1. Reference Materials for
Youths
Katrina Braet
Jodi Haven
Deborah Manganello
Victoria Soule
Eva Weihl

2. Overview
The goal of this presentation is to identify, survey, and analyze the
reference tools available for children under the age of 13.
We have focused on a small selection of reference works that represent the
best available resources in a variety of categories and formats.
This presentation will focus on four major categories of resources:
encyclopedias and dictionaries, bibliographies and reader’s advisory tools,
atlases and almanacs, and databases and digital resources.
These categories do not represent the entirety of all youth reference
materials, but are broad enough in scope to encompass a large portion of
them in a cohesive format.
Although some resources may fit into several of these categories, we have
assigned them based on the primary function of the work (i.e.: an
encyclopedia with both print and digital editions would fall under the
category “encyclopedias and dictionaries,” while an exclusively digital
repository would fall under “databases and digital resources.”)
The best resources as we have chosen them will be described in the
following slides; additional information analyzing their strengths will be
included in audio narration and accompanying note fields. A complete
bibliography of sources will be included at the end of the presentation.

3. Methodology
As a group, we surveyed and located children’s reference
materials through a variety of channels: public libraries,
databases, web searches, professional reviews, and
personal recommendations.
These resources were aggregated and then pared down
to what we deemed the “best,” based on the application of
three evaluative criteria: authority, currency, and ease of
use.
These criteria are formatted as a series of questions to
pose to each resource; although not all questions are
applicable to each resource, they are formulated to
illustrate the overall effectiveness and quality of a
resource.

4. Criteria: Authority
AUTHORITY: Are the creators (writers, editors,
researchers, compilers, and so on) of the work credible
authorities on the subject? Are the credentials of the
creators easily findable? Does the work include
references and citations to substantiate the content?

5. Criteria: Currency
CURRENCY: Is the resource up-to-date? Was it created
within a suitable time frame to ensure the information is
current and accurate? If not, has it been recently edited,
updated, or amended? Is the resource actively curated to
ensure its accuracy?

6. Criteria: Ease of Use
EASE OF USE: Can this resource be easily found and
accessed by children under 13? Is the information
presented clearly, concisely, and logically? Will a child
under 13 be able to find the information they are looking
for easily and with little assistance? Is there an index or
table of contents to assist research? Is there a
subscription or fee associated with the use of the
resource? Is it prohibitively expensive for a user or an
information repository to acquire and utilize? Who are the
intended users of this resource?

7. Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
World Book Kids Online:
http://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home Provides age-leveled
search engines, articles, timelines, educational videos, activities,
and games for children Pre-K and up in areas such as early
childhood thinking skills and core subject areas. There is a specific
area designed for children PreK-2nd grade that is kid-friendly and
offers a variety of learning tools and games aimed to teach children
based on their educational needs. Contains information on religion,
technology, life skills, sports, and hobbies. Located on the World
Book’s Kid Info Finder page, students are able to search the
database for articles, pictures, videos, reports, and much more.
There are also specific sections on this page dedicated to daily
newspapers, biographies, science projects, and current events. A
dedicated children’s reference page also provides a dictionary, a
citation builder, and information on how to properly research.
Children’s Encyclopedia of American History: a reference guide
for children that provides information about America’s past
historical events with the aid of maps, pictures, and illustrations.
With historical events starting back from over 1,000 years ago to
now, it provides children with a great overall resource to use when
searching for information on America’s history.

8. Encyclopedias & Dictionaries
Oxford Illustrated Children’s Dictionary: This resource
provides children with over 20,000 word definitions along
with example sentences, pronunciation guides, and
colorful pictures. With its family-friendly format children
are able to learn about word meanings, pronunciation,
word origins, and correct word usage through context.
Merriam-Webster’s Word Central:
http://www.wordcentral.com A children's online dictionary
where students can search word meanings, create their
own dictionaries, learn daily new words, and play word
games. Children can also use the online search engine on
this site as a thesaurus or to find words that rhyme with
the word they are searching. Each word listed in this
online dictionary is provided with a definition, word
function, and pronunciation with audio.

