The Ultimate Librarian Cheat Sheets

Are you searching for ways to make sure your library collection is full of the best resources for your students? One of the easiest and probably best ways is to match your collection with what has always been the "Mother of all Selection Tools," otherwise known as the H.W. Wilson Standard Catalogs. In the past, these selection tools have been in print with updates arriving yearly. Now, each catalog is available online making searching, sorting, and locating the best resources even easier. In addition, as Wilson introduces its new Nonbook Materials Core Collection database, librarians can also easily locate quality digital resources to add to their collection.

Grades Children's Core Collection: A Selection Guide covers grades PreK-6; Middle and Junior High Core Collection: A Selection Guide covers grades 5–9; and Senior High Core Collection: A Selection Guide covers grades 9–12.

Cost The WilsonWeb Core Collection School Pack provides the site license with remote access and includes the Children's Core Collection, the Middle and Junior High Core Collection, and the Senior High Core Collection for the annual subscription fee of $520.

The Big Picture Each of the Core Collection tools provides librarians with collection development and maintenance support, reader's advisory, and curriculum support. The Children's Core Collection provides current information on fiction and nonfiction works, story collections, picture books, and magazines for students in preschool through the sixth grade. Based upon the 19th edition of the Children's Core Collection, this database includes expanded areas within the fairy tale and picture book genres, as well as Web resources and audiobook formats.

The Middle and Junior High Core Collection provides fiction, nonfiction, digital resources (such as computer software), and professional resources. Based upon the ninth edition of the Middle and Junior High Core Collection, this database includes recent updates with special attention given to areas of technology, personal values, social and political issues, and ethnic diversity. Topics including virtual reality, new technologies, environmental problems, and endangered species have also been enhanced.

The Senior High Core Collection provides over 10,000 entries for fiction, nonfiction, and digital resources, as well as professional resources. Based upon the 17th edition of the Senior High Core Collection, it includes curriculum-related materials in areas such as social studies, science, drama, novels and short story collections, biographies, as well as professional resources.

Entries in each database provide bibliographic data, pricing, subject headings, a descriptive annotation, and review quotations when available. A bonus is the print companion at half-price with the purchase of the database.

Look & Feel Each of the databases provides the same home page from which to search. A navigation banner at the top provides the options to perform a Basic Search, an Advanced Search, or Browse Search; use the Thesaurus; review the Search History; Print, Email, or Save searches; or Export/Cite search results.

A new page of search results includes the number of items, as well as digital images of the contents (such as book covers). Users may sort the results by 16 different topics such as relevance, Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC), starred reviews, and others. Users can also change the display from a short form that lists the basic bibliographic information to a longer one with review information, prices, and subject headings. Items of interest can be selected or marked and later grouped for printing, emailing, or saving.

A suggested subjects box prompts the user to extend the search by showcasing subject headings relating to the original query. Users can also create alerts to have an email sent when new content is added and links to the search can be saved by copying the URL to the clipboard.

How It Works A Basic Search allows users to quickly locate materials through keywords or titles, while with an Advanced Search users can locate materials using a combination of 28 different search fields. Advanced options include searching by Recommendation Levels, which includes a Short List (highly recommended titles), a Broader list (which includes supplementary materials), and a Broadest list (with archival materials).

The Short List consists of approximately 25–30 percent of the titles deemed essential or first buys—the ideal tool to create an "opening day collection."

The What's New Query? provides materials that have been added to the database since the last search or within the last week, month, or year. With Dewey Decimal Classification Ranging users can search a range of the DDC to fill gaps or to search for specific materials. Search results can always be customized and sorted, including by the DDC.

Document types including books, periodicals, and electronic resources (including free Web sites) can be searched, as well as the year of publication. Searches can be limited to Fiction, Nonfiction, or Biography. Grade Levels may also be selected by choosing any or all ranges.

