PPL Reference

Health 610s

2010-11-09T11:51:00.001-08:00

This section contains the family medical guides and the medical dictionaries. I'm not putting them on a cart behind the desk because it is obvious by their condition that they are used a lot and that people know they are there.

I think we should update the ones that have newer editions such as The American College of Physicians Complete Home Medical Guide, Mosby's Medical, Nursing & Allied Health Dictionary, etc.

There are a couple of other family medical guides (Cornell and Johns Hopkins) which are in the 616s. I would like to get these with the others in the 610s.

The only items I think should be discarded here are the old 3 volume International Dictionary of Medicine and Biology which is 25 years old, and the alternative medicine career book, which is 10 years old and which is covered in our online Ferguson's Career Directory.

Health REF 362s

2010-11-01T15:55:00.000-07:00

Yes, there's a lot of junk in this section. Take a look at the cart. Everything on the bottom shelf I propose throwing out, either because it's outdated, or available online.

On the left hand side of the top shelf are items that to me are iffy--no updates for most of them, but still widely held by both academic and public libraries, and containing unique information. I'm proposing that we keep them for the time being, but if any of you think they should go, I wouldn't argue.

We should continue to get the latest edition of the Self Help Group Directory as a standing order. It is useful and inexpensive.

Of the 3 books of stats, Health United States has a 2009 ed for $72; Health Care State Rankings has a 2010 ed for $82.75. Statistical Record of Health and Medicine has no update that I could find. Do we want to get these updates? Most of the material here probably could be found online, but I think the real value is in the arrangement, and the ideas it provides of the availability and sources of stats, which then can be looked up online.

The group of small items in a rubber band are old statistics for child abuse and welfare in New Jersey. The statistics online only go back to 2006. Do we want to keep?

And finally, the AHA Guide. This is a standing order at about $335. Is it worth it?

Publications of the Princeton Regional Schools

2010-06-29T13:13:00.000-07:00

The library receives a random selection of publications from the Princeton Regional School System. I (Gayle) am trying to decide what we need to keep, what should be cataloged and what can be discarded.
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Currently we have the PRS Policy Manual, updated every now and again, shelved behind the reference desk. This item is in the catalog.
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We also have the School Board Meeting Minutes in a binder on the same shelves. This binder is arranged by month and can hold up to three years worth of material. Earlier years I have in a file cabinet and the other day I found 2004 and 2005 in a box on the magazine shelves. How long should be keep the minutes? Should they be cataloged? Should the back years go in the Princeton Room? Be discarded?
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We also get titles such as the Comprehensive Annual Financial Report for Fiscal Year xxxx, though I can only find two years of this. They are currently uncataloged. One copy was found behind the reference desk and another in a box on the magazine shelves. What should we do with these? Catalog them? Princeton Room? Vertical File?
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All feedback is welcome!!

More Weeds (Ref 360's)

2010-05-20T13:30:00.000-07:00

This section contains quite a few items that haven't been off the shelves for years, and probably should be discarded. There are so many of them they are on a separate cart. Basically if you have any strong feelings about any of the items on the discard cart, or any of the items in the non discard cart, let me know. I'm flexible.

Some questions: Kristen, look at Earth Works. Do you think this is worthwhile for readers advisory?

Bloodletters and Badmen and The Encyclopedia of American Crime: they are both really fun to browse, but do we need them both? On the other hand, where else are you going to find stuff like this.

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Crime in the United States: We have 2002-2005; 2008-2010. What do you think about keeping them all? This is all online, but I found it difficult to get to. Try getting to some of the tables and see if you have as hard a time as I did.

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TheStreet.com Ratings: (Property/Casualty, Health Insurers, Life and Annuity Insurers): These come out quarterly. I think we should keep at least one previous issue, because since I have been prominently displaying them on the counter top, they can disappear. Also, there is a set that includes 8 titles (Elder Care Choices, Variable Annuities, Medicare Supplement Insurance, etc.) that is in Consumer REF. I have them displayed in the same place. Maybe we should think about having them all catalogued in the same place?

The Social Security publications: We certainly don't need all those. particularly for both ref and circ. They are all standing orders. I propose we discontinue Social Security Handbook, which is the most expensive, and limit CCH Social Security Explained and CCH Medicare Explained to one reference copy. Or do you think, with everything online, we could limit ourselves to the two small CCH publications?

Reference 350's

2010-04-09T11:39:00.000-07:00

I'll bet if I asked most of you what's in the Ref 350's you'd have to look it up. I would have. Anyway there's not a whole lot here, and what is here is not used much, but most of it is nice to have. A lot of it falls in the category of "We are a library--where else are you going to find this stuff."