9. Bibliographies & Reader’s
Advisory Tools
StoryPlace: storyplace.org is an award-winning interactive online
children’s digital library featured on the Charlotte Mecklenburg
Library website. Free to anyone, this site offers birth-elementary
aged children and their caregivers the chance to hear online stories
in English or Spanish, click through online activities, take home
printable activities, and view thematic reading lists. Children can
enter the Preschool or Elementary Library and explore its many
options. Book Hive is a search database of book reviews broken
into categories such as Adventure, Poetry, Scary; and then further
narrowed by audience (birth through grade 6).
Reading Rockets:
http://www.readingrockets.org/books/booksbytheme. An extensive
collection of reading lists sorted by theme of books for readers up
to about age 9, including author interviews, articles on literacy, and
so much more. The multiple award-winning site contains a section
specifically for librarians with links to tools like Bookfinder (by PBS
Parents) where users can select age (birth-8), theme (friends,
feelings, art, etc.) and also enter keywords to find appropriate
books.

10. Bibliographies & Reader’s
Advisory Tools
ALSAC: http://www.ala.org/alsc/compubs The Association for
Library Service to Children division of ALA has compiled several
lists and guidebooks for award-winning children's literature. The
books and booklists represent titles carefully selected by ALSC
committees made up of librarians, children's literature experts,
school faculty, publishers and more. Lists are compiled in reference
books or can be accessed online. Compilations of Notable Books
offer collections of titles which have stood the test of time and
should appeal to a wide variety of readers. ALSC also has
recommended reading lists for children under the age of 5.
Database of Award-Winning Children’s Literature:
http://www.dawcl.com/ A regularly updated database of books for
children which have won awards, created and maintained by
librarian Lisa R. Bartle. This resource is used to find award-winning
titles past-current. Users can select searching properties from the
following: Age (birth-14+), Setting, Historical period, Language,
Format (picture book, reference material, etc.), Genre, Gender of
protagonist, publication year; also, can enter keywords or
author/illustrator’s name. Can search by award, or choose to
search ALL awards. Dozens of awards are included such as
American Indian Youth Literature Award, Scott O’Dell Award,
YALSA Top Ten.

11. Bibliographies & Reader’s
Advisory Tools
RIF: http://www.rif.org/us/literacy-resources/booklists.htm
Reading is Fundamental (RIF) site features children’s
book lists carefully crafted by their expert Literature
Advisory Panel. This site includes lists of Caldecott and
Newbery titles, but unique to this site is the multicultural
lists from 2007-2014, compiled by grade level (pre K –
Grade 5). Many of the selections include activities and
lesson plans.

12. Atlases & Almanacs
National Geographic for Kids:
http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find A regularly
updated website that covers both cultural and physical
geographic of the countries around the world. Can be used to
answer questions regarding geography. Example: What
countries are located in North America? What climates do these
countries experience? What is their culture and people like?
National Geographic World Atlas For Kids (4th ed.): This
book covers in-depth both cultural and physical geographic of
the countries around the world. It is used to address questions
regarding geography and culture. Example: What ethic groups
are located in ____ country? What major religions are
worshiped in ____ country? What is the landmass size of ___
country?

13. Atlases & Almanacs
Children’s World Atlas: Published by Dorling Kindersley
(DK) Publishing, this book specializes in illustrated
reference books for adults and children. This book covers
in-depth both cultural and physical geographic of the
countries around the world. Although the material in this
book is 2 years old, this volume has some of the most
beautiful graphics on the market, and is a useful tool for
visually engaging with geographical and cultural concepts
and information.

14. Atlases & Almanacs
The Old Farmer’s Almanac for Kids: Published yearly, this
almanac covers historical events, science/historical information,
and activities for children. It addresses a plethora of topics such
as "Is a tomato a fruit or vegetable?" and "What day was
Benjamin Franklin born and who is he?" There are also
historical and educational notes on events on each day in the
almanac, with a visually compelling layout.
World Almanac For Kids Online:
http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com Infobase Publishing, a
leader in the publishing world for educational materials, has
been making their World Almanac for over 100 years. Their
online children's almanac is updated daily, and covers historical
events, school subject information, activities for children,
homework help, and more. It offers homework help and
citations for easy use.

15. Databases & Digital Resources
PebbleGo!: http://www.pebblego.com Part of the Capstone
Company, an established name in the education community for many
years, PebbleGo! is an acclaimed online database for emergent
readers, aimed at students in grades K-3. It provides databases on
subjects such as animals, biographies, earth and space, and social
studies. It also includes educational games, an article of the day, and
a poll question of the day. This database features leveled text and
reading scaffolds to engage children with simultaneous research and
reading. It is valuable because students can read the text as well as
being accompanied by full narration, and also allows students to type
in search terms or search visually.
TrueFlix: www.scholastic.com/trueflix An online resource created by
the well known company Scholastic books, this source for upper
elementary students augments their “True Book” nonfiction print
series and helps students to improve literacy skills and gain content
area knowledge. The primary function of this database is to give
students an introduction to the inquiry process. It can be used
individually by students or as a group activity on a whiteboard. It
includes a “read it” option which has leveled texts, and a “watch it”
option that includes voice-over reading, as well as an “explore more”
section that accompanies every True Book links to the Grolier Online
Encyclopedia articles, and an activity center for informal interactive
assessment.

