Evaluating Online and Print Resources
Being able to evaluate online and print resources is crucial for giving customers resources that are reputable and reliable for their information needs. With the vast resources of the Internet, it is even more crucial to be able to quickly evaluate online resources to help customers find the information they need.
Checklists
Having a check-list to evaluate online and print resources can be very helpful for the patron and librarian. In addition to your class resources, and the E-Learning module Resource Review: How to Evaluate Reference Sources, these resources provide more in-depth information to help you determine whether to use a Web site:
- Checklist for Evaluating Web Resources (Expanded Evaluating Web Resources Guide) from the University of Southern Maine
- Duke University Library provides an evaluating check-list for students working on research papers
- American Library Association’s list of selection criteria for children’s resources
Useful Web sites
- The Library of Congress has compiled an Evaluating Internet Resources bibliography which includes links to articles and Web sites
- The Virginia Tech Libraries created Evaluating Web Pages for Research, which includes five criteria (authority, coverage, objectivity, accuracy, and currency), the rationale for using them, and "How can I tell?" to assist users in determining if a website is trustworthy.
Citing Internet Resources
- West Texas A&M Citing Resources Guide compiles information on different citation styles, including MLA, APA, as well as Turabian.
- The Website Citation Machine gives examples of what elements to cite and how different types of sources should be cited including MLA, APA, Chicago, and Turabian.
Wikipedia
- Is it okay to use Wikipedia as a resource tool? There is a lot of debate within the library field regarding the use of Wikipedia. The Wikipedia About Page addresses these authenticity issues.
- Library Journal tests Wikipedia and shares the results in I Want My Wikipedia!
- Wikipedia also has an article on the reliability of Wikipedia