1. Polish your literary research problem-solving skills to meet college entry-level standards.

2. Learn to use selected examples of the kinds of information access tools and reference sources you will need to do research in college.

Remember the 5 Keep-It-Simple Steps to
Successful
Information Problem-Solving

1. DEFINE. In this case, the assignment/information problem is to create an Annotated Bibliography of your book and its author.
   
   
2. LOCATE your information. Here are some recommended Information Access Tools:

   Internet/World Wide Web

   Smart GOOGLE

   Catalogs

   Castle Library OPAC

   Public

   • Hawaii State Public Library System

   University (listed as examples only)

   • MCC - an on-island example
   • Libraries of the Claremont Colleges
   • University of California
   • Harvard Libraries

   Magazine and Newspaper Indexes

   EBSCO Host. Search (1) NovelList and (2) All Databases

   Infotrac. Search the Professional Collection and Expanded Academic ASAP. (Thanks, B!)

   FindArticles.com

   Alta Vista News

   PROCESS and EVALUATE the information as it relates to your topic.
   
   

   Here are some recommended Literature Sources for this project: Literary Resources on the Net. Do a one-keyword search in the box. Author Webliography. Use Command F/G (Mac) or Control F/G (pc). Contains sites not easily found on YAHOO or Google. Internet Public Library Criticism Collection. Browse by Last name of Author (don't use search box). Literary Resources on the Net Barnes and Noble's Bookbrowser and Borders teamed with Amazon.com Authors and Artists for Young Adults*, 43 volumes, Gale Group, in the library Contemporary Literary Criticism, vols. 1-54, or Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism*, vols. 1-33, or Nineteenth-Century Literary Criticism*, vols. 1-22 (all of these up -1989), all in the library

   
   Evaluate sources.

   See How to Evaluate Web Sites.

   Look for Standard References and Tools.

   Skim, read, organize, take notes, scan, download,
      highlight, synthesize, draw conclusions.

   COMMUNICATE the results of your research.

   Create written projects, multimedia projects, visual projects, oral projects.

   e.g., an annotated bibliography. See Mr. Hodara's Sample Commentary and Annotated Bibliography.

   Observe copyright laws.

   Cite sources using MLA formatting or the library's Samples for Works Cited.

   ASSESS both process and product. Determine:

   whether the information problem was solved

   whether the process was efficient and effective

   what you will do differently next time