Evaluation of a Reference Work: Countries Around the World

“We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open.”

– Jawaharial Nehru

    A significant resource that needs exploration and purchasing at our school is non-fiction informational books about countries. There are four classes that require their students to use an inquiry process to learn about a country of their choice. "Teachers who use the inquiry-based approach view every learning opportunity as a place for student engagement in inquiry."(BCTLA,2022).  The process of selecting a country, unpacking the requirements of the report, collecting information, assessing the information, writing, editing and presenting takes about four months. 

    Assessing the accuracy of information is an important and timely process for students. “Today’s students learn in a dynamic world where information changes and expands as fast as technological innovation. Information that grows exponentially and comes in multiple formats is presented without prior expert editing for truth or reliability, often without logical organization and frequently with a very short ‘shelf life.’” (BCTLA, 2022). Embedding the assessment of resources into the inquiry process is new for many grade 6 students. It can be an added frustration for students to discover that their online or print source is inaccurate, outdated, or irrelevant. During the inquiry process, students have found the need to check multiple sources for current data on population, or accurate names of specific government leaders. In our ever changing global climate having current print resources is a helpful starting point in inquiry.

   The grade 6 teachers developed the Country Assignment as a Language Arts Inquiry Assignment. Students are required to write in a persuasive tone so that readers would like to visit their country of choice while providing information about population, culture, sports, wildlife, geographic features, climate, and destination sites. One of the Grade 6 Language Arts Big Ideas is, “Exploring stories and other texts helps us understand ourselves and make connections to others and to the world.” (BC Ministry of Education, 2022). Students need to use multiple print and digital sources for information. They are required to make a full sized tri-fold display board showcasing their report, images, and bibliography. They will also be presenting orally to parents and peers.

  

    

    One of the relevant Grade 6 Communication Core Competencies from Building Student Success is Acquiring and Presenting Information, "Students communicate by receiving and presenting information. They inquire into topics of interest and topics related to their studies. They acquire information from a variety of sources, including people, print materials, and media; this may involve listening, viewing, or reading, and requires understanding of how to interpret information. They present information for many purposes and audiences, and their presentations often feature media and technology."

   

  It is required that students use at least two print resources from which to gather notes. Our library has a selection of books about a variety of countries but they are outdated. There is also a disproportionate number of books on a few countries. For example, in our library there are many titles on France, but none on Brazil, Australia, New Zealand, or Ireland, all of which were chosen for reports this year.

    Last year a number of books about countries were purchased from the Blastoff! Exploring Countries series. This is the publication that was also recommended by other teacher-librarians. In general, the books are suitable but were published between 2010 and 2015. At approximately $25 a book, it seems like a lot of money to spend on an outdated source. After searching the public library resources with students, we found that the most suitable books were travel guides. They were the most current, informative print books available. I met with teachers giving the assignment and suggested that I look into purchasing some travel guide books for the library. They agreed that building a collection of ‘country’ guide books would be helpful to students. While allowing the students to choose their country gives them creative freedom, it also creates a challenge. There are currently 195 recognized countries in the world. It is unrealistic to have a book on every country before students choose. There are some general trends over the years for country choice, and some obvious gaps from this year. It is these gaps that I am exploring resources for to fill the immediate need. 

    Using the 'selection criteria for reference material' in Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada (Asselin, 2006), Reference Skills for the School Librarian (Reidling, 2019), and from Focused Education (Focused Ed, 2022), I designed a rubric to help evaluate reference resources and its usefulness in our school program. I tried to make the rubric comprehensive but flexible enough to be used to evaluate any resource material. 

    After looking through travel guides at both the library and book stores, I concluded that the most suitable books for our school needs were the DK Eyewitness books, and Insight Guides. Both of these resources were recently updated, had a larger font for ease of reading, many large images, detailed maps, in-depth information on history and culture as well as access to online material. The Lonely Planet books had fewer images, and dedicated large sections of the books to specific costs of accommodation and food.

    The DK Eyewitness books range in price from $ 27. 33- $35. 99 CA at Indigo Books which had the best prices and widest selection of Countries. Depending on the country, the newest edition of books were published in 2022, or 2023.  Over 40 different country Guide books are available, not including features on major cities, which have their own guide book. Indigo offers a school discount. Ordering from DK directly converted prices into pounds and required shipping from the United Kingdom adding significantly to the cost.  I completed the Selection Criteria Rubric using the DK Eyewitness Australia book.

    The country books that have been requested for priority this year are Australia, New Zealand, Ireland, Brazil, and Norway. To purchase guide books for 5 countries is: $114.25, and minus the school discount of $17.14, totals $97.25 plus tax, is $104.06. With a collection plan in mind, each year the school library budget could set aside approximately $100 each year to continue building the country travel guide resources in the library. 

       The DK Eyewitness books contain the information needed by students to contribute to their reports. The travel guides have a table of contents, an index, and colour coded chapters to different parts of the featured country. The books have detailed maps, graphics, and beautiful photography making them more visual than other guide books. The guide books recommend online sites to provide more information about specific features in the books. In particular, it listed an authentic Indigenous website to direct readers to learn more about Australia's Indigenous Peoples. I feel the DK Eyewitness books would be a suitable print resource for students to use in combination with online sources to collect information for their reports.

    In addition to the travel guides, two other resources that are suitable and will added to the library collection are The Lonely Planet Kids: The Travel Book (Lonely Planet, 2022) for $27. 91, and The Lonely Planet Kids: Amazing World Atlas (By Alexa Ward, 2020) for $27.56. Both books are visual, with useful information and designed with appeal to all ages. There is a limited amount of information on each country but both books provide an excellent starting point for further inquiry. 

    As I become more experienced in assessing resource materials, I suspect I will simplify the Selection Criteria rubric to make the form more streamlined, and allowing space to assess a few resources on one rubric. It has become apparent to me through this assignment that I really need to browse the print copy of the book myself, rather than rely on reviews. In knowing my students, I can already guess which ones are going to be excited when these resources are ready for circulation.

References and Works Cited

Asselin, M., et al. Achieving Information Literacy: Standards for School Library Programs in Canada. The Canadian School Library Association, 2006.

British Columbia, Ministry of Education (n.d.). Core competencies. Victoria, BC: Ministry of Education. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies

Dorling, Kindersley, DK Eyewitness Australia, London, United Kingdom, 2022.

Ekdahl, M., M. Farquharson, J. Robinson, L. Turner. (2022). The Points of Inquiry: A Framework for In- formation Literacy and the 21st Century Learner.: Revised ed. Vancouver, BC: British Columbia Teacher-Librarians’ Association. (Original Work published 2010)

Focused Education Resources: Learning Resource Selection Model, Focused Education, Nov. 2022, focusedresources.ca/en/k12.

Lonely Planet, The Travel Book 2 2nd Ed.: 2nd Edition: A Journey Through Every Country in the World, New York, 2022.

Riedling, A. M., & Houston, C. Reference Skills for the School Librarian: Tools and Tips. 4th ed., Libraries Unlimited, 2019.

Ward, Alexa. 22nd ed., Lonely Planet Amazing World Atlas 22nd ed., Lonely Planet, New York, 2020.