Team+1,+ref+log+4a

//IPL2: Literary Criticism//. (2009). Retrieved March 17, 2010, from []
 * Team 1, Reference log 4a: Literature sources ||  ||<   ||
 * Reviewed by //Ginny//

As explained at the top of their web page, the acronym “ipl2” is the result of a merger of the Internet Public Library (IPL) and the Librarians’ Internet Index (LII). The ipl2’s Literary Criticism Collection describes itself to contain //“critical and biographical websites about authors and their works that can be browed by author, by title, or by nationality and literary period. The collection is not inclusive of all the work on the web, nor does it plan to be. The sites are selected with some thought to their overall usefulness.”//

Indeed, users may browse for criticism by author’s last name or for criticism and works by title, each conveniently divided into two or more letters of the alphabet, such as A-B, C-D,…To browse for criticism and authors by literary period, the user selects a nationality (e.g., American literature, British Literature, Russian Literature,…) and then a specified time period (e.g., German Literature: Pre-1517, 1750-1900, or 20th Century). Selecting 20th century American Literature, a new web page opened which provided information regarding various web sites about the topic as well as a long list of hyperlinks to information on numerous 20th century American writers. All randomly-selected hyperlinked names yielded little to no information—quite a disappointment.

Returning to the home page, two links remained for investigation—//Online Literary Criticism Guide// and //Literary Criticism Pathfinder//. The //Online Literary Criticism Guide// provided several links to the “Best Starting Places” for finding online critical writing, “Other Useful Starting Places,” and “Good Starting Places for Specific Time Periods.” Some of these web sites were pretty good, causing this reviewer to wonder if perhaps she should’ve gone with one of them for this assignment instead! But pushing forward, the lists provided are worthwhile enough to bookmark this site for future reference. The //Literary Criticism Pathfinder// provided very basic information for users on literary criticism itself and not an abundance of suggested resources as is this reviewer’s understanding of what a true Pathfinder’s purpose as a starting point is supposed to involve. Overall, this site was mediocre but as already mentioned, did offer a nice list of other literary criticism web sites.

Grades: //9-12// Subject(s): English (Literary Criticism) Rating: //4// ||  ||< //Kesha's// comment :

//Claudie's// comment : This is a life savor sight. My daughter called me to ask for help withsome litrary reviews and I was able to give her this site. She said she really liked it. Literature is probably my weakest area and this source is very understandable. || //Citation in APA format goes here.//
 * Reviewed by //Kesha//

//Text of review of reference source goes here.//

Grades: enter //your best judgment of age/grade appropriateness of the resource// Subject(s): enter //your best judgment of subject area(s) where resource would be most valuable// Rating: // provide your rating, using scale of 1-10 // ||  ||<  //Ginny's// comment :

//Claudia's// comment : || Magill, F.N. //Masterplots: Digests of World Literature// (MCMLXIV ). Curtis Books. NY:NY. REF 809 MAS. Rising Starr Middle School The most significant part of this fifteen volume series is stated in the first paragraph of the preface. “All the great literature is not here; perhaps all that is here is not great.” And I quote that with a bit of tongue-in-cheek. With performance standards established and with rigid flexibility structured into the school curriculum does the cost of a fifteen-volume of reviews covering 1,510 titles from world literature justify itself? This decade as my children pass through high school their literary reading list contains 90% of the same ‘great literatures’ reading assignments as mine did 30 years ago. And the other 1,501 titles in this collection are not relevant to today’s education structure. Conceding that the 10% of assigned reading on my children’s list do show creativity and initiative of their teachers to bring some relevance into the class by requiring reading of different literatures. It’s simply a shame with resources like Masterplots sitting on the shelves that more isn’t done to bring attention to them. I’ve placed Masterplots into my “Promote Reading” toolkit to incorporate them into morning announcements, media center blogs and book clubs. A simple reading of these well written reviews that if simply read aloud to the audience would entice some to venture further into the media center and read the rest of the story. I do find that the Preface written in 1964, so elegantly laments the 1964 generation falling into the Busy Age. An age of unparalleled technological advancements out of which must surely emerge a more intellectually alert society. And that from such a society we should expect an acceleration of cultural development. Hence and therefore, Masterplots will have a place and purpose. Format: The Preface is wordy but enjoyable to read about the intent and planning behind the composure of this reference. It follows with a complete list of contents of the entire series, although it only lists title and author, not the volume in which it would be found. A section titled //Books and Reading: A survey of World Literature// follows which would be of interest to the teacher intent on using this reference in lessons. At the top of the actual reviews you will find: Title, Type of Work (i.e. drama), Author, Type of Plot (i.e. historical chronicle), dates of plot, locale, first presented, and principal characters. The review itself is divided into Critique and The Story. Age/Grade Level: 8th-adult Subject: Literature/Reading Overall rating: 10, but usefulness a 6. ||  ||<  //Ginny's// comment : I looked through this resource at a public library during one of my many visits & saw it on several shelves throughout this semester. I shared your same observations about "great literature" having undergone almost no changes (as reflected by the GPS) over the years. Yes, some classics are "classics," but there is room for some more contemporary titles to reach "classic" status.
 * Reviewed by //Claudie//

//Kesha's// comment: ||