Primary Sources

A student comes up to you one day while you’re at your library’s service desk and tells you that her teacher has asked her to locate and use primary sources in her history research paper. How can we help this student find the information she needs? Let’s start out by defining a primary source. Primary sources generally:

• Refer to a first hand account or evidence of an event or topic
• Use the words of the witness or the initial recorder of an event
• Reflect the viewpoint of the observer as well
• May be used to produce a secondary source

Examples of primary sources include autobiographies, diaries, letters, memoirs, photographs, archival records, recordings, speeches, and newspaper or magazine articles written at the time a specific event took place. To see online examples of primary sources, the Library of Congress has a page of Primary Source Sets which includes documents, letters, maps, photographs, and sound recordings. One of the best all-around resources on primary sources is the American Library Association’s Using Primary Sources on the Web. Another really useful online resource for understanding how to use primary documents is Making Sense of Evidence.

Finding Primary Resources in Print

Okay, so now that we know a little about primary sources, how do we find them? Let’s start with the library catalog. We can take the subject our customer is researching and add “personal narratives” when we type it into the search box. We can also use the more general term “sources” in combination with our main subject. Many libraries have reference sources that collect various primary source documents. An example of this is the 22 volume Annals of America, which, in its most recent edition (2003), provides a selection of American historical documents from 1492 to 2001.

Finding Primary Resources Using Databases

Are there databases we can use? Well, let’s look at a couple of databases available through Sailor. Gale’s DISCovering Collection is designed for middle and high school students and our student needs primary sources on slavery. Let’s go to the DISCovering Collection’s basic search screen and type in “slavery” as our subject. Before we hit the search button, let’s click the box labeled “Primary Sources” and then search. Voila! Here are more than 25 primary source documents including the Germantown Mennonite Resolution against Slavery from 1688.

Let’s try a more specific Sailor subject database, namely History Resource Center: US. There are two methods by which we can locate primary sources. We can search for our subject using the Basic Search module and, after the results turn up, click on the tab labeled “Primary Sources.” Or, we can select the Advanced Search module. Using the dropdown menu, we select “subject” and type in “slavery.” We then proceed to the dropdown menu for document type, select “Primary Document, and then click on “search.” Now we have a list of more than 170 primary source documents on the subject of slavery.

Finding Primary Resources on the Web

Our student informs us that she also needs to locate some web sites with primary sources. Let’s start with the State Library Resource Center’s How Did They Live: Exploring Daily Life throughout History guide. The section entitled Primary Sources on the Web provides ready access to several of the most useful repositories of primary source material covering ancient, medieval, and modern history. Other valuable web resources offering primary resources include:

• American Journeys: Accounts of Early American Exploration and Settlement
• American Presidency Project – documents relating to the U.S Presidency
• Avalon Project at Yale Law School – important historical, legal, and political documents
• Core Documents of U.S. Democracy – from GPO Access
• Digital Schomburg – images and texts from the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
• Making of America – Cornell University Library – primary source materials in American social history from before the Civil War through Reconstruction.
• Women Working, 1800-1930 – digitized material from Harvard University’s library and museum

Citing Primary Sources

The American Library Association’s Using Primary Sources on the Web contains information on both evaluating primary source web sites and citing web sites. The Library of Congress offers a guide for teachers on how to cite primary sources on its Citing Primary Sources page. This site offers guidance on both Chicago and MLA style.

Using primary sources allows students to use their analytical skills and knowledge of history to better comprehend historical events and personalities. If you need any assistance in locating primary sources, please feel free to contact the Enoch Pratt Free Library/ State Library Resource Center.

What resources do you suggest for someone trying to improve their math skills?

One very good set of books is the Barron’s E-Z series (which seems to have replaced the Easy Way series), for example Barron’s E-Z Math or Barron’s E-Z Algebra. The Teach Yourself Visually series has also started to publish books about math, including Teach Yourself Visually Algebra and Teach Yourself Visually Calculus. These book made their name by publishing easy-to-use computer books with full-color pictures showing each step in a process.

As far as web sites go, Maths Is Fun is one of the better ones. It’s a British site (hence “maths” instead of “math.”), and it has simple tutorials to teach people about all kinds of math problems. There are also worksheets and games to help you practice what you’ve learned. The site is geared toward children, but it works well for adults too.

One other great website is Purple Math, which was started by a former math teacher and has tutorials on algebra and word problems.

If you’re looking for more assistance on working with math problems for customers, check out SLRC’s Math for Librarians online course!

I’m interested in learning about award-winning children’s books beyond the Caldecott and Newbury awards. What other awards are there?