The discards:
New Jersey Budget and Budget in Brief - All online
Government Agencies - too old (1983) , no update and info can be found elsewhere.
The Presidency A to Z - Really don't need this with the two volume Guide to the Presidency plus it's 10 years older.
United States Government Manual - this is a standing order that I think we can do without. It's only about $40 but I can't remember when I used it last. This info is readily available online and is much more likely to be up-to-date.

On the other hand, the Washington Information Directory I think we should keep. Take a look at it if you haven't for a while--the value here is in the arrangement of the information. It is much easier to get a composite picture of a government department here than it is from the comparable website, even though the website has tons more information.

The Harper Encyclopedia of Military History is a gem, and the military biography titles do not really overlap. Webster's American Military Biographies seemed extraneous until I realized that it had some very different entries than the 3 volume set, like women, for example, plus spies, scouts, etc.

Let me know what you think.

The Weeding Continues

2010-02-25T07:49:00.000-08:00

Rather than reviewing the next Dewey section, I am putting up for your consideration a number of large sets we have throughout the reference collection. What should we get rid of and what should we keep. What is worth the space it takes up and what isn't. There are some I think should go, but others of these I'm very opposed to tossing (we are a library, after all). In the interest of not prejudicing your opinion one way or the other, I won't let you know at this point what my thoughts are. I want to know what you think.

Here they are:

Contemporary Authors

Contemporary Literary Criticism

Dictionary of Literary Biography

Short Story Index

American Writers/British Writers

Readers Guide

Book Review Digest

Book Review Index

Current Book Review Citations

NYT Index

Art Index

Thomas Register 2003

As always, this is not only a weeding exercise, it is also to let you know what we have and where it is. If you have forgotten all about a particular set, or never knew we had it in the first place, hm...... What does that say about it's current usefulness.

346 - 349

2010-01-25T16:31:00.000-08:00

This is the last of the 340's and it is a large section. A number of items I just discarded because they had already been updated by something else. And, as in the previous section, there are a number of things, particularly the Nolo books, that need to be updated.
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Some new additions here. When we discontinued the WestLaw NJ database, we got new printed materials from the New Jersey Practice Series that will be updated on a regular basis. This set includes the 8 volume Wills & Administration, the 3 volume Landlord Tenant, the 3 volume Family Practice (all with forms), and the 7 volume Legal Forms. Our WestLaw rep said this would replace the green New Jersey Forms Legal and Business, which we are no longer updating. It costs about $550 per year. The rep said that we would no longer need it with the new stuff. but I'm willing to reconsider if you think we need it as well. Otherwise this will be discarded.
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A couple of items that came automatically with our new WestLaw package: Neighboring Property Owners and West's New Jersey Law Finder, which is like the 3 volume NJSA index, only not as good.
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As you know, we are discontinuing the USCA, but are continuing the NJSA and NJAC. So we need to get rid of the entire USCA, because it is of little use without the updating service. It is also useless to offer it to another library, because the great expense and value of this is the updating service. So it goes.
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The other sets on that back wall that are probably of little use to us are West's New Jersey Digest (brown set, covers cases pre 1954) and the 2nd edition (red set, covers cases since 1954 to 2004 when the updating stopped). They were donated to us by a law firm in 2004 without the updating service. They actually do have some value, although I have never used them, nor have I been asked for them. They give specific cases that have been decided on various topics, for example, under "Eviction" Chelsea Hotel Corp v Gelles, 1942 ruled that an eviction of a tenant by the landlord suspends the obligation of tenant to pay rent..." and so on. Hmmm....what do you think?
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Take a look at the Supreme Court material on the middle shelf. Should we get rid of any of it? I couldn't decide--I thought each had value.
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Getting rid of the USCA, and relocating the NYT index and the Book Review Digests will make a lot of room on that back wall for our new legal reference section. Specific sections would be immigration, wills and estates, family law, landlord tenant. Let me know of other possible sections. Sections will be color coded rather than recataloged. Also, I'm going to be checking catalogs for face out shelves, etc.
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Any ideas here also would be appreciated. Since we are through the 330s and 340s I think we can go right ahead with our plans for those two areas.

343-345

2010-01-14T05:43:00.000-08:00

This is a pretty simple section, and the decisions seem to be pretty clear cut to me--update all the Nolo and code stuff to the latest editions. Discard anything that is outdated that has no new edition (all those are on bottom shelf of the cart).

The tax stuff (Federal Tax Compliance Guide, Lassers) are also in this section, but shelved over with the tax forms.

Just a couple of notes: I am trying to add websites where publications can be accessed online to catalog records, for example the New Jersey Driver Manual, and Domestic Violence. I also did this for Martindale-Hubbel even though we discarded the actual volumes.

As we go further into this section, we are finding titles that we would like grouped together that have different call numbers, for example Social Security Explained is here, but other social security stuff is in 368.4; there is more living will stuff in 346, etc. We will find more of this in the next section. Rather than recatalog, I am leaning heavily toward shelving together by color coding. Many libraries are doing this--it also makes changing our minds about how things are displayed much easier. Janice is in full agreement.

