resource

Resources in the Collection

Description of the Collection

The arrangement of materials in the Youth Collection is similar to that found in school library media centers so that UNI education students can become familiar with this system as part of their teacher training.

This is an integrated collection in which format is secondary to content. Books, videotapes, and CD-ROMs appear next to each other on the shelf. There are no separate sections for non-print formats.

The call number location, appropriate interest level for each item, and content summary are indicated in the item record on UNISTAR, Rod Library's online public access catalog.

Reference Section

The reference section consists of two parts.

Professional materials, such as retrospective or specialized bibliographies, critical writings, and teaching resources are classified YRP (Youth Reference Professional). Genre indexes are available for folklore, poetry, and children's songs.

Reference materials written for children and young adults are classified YR (Youth Reference). Children's almanacs, dictionaries, encyclopedias, and more specialized reference books are located here.

The Reference section also includes resources for locating biographical information about authors and illustrators and for accessing reviews of children's and young adult materials.

Two Windows CD-ROM workstations provide access to electronic reference materials, including children's encyclopedias and specialized sources such as Children's Reference Plus and Elementary School Library Collection.

Picture Books

The picture books are classified "YE". The collection represents the work of major authors and illustrators, many artistic styles and mediums, and diverse audiences.

Fiction

All full-length fiction, including fantasy, historical fiction, and contemporary realism, are part of the fiction section. Titles in this section are selected primarily for students in grades 3 through 12.

Biography

Both full-length biographies and biographies in picture book format are part of this section.

Non-Fiction

All non-fiction materials are arranged according to the Dewey Classification System. Subjects are assigned numbers ranging from 001 to 999. Folklore is classified as 398 and poetry as 821.

Notable Books

Complete collections of the Caldecott Award and the Newbery Award books are displayed in glass cases. Iowa book awards for children and young adults--the Iowa Children's Choice Award and the Iowa Teen Award--are also on display. These books may be removed from the cases for viewing in the Youth Collection only. They do not circulate. Additional circulating copies of these books are shelved within the various sections of the Youth Collection.

Historical Collection

A small section (about 500 volumes) represents the world of children's literature prior to 1960. The titles included in this section are no longer considered popular among young readers today, but they are retained here for those conducting historical research.

Children's and Young Adult Magazines

Current issues of many children's magazines, including Children's Magazine Guide, are available in the Youth Collection. Some popular teen titles, such as Seventeen, Teen, and Sport, are also part of the collection. Issues are kept for one year in the Youth Collection. Most back issues are located in the magazine files, but several major titles are kept in the Youth Collection Office and bound after one year. Bound titles are shelved on the first floor in the Rod Library Periodicals Collection.

Other Sections

The Youth Collection also includes small collections of books in Braille and children's books in foreign languages.

Accessing the Youth Collection

All Youth Collection materials are indexed in UNISTAR, Rod Library's online public access catalog.

Several features make this system useful to educators.

Complete lists of illustrators' works in the Youth Collection, as well as authors' works can be retrieved by entering A (Author) on the main menu and typing the person's name. (Enter surnames first, followed by first and middle names).

Titles of series in the Youth Collection as well as titles of single volumes can be retrieved by entering T (Title) on the main menu and typing the title.

Keyword access is available. Keywords are searched within title, subject, corporate author and content note fields. (Use this index when subject searches have not retrieved what you need or when you are unsure of the exact title.)

Searches can be limited to the Youth Collection by entering L (limit), W (where), the number indicated for the Youth Collection, and F (find). Searches may also be limited by materials type, language, publisher, or year of publication.

Similar materials can be identified by entering S. This feature is particularly helpful in developing teaching units and literature webs.

The status box for each entry indicates call number location and availability.

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