- Encyclopedias are good because you know exactly who created that entry and you know that all of the information in the entry is correct. The article was written by a scholar or someone with knowledge in the area and all facts are double checked before the book goes to print. Some negative aspects are that the books are huge! Even if you could check them out from the library, it would be inconvenient to carry that around in your backpack- especially if you needed more than one volume for the subject you're studying. If there was online access to all of the encyclopedias and their content that would be very convenient. That's a plus about Wikipedia is that all of the information you're looking for can be found by in a few mouse clicks. It's easy, convenient, and doesn't require a library card. The information can be accessed from anywhere at any time. A negative thing about Wikipedia is that you don't always know who wrote the article or if all of the information in it is true. The facts might be skimmed through before it becomes set in stone on the website, but their review process is a lot easier than it is for information that gets put into an encyclopedia.
-I was not able to find any print encyclopedias on my topic. I'm not sure if I was not using the right key terms or what the issue was. I was not able to find encyclopedias as a choice on the library website under the advanced search options, so maybe I was doing something wrong.
-For the E-encyclopedias I tried searching Minnesota AND Indians* AND Casino and got nothing, then I tried Minnesota AND Casino, and got no results, then I tried Indians* and Casino and still got no results. I tried Indians AND Minneota and got 3 results but none of them were relating to the topic I'm researching.
-Considering how I was not able to find any encyclopedias on my topic, it would be easier to use the Wikipedia information I found. The information on the website sounded correct and was more up to date than many of the books I have found in the library.
Hi Kristy,
ReplyDeleteWhat search string did you use to look for encyclopedias about Native Americans? Is it possible that the term "Indians" may be throwing off your search results? Please try looking for a print encyclopedia and an E-encyclopedia again using the term "Native American" in your search string and see what you find. I look forward to hearing about it!
Sincerely,
Professor Wexelbaum
I just re searched for encyclopedia entries. When I wrote this blog I had not yet received your email on how to find them in the online catalog. So I searched native americans and encyclopedia and came up with 42 hits. I thought that was a lot. I had no idea there would be so many different encyclopedia options for that topic. I tried narrowing the topic by doing native american and minnesota and encyclopedia but that did not come up with any results. Some of the books from the first search looked like they might be good options to check out for my project.
ReplyDeleteHi Kristy,
ReplyDeleteDid you go to the Reference section to take a look at the actual encyclopedias? Their records might not show whether or not they include entries specifically on Native Americans of Minnesota, but I bet at least one of them does.
Check it out and let me know...
Professor Wexelbaum
I did that too. There were quite a few encyclopedias that had information on Native Americans and had really good information on like the history of different tribes and I also found a lot of information on the movement of tribes over the years.
ReplyDeleteThat is terrific news. I am glad to hear that the traditionally published encyclopedias in our collection had some value!
ReplyDeleteSincerely,
Professor Wexelbaum