Reference Materials

Encyclopedia of associations

Associations & Organizations

Gale Research Inc. (2019). Encyclopedia of associations: National organizations of the U.S. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1056157307.

Description: This resource lists officially recognized national organizations.

Why I trust it: For 65 years, Gale has provided libraries and other educational institutions with databases on a variety of subjects. The publishing company uses a world-wide network of scholars to curate and review its content.

Use: Use this resource to verify the world-wide recognition of an organization with which you plan to become involved.

Access: This resource is available through several university library systems. If it’s not available at your library, try requesting it through an inter-library loan.

Encyclopedia of associations

Associations & Organizations

Gale Research Inc. (2019). Encyclopedia of associations: International organizations. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1027049926.

Description: This resource lists officially recognized national and international organizations.

Why I trust it: For 65 years, Gale has provided libraries and other educational institutions with databases on a variety of subjects. The publishing company uses a world-wide network of scholars to curate and review its content.

Use: Use this resource to verify the world-wide recognition of an organization with which you plan to become involved.

Access: This resource is available through several university library systems. If it’s not available at your library, try requesting it through an inter-library loan service.

Charity ratings

Associations & Organizations

Charity Watch. (2019). Charity ratings [website]. Retrieved from https://charitywatch.org/charities.

Description: This resource, parented by an independent nonprofit, began back in 1992, and it researches the efficiency, accountability, and governance of nonprofit organizations. It aims to expose wasteful and unethical charities, and it spotlights top ethical charities. It specializes in analyzing financial reports, and, uniquely, it rates social welfare groups, and religious charities as well.

Use: Use Charity Watch to see where an organization you are learning about, investing in, or becoming involved with stands by its methodology.

Access: This resource is free for use through a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

BBB scam tracker

Fake News, Scams & Hoaxes

Better Business Bureau. (2019). BBB scam tracker [database]. Retrieved from https://bbb.org/scamtracker.

Description: This resource is a database of reported and investigated scams, compiled and researched by the Better Business Bureau (BBB). BBB is a nonprofit organization that accredits businesses.

Use: Think you’ve stumbled upon a scam? The BBB Scam Tracker might be able to help you determine if it is. Pop keywords into the search bar and see.

Access: This resource is free for use through a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

A dictionary of political biography

Politics on the Internet

Oxford Reference. (2019). A dictionary of political biography. Retrieved from http://www.oxfordreference.com.libproxy.albany.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780191751080.001.0001/acref-9780191751080.

Description: This online dictionary offers short biographical entries of 870+ noteworthy political figures from the twentieth century, compiled by trustworthy experts.

Why I trust it: Oxford Reference has existed as a produce of scholarly publications since the 15th Century. Currently, the Oxford Press is governed by a large group of academics, and its publications are trusted by libraries worldwide.

Use: There are a lot of names in the news, and some of those people aren’t even alive anymore. Use this dictionary to look up unknown names of major people who have shaped the world. You’ll find trustworthy snapshot biographies. You don’t need to read an entire biographical book to understand how that person plays into the story.

Access: This resource is available through the University at Albany Libraries. If you are a current student, faculty, or staff member, you can proxy into the server using your UAlbany ID. Otherwise, you can visit one of the library buildings and use a guest computer pass to access the database.

American fact finder

Fact-Checking

U.S. Census Bureau. (2019.) American fact finder advanced search. Retrieved from https://factfinder.census.gov/faces/nav/jsf/pages/searchresults.xhtml?refresh=t.

Description: This is a government-funded database of community facts, from population data, to school district data, to data on income.

Why I trust it: It’s just the data—plain and simple.

Use: Fact check local news by popping any data listed in a local news article into the search bar to see if it matches up or if the sentence is worded to mislead or paint the data in an alternative light.

Access: The American Fact Finder is free for use through a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

Hudson’s Washington news media contacts guide

Fact-Checking, Fake News, News & the Internet

Grey House Publishing. (2019). Hudson’s Washington news media contacts guide. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/2166135.

Description: This periodical reference has been published for over 50 years and offers contact information for over 4,000 key media contacts.

Why I trust it: This is a periodical publication, with new, updated editions available annually. It includes media contact information that one would not be able to find on the internet.

Use: Have a question about an article you are reading? See if the author’s contact information—or the contact information of a cited source— is available through this resource.

Access: This resource is available through several university library systems. If it’s not available at your library, try requesting it through an inter-library loan.

The Chicago guide to fact-checking

Fact-Checking

Borel, B. (2016). The Chicago guide to fact-checking. Retrieved from http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1043503275.

Description: This Chicago guide offers tools and best practices for fact checking across multiple forms of media.

Why I trust it: This guide was published by the same company that publishes the Chicago Manual of Style, and it draws on the expertise of over 200 professional writers, editors, and fact-checkers. The book’s editor, Brooke Borel, is a former research editor at Science Illustrated and a former fact checker at Quanta. She also teaches science communication workshops at New York University.

Use: Use this manual to beef up your web fact-checking skills. You’ll find numerous strategies to fact-check across multiple forms of media. You’ll also find, at the end of the book, 20 full pages of references organized by chapter.

Access: This title is accessible in-library through the University at Albany Libraries reference collection under call number ZA3075 .B67 2016. You can also request this title through the New York Public Libr

The First Amendment encyclopedia

News & the Internet

Middle Tennessee State University. (2019). The First Amendment encyclopedia. Retrieved from https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment.

Description: This online encyclopedia is a collection of articles about free expression in America, curated by faculty of the Middle Tennessee State University.

Why I trust it: This resource is presented by the Free Speech Center and the John Seigenthaler Chair of Excellence in First Amendment Studies. It was edited by two scholars, one of whom, Dr. John R. Vile, is a professor of political science and dean of the University Honors College at MTSU. The other scholar, David L. Hudson, Jr., is a former member of the Nashville First Amendment Center, and he now teaches at the Nashville School of Law and Vanderbilt Law School.

Use: First amendment issues are all over the Internet, and understanding them will help you think critically about the information you consume. Use this encyclopedia to understand more about freedom of speech and expression. A unique aspect about this encyclopedia is that it provides you with direct contact information for its collaborators. If you have questions, reach out to these experts for an interview.

Access: Users can access this online encyclopedia using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.

Reference and user services quarterly

Current Issues

Reference and User Services Association. (2018). Reference and user services quarterly [online archives]. Retrieved from https://journals.ala.org/index.php/rusq/issue/archive.

Description: This open-access publication offers up-to-date, trustworthy suggestions for further authoritative reading on a broad range of topics.

Why I trust it: This resource is published by the Reference and User Services Association, a division of the American Library Association. Its mission is to provide libraries with information on topics ranging from reference services to readers’ advisory, and it follows a double-blind, pre-publication review process.

Use: Use the archive search engine to search using keywords relating to a topic you want to learn more about. Then, find the resources listed at your library.

Access: Users can access this online reference collection using a preferred internet browser from any computer in the United States, and beyond.