“Where’s the New Age section?”
“I’ve got to do a report on science. It can be anything relating to science.”
“I have to write a paper on the Underground Railroad and I’m not allowed to use an encyclopedia. What else is there?”
“There’s nothing on Bob Dylan in this library and I’m writing my junior essay on him. Help!”
“I noticed you don’t have any books on quarks. I guess I should change my topic.”
Because they are asked on a daily basis, these kinds of questions and comments will sound familiar to any librarian working with students. Of course, we are usually delighted when students choose to voice these concerns because then we can begin to introduce them to the variety of resources necessary to complete their assignments. Students who do not approach a librarian are often unable to locate the exact materials needed, or leave empty-handed. In these cases, everyone loses. The students feel the library failed them and the librarian missed an opportunity to provide a positive library experience for those students.
100 Research Topic Guides for Students was developed to help public librarians and school library media specialists to meet the needs of secondary school students seeking help with library research projects. Creatively presented or displayed, the guides in this book will be useful to the students who request assistance as well as to those who are hesitant to approach the reference desk.
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