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FINDING ANSWERS
Seven resources teachers need that go well beyond Google...
and how a librarian can help.

You know how to facilitate student questions, BUT... do you know the resources to help them find answers, and in the process ask new questions? A link to a possible answer is still not an answer.

Libraries can save you time. Free online library resources are available 24/7 at your online library. Iowa provides access for school libraries to high quality reference materials and journal indexes that you won't find on the free Internet.

# 1 World Book Online
Iowa AEA Online http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/ provides Iowa school libraries access 24/7 to World Book Encyclopedia online with all articles from the 22 volume set plus thousands of additional articles, pictures, videos, and sounds. As a UNI student, you have access through the Rod Library to Britannica Online, which includes the student and elementary versions of Encyclopedia Britannica. Select UNISTAR and do a title search for Britannica Online  http://www.library.uni.edu/ Why encyclopedias? Won't kids just copy? Not if the assignment is to read the article and to choose an issue surrounding the Civil War to research (choose any issue reported in the encyclopedia and find more information in other sources), rather than to simply report on a battle. Don't just do a state report, challenge them to compare states' employment, poverty, or education issues, or current Native American population, Latino population, etc. Start with the encyclopedia to explore and help focus a research question.

Check for your library subscriptions to other online reference sources written for the information needs of kids and adolescents, such as the New Book of Popular Science, which has in-depth science, plus science in the news for middle and high schools; Lands and Peoples, up-to-date information for countries and states. For trials, see Grolier.com or ABC-CLIO for social studies subscription websites for American Government, American History, State Geography, World Geography, and World History.

#2 Books and Media
Books still have it when it comes to organized information, edited content, and comprehensive coverage. The UNI library has a Youth Collection that simulates a school library collection. Search in UNISTAR http://www.library.uni.edu/ and use the pull down box to limit the location to "UNI Youth." Also note that UNISTAR can also search the Cedar Valley Library Consortium that includes Waterloo and Cedar Falls public libraries. For a Statewide public library search, go to State of Iowa Libraries Online (SILO): http://www.silo.lib.ia.us/silo.html And for a searchable catalog of media materials in a local AEA, use AEA 267 Media Catalog at http://icat.aea7.k12.ia.us/

#3 Periodicals: EBSCOhost
Iowa AEA Online http://www.iowaaeaonline.org/ provides all Iowa school libraries access 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to EBSCOhost, an electronic journals index to thousands of e-journals containing millions of articles from hundreds of different publishers, all at one web site. As a UNI student, you have access to EBSCOhost, in addition to over 150 more databases, through http://www.library.uni.edu/ Databases A to Z, and select EBSCOhost.

# 4 Librarian-Created Web Directories

American Library Association's Great Web Sites for Kids http://www.ala.org/parentspage/greatsites/amazing.html Compiled by the Children and Technology Committee of the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association.

Digital Librarian:  http://www.digital-librarian.com/   A librarian's choice of the best of the Web with emphasis on the "A librarian."  This site is maintained by one librarian, Margaret Vail Anderson in Cortland, New York.

Discovery School's Kathy Schrock's Guide for Educators-a classified list of sites on the Internet found to be useful for enhancing curriculum and teacher professional growth: http://discoveryschool.com/schrockguide/ Kathy Schrock is a library media specialist who maintains a lengthy list of annotated educational sites for teachers and students categorized by curriculum areas. This site also includes forms for students to critically evaluate Internet sources and APA and MLA bibliographic information for students.

FREE (Federal Resources for Educational Excellence): http://www.ed.gov/free/index.html FREE makes it easy to find learning resources for teachers and students from more than 35 federal organizations. Resources include teaching ideas, learning activities, photos, maps, primary documents, data, paintings, sound recordings, and more -- on thousands of topics...

Internet Public Library: http://www.ipl.org/ Browse by topic. Features KidSpace and TeenSpace.

Librarian's Index to the Internet:  http://lii.org  LII is an annotated subject directory of Internet resources selected and evaluated by librarians for their usefulness.

# 5 Library of Congress - Special Collections

Library of Congress Home Page: http://lcweb.loc.gov/ Features searchable databases of American Memory (primary sources of history and culture with photos, essays, sounds, and video), Global Gateway to world culture and resources, and Thomas Legislative Information on the Internent (search and track bills in Congress)

# 6 Web Search Engines for Kids

Yahooligans: the Web Guide for Kids: http://www.yahooligans.com/ Subject directory and search engine of sites for kids, although not limited to educational sites.

Ask Jeeves for Kids: http://www.ajkids.com Search engine for kids.

# 7 Reviews Online for Books, Software, Etc.

As a UNI student, you can read reviews in the Children's Literature Comprehensive Database available from the UNI l ibrary homepage, under Databases A to Z. Children's Catalog, Middle and Junior High School Library Catalog, and Senior High School Library Catalog also have recommended books for a library collection. Children's Software Finder is another database that reviews educational software.

Electronic Informational Sources: CD-ROMs and Laserdiscs for student research are avaiable in the College of Education IRTS collection and the UNI library youth collection. To see a listing of all CD-ROMs in the UNI Youth Collection, do a Keyword search in UNISTAR at http://www.library.uni.edu for "juvenile software." Then Modify the Search by Publication type = Computer File and by Location = UNI Youth. To see a listing of all software in IRTS, search UNISTAR Keyword search = software and limit location to UNI Instruct Resources & Tech Services.  CD-ROMs & laserdiscs are also available through AEAs.

# 8 Finding Fiction - Reading Motivation to Stimulate MORE Questions!

Ok, I know I said seven sources you need, but number eight is important! Everyone knows that in addition to finding the answers using books and reference materials, students need recreational reading guidance to help them increase the time they spend reading. More time spent reading will lead to improved reading comprehension. See Finding Fiction and the recommended children's reading lists from the American Library Association and other sources.