Reading Rescue, October 2007: Reference Resources
By Anne Allen and Mary Anne Fulmer
 Have
you ever been given an assignment from a teacher or professor that
requires doing research? Did you find it a challenge? Well, that is what
doing research is all about, a challenge. If you approach the task and
think of it as a scavenger hunt, it will not only be easier, but a lot
of fun! The library does have a reference section as well as Grolier
Online resources and Power Library. All these resources will make your
project interesting, easy to handle, and just maybe a little fun.
If you need to find information about what plants,
scrubs and trees would be best to plant in and around your home garden,
The Plant Finder: The Right Plants for Every Garden (R 635.9 PLA)
edited by Tony Rodd and Geoff Bryant would be an excellent resource. The
book includes basic descriptions and growing conditions. There are many
glossy, color photographs. Also included is a useful outdoor planting
companion.
There are not many families where cancer hasn't been
diagnosed in one form or another. The disease can devastate a family,
but if someone is lucky enough to survive, Cancer Survivorship
Sourcebook (R 616.99 CAN) will be a huge help. This is a guide to
cancer survival from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up. The book has
chapters on psychosocial management, education for the patient and
family, and supportive care. It is for both adult and childhood onsets
of cancer. The book is an excellent basic reference. It will help to
answer basic questions and help get you through some extremely tense
times.
Another great health resource is The Merck Manual of
Diagnosis and Therapy (R 616 MER). This book has been dubbed the
"Bible of Medicine." The manual covers almost everything in the medical
field. Topics are concise, up-to-the-point and easy to understand. You
will find everything you would like to know, with the exception of
surgery. The book is divided into an alphabetical scheme that may be
confusing because if you are looking for Candidiasis of the skin, it
would be under "S" for skin instead of "C" for Candidiasis. For the most
part, this book covers the background, signs and symptoms, and then
therapy of each ailment. It also mentions the doses of the drugs used to
treat the ailment. It will help you to understand the nature and maybe
the outcome of the treatment of many health issues.
Power Library has some excellent healthy resources for
the layperson and the professional. They include: Consumer Health
Complete (CHC) which contains reports, reference books, fact sheets,
pamphlets, news, herb information, alternative sources, images and
diagrams and videos and animation; Health Source Plus (Consumer) which
contains books, periodical articles and pamphlets; and finally, Health
Source (Nursing /Academic) which contains information on a professional
level. These resources are yours free of charge from the library or in
your home with a Penn Area Library card.
Need to know the answer to a question about the ocean?
Ocean: A Visual Guide ( R 551.46 HUT) by Stephen Hutchinson and
Lawrence E. Hawkins would be a good place to start. It is picture-rich
and describes the birth of oceans as "the cradle of life." The authors
explain tides, salinity, waves, current, diverse and complex ecosystems
of the polar, equatorial and temperate oceans with diagrams and photos
that are clear and concise with great commentary. There are photos of
marine wildlife that are dramatic, ranging from microscopic species to
sea giants. The photos range from exquisite to spooky. The authors also
talk about the history of human exploration and exploitation of the
seas. They share information about pollution, over fishing, habitat
destruction and global warming. There are solutions to these problems,
and we must inspire others to help protect the ocean and, thus, life
itself.
The library's Grolier Online databases are excellent
resources. The New Book of Knowledge includes NBK news with
news-scoops that encourage independent investigation with four weekly
news stories, complete with color photos and more. They feature a
spotlight on various subjects, projects and experiments, homework help
and even teacher resources. Included are citations, graphics and
easy-to-understand language in the readings. This is an excellent
resource for the beginning researcher.
America the Beautiful is another Grolier database
that gives facts about all fifty states. The library is in the process
of purchasing the print version, but they take a long time to be
printed. The online version is up-to-date. Please remember these
databases are free with your library card. They can be used in the
library and also remotely from home.
The library has some critical companions to literature.
The Critical Companion to Charles Dickens (R 823.8 DAV) by Paul
B. Davis offers a seven-page biography, the works of Dickens from A to Z
and related people, places and topics. His major works are covered with
a synopsis, commentary and character entries.
Another companion offered at the library is that of
James Joyce in James Joyce: A Literary Companion to His Life (R
823. 912 FAR) by Nicholas Fargnoli and Michael Patrick Gillespie. It has
the same format as the Dickens companion, but provides, in addition,
overviews of chapters, critical analysis of major themes, profiles of
characters and more. The appendixes are good with a family tree, lists
of periodicals and web sites and more. This book is an asset for any one
doing homework or research.
There are great resources on Power Library for almost
any subject. Grolier is yours with a library card from the Penn Area
Library. The library has a great large print dictionary, many atlases
and many more great reference resources. As always if you have questions
or comments, please either call (724) 744-4414 or e-mail
mfulmer@pennlib.org.
Upcoming events include the American Girls Tea on
October 12th at 6:30 p.m., Resume Workshop on October 15th at 6:30 p.m.
and Bedtime with Bears on November 16th at 6:30 p.m. The Friends are
hosting a book sale from October 3rd until October 10th during regular
library hours. Materials for the sale are being accepted. See you in the
library!
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