Science and Technology Resources In the High School Setting

City of Lakes High School Dartmouth, Nova Scotia

School Features/Demographics  French Immersion Program  International Baccalaureate (IB) Program  Individual Program Plan Students  Foundations/Alternative Learning Students  Many English Second Language (ESL) students

Evaluation Criteria  Scope  Authority  Currency  Audience  Format  Accessibility  Cost  Amount of Canadian content  Appropriateness (for age group and curriculum)

History of Science & Technology Reference Materials

Ebsco Host Science Reference Center Runner-Up: Science Direct  Large Scope  Full-text from over 5000 sources  Multi-Media  Free!  But…  May be overwhelming

Canadian Encyclopedia  Bilingual Resource  Science and History of Science Information  Large number of Contributors  Online Resource  Strong Canadian Content  Free! But…  Not exclusively Science Content Runner-Up: World Book

Virtual Reference Library  Created by Librarians  Canadian Content  Bilingual Resources  Easily searchable  Homework help available  Free! But…  Based in Ontario Runner-Up: Directory of Open Access Journals

Facts on File – Science Online  Wide-range of information  Well-reviewed  Authoritative sources  Updated regularly  Quick facts, extended articles and bios, multimedia resources But…  Expensive  Only available online  Only in English Runner-Up: Brittanica Online Student Edition

Harrap’s French and English Science Dictionary  Well-Known publisher  Diverse subject matter  Easily Searchable  Useful for Librarians  Affordable But…  Last update 1990 Runner-Up: Dictionnaire pratique: pour les biologistes, les chimistes, les médecins

Desk Ref  Information for students in sciences and trades.  Ease of navigability.  Affordable.  Accessible. But…  Only available in English  A lot of non-scientific information  Not frequently updated Runner-Up: Pocket Ref

How It Works  Easy-to-read  Many articles, illustrations  Accessible  Affordable (if purchased used) But…  Last published in 2003  Too simplistic for IB students Runner-Up: McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science and Technology

The Usborne Illustrated Dictionary of Science  Appropriate Scope  Accessible  Full Colour  Affordable  Canadian Spelling  Easy to Navigate But…  May not appeal to more advanced students  Not arranged alphabetically Runner-Up: McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Science and Technology

Facts at Your Fingertips  Large Scope  Over 200 Entries per book  Easy-to-read format  Accessible  Affordable But…  Not very in-depth  Publisher is not well-known  Can be expensive Runner-Up: Web of Science

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Ocean  Current and Authoritative  Affordable  Visually Stimulating  Appealing to many students  Easy to Navigate But…  May not cover the same breadth of material as other sources. Runner-Up: Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences

More Runners-Up  African American Firsts: Science and Technology  Concise Encyclopedia of Science  CRTC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics  Encyclopedia of Earth and Physical Sciences  Encyclopedia of Life Sciences  Encyclopedia of Mammals  Encyclopedia of Weather and Climate  Great Engineers in History  History of Mathematics Series  How Computers Work  How Stuff Works  Notable Women Scientists  Oceans  Rainforests of the World  The New Book of Popular Science  The Way Things Work  World of Series (biology, chemistry, physics, etc)

Special Thanks to: Janet Servant – Teacher Librarian Dan Trivett – Library Support Specialist Halifax West High School Gene-Marie MacDonald – Teacher Librarian Citadel High School Rebecca King – Librarian Cornwallis Junior High School

Questions?