ORE on the Web from Ohio Library Council 2000-2008, http://www.olc.org
| If time permits, it can be beneficial to examine one or two reference books in your collection each day. At the very least, you need to examine each new reference book you receive. |
| Parts of a Book |
| Author - This is the person responsible for
the contents of the book and whose name appears on the "title page." Sometimes
there is an editor or compiler instead of an author, and sometimes the "author"
is an agency or other group. In evaluating a reference book, you can ask yourself if you
are familiar with the author's name and if that person is an authority in the field. For
example, a book on astronomy by Carl Sagan would appear to be written by an expert in that
subject. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Title - Titles often can be very
descriptive and tell you quite a bit about the book. Subtitles are especially helpful in
this regard. The title, Best Encyclopedias: A Guide to General and Specialized
Encyclopedias, leaves little doubt about the contents of that book. Not all titles are so
helpful, but many can be good clues. Sometimes the title on the spine of the book (back
edge) is not the same as the one on the title page. If you need to know the
"official" title of a book, check the title page. That is the page near the
front of the book that has both the title and author, and often the publisher and place of
publication. In the World Almanac, for example, the title page is the very first page of
the book. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Volume - In a set of several books, each
will have its own volume number or letter. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Edition - All copies of a book printed from
a set of plates makes up an edition. If additional copies are printed from the same
plates, the book has been re-issued. But if any changes are made in the book, either
bringing it up to date or adding material, it is called a new, revised or second (or
later) edition. As a general rule, using the latest available edition provides better and
more updated material, so it's wise to check the edition you are using. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Series - A series is a number of separate
works which are related to each other in some way and are issued in succession, normally
by the publisher and often in uniform style with a collective title. Be careful not to
confuse the series title and the book title. A Time-Life Book series is The Old West, and
the title of one of the volumes in the series is The Cowboys. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Place of Publication - The place of
publication usually appears on the title page, but sometimes it is on the
"verso" or back of the title page. This can be significant if, for example, you
have a book on gardening and it was published in England. You might be alert to advice
that does not apply to the climate of Ohio. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Publisher's Name - This is usually found on
the title page. Like authors, publishers gain good or bad reputations. For example,
Merriam-Webster's name as a dictionary publisher generally assures a high quality product.
_______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Date of Publication - The copyright date
can appear on the title page or on the verso of the title page. This is one of the most
important things to note about a reference book. Is the material still current? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
|
| Foreword or Preface - In the foreword or
preface, the author states the purpose for writing the book and expresses thanks to those
who assisted in the writing. Knowing the purpose of the book gives you a good sense of the
kinds of questions you will be able to answer with the book and the kinds of things you
won't expect to find there. The foreword helps you determine the scope of the book. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
|
| Introduction or Instructions for Use - This
differs from the preface in that it is about the subject of the book. This is a crucial
part of a reference book. It often gives you instructions you need to understand how the
book works. When you pick up a reference book for the first time, read the introduction! _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Table of Contents - This gives a list of
the chapters or parts of a book. You can tell at a glance what material is covered in the
book and the order in which it is presented. Reading the Table of Contents can give you a
quick overview of the book and what it can do for you. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
|
| Text - This is the main body of the book.
Check for the arrangement of the book. Is it alphabetical? Chronological? Is it arranged
by subject? What information is included for each entry? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Appendix - This is supplementary or added
material that cannot easily be introduced into the text. It's a good idea to become
familiar with the material in the appendix since some of the most helpful information is
often found there. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Glossary - This is a list of unusual,
technical, or obsolete terms with definitions or explanations. It is usually found in the
back. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
|
| Index - This is an alphabetical list of
topics, names, etc. in a book or group of books, with references to pages or item numbers
where they occur. An index is to a book what a card catalog is to a library. It lets you
locate the needed information. Try to get in the habit of checking indexes. In an
encyclopedia, for example, while there may be a major article on Arkansas, by checking the
index you may find relevant information on Arkansas included in articles on other topics,
too. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| Evaluating New Reference Sources |
| The Purpose Why was the book written? What is it intended to do? Does it really do that? Use the title, foreword or preface, introduction, table of contents, and an examination of the text itself to help you determine the purpose. _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
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| The Authority Is the author qualified to write the book? Is the publisher reputable? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
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| The Scope What does the book really cover? Does the dictionary cover only words currently in use, or does it contain obsolete words, too? Does the biographical dictionary include only dead people? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________
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| The Audience Who is the book written for? Is the medical book meant for the lay person or for a doctor? Is the encyclopedia for a child or for an adult? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
| The Format How is the book arranged? Does it have an index? Is it easy to use? _______________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________ |
|
ORE on the Web, Ohio Library Council, 2008. |