Monday, January 23, 2012

How could you most easily find this book in the library?

You need to write an essay about hot air ballooning. You know you've seen a good book on this topic, but you can't remember the name of the book or the name of the author. How could you most easily find this book in the library?



A. Locate the title card for the book in the card catalog.

B. Locate the author card for the book in the card catalog.



C. Look under "balloons" in the Readers' Guide.



D. Locate the subject card for the book in the card catalog.How could you most easily find this book in the library?
Thank you for your question.



The best answer is probably D, assuming there is a card for 'hot air ballooning' or just 'ballooning'. I tried my library catalogue and found two books under 797.51 by using 'ballooning' as a key word.



Looking under 'balloons' in the Readers' Guide could be confusing unless there is a book on 'hot air balloons', as it would be more likely to mention books on party balloons, helium balloons etc.



As you don't know the title or author, options A and B won't help.



This answer was provided by Enquire, a 24-hour, live question answering and enquiry service offered by public libraries across England and Scotland in collaboration with partners in the United States. If you liked our answer and would like us to help you find another, you can chat with one of us right now by clicking on Enquire on the People鈥檚 Network site at

http://www.peoplesnetwork.go.ukHow could you most easily find this book in the library?
Consider your options.



Do you know the name of the book?

If "yes," you can locate the title card.

If "no," going to the title cards is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.



Do you know the author of the book

If "yes," you can locate the author card.

If "no," going to the author cards, like going to the title cards, is like trying to find a needle in a haystack.



The full name of the "Readers' Guide" is "Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature." In other words, the Readers' Guide indexes journals and magazines. It does not cover books, so searching there is a search in the wrong haystack.



What is the subject of your essay? What is the subject which you should use to find appropriate books?How could you most easily find this book in the library?
D.
"Homework help" is not the same as "do it for me"

No comments:

Post a Comment