Your comments, please.

Ref 340 - 342.99

2009-12-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

This section seemed really large, but without Martindale-Hubbel, it is quite small. Martindale-Hubble has to go. We have the 2007 ed and it would cost over $1000 to update. Plus the entire thing is available online, including the legal digests. Here's where they can be found: http://www.martindale.com/ The legal digests can be found here: http://www.martindale.com/legal-library/ (in the "Search Legal Library" box type New York Law Digest--it is a little sticky, but it does work)

I'm also recommending that we discard the old Burton Legal Thesaurus. We had a newer one at one time, but it is gone.

I am recommending that we update Black's Law Dictionary (there is a new ed for $85), and all the Nolo titles (there are new editions for all and they are very affordable).

I am recommending that we keep everything else. The three constitutional law books have a lot of the same cases in them, but not all. Encyclopedia of the United Nations and International Agreements will never be used much, but it was donated by one of the authors, a local person, and it is an expensive set.

Let me know if you think we should discard anything else.

Ref 330-340

2009-11-17T08:49:00.000-08:00

There are some major decisions to be made here.
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The top shelf is what I am recommending keeping. Several questions here:
-Small Business Taxation is from 2001. There is a 2008 ed of a similar title available for $150. Worth it? Keep the 2001? Too advanced for our audience?
-Essentials of New Jersey Real Estate is the 2000 ed. There is a 10th (2008) ed available for $47. This is kind of like a study guide. Should it be in circ if we do get it?
-Harris New Jersey Manufacturers Directory is a standing order at $150. Cancel standing order?
-RMA Annual Statement Studies - this is latest ed. No longer published in print--online only at $305
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The 2nd and 3rd shelves is what probably should go. Some highlights:
-NJ Business to Business Directory and NJ Small Business Directory - we had studied this a while ago and found it riddled with errors, and the standing order was cancelled. The eds we have are 2007--time for them to go?
-Wards Business Directory - 2004 edition needs to go
-Corporate Affiliations - 2007 ed. To get a new ed would cost over $2000. I don't think we need this and OneSource. Should we toss the 2007 or wait another year?
-Directory of Top Computer Executives - This was a donation. 2007 ed probably too old to be reliable for this type of info.
-Economic Report of the President - All online
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Let me know what you think. Also, anything else that's on the cart and not mentioned here is fair game.

Rethinking Some Subscriptions

2009-10-14T13:40:00.000-07:00

Every fall Jenny and I go through the magazine list to see what we might want to consider dropping due to price and use issues.

The first is an old friend that I never thought we'd ever want to be without--the NADA user guides. When I saw them in the list of subscriptions, I realized that I hadn't used either of them once all year, and even had a hard time remembering where we were keeping them (behind the reference desk). Combined the price is $159. All this info is online. In fact, I found out the rough trade in, average trade in, clean trade in and clean retail prices of my 2002 Acura adjusted for high mileage in about 30 seconds.
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The next title is R&D, subtitle "Technologies & Strategies that Enable Research and Development." It's $117 for 6 issues. I know we have an audience for the scientific magazines, such as Nature, Science, Bioscience, etc., but this one maybe not. Take a look at it.
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The next one is TDR: The Drama Review, subtitle "The Journal of Performance Studies." It's a whopping $199 for 4 issues. It is very academic--too academic? Too expensive? On the other hand, nearly all the larger public libraries in NJ have it.
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Let me know what you think. If you wish to keep them, by all means, speak up.

330-332

2009-09-21T12:43:00.000-07:00

We have started the 330's. This is a huge area so I am breaking it down into sections.

Discards:
Business Information - outdated
Encyclopedic Dictionary of Economics - outdated
Economic Indicators Handbook - outdated
County Business Patterns (all) - outdated
Handbook of U.S. Labor Statistics 2004 - outdated and very easy to get on the web
Occupational Projections and Training Data 2006-07 - newer ed on web
O*Net - better on web
Wall Street Dictionary - 1999 - outdated
Thomson Bank Directory - 2006 -too many changes in banking world since then
Savings Directory - same as bank directory
S&P Stock Reports - we discontinued the subscription back in the spring
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Wall Street Acronyms.... 1992 - outdated
Investment Statistics Locator 1995 - outdated

Possible updates and other questions:
Employment, Hours, and Earnings States and Areas 2008 - Cancel standing order? Easily findable on the web.
Summer Jobs Worldwide - This area is no place for this--never seen. Where else can we put this, or cancel standing order?
Encyclopedia of Banking and Finance and Palgrave's - both early 90s, but still valuable? Palgrave's has no update; Encyclopedia of banking has 2002 ed for $425 which I don't think we want.
Directory of Obsolete Securities 2006 - we can get 2008 for about $110 - worth it since new ed is $2500?
Handbook of Fixed Income Securities - 2005 - move to circ since it's a textbook?
Credit Repair - update with 2009 ed for both ref and circ
McGraw-Hill's Interest amortization tables -1993 -can update to 2006 for $4?

