Online Reference Resources

For the International School of Beijing

COMPILED BY VALERIE MCENROE

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The International School of Beijing (ISB) is recognized as one of the top international

schools in Beijing. It is one of two that I am considering for my practicum experience and
possible future employment. Therefore, my suggestions for a reference collection were decided
with this school in mind.
ISB educates over 1500 students in grades PK-12. According to the library website, the
combined elementary and middle/high school libraries house over 85,000 items including 120
magazine subscriptions and 25 database subscriptions. The library mission is to foster a
community of learning and literacy that leads to high academic achievement, independent
reading and learning, and collaboration throughout the school. Although I have not visited the
library, I have viewed the website and made some decisions about what is needed for the
reference collection.
Since ISB is a highly competitive school where many students go on to attend the worlds
top universities, I expect the high school library to have a large, up-to-date, print reference
collection. However, since middle and high school students are required to have their own
laptops, and they have no access to public libraries, I expect that the majority of research is done
online. All students have access to online resources. The library maintains a page on the school
website where students can find links to useful information. Most impressive to me are the links
to Overdrive and Follett Shelf where students can download ebooks and audiobooks. This
supports my assumption that ISB is actively encouraging electronic sources for information
needs.

In preparation for this assignment, I looked at many high school library websites in order
to determine how many have a quality reference collection that students can use for research in
the same way they use print reference books. What I found is that most have a database collection
and an online encyclopedia, but they do not have an organized list of websites, prepared by the
librarian, which provides similar information to that found in books. ISB does have an
alphabetical list of subscription websites, but there are no subject identifiers or annotations to
indicate the purpose of the website. The library mission statement recognizes the importance of
the library in fostering collaboration throughout the school. I believe that an online list of
references, organized by topic, would influence teachers toward greater collaboration with the
library for student information needs. If websites were organized by topics, then students could
better determine whether the websites could serve their information needs. There are many
other advantages to using online websites.
1. They are usually free.
2. They are reputable if created by a government, non-profit, or educational organization.
3. They can be accessed 24 hours a day.
4. The librarian selects reference websites in the same way she selects reference books.
5. Information can easily be updated.
6. If the website disappears, the librarian only needs to delete the link.
7. Website links can be posted immediately.
8. The librarian can view the actual resource, not simply a review.
One of the major disadvantages of purchasing print materials in China is cost and
availability. Books can be purchased quickly from amazon.cn, but the selection cant always be
guaranteed. As an example, I recently compared the cost of the 2015 edition of the Guinness
Book of World Records on both the United States and China Amazon websites. Currently in the
US the cost is $18.67, while the same book purchased in China costs $29.72. The 2015 edition of
the World Almanac, though available in the US, is not yet available through China Amazon. The
2014 edition is available through China Amazon, but again the cost is nearly double. In my
opinion these popular, yearly publications should continue to be purchased in print for the
school library, however, it precludes the purchase of a large number of other print reference
materials whose potential popularity is unknown.

With this information in mind, I decided to only include online resources for this
assignment. I thought about the kinds of academic assignments students might be given and
chose my websites accordingly. Since most school libraries already subscribe to databases and
encyclopedias, I restricted my list to free websites. First I decided to include general reference
materials such as dictionaries and almanacs, and then chose websites that would be suitable for
the typical school subject areas. Since ISB is an international school, I rejected websites that
concentrated too much on US history and government. Along with obvious categories for
language arts and history, I included websites for art and music as well, because ISB incorporates
technology across the curriculum. It is my hope that should I have the good fortune of working in
the ISB library, that this will serve as a springboard to a larger free online reference collection
from which students and teachers will gain quick, useful and reliable information.

