Skip to main content

LIBE 467: Evaluation of a Reference Work

In this review, a reference work currently in the library's collection is evaluated for use in the high school setting, and a replacement is suggested and evaluated. Works are evaluated using the following rubric:

Criterion
Unacceptable
Acceptable
Exemplary
Currency
Published >10 years ago
Published 5-10 years ago
Published <5 years ago
Relevancy
Material is incorrect, or deals with irrelevant topics, places, or peoples.
Material is factually correct, can be related to universally or locally on a broader scale.
Material is accurate, deals with matters of local interest and is up to date with current information on topics of interest.
Purpose
Material is clearly biased – information is left out, contains deliberate misinformation and/or is attempting to sell a product.
Material comes from a trusted authority and attempts are made avoid biases. 
Material is made by a trusted authority for educational purposes. Where controversy is present, attempts are made to present facts and arguments form all sides without bias.
Curricular Connections
Is not directly relevant to any of the Big Ideas in the BC Curriculum.
Directly relevant to 1-2 Big Ideas in the BC Curriculum.
Directly relevant to 3 or more Big Ideas in the BC Curriculum.
Efficient use of Library Space
Multiple volumes requiring significant library space.
No more than one concise volume per relevant Big Idea.
A single concise volume relevant to several Big Ideas in the curriculum OR
digital materials available online and from all computers in school library.
Accessibility
Material is poorly organized and/or language is overly complex for the majority of high school students and/or material is not accessible to all students.
Material is well-organized. Language is age-appropriate and can be accessed by all students from the school library and/or taken out on loan.
Material is in a format that is easily accessed by students from the library or from home. Language is age-appropriate and material is inviting and intuitive to use.

Work currently in Collection: 

Green, J., MacDonald, F., Steele, P., and Stotter, M. (2000). The Encyclopedia of the Ancient Americas: The Everyday Life of America’s Native Peoples.  Southwater.

Book cover image care of Amazon.com

Description:

A 256 page large volume containing information on the indigenous peoples of the Americas, including cultures, traditions, and ways of life. There are sections on the Aztec and Maya, The Incas, The North American Indians, and The Arctic Peoples. It is well illustrated, with photos of ancient artwork and illustrations. There are numerous step-by-step guides for crafts that are well illustrated.

Review:
  • Currency: Unacceptable
  • Relevancy: Unacceptable
  • Purpose: Acceptable
  • Curricular Connections: Acceptable
  • Efficient Use of Library Space: Acceptable
  • Accessibility: Acceptable

Explanation:

The Encyclopedia of the Ancient Americas is an age appropriate book with engaging images and crafts. The crafts, however, are mostly aimed at elementary aged students and are inappropriate for a high school audience. In addition, only half of the content is directly relevant to the curriculum in that it deals with North American indigenous peoples. It is also not directly related with much of the curriculum, though could be used to explore the Social Studies Big Idea of "Understanding the diversity and complexity of cultural expressions in one culture enhances our understanding of other cultures."

Having been published in 2000, this book is out of date not only in the topics it covers, but also in its use of indigenous content. An excellent guide for use of indigenous content is Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers (available online here). In Section 4, and Appendix G, both titled "Incorporating Diverse Sources of Indigenous Knowledge", the authors discuss issues such as cultural appropriation and authenticity of indigenous works. This work has several issues, including the fact that many of the crafts described within are culturally appropriative and disrespectful. The voices and perspectives of indigenous peoples are not apparent within this book, and the result is monolithic descriptions of First Peoples with little discussion of the variety of cultures present. These cultures are also largely presented as things of the past with little indication of their presence in modern society.

The authors of this book are historians and children's authors and the book is meant to be educational. The issues within its pages are not the result of conscious bias on the part of the authors, but they do, however, represent a larger bias on the part of society.

Recommended Replacement:

Canadian Geographic (2018). Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

Book cover image care of Amazon.ca

Cost: $59.99 for all four volumes from amazon.ca. Online content is available for free.

Description:

Collection on the indigenous peoples of Canada, consisting of four volumes of 60-70 pages each. The volumes are titled Truth and Reconciliation; First Nations; Inuit; and Métis. They contain information on the history of indigenous peoples in Canada, including timelines that span several pages. These volumes also describe the current lifestyles, cultures, and struggles of indigenous peoples in Canada. There are numerous photographs and graphics to accompany the text.

