Challenge #1: World Book

I chose to research the World Book Public Library edition.  For the Discovery Exercise, I wanted to find information on river otters. 

1.     World Book Online Kids contained a cute picture of an otter, an 18 second video, and two sentences specific to the river otter:

The river otter has a small, flat head and a thick tail. Its webbed feet help it swim. When it swims, the river otter can close its ears and nostrils tightly to keep the water out.

 

 The information provided for habitats included all otters not just river otters.  It stated, "Many otters live along rivers, streams, lakes, and coasts, or in marshes. Otters are found on every
continent except Australia and Antarctica."

Tools available in World Book Online Kids include the option to save, print, e-mail, translate to another language, or hear the text read aloud.

2)     The World Book Online Info Finder provides more text information on otters.  This information is specific to freshwater otters such as the river otter and provides a link to find out more information on sea otters.  One video and one picture are still provided.  Each subsection of information provides an option to print just that subsection.  In addition to the tools found in Online Kids, users may "Highlight Search Terms," "Save information to My Research," and "Double-click a word to define it."  The information is also more technical than Online Kids i.e. scientific names are provided.  Guidance for citing sources is provided at the bottom of the article.  Related information is provided in links to other websites and magazines in the upper right corner of the webpage.

3)    I chose to search for information on New Zealand in the World Book Online Reference Center.  On the first results screen, search results of all types are displayed on the left side bar, and the user must choose the results they would like to examine more closely, such as "Pictures," "Maps," or "E-books."  The right side bar provides actual titles of "Primary Sources" and "E-books."

Clicking on the link for New Zealand found in the center "Encyclopedia" section reveals a wealth of information.  The left side bar provides a listing of the topics in each section/subsection of the Encyclopedia article allowing the user to skip to the information they are most interested in obtaining.  The right side bar provides links to related information and the titles of "Related Primary Source Information."   The right side bar also provides information as to how the content aligns with South Dakota Content Standards.  Having this information handy makes it easier for teachers and home school parents to develop their lesson plans.

I think my patrons will find the listing of the topics in each section/subsection very useful.  If users just want to learn more about a certain topic in a country, they can skip to the particular section without wading through the rest of the information.  However, those planning to travel to certain countries would certainly enjoy checking out the link to the "Interactive Map."