Reader's Guide vs Online Databases

[deb abbott]

Just curious as to how many LMS still get Reader's Guide to Periodic Literature. This is my first year as a middle school LMS and we still subscribe to RG. One 8th grade ELA teacher loves the RG and she is the one who uses it for a research project. Because that 8th grade teacher uses it for her project, I teach RG to the 7th graders as part of another project, but the 7th grade teacher would just as soon drop the RG and concentrate on databases. The high school does not get RG...they only use databases for periodical research. To me, the $400 for RG for one class, when the kids won't even have the option of RG the following year does not make sense, but I want to handle this situation delicately. It will help to hear what others are doing in their LMC's. Thanks for your input.

[Dana Buchanan]

I've been in the middle school for 10 years. We have yet to use the Reader's Guide. I had quit purchasing it when we started getting access to Ebscohost. Now I teach it as a database and how to search it. In an introduction to research, I compare it to information found on web pages. Students are still getting the periodical articles they need for their project.

[Kate Hodgson]

I used to use Reader's Guide years ago but stopped when I subscibed to online databases. Teachers and students at our school all like the online databases as they have access to a much larger number of periodicals than our school could possibly suscribe to and they have the full periodical article in front of them on the computer screen within seconds. I udnerstand you wanting to heandle this delicately - I had the same issue at my previous school. Just a thought - you could request a free trail of some databases and share those with the teacher who loves the RG.

[(Peg) Marianna DeMott]

Oh my, I did not know RG was still be published. Our school has not had that for 15 or more years. Our state maintains a free online database that includes EBSCO. I can't believe a teacher would want to use Readers Guide, what you need to do is explain that this is such an old resource that kids would never use it again. Save your money.

[Julie Udy]

I teach at the high school level. We still have the Reader's Guide abridged version and am carrying about 20 magazines that are indexed in it. However, it is really only used if the teachers require a periodical to be used. Some times I feel like I am wasting my money, but I still teach them the skill and if they don't find it on the shelf they can learn to go to the database and pull it up there. it makes them work a little harder to find the article which sometimes I think is good. Sometimes it is too "easy" looking something up on a database, only learning the minimum search technique (typing in a key word and having a list of articles come up).

[Lisa Nocita]

I have not used a reader's guide professionally or personally in many years. I find that my needs are met much more quickly by searching the databases. I will never forget how frustrated I would feel when I found what I thought would be the perfect article in RG only to discover that I had no practical access to it! I just wish the databases were entirely full text! :-) Lisa

[T. Graham]

Our school does not use Reader's Guide. Students prefer yahoo or google. Teacher's want the students to use "Magnolia" which is our state's online database.

[Dana Buchanan]

Because teachers were not using magazines as one of their resources, I had gotten rid of the RG. I have been working with the students in using the Ebscoehost as part of a research lesson. Students are using it more, but not enough--googling still wins out. Magazine articles are being use and are required by more teachers.