Internet: Many kids head straight to the Internet whenever they have a project that they need to research. This isn't always a good idea because anyone with the right software can post anything they want on the Internet, whether it's accurate or not. If you want to use information at your grade level that you can trust, be sure to start with the Barrington Area Library's home page. Choose either the Reference Databases page to find reliable information that the library has bought for you to use or the Research Topics page to see websites and search engines chosen by librarians, and you'll be off to a good start. Remember, a librarian is often your best search engine. We’ve been trained to quickly help you find the information you need from a reliable source at your reading level. Spending a few minutes asking, e-mailing, or calling for help getting started will save you time in the long run. For great tips on finding the best information for children on the Internet, explore the Kids’Click Worlds of Web Searching page.

General Encyclopedia: A great place to begin your research project. Encyclopedias like World Book Online give you background information on people, places, things, and events. Many teachers would like you to use more than just a general encyclopedia for your reports; use a general encyclopedia to get started.

Specialized Encyclopedia: Specialized encyclopedias are reference books with information on only one topic, such as USA Sixties or The International Wildlife Encyclopedia. Many specialized encyclopedias can be searched at once in the Student Resource Center. Specialized encyclopedias give detailed or technical information that's not available in general encyclopedias; teachers who don't allow general encyclopedias as sources usually allow you to use specialized encyclopedias.

Almanac: Use an almanac such as World Almanac (also available online in SIRS Discoverer) to find brief, current information, facts, and statistics. Topics such as movements of the planets, dates and events, weather records, population, and sports records are covered.

Atlas/Geographical Encyclopedia: Outline Maps on File has a blank map of each country and state for you to photocopy or trace. Use a world atlas such as The Times Atlas of the World to find maps of today's countries and a historical atlas like The Times Atlas of World History to find maps of places as they existed long ago. Other atlases have maps of the solar system, battlefields, shipwrecks, etc. If you know the name of a city, river, or mountain and don't know what country or state it's in, use Merriam-Webster's Geographical Dictionary.

Magazine & Newspaper Indexes: If you'd like to find current information on your topic, or are researching a current event, use a magazine or newspaper index such as SIRS Discoverer, Chicago Tribune Index, or Student Resource Center. You can read articles online and choose to print them out or e-mail them to yourself at home.