Unit 2 Catalog Evaluation Guide

Scope	Does it cover your subject?	read the book jacket scan table of contents & chapter headings look for topic keywords in the index read Introduction & Preface
Currency	Do you need very recent information or a current perspective on an old issue or event?	check recency of publication date & sources in bibliography
Contemporariness	Do you need a contemporary (of that time) perspective on an issue or event or a first hand account?	check recency of publication date & sources in bibliography
Author's credentials	Is the information reliable?	read book jacket look for information about the author in biographical or book review sources
Documentation	Is the information authoritative?	check for presence of a bibliography, footnotes, end notes or sources cited in text
Level of difficulty	Is the information written at a level you can understand and use? Who is the intended audience: the scholar/specialist or the lay person?	look up unfamiliar terms in a dictionary if too technical or scholarly, look for other sources
Purpose for writing	What is the bias/perspective of the work?	read the Preface & Introduction check the background/reputation of the author in biographical sources read reviews or other critiques of the book