#8: What happened to Reference?

One library stand-by is The Reference Collection:
the maps,
encyclopedias,
NADA guides for car prices, and
almanacs.
Ruidoso Public Library still carries these.  Luckily many are available online 24/7.  Personally, I still like a printed atlas to identify a trip destination or plan the route and what side trips to include.  Then I can check Yahoo, Mapquest, or Google for the shortest route and turn by turn directions.  (Can you tell I don't have a GPS?)
Ruidoso's greatest need for maps was highlighted this summer during the Little Bear Fire.  For future, INCIweb has the latest news as a direct feed from the Incident Command Post.  The Southwest New Mexico Weather site also provided timely map resources.  If your computer can handle it, GoogleEarth (works on iPads, too) can open the maps and images as they are released by federal or state agencies.

Photo by Surya Prakash SA at Wikimedia Commons

We have several encyclopedias, most are subject specific (such as Native American Tribes, Music History, Popular Music, or Children/Students).  If (like most people) this is a last minute school assignment, these resources are online: GALE (many academic journals; use your library card number to access), Opposing Viewpoints (articles, books, and pictures about several angles of each topic; also requires card number), and   GVRL (a whole e-book-shelf of encyclopedias, from animals to environment to history).  These online resources are published by the same companies that make the print books, but for money-reasons put the materials online instead of printing them out anymore.  If your teacher said, "No online resources," please have him or her call me, Jennifer Stubbs, at the library (though if this is a last-minute assignment you may not have time to call?).

Are you looking to buy or sell a car?  We have the current issues of the NADA appraisal guides.  If you can't get here, Kelley's Blue Book Values and Edmund's have gone digital, too.

Finally, we have almanacs:
The Old Farmer's Almanac,
The World Almanac,
Time's Almanac, even
Llewellyn's.
Or if you need the 2am Sunday morning access, GALE (above) has The World Almanac and Book of Facts, though it may not be as easy to thumb-through. (That link may not work as GALE requires your card number to log in.)  The Old Farmer's Almanac is also available online, as is The Farmer's Almanac.

image at Wikimedia Commons