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When and How to Use the Internet as a Reference Tool

Internet is single most, widely used resource available today. It has over a billion IP addresses since its creation in 1990. In 2000, just over 60% of young adults from 18 to 29 and only 47% of adults were using the internet. Today, it is almost unavoidable by any age group.

The biggest challenge for librarians is the fact that there is so much information on the internet, there is a great deal of alternative facts, fake news, and misinformation that many patrons do not realize is not true. For librarians, the internet is another resource tool but not a sole source of information as researchers must read and evaluate the source to determine its validity.

Google is a known as the best search site because they are constantly checking the validity of sources to keep factual information available for all users. Google updates regularly and adds tools to make internet usage, research, and presentation easy to use.

The first book was developed during the Middle Ages and is still used today as it has changed and developed over time. Now books are available in electronic or audio formats, actual print books along with using the internet to locate information has both pros and cons.

The pros of using the internet is that is allows for ease and accessibility of use. The currency of information and having up-to-date information is a big advantage especially if you need current research details or the latest news. The internet assist those who need audio-visual assistance providing text-to-speech capability. Users can also view live news coverage or watch movies online. Online books can help the early or struggling reader develop their skills. Another advantage is having the ability to access archived information with the need to travel and locate it. This creates extreme convenience. The ability to use SEO’s, or search engine optimization, does help the user locate information based on keywords used. Users today can access the internet from their phones, tablets, libraries, schools, colleges, and even work. The need for instant gratification can be both a pro and con since information is available in a moment notice and at your fingertips. Yet, it could interfere with basic life activities and the internet can become an addiction. With over 2 billion searches happening each day, it is easy to see individuals can become attached to it.

Cons to having the internet available include, but are not limited to, the lack of quality control and the open ability that anyone can post anything they want to, facts or not. When researchers use keywords to search for information, there is not guarantee that the information they seek will pull up based on the keywords they used. Even when using the right keywords, errors or the lack of information, or the misinformation provided exists. Many patrons feel that the internet is the only source of information when that is so far from the truth. There is also not guarantee that the information the user is seeking is completely available for free text reading. This also ties into the gaps in our historical background as documents and information is loaded for use through the internet, gaps do exist in the information provided. Maps, documents, and stories may not have accurate information. Websites are changed, relocated, or even deleted daily so what you use today may not be there tomorrow. Remember the internet is not just about surfing! It should be used as a means to obtain true information complimenting other formats of information obtain to strengthen your research.

5 Steps to Successful Internet Reference

1.     Ask Yourself: Is the Internet the correct the correct place to search and will it give the all factual information I need?

If not, then make sure you use all resources available.

2.     Select the correct internet tool.

Make sure you use a reliable search engine such as Google, Yahoo, Bing, and Ask. Use specific keywords to focus your search. Use Academic Search Engines that provide scholarly reviews, journals, dissertations, and technical supports. These are usually peer reviewed or scholarly reviewed materials. You can also use search engines such as Google Scholar, BASE, Ebscohost, Microsoft Academic, Semantic Scholar, and iSEEK Education. You can use Metasearch Engines which will give you a far more results than a general search engine. But understand, that means you have more information to search through. Subject directories are useful in exploring the invisible parts of the web. It is limited and uses human organization rather than robot logic in finding information. Social Media Engines have increased in usage. They have three characteristics: user-generated, real-time information, vast quantities of information produced.

3.     Construct the right search terms. Make a list of the keywords and search terms that are connected to and relate to your topic. Consider alternate spellings and do not use generic or broad terms. This will give you an abundant amount of information that you will find yourself frustrated with.

4.     Use the right search operators. Use a hierarchy of search terms and use the correct Boolean operators to help you find and focus on the necessary information and eliminate unnecessary information.

5.     Evaluate your search results. Don’t assume that all sites listed has the information you are looking for. You must take the time to read and evaluate each piece to determine the accuracy, reliability, and currency of the information along with the validity and trust of the authority.