16. Databases & Digital Resources
InfoTrac Junior Edition: A more advanced, in-depth
research tool for students at the middle school level,
InfoTrac Junior introduces the content and features of an
academic research database in a way that is accessible to
elementary and middle school students. It contains full-text
titles from sources such as magazines, newspapers,
and reference works for information on current events, the
arts, and science; student researchers can easily access
over 300 indexed general interest titles. The layout and
interface is scholarly but simple and easy to use, and
competently introduces research concepts such as
citations, relevancy ratings, multi-format materials, and
more. It is part of the Gale PowerSearch platform, which is
a branch of the Gale Virtual Reference Libraries, a highly
credible and powerful reference tool.

17. Reflections & Conclusion
The breadth and depth of the research tools available for
children directly affects how both children and information
professionals interact with those resources. Because of this
scope and variety, it is imperative to thoughtfully analyze these
sources in terms of quality and usability with a clear set of
criteria. This analysis guides our children's reference collection
development as well as our ability to instruct students on their
usage.
Criteria can be applied differently depending on the resource;
not all resources will meet every guideline, but that does not
mean it is unusable. For instance, some of our chosen "best"
resources are print books that are less current, but have
valuable illustrations or other factors that make it strong in the
area of ease of use. Ultimately, the evaluation criteria are a
guideline to consider how a work fits into a reference collection
overall, rather than a checklist that exists in stasis and without
context.

18. Reflections & Conclusions
Ultimately, a children's reference collection must be created with
balance in mind. Some factors that are important to consider
when building and evaluating a youth reference collection:
Budget: What is the price? Will this item need to be replaced
frequently as information becomes outdated? Will several
children be able to use it at once, as in a database subscription?
Format: Is the resource print or digital? Does the collection
favor one format too heavily over the others to the disadvantage
of those using it? (For instance, too many digital resources put
those users with less technological literacy at a disadvantage).
Intended Audience: Does the collection favor very early
learners over tweens or vice versa? Does it address a variety of
learning styles, subject material, etc.?
Type: Is there an adequate balance of encyclopedias,
databases, bibliographies, non-fiction materials, and so on?

19. Reflections & Conclusions
Children’s reference collections are constantly evolving
and require steady evaluation and re-evaluation to be
curated to the highest standards.
Ultimately, with consideration, analysis, and reflection, we
can become fluent in the variety of children’s reference
materials that exist, and best use them in our libraries and
information centers to the benefit of our young patrons.
Doing so will allow us to familiarize children with reference
practices and information fluency from a young age,
benefiting them for the rest of their years as learners.

20. References
Adams, S. (2011). Children's world atlas. New York: Dk Publishing.
American Library Association (2014, March 3). Association for
Library Service to Children. Available: www.ala.org/alsc
Bartle, L. R. (2014, March 3). The Database of Award-Winning
Children's Literature. Available: http://www.dawcl.com/
Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (2014, March 9). StoryPlace: The
children’s digital library. Available: http://www.storyplace.org
Infotrac junior edition. (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/start.do?p=STOJ&u=lom_accessmich
King, D. C. (2003). Children's encyclopedia of American history. New
York: Smithsonian Institution.
Merriam-Webster’s Word Central. (2014) Retrieved from
http://www.wordcentral.com/

21. References
National Geographic: Kids. (n.d.). Retrieved February 19, 2014,
from http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/kids/places/find/
National geographic kids world atlas (Fourth ed.). (2013).
Washington DC: National Geographic Society.
The old farmer's almanac for kids. (2013). Dublin, N.H.: Yankee
Pub.
Oxford illustrated children’s dictionary. (2010). New York, NY:
Oxford University Press.
Pebblego!. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.pebblego.com/
Reading is Fundamental (2014, March 2). RIF. Retrieved from
http://www.rif.org
Trueflix. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/trueflix

22. References
World Book Kids Online. (2014). Retrieved from
http://www.worldbookonline.com/kids/home
WETA Public Broadcasting (2014, March 5). Reading
Rockets. Retrieved from http://www.readingrockets.org/
World Almanac For Kids. Infobase Publishing, n.d. Web. 2
Mar. 2014. Retrieved from
http://www.worldalmanacforkids.com