Welcome to the Library Orientation page! This page is for students whose teachers have asked them to learn some basic information about the library, as well as students who are starting research papers and would like step-by step guidance. The page is divided into four parts. "The Introduction" will have basic information about the library, its resources, and how to use them. "The Library Orientation Research Paper" section will have the step-by-step process students need to follow to design, research, and write an good research project.  The third part, "The Requirement," is an assignment teachers can give to their their students to help them become familiar with information literacy skills they will need throughout their academic career.  The last part is a "Help" section that provides students with several resources they can use to assist them during the construction and evaluation of their project.

:

The information contained in this section can be tested by the librarian or the teacher and provides the basic information students need to use the library and its resources.

Information You Need to Know before You Start!:

In order for you to maximize your research effort and stay organized there are two Information literacy models that you should follow when doing research. The first model is called the Big 6 Information Literacy Model© and you should become well acquainted with its steps as you will be using them to do research all of your life, whether it is to decide what car to buy or writing a paper.

Let's look at the 6 steps. (Select the back button to return to this page.)

1. Task Definition A good way to get started! If you need to learn what questions to ask Click Here.

2. Information Seeking Strategies Determine the range of possible sources (brainstorm) and evaluate them.

4. Use of Information Engage the source (read it, listen to it, view
it, touch it!) and take out the relevant information.

5. Synthesis Organize and present your information.

6. Evaluation Judge your product (how effective were you)!

When you get to step #2 and #3 of the Big 6, you need to use the second Information Literacy Model we have. This is the COWS Information Literacy Model.

Cows Information Literacy Model

When doing research remember the word "COWS" as it will help you in being successful and organized in your search.  Look for your resources in this order.

C = When doing research, always start with current reference books,textbooks and non-fiction library books. Learn some basic information about your subject and start a list of "keywords" you can use to gain more information on your topic. Use the library's OPAC to check your resources.

O = Use these resources every day! Our online resources are the Gale Group (Student Resource Center (SRC)--Gold, SRC--Health Module, Student Edition, Opposing Viewpoints,and Gale Virtual ReferenceLibrary), Encyclopædia Britannica Online: Student Edition, World Geography Online and Web Feet. These are password protected databases that you can access 24/7 from school or home. Get the URLs, usernames, and passwords from the librarian. They work like a search engine but contain information that is not available for free on the World Wide Web. College students use similar databases for their research projects.

W = (Pre-selected web sites)  A webliography is similar to a bibliography only it's on the web. These are web sites that have been selected by your teacher or Mrs. Bowen to assist you with your project. Please go to your class web site to find the webliography for your project. Or you can use Web Feet with your keywords to find pre-selected academic sites for your project.

and if all else fails --

S = Once you have learned about your subject by visiting all of the books, online programs, and web sites recommended by Mrs. Bowen and your teacher and you still need more information it is time to search the web. BEWARE! Search engines are not all created equal and you need to learn what types of information each will provide and how that information is presented. Take a few minutes and check out the following links. You will also need to know about the "invisible web" and how to access its information.

To learn more about Search Tools, follow the links by clicking on "Introduction to Search Tools."

and

What can search engines do for you and how can they help you with your research. Read up on each of the major search engines and how they find information for you. Click on "Major Search Engines."

and

To learn more about Specialized Search Engines, follow the links by clicking on "How to Find a Specialized Search Engine for Your Topic."

REMINDER! Before you use any web site you will need to evaluate it's quality if it is to be included as a source in a research paper. There are several tools that you can use to evaluate these sites:
Evaluating Web Pages: Techniques to Apply & Questions to Ask
Web Site Evaluation

Now that you have looked at the steps you need to follow to do great research, let's look at the research project you will be completing for your teacher.

Goal: By the end of this project, the student will demonstrate 9th grade information literacy skills that exhibit an understanding of how to use and evaluate library resources by successfully completing a research paper based on comparative literature authors.

The Assignment: This is a 100-point assignment. Each student will select one person from the list. No duplications. The paper is due: ______ For full credit, your paper must include the following information about your author/poet:

1.Frontispiece: (This is a picture of your author/poet that appears as the first page of your report. It would be a good idea to include the author’s name and his/her date of birth and death on the frontispiece as well.)