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Readers’ Advisory Services

Readers’ Advisory Services was defined by Joyce Saricks and Nancy Brown in 2005 as “a patron-oriented library service for adult fiction readers”. This definition has now changed to include electronic formats, print nonfiction and pleasure reading. It says Readers’ Advisory Services helps readers find specific books to match the reader’s preferences. This can also include music and movie selections, so it no longer limits itself to just fiction, print resources. Today’s librarians say that Readers’ Advisory Services helps users find what they would enjoy whether in print, online, and through a variety of resources. Librarians use conversational tools to help discover what the patron is looking for or interested in. Readers’ Advisory Services includes professional training as well. It is important to promote and educate the communities about what the library can do. It isn’t just about picking out a print format book to take home and read. There are a multitude of resources and services a library can provide and using Readers’ Advisory Services can help users discover that. Readers’ Advisory Services differs to research and the reference interview because Readers’ Advisory Services deal with finding sources for enjoyment and entertainment whereas the research interview is for locating and understanding specific information to answer a question or a series of questions. The conversations librarians hold with their patrons regarding the two are different as well. Stay away from the catch all phrase of “a good book” because what is “good” to you might not be “good” to many of your patrons. Find out what types of books your patrons like. Find out if they are looking for something different to read.

Electronic Tools for Adults

Bowker’s Fiction/Nonfiction Connection

Gale’s Books and Authors

EBSCO’s NoveList

FictionDB

Goodreads

Libraries Unlimited’s Genreflecting Advisory Series

Whichbook

Teachingbooks.net

fantasticfiction.co.uk

popsugar.com/entertainment/Books-Made-Movies-List-32193133

Adult Reading Round Table

AudioFile Plus

Fiction_L

The Readers’ Advisory Guide to Genre Fiction

Publishers Market Place

Shelf Awareness

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References Services for Children and Young Adults

The services provided must clearly support the curriculum and informational services to help children and young adults process and perceive information. They must be educated, supported, and not misled. Their interests and inquiries must be conducted within practical boundaries without biases. Using the Reference Services for Youth wiki tells of the barriers teens face when trying to obtain information. We must ensure that online and print services are age appropriate and will not cause harm. The resources must educate and inform and be free from pornographic sources. Children and young adults, just like adults get overwhelmed with the vast amounts of information when conducting searches. They tend to get side-tracked by other information and can lose their focus. Librarians must follow the same ethics and confidentiality, along with providing professional services to ensure both reference services and Readers’ Advisory Services are provided.

Electronic Tools for Children and Young Adults

Britannica Kids

DKfindout!

World Book Encyclopedia

Chase’s Calendar of Events

Guinness World Book of Records

The World Almanac for Kids

The American Heritage Dictionary

Children’s Illustrated Thesaurus

Merriam-Webster Word Central

e-Library Elementary at proquest.com

InfoTrac Junior Edition

InfoTrac Student Edition

Middle Search Plus

Primary Search

ArtsEdge

Design Squad Global

EDSITEment

Science Buddies

Library of Congress

National Geographic Student World Atlas

Perry-Castaneda Library Map Collection

Biography in Context at gale.com

Biography Reference Center

Ben’s Guide to the U. S. Government

Library of Congress

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Chapter 16

Information Literacy in the Reference Department

In order to fully benefit from using a library, no matter the type, one must become familiar with the resources available and know how to use them. Libraries must be open and non-threatening and be used to teach others how to access and use the information to gain knowledge and transfer that knowledge to new situations develop learning.

Standards for 21 st Century Learning by the AASL (American Association of School Librarians)

Inquire, think critically, and gain knowledge

Draw conclusions, make informed decisions, apply knowledge to new situations, create new knowledge

Share knowledge, participate ethically and productively as members of a democratic society

Pursue personal and aesthetic growth

Framework for Information Literacy for Higher Education by the ACRL (Association of College and Research Librarians)

Authority is constructed and contextual

Information creation as a process

Information has value

Research as inquiry

Scholarship as conversation

Searching as strategic exploration

The Big 6 by Eisenberg and Berkowitz (6 step strategy process for working with learners)

1.     Defining the information problem

2.     Determining the possible sources

3.     Locating the sources

4.     Using the information and extracting the information needed

5.     Organizing the material and presenting it

6.     Evaluating the product and process

Information Literacy Learning can occur in school media centers, in an academic library, in a public library, and in a special library where one-to-one assistance is available. Librarians must help novice learners understand plagiarism, copyright laws, and the diversity within the information available. Patrons need to learn adequate computer skills. There are not the same as texting skills. Just because a patron is text-savvy does not make that individual computer, internet, or tech literate. Librarians must make the most of each moment and take advantage of teachable moments. Research skills should be applied to each subject and should not be a stand-alone source. Library and research skills should be integrated across the curriculum. Librarians must keep the collections, both print and online, current. Resources must be evaluated for validity and currency.