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY

General Bibliographies
IPL (2014). ipl2: Information you can trust. Retrieved October 19, 2014 from http://
www.ipl.org/div/subject/
Internet Public Library is an invaluable source for anyone needing to conduct research
on the internet. IPL is a bibliography of reputable websites endorsed by a consortium of
universities. Users can bi-pass Google and browse the 12 topical categories or enter their
own search word. The search will return a list of web sources that have been previewed
for usefulness and reliability. Includes an ask the librarian feature. Recommended for
students ages 8 and up.
US General Services Administration (2014). Kids.gov: A safe place to learn and play Retrieved
October 19, 2014 from http://kids.usa.gov/teens/index.html
Kids.gov is a US government website that has identified the best websites to find
information kids want. Users can browse the topical categories or enter their own search
word. The system will return a list of websites with the domain endings .gov, .edu,
or .org. These endings identify websites created by the US government, educational
institutions and non-profit organizations. They contain no advertising. Recommended
for students ages 7 and up.
StartSpot Mediaworks (2014). Library Spot. Retrieved October 19, 2014 from http://
www.libraryspot.com
Library Spot has nearly everything a student could need for finding information. Its a
comprehensive website bibliography that directs students to newspapers, magazines,
dictionaries, encyclopedias, libraries and so much more. They can search for news by
media, region, subject, and type of news article. They can select a type of reference need
and find an abundance of websites in that category. Recommended for students ages 8
and up.

Almanacs
Metcalfe, Luke (2014). International statistics: Compare countries on just about anything!
Retrieved October 19, 2014 from http://www.nationmaster.com
NationMaster is one of the best compilations of valuable facts and statistics for every
country in the world. Search by country or search by category. Topics cover agriculture,
crime, economy, geography, and much more. Website allows for easy comparison and
ranking of countries. Facts are taken from reputable sources such as the World
FactBook, UNESCO and World Bank. Website endorsed by the New York Times and
BBC. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Encyclopedias
Siminoff, David (2014). Schmoop. Retrieved October 20, 2014 from http://www.shmoop.com/
learning-guides/
Schmoop is a multi-purpose website that has compiled a great set of learning guides for a
variety of subjects including literature, poetry, Shakespeare, mythology, math, Biology,
Chemistry, US history, and Economics. Students can use this website for almost any
subject. They can brush up on their math skills, find famous poets, clarify confusing
science topics, study the Greek and Roman gods and much more. The website is well
designed, attractive and user friendly. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Pearson Education (2014). Infoplease. Retrieved October 22, 2014 from http://
www.infoplease.com
Infoplease provides free access to 57,000 articles from Columbia encyclopedia.
Students can enter a search term or browse the topics under the homework help tab to
click through a series of narrower topics. Articles are short to provide a stepping off
point in the research process. In addition to providing an encyclopedia, Infoplease has
an atlas, dictionary, thesaurus, and many helpful tools like periodic table, calendar and
conversion tool. Its a multipurpose, and therefore very useful website to go to often.
Recommended for students ages 8 and up.

Quotations
Borenstein, David (2014). Quoteland. Retrieved October 19, 2014 from http://
www.quotationspage.com
The Quotations Page is for those who want to spice up their writing with interesting and
famous words of wisdom. With a database of over 30,000 quotes, grouped by subject or
author, there is sure to be one to fit every need. Additional features include the ability to
save the quotes after registering, emailing the quote and finding out more
bibliographical information about it. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Dictionaries
Cambridge University Press (2014). Cambridge dictionaries online. Retrieved October 19, 2014
from http://dictionary.cambridge.org
Cambridge dictionaries allow a user to look up words in American or British English,
and translate words from English into 12 other languages. The basic dictionary search
includes the pronunciation, definition, sentence and a list of related topics which lead to
a smart thesaurus word cloud. The word clouds include popular idioms. For Spanish,
French and German languages, there is a reverse translation option which translates the
foreign word into English. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Chinese Language
Melnyks, Serge (2014). Melnyks Chinese: Youll be fluent in no time. Retrieved October 20, 2014
from http://www.melnyks.com
Learn Chinese with short, easy audio lessons. Currently, there are 270 lessons with
downloadable pdf worksheets and transcripts. The first 100 lessons are free. Each lesson
has a theme and teaches relevant vocabulary and grammar. The instructor speaks slowly
and repeats the phrases many times before putting it all together in a conversation at the
end. Each lesson is about 10 minutes and briefly reviews the previous lesson before
moving on to new material. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Whately, Ben (2014). Memrise. Retrieved October 20, 2014 from http://www.memrise.com/
home/