2. Obituary: (Obviously this is only if your author is dead. Do not be “funny” and make one up for a living author. You will lose points.) The librarian will show you what resources to use to find the obituaries. You may have to go to the public library for this information if you cannot find it in the school library.

3. Paper: Your paper (4 to 6 pages of typed test, not including the frontispiece, obituary and bibliography) should address or answer the following questions about your author or poet:

	a. Where and when was s/he born?
	b. How did his/her life influence the type of literature that s/he wrote? (This could be childhood and/or adult life. For example did they have a happy life?)
	c. What type of literature did your author write? What is the genre (mystery, western, science fiction, historical fiction, et cetera)?
	d. What is the single work of literature that s/he is most known for?
	e. Did your author win any awards for his/her writing? If so when and what kind?
	f. How did his/her work influence other authors/poets?
	h. How did your author or poet die? In some cases what events lead to his/her death? Was his/her death from natural causes or something else?
	i. Include any additional information or interesting facts that you have learned about your author/poet.

4. Bibliography: This should have at least TEN different sources from various forms of reference material (i.e., books, online resources, Internet)

5. Quotations: Must contain five quotations from you bibliographical sources. The quotations should back-up the information you are providing about your author/poet. These are integrated into the body of your paper. Do not put them on a separate sheet.

6. Paper format must be in MLA style for the quotations, bibliography, et cetera. (See “Library Orientation” page for examples.)

1. John Steinbeck 2. Ernest Hemingway 3. J. R.R. Token 4. Ronald Dahl 5. Langstrom Hughes 6. Sandra Cisneros 7. Edgar Allan Poe 8. Emily Dickinson 9. Alice Walker 10. William Wordsworth 11. Maya Angelo 12. Robert Frost 13. Mark Twain 14. T. S. Eliot 15. C. S. Lewis 16. Lewis Carroll 17. Emily Brönte 18. Mary Shelley 19. Bram Stoker 20. Jack London

21. Pablo Neruda 22. F. Scott Fitzgerald 23. William Faulkner 24. Henry David Thoreau 25. Ray Bradbury 26. Jules Verne 27. Frank McCourt 28. Sylvia Plath 29. Zane Gray 30. Louis L’Amour 31. Jane Austen 32. Toni Morrison 33. Amy Tan 34. Stephen Crane 35. Charlotte Brönte 36. Edgar Rice Burroughs 37. Isabelle Allende 38. Jack Kerouac 39. Harper Lee 40. George Orwell

The Grading Rubric:

Organizers
There is an excellent Assignment Organizer© (1999) and Research Paper Organizer© (1999) for the Big 6©. These Organizers can be printed out or downloaded to a disk to be completed (you can type the information you need in the blanks).  Using these organizers will keep your research steps in order and on track. To help you in coming up with the questions you need to answer to prepare a great project check out "What Kinds of Questions did you Ask Today? "and "Asking Essential Questions." There is a worksheet you can print out to help you form your questions. A Writing Process Organizer can be printed out and used to develop a successful writing project!

Style Guides
To find out how to cite a source go to the MLA Guide and/or the Help with Citing Sources (Internet) guide. The Landmark Citation Machine is also an excellent resource for all types of citations. You can also use the Toolbox of the Gale online database and find a citing online reference works section.

Copyright Information
Always check your information against copyright laws to make sure you are not violating any rules and are not accused of plagiarism. Copyright Information 

The Big 6 Rubric
This is a rubric (guideline) to help you understand the effort you need to put into the process of doing research. If you do not understand a task ask your teacher or Mrs. Bowen, the librarian. Both will be able to help you. Click Here for the Big 6 Rubric. (Hit the "back" arrow in the tool bar to get back to the Library Orientation page.)

Editing Checklist
This is a guideline to use to edit your paper for errors. Print it out to use it as you proofread your paper. Click Here for checklist.( Hit the "back" arrow in the toolbar to get back to the Library Orientation page.)

Research Project Final Evaluation Form
This is a form that either students or teachers can use to evaluate their research projects. Click Here for the Evaluation Form. Print it out and use it as you evaluate your project.
( Hit the "back" arrow in the toolbar to get back to the Library Orientation page.)