Selected Resources for Readers

SELECTED WEB SITES AND FULL-TEXT INFORMATION SOURCES ABOUT BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Bancroft Prize
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/news/05/03/bancroft_prize.html
One of the most highly regarded honors among scholars of history, the Bancroft Prize is awarded annually by the trustees of Columbia University to the authors of exceptional books in the fields of American history, biography and diplomacy.
To see previous winners of the Bancroft Prizes, visit:
http://www.columbia.edu/cu/lweb/eguides/amerihist/bancroftlist.html

Biography Resource Center (You'll need a public library barcode to access this database.)
http://mblc.state.ma.us/cgi-bin/remote.pl?db=infotrac
Biography Resource Center is an outstanding database featuring biographical information about 275,000 people from throughout history, around the world, and all disciplines and subject areas. More than 400,000 biographies are included from more than 90 highly regarded Gale Group publications, including the following:

American Decades CD-ROM - profiles those who "influenced American life and history" during each decade of the 20th century;

Authors and Artists for Young Adults - profiles of the writers, artists/illustrators, and cartoonists popular with today's young adult readers;

Constitutional Amendments, 1789 to the Present - profiles of people who made important contributions to the amendments of the United States Constitution;

Contemporary Authors - detailed biographies of more than 120,000 contemporary U.S. and international authors;

Dictionary of American Biography - profiles of individuals who have influenced American history and life;

Encyclopedia of World Biography - detailed biographies of notable individuals from around the world and throughout history;

Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. Economic History - profiles of noteworthy individuals in business and industry; and

Historic World Leaders - profiles of political, religious and social leaders from around the world and throughout history.

Carol Hurst's Children's Literature Site
http://www.carolhurst.com
Hurst's rich site features book reviews listed by title, author and grade level, literature tie-ins to all areas of the language arts, math, U.S. and world history curricula, and suggested titles for all sorts of themes in children's literature, as well as wonderful profiles of children's and young adult authors.

The Children's Literature Web Guide
http://www.ucalgary.ca/~dkbrown/
Visit this helpful site for information about authors, titles, award-winning books, resources for teachers, children's literature online discussion groups, and much more.

Coretta Scott King Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/emiert/corettascottkingbookawards/abouttheawarda/cskabout.htm
This award is presented annually to "authors and illustrators of African descent whose distinguished books promote an understanding and appreciation of the 'American Dream'."

Library of Congress Online Catalog
http://catalog.loc.gov
This catalog includes detailed bibliographic records for more than 110 million items, in many languages, held at the Library of Congress. (This resource is used by researchers around the world. "Peak usage" days/times are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00am to 2:00pm. Therefore, plan your use of this catalog accordingly.)

Margaret A. Edwards Award
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/margaretaedwards/margaretedwards.htm
The Margaret A. Edwards Award was established in 1988, and honors an author's lifetime achievement for his or her body of work, and its collective popularity over time.

National Book Award
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Book_Award
This important literary prize, first awarded in 1950, recognizes "books of exceptional merit written by Americans" in four genres: fiction, nonfiction, poetry and young people's literature.
National Book Foundation Home Page
http://www.nationalbook.org/

NOBLE Web Catalog
http://www.noblenet.org
Search the North of Boston Library Exchange (NOBLE) online catalog to locate books, videos, and other materials at the Salem Public Library, as well as at 26 other public and college libraries.

NoveList (You'll need a User ID and Password to access this database.)
http://search.epnet.com/login.aspx?authtype=uid
NoveList is an outstanding resource through which readers can learn about books and authors. This searchable database includes information, including descriptions, suggested reading levels, reviews from high quality magazines and journals, and links to related full-text articles and author web sites, about picture books, children's chapter books, young adult novels, and books for adult readers. NoveList is updated monthly, and adds about 10,000 new fiction records, along with descriptions, reviews, and other information, to the database each year.

Pulitzer Prize Awards: History
http://www.pulitzer.org/cgi-bin/catquery.cgi?type=w&category=History&FormsButton5=Retrieve
Pulitzer Prizes Home Page
http://www.pulitzer.org/index.html

Reading Rants! Out of the Ordinary Teen Booklists!
http://tln.lib.mi.us/~amutch/jen/
Visit this site, created for teens, to find a terrific collection of booklists organized by subject. Examples of reading lists currently available include: "Boy Meets Book"; "Coolest Classics"; "Fanging Around: Teen Vampire Fiction with Byte"; "Historical Fiction for Hipsters: Stories from the Past That Won't Make You Snore"; "Short Cuts: Teen Short Story Collections You Might Actually Want to Read"; and "Word UP! Poetry Both by and for Teenagers."

The Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
http://www.scottodell.com/sosoaward.html
Established in 1982 by this fine author to encourage other writers to focus on historical fiction, the Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction is given annually to "a meritorious book published in the previous year for children or young adults."

OTHER SITES AND RESOURCES OF INTEREST

ALEX Awards
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/alexawards/alexawards.htm
The ALEX Awards are named for Margaret Alexander Edward, who worked for many years as a young adult specialist at Baltimore's Enoch Pratt Library. They are given each year to ten well-written, readable books written for adults, selected from genres that have special appeal to young adults, ages 12 through 18.

Best Books for Young Adults
http://www.ala.org/ala/yalsa/booklistsawards/bestbooksya/bestbooksyoung.htm
Best Books for Young Adults includes "significant adult and young adult" fiction and nonfiction books selected from the current year's publications and recommended for young adult readers ages 12 through 18.

The Caldecott Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/alsc/caldecott.html
Named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott, the Caldecott Medal has been awarded annually since 1938 to "the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children." This site also features a complete list of all Caldecott Medal winners and honor books from 1938 to the present.

Graphic Novels for Librarians: A Guide
http://tasisnet.tasis.com/
This site, created by librarian Susan Salpini, features lots of helpful information about graphic novels, including an explanation of Manga (done primarily in black and white, these graphic novels are usually first published in weekly or monthly magazines, with a particular audience in mind), as well as tips on cataloging, a glossary, and an extensive bibilography.

Guys Read
http://www.guysread.com
This "web-based literacy program", created by author Jon Scieszka to help boys find books they will enjoy, features a searchable (readers can search by author, title, or subject in which they are interested) database of titles for "young guys", "middle guys", and "older guys", as well as links to many author web sites.

The Newbery Medal Home Page
http://www.ala.org/alsc/newbery.html
Named for eighteenth-century British bookseller John Newbery, the Newbery Medal is awarded annually by the American Library Association's Association for Library Service to Children to the author of "the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children."

The Printz Award
http://www.ala.org/yalsa/printz/
The Michael L. Printz Award honors a work of fiction, nonfiction, poetry or an anthology that "exemplifies literary excellence in young adult literature."