Chinese is one of the most difficult languages to learn. Memrise has designed courses for
those who want to learn the Chinese characters. Memrise works by creating word
associations through images or sayings that make recalling a word much easier. It keeps
track of the users progress and customizes the course for maximum learning. Each
practice session earns points which ranks people on a leaderboard. Competitive and fun,
students will be encouraged to work hard. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
College & Careers
US Bureau of Labor Statistics (2014). Occupational Outlook Handbook. Retrieved October 19,
2014 from http://www.bls.gov/ooh/
This guide, compiled by the US government, lists information on hundreds of jobs.
Students can choose an occupation category of interest and learn about the common jobs
within that category. The listing gives a job summary, minimum educational requirement
and median salary for the previous year. Jobs can be filtered by such parameters as
education, salary and job growth. Recommended for students ages 10 and up.
The College Board (2014). Big future: By the college board. Retrieved October 19, 2014 from
https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org
Its never too early to start planning for college. The College Board has created a website
that makes college planning easy. Articles and videos present information on the
importance of extra-curriculars, choosing a major, paying for college and navigating the
admissions process. Students as young as middle school can create an account to receive
a customized college plan. As they get older they can sign up to take the College Board
exams and keep track of their scores. Recommended for students ages 12 and up.
Cousera (2014). Take the worlds best courses, online, for free. Retrieved October 19, 2014 from
https://www.coursera.org
Students who are looking to expand their knowledge in a given area, or who just want to
learn something new, can sign up for free courses offered by some of the worlds leading
institutions. Courses are always starting, so once they create an account, students can
begin a course and move at their own pace. Upon completion of the course students will
receive a certificate of completion. Recommended for students age 14 and up.

Language Arts
ProCon.org (2014). Pros and cons of controversial issues. Retrieved October 19, 2014 from
http://www.procon.org
The ProCon mission is to provide a source for accurate and unbiased information in the
midst of the misinformation flooding the internet. They aim to foster critical thinking in
education and create a society of informed citizens. The website categorizes the issues
and for each issue it briefly presents the case then provides a thorough exploration of the
pro/con arguments and the background. Additional features are a Did you know?
section and images. Recommended for students ages 12 and up.
Academy of American Poets (2014). Poets.org Retrieved October 20, 2014 from http://
www.poets.org
Poets.org has everything students need for finding information on over 500 American
poets. Students have many options for their search. If they would like information on a
specific author, they can type in his or her name and receive bibliographic information
and a sampling of poems. If they would like to browse through a listing of authors, they
can filter the search by various parameters such as occasion, movement, poetic form, or
state. Students can also research essays, interviews and articles about poets and poetry.
Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Famous poets and poems (2012). Famous Poets and Poems. Retrieved October 20, 2014 from
http://www.famouspoetsandpoems.com
Another poetry website with poems and biographies from over 631 poets. This site
includes famous poets from around the world. Students can search for poets by such
categories as nationality, theme, nobel prize winners, women, contemporary and
popularity. Other features include famous quotes and the top 50 poems. There is also a
poet and poem of the month posting which gives students a random sampling of famous
poets. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Purdue University (2014). Online writing lab. Retrieved October 22, 2014 from https://
owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/677/1/