For Librarians Long a mainstay in librarian coursework for collection development, these catalogs are seldom seen on the professional shelves in school libraries. However, with the new online versions of these outstanding resources, it is imperative that school librarians find ways to add these tools to their professional arsenal. Because of the ease of use; ability to group and sort content; and email, print, and save results; collection development isn't just easier, it's also pretty fun. Because the databases provide reviews written by professionals within the field, the ability to support collection development goals (or defend material challenges) is easily and quickly available.

Report Card For keeping us on track with what is recommended for our collections, these databases receive an A+.

Grades The Nonbook Materials Core Collection contains reviews for electronic, digital, audiobooks, videos, and other nonbook items for students in grades pre-K through 12. The database also contains reviews for adult and professional materials used within the educational curriculum.

Cost The Nonbook Core Collection is $190; a discounted price of $95 is also available if licensed concurrently with the WilsonWeb Core Collection School Pack.

The Big Picture Nonbook Core Collection provides recommendations for over 2,300 resources including audiobooks, electronic resources, video recordings, sound recordings, games, simulations, and much more. Materials can be searched by document type, author, title, subject, and grade level.

Entries include annotations with information regarding the quality of the content. Materials which have received awards are noted and cover art is shown when available. Catalog records are provided for all items and the database can be linked to the library's OPAC for an instant check for any item cited.

Look & Feel While the appearance of the Nonbook Materials Core Collection database remains relatively the same as the other Core Collection databases, the unique difference is in the Advanced Options area where the Document Type includes: audiobooks, book reviews, electronic resources, periodicals, sound recordings, and video recordings.

Search results provide users with the list of materials available and displayed item images are linked to Amazon.com for purchasing. The list of recommended titles may also lead librarians to items produced by new or unknown publishers. This provides ways to discover other quality materials by searching the publisher's name.

Other searches use the document type Electronic Resources, which includes not only software and databases, but also free online Web sites. By adding a Subject search such as Science and then limiting the Reading (Grade) Level within the Document Search, librarians can quickly locate Web sites to share with teachers who sometimes desperately need a quality resource that is not only available for use by several students at once but is also free.

How It Works Because the Nonbook Materials Core Collection works the same as the other Core Collection databases, the search factors remain consistent. However, because the contents within this database are so unique, the results can be surprising.

For example, when I searched the database for sound recordings for grades pre-K to kindergarten, the results showed 28 possible choices. Each item shown in Full Display provided the basic information (title, author, publisher, copyright date) but also the language, the price, the abstract from the review, the content notes which included the song titles, the subjects, and even special information such as if the item made a "best lists" list (which is linked in the database to the complete list of "bests" to allow the user to quickly locate other similar titles). Suggested topics allow the user to browse for similar content within the database and expand or limit the search.

Because of the flexibility to search by various formats, content information, copyrights, grade levels of students, or even categories, librarians can quickly locate specific materials in formats that are often extremely difficult to find. For example, periodicals are challenging to select for middle, junior high, or senior high levels, but by searching reading (grade) levels 9–12, the results provided 42 possible choices. By changing the reading (grade) levels to 6–12, the results expanded to 73 choices. While the content of the periodicals are based upon the grade levels of the students rather than the actual reading levels used within many reading programs (such as Lexile levels), the maturity of the students must also be considered. However, the ability to quickly locate and select highly recommended periodicals is a great time-saver sure to be appreciated by busy librarians.

For Librarians Although the other Core Collection databases provide some nonbook resources within their regular print resource databases, the Nonbook Materials Core Collection expands the previous collection of only a few items to over 2,000 of the most highly recommended resources for students at all grade levels. Because it includes only recommended or highly recommended materials, collection development becomes easier, faster, and more financially responsible. Well-intended yet uninformed choices in electronic resources (such as a science video series or an online database) can cost libraries thousands of dollars each year. Wilson's Nonbook Core Collection database is an investment in an area that may not be a strength for many school librarians.

Report Card As a new selection tool for collection development, this database provides great potential for growth alongside our digital libraries. While the database contains only a few thousand records, it will definitely continue to grow as digital resources continue to become a greater part of our libraries. For librarians who feel overwhelmed with audio, video, or electronic resources, this is a selection tool that will be well received. Wilson's Nonbook Core Collection database receives a strong A.