Get Your Reference Collection to Pop

If you've worked in a middle school or high school library for more than a year, you know the "Decades Research" assignment. That's when a history or English teacher requires that each student research a specific decade during the 20th century. With limited print resources—and a limited budget—you're probably discouraged with what you've been able to provide your students. If so, then Greenwood's Pop Culture Universe will make your world much easier…and a lot more fun.

Grade 7 up

Cost Yearly subscription pricing for Greenwood's Pop Culture Universe is based on enrollment. For schools with enrollment up to 500, the price is $495; for enrollment of 501 to 1,000, $675; for enrollment of 1,001 to 2,000, $900; for enrollment over 2,000, $1,200.

The Big Picture Greenwood has taken one of the most-loved research assignments in high schools to an entirely new level with Pop Culture Universe. No longer will students have to fight over single copies of print reference titles to research a specific decade or the everyday events surrounding historical events. Through Pop Culture Universe, students have immediate access to more than 300 full-text volumes covering the last 100 years of American pop culture.

Organized by decade, the database allows students to quickly locate the section they need; within are dozens of topics ranging from music and fashion to politics and religion. In addition to the instant appeal that this resource provides users (young or old), librarians and teachers can be assured that its contents are written by experts (as opposed to a Web site created by an adoring fan or an excerpt taken from last week's episode of TMZ).

Additional resources include a Skills Center that assists students in understanding how to do research assignments, evaluate elements of media literacy, and compare America's history and culture to better understand how these elements affect the world today. Classroom Resources and lesson plans provide teachers with additional ideas, and content updates allow for the most current information.

Pop Culture Universe also offers a blog with additional information as it happens for users to read and respond to from within the database.

Look & Feel Pop Culture Universe has a collage-like appearance with historical photos of individuals or events reflecting the decade within American pop culture. Using bold orange and black colors, along with splatters of orange paint across the page, this database quickly draws users into its contents.

A column on the left-hand side lists subjects like Arts and Culture, Fashion and Appearance, Film, Food and Drink, Literature, Music, Politics, Sports, TV and Radio, and Technology and Media. Each link then sends the user back in time to examine in-depth a specific subject area.

A Features column in the middle of the page provides users with current events information. The right-hand column lists Most Viewed Pages with links to the most frequently viewed decade pages, a Top Searches list, the Skills Center, as well as a Wizards section with assistance in some of the basic types of research.

Also included are a Title List of the over 300 print titles used, an Image Index of the thousands of images available, and a Link Index that provides a fast and easy way to search for specific information.

At the top of the page, students can perform a fast search using the Search Box or click the Advanced Search button to explore topics by Keyword, Subject, or Title and expand their query by selecting from the list of content materials (Subject, People, Time, or Place).

How It Works Students searching for specific decade information can easily scan the front page to begin their search. By clicking on the Timeline (from today back to the 1920s), students can enter a specific decade. Those searching for particular information relating to music, politics, religion, literature, and so on, will want to focus their attention on the Subject area.

Once a specific decade or subject content item is selected, the database provides the student with an Overview section with additional information listed on either side of the page. A Best of the Decade listing provides the decade's "top ten" subject-related content such as the top 10 films or top 10 songs. Click on a specific topic to receive a list of results that are further categorized by tabbed pages, indicating materials types including Full-Text, Biographies, and Images, as well the number of items or entries included within those results.

Subject areas on the Decades Overview page include topics related to the specific decade. For example, by selecting the year 1980, students will find that the term "ka-ching" was actually first used (most likely) by their parents to indicate money or cash. Other words that entered the American lexicon during the 1980s include: infomercial, geeky, paparazzi, wannabe, hip-hop, anime, and even eco-friendly.

Images within the database can be searched by keyword, subject, or title; unfortunately, most of the images are available only in black and white, which may be a little disappointing to today's users.

Students can easily cite the information from the results pages in either MLA or Chicago Manual of Style format. Students may also email, print, or create a permalink to the content.

For Students and Teachers For teachers searching for ways to introduce students to periods in history, Pop Culture Universe brings culture, music, entertainment, language, and life into the classroom in a fresh new way. Through the use of subject lists, topic links, and special indexes that provide students with an immediate way to access items of interest, Pop Culture Universe itself becomes a digital form of entertainment (and, of course, information). Because it provides a wide variety of digital resources normally found only within the print reference area of most school libraries, teachers and librarians will appreciate the fact that this database allows multiple users simultaneous online access.

Pop Culture Universe provides lesson ideas, subject links, usage ideas, and unique topics that can easily be used to expand areas of history, science, literature, music, art, and government for both middle school and high school students. In addition, full-text electronic books on topics relating to pop culture, technology, and education are available for teachers and librarians to access within the Skills Center area, making the database a unique way to learn new trends in the lives of today's teenagers. (Check out librarian Linda Braun's ebook Teens, Technology, and Literacy: Or, Why Bad Grammar Isn't Always Bad through the Teachers' Corner of the Skills Center.)

Report Card Greenwood's Pop Culture Universe database is not only a fun way to learn about the history of some of our favorite people, places, and things, it's also a great way to learn about America's past and the influence that popular culture has had on our world today. While many librarians try to provide a wide variety of resources dealing with the history and culture of America throughout much of the 20th century, few can provide the wealth of resources that this database provides. Greenwood's Pop Culture Universe database deserves an A+ for making research about our history, culture, and lives much more fun to experience the second time around.