary

513 Numbers you Need

582.16 Trees DK Eyewitness Handbooks – my favorite field guide series.

909 NY Public Library Chronologies

909 Today in History DK Publishing

929 Flags of the World by Country - Two-page spread per country including a full-page color photo of each country’s flag. Go to www.crayola.com to print flags to color. Register. Search for “flags.”)

Facts On File – Wonderful Reproducibles!!!!

The Human Body on File
Junior Science on File
Animal Anatomy
Junior Science on File

(Upper Level Science on File located in Adult Reference)

Other Library Reference Help
Make an appointment with the librarian for a tour of the library with an emphasis on the reference materials available.

Periodicals

Magazines

Newspapers

Computers

On-Line Databases

Leased databases