Is the material current?
 

Ask yourself:
 

Does currency matter?
You may answer "yes" or "no" depending on your project and still continue on with evaluating the item. Sometimes currency does not matter when evaluating the worth of something. For instance, it probably would not matter when an article on Shakespeare was published, but the same might not be true for an article on the effects of smoking.

A few other questions you may wish to ask yourself:

Am I limited to a specific time period?
    Remember to use date limiting features of databases, indexes, and search engines if they are available. Also, put items in reverse chronological order when you are limited to current materials so you can focus on those first.
Does the date of the publication or web site effect the information’s value or worth?
What is the publication’s “edition”?
Does the web site include a publication date or "last updated" date?
 
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Barbara A. Bishop
RBD Library
01/2000