Students will be writing papers all through school. Whether its poetry, short stories,
narratives, or persuasive papers, they will be writing. Writing doesnt come easily for
everyone, so Purdue University has creating an online writing center with useful topics
that students can refer to whenever they need a jumpstart. Sample topics include
prewriting, creating paragraphs, transitioning, searching the web and citing sources.
Recommended for students ages 8-12.
Vocabulary.com (2014). Retrieved October 22, 2014 from http://www.vocabulary.com
Students who need preparation for standardized college entrance exams or just want to
expand their vocabulary will enjoy this website. Students are asked multiple choice
questions in groups of 10. They can play as many times as they would like and accrue
points. If they sign up for a free account, their points will be saved and compared against
other students to place them on a leaderboard. Competitive and fun. Recommended for
students ages 10 and up.
Health and Science
National Institute of Health (2014). Medline Plus: Trusted health information for you. Retrieved
October 21, 2014 from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/
The National Institute of Health provides information on all health topics including 900
diseases, illnesses, and health conditions. Users can also search for information on overthe-counter and prescription drugs and supplements. Also available are a selection of
videos, interactive tutorials and wellness assessment calculators. A special topic area for
children and teenagers address concerns specific to that group. Recommended for
children ages 8 and up.
CDC (2014). CDC 24/7: Saving lives. Protecting people. Retrieved October 21, 2014 from
http://www.cdc.gov/DiseasesConditions/
The CDC is the US government agency that oversees research and information
dissemination for infectious diseases. They have compiled detailed information for the
public to aid in understanding the causes and prevention of all communicable diseases.
In addition to the written information, they provide images, videos and podcasts, as well
as up-to-date information regarding recent outbreaks. Students can also research non-

infectious conditions and find links to articles, professional training, state activities and
publications. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
PLOS (2014). Public Library of Science. Retrieved October 22, 2014 from http://www.plos.org
The goal of the Public Library of Science is to provide open access to research. It is
supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and academic leaders. It focuses on
the field of Biology and publishes scholarly articles in seven different journals. Articles
are written by university researchers and peer reviewed before being accepted for
publication. Research organizations pay a fee to be published and they are free to the
public. Each article identifies the authors research affiliation and statistical information
such as how many times it has been viewed, cited, or discussed online. Students will
appreciate the simple search platform. Recommended for ages 12 and up.
Genetic Science Learning Center (2014, June 10). Learn Genetics. Retrieved October 22, 2014,
from http://learn.genetics.utah.edu
GSLC is an internationally recognized interactive website that teaches all aspects of
genetics through visual presentations that students will easily understand. Main topics
include genetics, cell biology, human health, evolution and ecology, and science tools.
Each category has further divisions for a specific area of interest. Included in the science
tools area are virtual labs for DNA extraction, gel electrophoresis, PCR and DNA
microarray, common labs for an AP Biology class. Recommended for students ages 12
and up.
OGrady, R. T. (2014). Action bioscience . Retrieved October 22, 2014 from http://
www.actionbioscience.org
The Action Bioscience website provides peer reviewed articles on debatable science
issues in the areas of environment, biodiversity, genomics, evolution, biotechnology and
science policy. Links are provided at the end of each article to help students learn more
or find out how they can get involved. Students choose one of the major topic categories,
then narrows the topic, then sees the list of articles available on that topic. Endorsed by
the National Association of Biology Teachers and funded in part by a grant from the
National Science Foundation. Recommended for students ages 10 and up.