Rating:
  • Relevancy: Acceptable to Exemplary
  • Currency: Exemplary
  • Purpose: Acceptable
  • Curricular Connections: Exemplary
  • Efficient Use of Library Space: Acceptable
  • Accessibility: Exemplary

Explanation:

The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada was published very recently in 2018. In addition to the four hardcover volumes, the content is available online from https://indigenouspeoplesatlasofcanada.ca/ It is searchable and available in both French and English. The online version is less streamlined than reading the books and lacks the illustrated timelines, so the hardcover copies are recommended. The online version can be used to engage larger numbers of students simultaneously. The language in these books is appropriate for the majority of high school students, and they contain numerous maps, graphics and photographs.

Canadian Geographic is a trusted authority. These books are meant to be educational, but are also meant as tools to move towards reconciliation. They include numerous indigenous voices, and images of modern indigenous peoples and communities. There are discussions of the history of Canada as it relates to indigenous peoples alongside up-to-date research on topics such as health, education, and housing. These books would be excellent tools for examining the state of indigenous peoples in Canada and relating this to past struggles and current prejudices. They are directly relevant to the Socials Studies Big Ideas in almost every grade, particularly studying the effects of colonization in grade 8, historical injustices and Canadian identity in grade 10, cultural diversity of first peoples and indigenous peoples' reclamation of their well-being in grade 11, and much of the BC First Peoples Studies course in grade 12.

References:

Antoine, A., Mason, R., Mason, R., Palahicky, S., and Rodriguez de France, C. (n.d.). Pulling Together: A Guide for Curriculum Developers. Creative Commons.

Canadian Geographic (2018). Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada. The Royal Canadian Geographical Society.

Green, J., MacDonald, F., Steele, P., and Stotter, M. (2000). The Encyclopedia of the Ancient Americas: The Everyday Life of America’s Native Peoples.  Southwater.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

LIBE 477: 3D Printers in schools: Who? What? How?... Why?

Last week, when musing on my Final Vision project , I was looking into creating a website to help teachers and librarians with access to 3D printers, but no idea how to use them. But why use 3D printers in schools at all? What use are they to teachers, librarians and students? Kids' drawings turned into 3D printed objects. Image from The Guardian . With school budgets getting cut all the time ( with numerous consequences ), and models for classrooms can get expensive. If you have access to a 3D printer, you can bypass the cost of many classroom tools and just make your own. Want a human skull? Make one ! Need a 3D model of your province? Totally doable ! You can even use a 3D printer to build replacement parts on broken tools or models you already have, getting more life out of them. Just this one tool can be used for all kinds of classroom objects, like making rewards for students - they can even choose their own! A 3D printed model of the anatomy of a human heart. Th...

LIBE 477 Inquiry 3: Supporting Teachers' ICT Development

I have never been drawn to technology. In fact, I'm much more likely to seek, out very old tools and technology, such as learning to spin and dye my own wool. That being said, I can still recognize that technology is inevitably becoming a part of our lives and I will gladly integrate any tool that that will make my life easier as a teacher or improve the experience of the students in my classroom. Reluctant as I am, there are certainly teachers in schools even less inclined towards technology that myself. I believe that my reluctance towards technology puts me in a better position to understand the more technology-averse teachers in the school and as the teacher-librarian, I would be in a great position to try and reach out to support their development of ICT skills. 3D printers are incredibly satisfying to watch. Video by WildRose Builds. One of the most scarce resources for teachers is time. When in their busy schedule of writing lesson plans, marking and (hopefully) livi...

Non-Binary Young Adult Fiction List of Awesome!

What is this list? Lately, I have been reading quite a bit of LGBTQ2+ young adult fiction. I was finding it hard to find and identify books with non-binary characters - meaning characters whose gender identity isn't exactly that of a boy or a girl (for more information, check out this page from the National Center for Transgender Equality). Books for young people with non-binary characters are becoming more common, but are still under-represented. It's estimated that 25%-30% of transgender people are non-binary ( Webb et al. ). And so this list was born. It is meant for teens and parents interested in finding more stories including non-binary experiences, as well as teachers and librarians who want to recommend books with non-binary characters or include them in their teaching. It is meant for everyone who just wants to read a good book! If there is enough interest in this list, I will keep it as a living document and will continue to add and update books based on my ...