LIS 620

Reference Question Responses

Dictionaries Resources Reference Questions

Question: In a letter about his childhood memories, Dirk Bogarde wrote about a famous author who
he thought was a witch. Who was he referring to and what is the exact quotation?

Answer
Answer Virginia Wolf

“Used to see her marching about the water-meadows quite often. Hair wispy and
caught into a loose sort of knot, a big stick or sometimes a brightly coloured
umbrella furled. A golf umbrella, I imagine, a droopy cardigan. She sometimes wore a
big floppy straw hat and we all thought she was a witch. Or could put spells on you…
there was a strange deconontracte about her which made us all uneasy…she never
spoke to us, but sometimes sang to herself, a sure sign that she was ‘barmy’ as we
said…and picked little bunches of wild flowers.”

Quote from A Particular Friendship: Letters by Dirk Bogarde.

Search Process I first tried to use Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations, but nothing came up in the search
results.

Then I tried to google ‘Dirk Bogarde letter witch’ which led me to “A Particular
Friendship” by Dirk Bogarde. Within the book, the quote about Virginia Woolf can be
found on the last two pages of chapter 33.

Just to verify, from there, I googled ‘Dirk Bogarde Virginia Woolf witch’ which led me
to “Virginia Woolf’s Women” by Vanessa Curtis. The quote from Dirk Bogarde is on
page 198.

Why I chose this This book is written by Dirk Bogarde and contains his letters, directly relating to the
source question.
What made the The source was a good choice, because it was written by the source of the quote,
source a good choice Dirk Bogarde.

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Bibliographic and Genealogical Resources Reference Questions
Question: Using the UNCG Library site, search the databases for "biographies" and locate the
"Biography Reference Center (EBSCO)" and "Biography (Gale in Context)." Do a search for a particular
celebrity in both databases and compare and contrast the results. Briefly explain what type of
information was provided and what types of sources were included. What are some site features?
Which site did you find easier to use?

Answer
Answer The celebrity I chose to look at was Keanu Reeves.
EBSCOHOST
 Name, DOB, nationality, occupation, and achievements.
 Provided only 2 detailed biographies, with no concise biographies or related articles.
 1 image, undated.

Gale in Context
 Name, DOB, Occupation, Nationality, Other names, Gender.
 1 main picture, dated.
 Main extensive biography, not an external source.
 Breakdown of features on the page

 Provided 19 additional images, videos, audio clips, news, magazines,

 Each source provided a preview of the text.

 Also provided related topics (actors)

Overall Thoughts
While both were easy to use, I found Gale in Context overall more enjoyable to use. The layout was
friendlier and more pleasing to the eye. It provided a lot more information that EBSCO did and in an
easier to navigate format. I especially like that all of the information was broken down by resource
type.
Search I went to the UNCG library website. Click on databases, and then searched ‘biographies’. The two
Process databases I was looking for (in the question), were the first and second options. On each respective
database, I searched ‘Keanu Reeves’.
Why I chose I was told to use EBSCO and Gale in Context by the question directions.
this source
What made The sources to use were specified by the question, however given the two, Gale in Context is a much
the source a better source. It is much more detailed than EBSCO and breaks down the material by type, therefore
good choice making navigation easier.

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Health Resources Reference Questions

Question: I’m a college student and want to apply to an accredited nursing school. I’m looking to
apply to a practical nursing program. How can I find one near where I live?

Answer Using acenursing.org’s search for accredited programs:

For instance, if the patron lived in North Carolina, the search would look like the 1 st image
above, and the results would look like the 2 nd image above.

Search The resource I would use is: https://www.acenursing.org/

Strategy
Once there, you click on ‘Search Programs’ and then ‘Search Accredited Programs’.

From there, I would ask the patron where they were living to find a program near where
they live. (You can search by State or country).

I would then narrow the search results by program type of practical.

One this list was generated by the website, you can ask the patron if they needed help
printing the list or emailing it to themselves to be used at a later date or time.

Why this This source was used in the presentation by the Health Services team, on slide 17 of the
source? presentation.

Why this This source was a good source to use for this question because it fulfilled the required needs
source is a of the patron’s question. This source would be the go-to place for accurate and up to date
good choice: information for the patron. Along with the source being recommended by the team, it was
easy to use, and would be easy for a patron to replicate this search themselves at a later
time.

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Geography Resources Reference Questions

Question: What state had the highest average annual number of tornadoes from 1961 to 1990 (The
answer can be found in the National Geographic Student Atlas of the World, Archive.org)?

Question Answer Texas: 137 Tornadoes

Search Strategy Given the source in the question, I would first go to www.archive.org on my preferred
browser. Once I get to the website, I see that there is a search bar. In the search bar, I
type in ‘National Geographic Student Atlas of the World’ (because it is given in the
question) and then click go. Once I am on the next page, I see this as my first result.

I can then see a preview, but need to log in and borrow for full access. I create a free
account and verify my email. Once I am signed in, I borrow the book for 14 days and I am
now able to search inside the book. I search ‘1961’ and the book takes me to page 54.
From there, I can see the list of states with the highest average annual number of
tornadoes from 1961 to 1990, as seen in the image below.

Source Choice Given in the assignment question

Why is the This source provided the correct answer to the reference question. It is also a good source
source a good because it is from the National Geographic Society of the United States, which is a

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choice? reputable source.

Sources for Facts and Overviews Resources Reference Questions

Question: A college student comes in asking about how to format an English paper. They say their
professor has told them to use MLA but they are unsure of what this means. They ask for a guide that
shows them exactly how to do this.
Question Answer https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_style_introduction.ht
ml
 https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_a
nd_style_guide/mla_general_format.html

Search Strategy Knowing this is a writing question, I would start with Purdue’s Online Writing Lab,
Purdue owl at owl.purdue.edu. I would click on ‘The Purdue Online Writing Lab’ and then
on “MLA Guide’ on the left. From there, I have two options to give the student: 1. MLA
Overview and Workshop or 2. MLA Formatting and Style Guide. I would suggest that the
student look at both of the resources, in order to familiarize themselves with the style.
The second link specifically is on formatting and would be most beneficial to their
current question of formatting their English paper.
Source Choice, Recommended by the group in the presentation.
why?
Why is the This source provides a complete walkthrough of the citation style, from describing what
source a good it is to showing examples of each section of the paper. This is a great resource, especially
choice? for those who are new to the skill or need a thorough refresher.