The American Library Association’s Association for Library Service to Children awards the following:

Arbuthnot Honor Lecture Award
The Arbuthnot award honors an author, critic, librarian, historian, or teacher of children's literature, of any country, who then presents a lecture at a winning host site.

Batchelder Award
The Batchelder Award is given to an American publisher for a children's book considered to be the most outstanding of those books originally published in a language other than English in a country other than the United States, and subsequently translated into English and published in the United States.

Belpré Award
The Belpré Medal honors a Latino/Latina writer and illustrator whose works best portray, affirm, and celebrate the Latino cultural experience in an outstanding work of literature for children and youth.

Carnegie Medal
The Carnegie Medal honors the producer of the most outstanding video production for children released during the preceding year.

Coretta Scott King Book Awards
Given to African American authors and illustrator for outstanding inspirational and educational contributions, the Coretta Scott King Book Award titles promote understanding and appreciation of the culture of all peoples and their contribution to the realization of the American dream of a pluralistic society.

Geisel Award
The Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished contribution to the body of American children’s literature known as beginning reader books published in the United States during the preceding year.

John Steptoe Awards for New Talent
These books affirm new African American talent and offer visibility to excellence in writing or illustration at the beginning of a career as a published book creator.

Odyssey Award for Excellence in Audiobook Production
The Odyssey Award will be awarded annually to the best audiobook produced for children and/or young adults, available in English in the United States.

Schneider Family Book Awards
The Schneider Family Book Awards honor an author or illustrator for a book that embodies an artistic expression of the disability experience for child and adolescent audiences.

Sibert Informational Book Medal
The Sibert Medal honors the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished informational book published during the preceding year.

Wilder Award
The Wilder Medal honors an author or illustrator whose books, published in the United States, have made, over a period of years, a substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children.

And last but not least don’t forget the Notable Children's Notable Lists! Each year the Association for Library Service to Children identifies the best of the best in children's books, recordings, videos, and computer software.

Who are the People in Your State Library Resource Center

Meet Andrea Snyder!
Grants Collection Manager
Enoch Pratt Free Library/State Library Resource Center


What do you do?
I’m the assistant manager of the Social Science and History Department and the manager of the Grants Collection, which is a nonprofit resource center. I coordinate and teach a series of classes for nonprofits on fundraising and management issues both at the library and around the state.

How did you get here?
I had an epiphany my sophomore year of college that I wanted to be a librarian. It didn’t come completely out of the blue as I’d always been involved with various libraries but I had never thought about it as a career choice before then. Right after completing my MLS at the University of Buffalo I moved here to Baltimore to start working at Pratt. 6 years later I’m still here and loving it!

What’s your favorite thing about your job?
I love the daily interactions I have with people. It makes my day watching a smile light up a customers face when they have the “a ha” moment.

What’s a book that you didn’t expect to like – but did?
Maus by Art Spiegelman was my first venture into graphic novels. I’ll admit that I went in with some preconceived notions about graphic novels but they were completely gone by the time I was finished.

What is your favorite SLRC program, service, or training?
I love that we take our trainings and programs on the road to libraries all over the state.
It’s great to be able to go out and actually meet the library staff around the state that you’ve been speaking to via e-mail & on the phone. I also learn a lot from the other libraries when I’m “out on the road” to bring back here to Pratt.

What do you do when you’re not reading?
Music is a big part of my life. I’m in a handbell choir and also play the violin. If I’m not doing something music you might find me watching a hockey game or plotting my next road trip to visit friends.

Thursday Review: Stopping Identity Theft

Stopping Identity Theft: 10 Easy Steps to Security by Scott Mitic (2009)

Stop and think for a moment. We check our email constantly. We surf the Web daily. We stay in touch with friends and colleagues using social networking services. When we need an infusion of cash, we stop at the ATM machine. We pay for our purchases with a credit card. We use a medical insurance card for an appointment with our doctor or to pay for a prescription. Any of these situations could potentially provide an opportunity for identity theft.

Scott Mitic is the CEO of TrustedID, a company that specializes in identity theft protection. Mitic begins his book by focusing on how identity thieves acquire your personal information. Did you know that there are at least six items from your mail that a thief can use to steal your identity? Mitic’s first recommendation is that we obtain a copy of our credit report at least once a year and check it thoroughly for any unauthorized activity. Have you ever received an email from a foreign country informing you that you will be the recipient of a huge sum of money if you just respond with some personal information? Mitic discusses this and other email scams. He also covers the risks of both online and offline shopping. What should we do when we’re away on vacation? Are my kids at risk for identity theft when they’re using the computer? Mitic furnishes savvy advice for these concerns as well.

