I'm new at this job, their first librarian ever, so it is my duty to go through the
books and catalog them--I've also been weeding, but haven't broadcast this fact.
Anyway, I dragged our old set of encyclopedias from about 1961 (along with some old
Time Life books) to a used bookstore--I only got $1.00 for them because they were
so old, and actually were comprised of two different sets, neither complete. I
should mention that this was the school's ONLY set of encyclopedias, and we are
very thin on reference and non-fiction materials in general. But to me, old info is
almost worse than no info, and I figured I'd NEVER be allowed to buy a new set, or
an online subscription, if I kept these old ones around. Anyway, I have since been
told by my director that I have absolutely no budget, and I should assume I will
not get anything else for the library.
Fast forward to last week. The third grade teacher sent a student to the library
looking for the "T" volume of the encyclopedia because the class wanted to research
turkeys. I felt awful having to tell her I had gotten rid of our set. (I did find
out though, that she was planning on looking up such info as the "top turkey
producing states in the US", so now I don't feel so bad--it would have been SO
outdated and untrustworthy!) Anyway, since I have no budget, I know they won't let
me get an online subscription at this point. BUT, I do have a little money from
parent donations. I saw a 1999 encyclopedia set on ebay for a few hundred bucks.
What do you think about this? Normally I wouldn't buy an old set, but I feel like
we should have a set, and we can't get a new one. This would at least be better
than a 1961 set, right? My other option is to buy a current CDROM version, but
there's something nice about being able to hold a volume in your hand, and take it
to the classroom to show
students how to look something up, etc.
Any advice is welcome. To purchase or not to purchase, that is the question!
TIA,
Amanda Power, Librarian
The Woodlands Academy Preparatory School
Spring, TX
amupower@yahoo.com
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