Dayah, M. (2014). Dynamic periodic table. Retrieved October 22, 2014, from http://
www.ptable.com
This is likely the most interactive periodic table on the web. Click on any element to
learn more about its properties, orbitals, isotopes and compounds. This website
provides links to both Wikipedia and WebElements information on each element. An
especially useful feature of this website is a collection of videos, images and podcasts for
each element. If a student chooses podcast and hydrogen, an associated podcast will
automatically start playing. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Myers, P. (2014). The animal diversity web. Retrieved October 22, 2014 from http://
animaldiversity.org.
Animal Diversity Web provides information on animal natural history, distribution,
classification and conservation from the University of Michigan. Through a searchable
encyclopedia, students can find text, images, videos and sound recordings of animals.
Animal categories are browsable by the classification schema of the general phylum level
down to the most specific species level. At each level students can read the text and
continue to the species level where details such as geographic range, physical
description, reproduction, behavior and much more is provided. An informational search
guide is available. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Art and Music
Zeroland (2014). Arts Online. Retrieved October 21, 2014 from http://www.zeroland.co.nz
Arts Online is a comprehensive bibliographic directory to the most useful websites for all
art education categories including visual arts, performing arts, cinema, music, literature
and philosophy. Within each of these categories students can narrow searches by
country, artists name, movement, and other parameters specific to each type of art. The
website directories include such information as biographies, dictionaries, blogs,
journals, companies, competitions, museums and much more. Recommended for
students ages 10 and up.

History
Gascoigne, Bamber (2014). History world. Retrieved October 21, 2014 from http://
www.historyworld.net
History World contains information on more than 10,000 world history events. Students
can search the site for a specific event or browse through histories and timelines.
Histories contain bold print words that link to related content in other articles.
Timelines are organized in chronological order by topic and link to the related histories.
Clicking on the more information icon will take users to a prescribed Google search.
Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
History by topic (2014). A & E Television Network. Retrieved October 21, 2014 from http://
www.history.com/topics
History.com delves deep into topics of historical interest. Students can explore ancient
history, the French revolution, Industrial revolution, the world wars, holidays and more.
Once students choose a topic, they can read the article for valuable historical information
and History.com finds all the associated videos for that topic. Searching the popular
American holiday Halloween yields results for 15 videos on topics such as the history,
pumpkin carving, candy corn, and primal fear. Recommended for students ages 8 and
up.
Biography
Academy of achievement: A museum of living history (2014) Academy of Achievement. Retrieved
October 20, 2014 from http://www.achievement.org
The Academy of Achievement is an organization that strives to elevate student awareness
of the worlds most inspiring leaders. People in the arts, business, public service, science
and sports who have impacted others in some way, are recognized for their dedication.
On the website, students can view profiles, biographies, interviews, images and quotes
for all the selected achievers. Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Bio (2014). A & E Television Network. Retrieved on October 22, 2014 from http://
www.biography.com

Biography.com has the largest database of biographies on the internet. With over 7,000
biographies spanning all categories, students can learn about celebrities, authors,
political figures, historical figures, artists, scientists and more. Biographies are written in
a succinct, understandable narrative that students will find easy to understand. Most
biographies also include a short video clip. Though full of valuable information, the
website is very commercialized with distracting links to a lot of pop culture topics.
Recommended for students ages 8 and up.
Notable websites for US History not included in bibliography
Supreme Court cases: http://www.streetlaw.org/en/landmark.aspx
LoC: http://www.loc.gov
US History: http://www.ushistory.org
US History: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/index.cfm
Works Consulted
Amazon US (2014). Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://www.amazon.com
Amazon China (2014). Retrieved October 19, 2014, from http://amazon.cn
Church, A. (2006). Your library goes virtual: Promoting reading and supporting research.
Library Media Connection, 25(3-), 10-13.
Darrow, R. (2009). School libraries are essential: Meeting the virtual access and collaboration
needs of the 21st-century learner and teacher. Knowledge Quest, 37(5), 78-83.
Harper, M. (2011). Reference sources and services for youth. New York, NY: Neal-Schuman.
International School of Beijing (2014). Library Media Center . Retrieved October 19, 2014, from
http://www.isb.bj.edu.cn/programs/Pages/Library-Media-Center.aspx
Pixelflake (February 3, 2012). Forbidden City--view from coal hill. [Photograph] Retrieved from
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/#mediaviewer/File:The_Forbidden_City__View_from_Coal_Hill.jpg
Valenza, J. (2006). The virtual library. Educational Leadership, 63(4), 54-59.