Lookin’ Up Wil Shortz

We used a Sunday New York Times crossword puzzle to show students:

$ our print reference collection

$ key useful sources

$ Library of Congress call numbers

$ our e-reference web site

$ how fun & helpful we are

Each week the puzzle starts easy on Monday, & gets progressively harder until Sunday, which, according to David Sedaris, “requires the sort of mind that can bend spoons.”

Don’t know the British commander who captured NYC in 1776? Nieuwpoort’s river? 10/10/73 resignee? That’s OK! We found those answers in an encyclopedia of American history, a Gazetteer, & a chronology of world history.

Looking up specific puzzle answers gave students:

$ practice succeeding at finding information

$ a chance to think about categories of information & sources, instead of just typing a phrase into Google

Start by giving students ten minutes to just do the puzzle, filling in answers they know. Then show them how to identify clues you could answer with common reference books.

Work in groups, not individually! We all worked together on the same puzzle, & still only found about two dozen answers in an hour. If they’re working individually, they won’t get much sense of accomplishment, leaving with a puzzle that’s 80% empty.