The only way you can help any patron or user of the library is to become educated and develop a professional knowledge base by reading and becoming familiar with the books, both print and online versions, and electronic resources including all of the research tools that are available to assist the user.

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Ethics and confidentially must be followed and maintained at all times. Keep personal biases out of the workplace and out of the library. Equitable access must be ensured and be available and willing to assist all users.

It is important that librarians, when completing the selection process, include the learning objectives along with the district’s philosophy, goals, and missions. This provides a purpose for the selection process. Getting input from educators as to which resources could help support their instruction can also be valuable. Students’ learning styles must be considered when making selections of materials whether in print or through electronic resources. When beginning this process, things to keep in mind are:

To ensure the materials are age appropriate and are available to students, staff, and community to supplement learning and provide enrichment to the curriculum;

To ensure a wide range of materials are available representing various points of view within the community including social, cultural, ethnic, and religious groups;

To ensure that the materials selected are free from bias and are available in a variety of formats to allow patrons to develop critical thinking skills and develop their own informed decisions from the materials available; and

To select materials that stimulate growth, develop cultural and literary appreciation, contribute to societal growth, and provide aesthetic values.

It is important for librarians to use the selection process to create a balanced collection. When making any selection, the resource must provide value to the collection, be current and appropriate when addressing the content and age of the group, must be accurate and of quality which should reflect back on the author, publisher, and distributor. The costs of the resource must be considered to determine if a variety of formats are needed and if book series sets are really needed and of interest.

The librarian must make careful decisions when selecting resources. Reviews from journals or online professional sites must be conducted. Attending department meetings with educators and administrators to receive their feedback is necessary. Reading reviews from publishers will also give information to help with the selections. Pulling from a consideration file, or wish list, will also help when librarians make selections. After reviewing this information, then the librarian needs to make note of the selections wanted, the bibliographic information, the purchasing information, and to determine if the selection is already in in the collection along with which formats are available. The budget must be reviewed, and it should be determined if the purchase(s) should be made based on funds available, immediate needs or requests, and special features. Keep the collection maintenance as part of your regular routine to keep it up to date and accurate.

When gifts are given, it needs to be noted that regardless if it is physical resources or monetary donations, that consideration will be given to the resources provided and policies will be followed. Letters of provisions should be given to the donor noting what donations were made but not specifying a dollar amount to any physical resources (only monetary). It should also be noted that the library doesn’t accept donations with restrictions with respect to the use, disposition, or location of said items.

It is important to remember that within any library and with any selection made exists the possibility of a resource being challenged. Again, ensuring the policies that protect intellectual freedom and the selection of materials are physically in place as you begin your position as a librarian. This will specify the procedures that need to be followed with any occurrence. The Request for Consideration of Library Materials Form must be completed and submitted in a timely manner before any committee can be formed and a review can occur. Keep your principal informed at all times as communication is a key of ethics and best practices. Remember to keep any challenged item available until a final decision is made by the committee.

Librarians need to provide library orientation tours, bibliographic instruction and literacy information sessions, basic computer instruction classes, and internet literacy classes. Libraries can bring in local authors and experts to share their knowledge along with building and develop interests and study groups.

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These are still useful in today's research methods and searching resources in libraries. They have been created and used since as early as seventh century BC.
Bibliographies help compare and contrast information that has been collected from different resources. They can also help locate books as far back as the nineteenth century as well as books on specific subjects and topics of interests.
You can search bibliographies by titles, authors, and subject areas. Bibliographies tell you the title, author, date of publication, who the publisher is, edition, and if the resource is a print or electronic version. There are three main purposes for a bibliography. These are to:
identify and verify information;
locate materials;
and to select materials for a collection (Cassell & Hiremath, 2018).