So what can we do if someone has stolen our identity? Mitic provides us with several essential first steps including freezing your credit, requesting fraud alerts from credit reporting agencies, and reporting the crime to police and financial institutions. He also points out that the more quickly we identify and respond to a case of identity theft, the less money we’re likely to lose in the long run. Stopping Identity Theft is an important book and essential reading for everyone living in the brave new world of technology and the Internet.

I heard on the news that the NAACP is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and I'm looking for information about them. What do you have?

The NAACP is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year! In conjunction with national anniversary, the local Baltimore Branch of the NAACP is also celebrating its 97th anniversary. The Enoch Pratt Library is currently co-sponsoring an exhibit of the local branch’s memorabilia and photographs at our Central Library. After exploring the exhibit, you are invited to have a look at the exhibit booklet that presents a brief pictorial timeline of the branch’s history.

If you are looking more specifically for information on the national history such as the organization’s beginnings and global impact, one good place to start would be with the newly published NAACP 100: Celebrating a Century 100 Years in Pictures which gives a thorough and moving account of the organization through its images and words. The African American Department can also help with finding information in the vertical file and in our collection.

Thursday Review: Stone's Fall

Stone’s Fall by Iain Pears (2009)

When journalist Matthew Braddock attends the funeral of Madame Robillard, a woman he had met many years ago, he runs into a lawyer who has been instructed to deliver a package of documents to him. For Braddock, the funeral and the documents bring back memories of the events of the time when he knew Madame Robillard, then known as Elizabeth, Lady Ravenscliff.

In 1909 London, Braddock was employed by Lady Ravenscliff, the widow of the wealthy industrialist John Stone, who had just fallen to his death from his office window. On the surface, Braddock is meant to be writing a biography of John Stone. Discreetly, he is to search for the “never previously acknowledged” child of Stone’s mentioned in his will. However, what appears as a straightforward (though difficult) task is not what it seems to be. Braddock keeps uncovering important facts which had not been disclosed to him– the financial state of Stone’s empire is not nearly as solid as the shareholders have been led to believe, and there is evidence of shady dealings within it that were outside of Stone’s control. Also, Stone’s death looks like it may not have necessarily been an accident. Braddock slowly comes to find that he is being manipulated, as each layer he uncovers reveals more lies and secrets. In the end, all is revealed to him – seemingly. It will take two documents detailing two more eras - Paris 20 years earlier and Venice 20 years before that - before every part of the puzzle makes sense.

Like he did with his previous book An Instance of the Fingerpost, Pears has written an intricate historical novel for people who love literary fiction and also those who appreciate a really good mystery.

How can I promote Banned Books Week at my library?

Banned Books Week is a national campaign that celebrates the freedom to read. It promotes Intellectual Freedom in schools and libraries throughout the United States. The Humanities Department created a How-to-Guide, Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read, to raise awareness of censorship and to support the freedom of choice. The guide contains information on banned and challenged books and ways to get involved.

The American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom is a great resource for display ideas, activities, free downloads, and links for other materials for Banned Books Week.

Another good resource is the Official Banned Books Week web site. Under the section titled, “What You Can Do”, you will find suggestions on contests, discussion forums, and films on books that are banned.

The How-to-Guide and websites will provide you with the tools necessary for a successful Banned Books Week at your library.

A customer is interested in graphic novels – where should I start?

Over the last decade or so, the interest in graphic novels has exploded, and there’s been an equal increase in the number of published titles. Graphic novels aren’t just for super heroes anymore; they have grown to cover as may genres as found in any literature. So, when you’re helping a customer look for graphic novels, or even someone just looking for a good read, remember the wide range of options. You can find science fiction, horror, westerns, war stories, as well as autobiographical and literary graphic novels that are as emotionally complex and satisfying as works in more traditional mediums. There are also many long running series of manga, the Japanese term for comics, that are very popular.

When doing reader’s advisory it’s also important to take into account the customer’s reading level. As more and more styles and subjects are covered, there's been an equal increase in works with mature themes and art. Getting to know the titles will help you give good recommendations.

There are a lot of great graphic novels beyond the familiar names published by Marvel (Spider-man, X Men, Fantastic Four), and DC (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman). ALA also has a yearly list of the best graphic novels for teens. Check out the list below to learn about some of the best works out there:

• 500 Essential Graphic Novels : The Ultimate Guide by Gene Kannenberg
  
• The 101 Best Graphic Novels by Stephen Weiner
• The Librarian's Guide to Graphic Novels for Children and Tweens by David S. Serchay
• Graphic Novels: A Genre Guide to Comic Books, Manga, and More by Michael Pawuk
• Manga : The Complete Guide by Jason Thompson

Curious Librarian and Job Seeking

Enjoy this video giving advice for job seekers!