Russell

After discussing finding sources in my Pathfinder, I decided to pursue the topic further by finding out how often people ask the reference clerks for help. In Knowledge Environment I interviewed three of my local schools. Although there was not a question over how well students know reliable sources, I found that the students are being taught at an earlier age. But looking at the results from my survey, most students are still unsure about what a reliable source is. For the college students who still do not know what a reliable source is, they are going to have a hard time in college unless they learn quickly. The Plan of Action will have high school students as the target demographic so they will be ready for college.

Plan of Action The question that comes to mind from these results is “How do we as librarians’ close the gap between students who know what reliable sources are and who do not?” Although the students mentioned are wide spread, public librarians can help by offering classes to teach what is a reliable source.

Lesson Plan: teaching the difference between a reliable and unreliable source Approximate time 45 minutes Part 1: Let the students do some exploring through the library reference section. Explain to the students that the materials the library has are reliable sources. Some of the reference books are in Spanish as well. The students can explore the many online articles, databases, and eBooks which are available at anytime.  Articles And Database Subject List ([])  eBook Reference Shelf ([]) Part 2: Explain that some websites are not reliable sources. Fleming explains that students can usually trust .edu and .gov websites. Some .org sites are trustful as well. For online journals and magazines they should have a bibliography. News sources can be reliable, but some are more about entertaining (Fleming).

Fleming is from []

This is an excerpt from my Needs Assessment.