Bibliographic Control are completed through the MARC (Machine Readable Cataloging) records, the ISBD (International Standard Bibliographic Description), and the RDA (Resource Description and Access.

Online Computer Library Center (OCLC) most noteworthy/non-profit utility

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Books in Print
WorldCat
Ulrichsweb (periodicals)
Literary Market Place (publishers)
American Library Directory (academic libraries)
Bowker's Complete Video Directory (films)

The Library of Congress (U. S.)
National Union Catalog (NUC: original card catalog for the Library of Congress)
Library of Congress Online Catalog
HathiTrust
New York Public Library Catalog
Five College Consortium in Massachusetts
Tri-Institutional Library Catalog (medical center libraries)

British National Bibliography (BNB through the United Kingdom)
British Library
Library and Archives Canada/AMICUS (Canada)

A World Bibliography of Bibliographies

American Reference Books Annual

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Their purpose is to provide information about what resources are available for purchase. These are usually listed by publishers and produced by pubishers and booksellers. These can also tell you what is in print, out of print, and coming soon to print.

Main source: Books in Print
This is a main source of global information. There is a global and a US edition.

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Periodicals, Newspapers, and Non-Print Materials

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Periodicals, Newspapers, and Non-Print Materials

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The top source of information concerning periodicals and newspapers comes from Ulrichsweb as it lists over 300,000 publications. It provides basic information about the resource along with the ISSN (International Standard Serial Number).

Other Sources:
Magazines for Libraries
MediaFinder
The International Directory of Little Magazines and Small Presses
The Gale Directory of Databases
ProQuest
Ebscohost
Fulltext Sources Online (FSO)
The Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ)

Nonprint Sources:
The Video Source Book
Bowker's Complete Video Directory
The Internet Movie Database (IMDB)
NICEM Film and Video Finder
Online
Bowker's Guide to Audiobooks

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These are sources that can be used to find information about publishers.

Publishers, Distributors, and Wholesalers of the United States

The American Book Trade Directory

Publishers Directory

The Library and Book Trade Almanac

Literary Market Place: The Directory of the American Book Publishing Industry

American Library Directory

World Guide to Libraries

Directory of Special Libraries and Information Centers
Vol 1: subject-specific resources by businesses, educational institutions, non-profits, and government entities.
Vol. 2: geographical and personnel indexes.

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Basic tips for evaluating bibliographic resources:
Check for accuracy
Evaluate the authority; validate the source
Check the scope of the information; subject specific, date specific, etc.
Look at the arrangement of the bibliography. Is it easy to read or difficult to read, use, and/or interpret?
Evaluate the introduction and methodology of the bibliography. Does it contain enough information for usage?
Does it have errors, is it lacking information, and is it current in information?

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These can be in print or electronic form.
Many libraries are moving to online and electronic forms so they do not take up space and are easily available to readers.
Whether in print or online form, the source must still be evaluated. The internet has brought reference materials within reach of many patrons and they are no longer limited to what is within library walls.
These include encyclopedias, dictionaries, thesauruses, atlases.
You must check the focus, age-appropriateness, pictures and illustrations, scope, and format of source. Look also at what provides the information based on learning styles.

This can also include Medical reference Materials (medical encyclopedias, dictionaries, PDR, Children's Health, Surgical Manuals, Merck Manual, Gray's Anatomy Manual, Drug References), Phone Books, Rules of Etiquette, User Manuals, Timelines, Law Books and Legal Dictionaries, Statistics, Books of Quotations, College Handbooks, and Yearbooks.

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You can obtain information from resources about the lives of people.  This can include open records obtained from the courthouses, through online resources, obituaries, land deeds, Census Data, Who's Who Databases, Subject specific bibliographies such as The American Men and Women of Science, Notable American Women, The American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature, and The National Women's History Museum to name a few.
Again, with any resource, including bibliographies, always evaluate the source for accuracy, currency, scope of the subject and information, length of the entry, inclusion, age appropriateness, validity, how often updates occur, photos or illustrations, and any further reading recommendations.