| Sources
Facts on File Yearbook. Ref D410 .F3 and Facts.com
Description: Broad general source of condensed newsworthy information, with emphasis on events in or related to the U.S.; information is skeletal at best, with limited detail; the online version doesn't provide more detail but highlights search terms and includes links to related topics. Online edition also provides pre-selected top news by year and special features such as editorial cartoons, country profiles, historic documents/events, election highlights (since 1940), and "issues in the news" and "research features" (both with uattributed essays on selected topics, with links to news and other features within Facts.com)
Access: Print version is organized chronologically; multiple broad subject indexes depending on currency of information: annual, current cummulative and weekly supplement; index refers to location by page number, column, and general page location--sufficiently complex to be an impediment to use; would need to repeat search process in each volume for each year, although only a single index for each year. Online version, which includes the World Almanac and Book of Facts, is both easier (keyword search--able to limit to title, to a particular database within Facts.com, to a range of dates, and sort by relevance or date) and sometimes more difficult (numerous extraneous hits on some popular topics (e.g., Bush)) to use.
Audience:While written with language appropriate to 8th grade and older, the method of access in the print version is too complex for most--the online version is easier to use in one sense, but probably requires moderate instruction or assistance for many users, especially younger users; FactMonster is a kid's interface to Infoplease, but the content doesn't change drastically.
Time Almanac with Information Please Ref AY 64.I552 and Infoplease.com
Description Both provide comprehensive facts, statistics, and other data about the world, with an emphasis on topics of interest to U.S. users. The print edition is arranged by broad topics, e.g., "The World." Infoplease.com includes numerours additional reference tools which are searched simultaneously: almanac, atlas, encycopedia, dictionary. Online seems to be updated more frequently; print updated annually. Online is "free" (with lots of adverts), print costs (no adverts, but question whether binding will withstand much use).
Access: Brief keyword index, followed by a section (topical) index, and a detailed "comprehensive" index. The comprehensive index is more useful because the keyword and section indexes are too broad and incomplete. Infoplease.com allows keyword searching (can be limited to a section of the site: e.g., biographies, sports, entertainment, encyclopedia) or browsing of topics (categories in column at left (e.g., world & news, US, history, biography, sports, etc.) which lead to a new page with both search and browse options within the category (e.g., within biography there are people in the news, recent deaths, world rulers, presidents..architects, explorers, scientists...entertainers, athletes, artists, etc.).
Audience:Upper elementary age to adult; lots of brief facts without context.
Oxford Companion to Film. Ref PN1993.45 .O9.
Description: An encyclopedic dictionary about films and the film industry; brief articles; very few references to other sources. Interesting and useful, but sadly out of date.
Access: Like a dictionary, arranged alphabetically. No index, no cross-references.
Audience:High school to adult; general interest but more geared to film buffs or students.
Internet Movie Database http://www.imdb.com/search.html
Description: A complex Web site that packs in the information. A comprehensive database of movie (and tv) information, covering films from seemingly everywhere and for all times, indexing "every pertinent detail about a movie" (including all the who's: actors, directors, writers, cinematographers, etc.; trivia, reviews, fan sites, etc.) The inclusion of television shows is incredibly complete complete, although it is not good at indexing anthology series like "The Twilight Zone" where subsequently famous actors often starred in episodes (e.g., you can find Robert Redford in a Twilight Zone under his entry but not from the tv series entry).
Access: Search box in left column, with options to search titles, people, characters, quotes, bios, or plots. Numerous other options in left column for "tops at box office," new and forthcoming film openings, new and forthcoming DVDs, user favorites, and an option to go to the UK site (with correspondingl different listing for tops, new, etc.). Advanced search ("more searches) expands options to cast/crew members, character names, quotes, and "this day in history," among others. Two different sets of menu options at top of page: tabs for: now playing (with brief synopses), movie/tv news, IMDB TV, showtimes/tickets, and gamebase (interactive games) and browse features for top movies and "browse" (too hidden) which leads to a directory of topics (e.g., films by country, by language, by genre, by year, etc.). Lots of data, lots of access points--somewhat confusing.
Audience: Anyone interested in films, but probably slanted to teenagers and college students. |
| Evaluation/Comparison: In the narrowest and quickest sense, Time Almanac/Information Please, especially in print, is the easiest source to use and Facts on File, especially in print, is the most complicated and frustrating; all the others are somewhere in between. I tried to locate information about Oscar winning films and people. Time Almanac in print has to be updated every year, with different editions for entertainment and sports, while the online version is updated more frequently and is all in one place. While international in scope, both are dominated by U.S. information. To find out more than Oscar winners in a given year, you would have to use another source. The online Information Please Almanac is fairly easy to use, but the search, at the global level, can lead to many irrelevant results. Search for "oscar foreign film" yielded more than 100 results, but many where Oscar is a person's name. Using the browse feature is like using an index in a book, but less structured and potentially more frustrating. I found the topic "entertainment," selected "awards" which took me to a new page of options from which I selected "movie awards," which generated another page from which I selected "The Academy Awards" which sent me to another page of links to academy awards by year. This could be very frustrating. The Oxford Companion is not comprehensive, even for film, but selective with a European/American bias. Lots of information about individual films, directors, actors, and film terminology. The Companion is not the best source to locate statistics about film (like number produced or attendance--which can be found in Info Please and World Almanac easier). Public libraries and academic libraries will probably have this title. Facts on File is the best source to explore U.S. current events and many world current events for a particular year. There are not cumulations for decades, so locating the answer here would involve considerable work. On the other hand, it does put awards into a social context with other events. The indexing and locating for Facts on File is complicated and took time to figure out. Entries are generally short, although longer entries also exist. While not a great source for this particular question, it is a useful and interesting title and could easily be used in middle school or high school social science courses. But, all things considered, and provided a "fast" Internet connection, the Internet Movie Database is quick, easy to use, provides reliable information fast, links to a "more authoritative" source, and provides additional information with a single click. The "user comments" are not authoritative, but are interesting. |