REF 310-329

2009-08-18T12:49:00.000-07:00

This is a big area, and I am discarding more than I'm keeping. The cart behind the desk is what I am recommending we keep. The two carts in my office I am recommending for discard. Since there are too many discards, I will not list them here, but only mention the notable items.
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Cities of the United States (4 vols) - based on 1990 census data, it is too old. This information is readily available in other sources and on the internet.
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The political dictionaries are all from the early 1990's so they are being discarded. I am purchasing a 2nd ed (2001) of the Oxford Companion to Politics of the World for $17, and also Safire's Political Dictionary 2nd ed (2008) for $9, so that will update that section cheaply.
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Who's Who in American Politics - we have 95-96. 97-98, 99-00, and 01-02. We discontinued the standing order in 2002, so I don't think we need these older volumes. I am considering resubscribing to Marquis Who's Who online. That would take care of this stuff anyway.
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The Congressional Staff Directory, and the Congressional Directory, are not that old, but are not of much value since they are for previous congresses. We discontinued these standing orders since this information is all on the web.
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I can update America's Top Rated Smaller Cities to 2006-07 for $3.50. Statistics Sources can be updated to 2005 (29th ed) for $32 or 2007 (31st ed) for $88.
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Now take a look at what is being kept. We keep Statistical Abstract, not because this information is unavailable on the web, but because it is very handy in its arrangement and extremely user friendly. The same goes for such titles as County and City Data Book and Places, Towns and Townships (which can be updated to 2007 for $16).
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Don't forget the wonderful 5 volume Historical Statistics of the US. Also Congress and the Nation, (back to 1945) which is a historical record of each numbered Congress, and CQ Almanac, (back to 1973) which is a complete record of congressional action for each year. Since the main value of these two titles is historical, I am adding these as I find used copies cheaply in Amazon.
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There are a couple of small, older New Jersey titles that I am recommending for circ. They are on the middle shelf of the cart, on the right.
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I am open to any recommendations and disagreements. If there are items you want to keep or if there are things you think should be discarded, let me know. But, most important, familiarize yourself with what is here.

304-306

2009-07-16T08:23:00.000-07:00

We are racing along at a snail's pace through the 300's! I am going to have to step this up and streamline.

As stated in my last blog, I am going to leave on the cart everything I am recommending that we keep, since, even though culling the reference area is important, more important is being familiar with what we are keeping. What I am discarding or transferring to circ I am just going to list here. (Also as stated in my last blog, I am rethinking what I am transferring to circ and will be doing a lot less of this.)

Discard: Ref 304.6 Cen/Uni - All the paperbound 1990 Census stuff (8 vols)

Ref 304.6 Fed - Federal Population Census catalog of microfilm copies (4 vols)

Ref 304.6 Mat - Atlas of the 1990 Censes

Ref 304.63 Vit - Vital Statistics of the United States, 1990 (2 vols)

Ref 305.409 Han - Handbook of American Women's History (1990) - (have the 2nd ed)

Ref 305.8 Afr - African-American Almanac, 6th ed. (already deleted from cat; Ju has 7th ed)

Ref 3035.8 Sta - Statistical Record of Black America, 4th ed (based on 1990 census)

Ref 305.8 Who - Who's Who Among Black Americans, 92-94; 94-95 (ordered 2007 ed for $1.98)
Ref 305.8 New - New Jersey African Americans and the 1990 Census

Ref 305.868 His - Hispanic American Almanac, 1993 (ordered 2007 ed for 59 cents)

Ref 305.868 Sta - Statistical Record of Hispanic Americans (based on 1990 census)

Ref 305.8924 Ame - 2004 American Jewish Yearbook (ordered 2007 ed for $5)

N.J. Ref 306.09749 Rut - Images III; A Report on the Quality of Life in NJ, 1985

These are on a cart in my office if you want to look at them.

Reference Inventory - 300's

2009-07-02T11:15:00.000-07:00

The 000s, 100s, and 200s were easy, but now we come to the massive 300 area. What we are covering here is the 300-304 area, and boyoboy is there some obscure stuff here.
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The discards and those that I am transferring to circ are clearly marked on the cart. Just some notes:
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The International Library of Afro-American Life and History, although dated in appearence and language, is still very interesting, so Terri and I thought it should go into circ, along with three NJ titles on various aspects of the people of New Jersey.
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Those books I recognized when I saw them, but the International Encyclopedia of Communications from 1989 I must confess I have never used or even seen. Given that, is this something that we should discard? I haven't decided. Let me know what you think.
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Go back to the shelves and see what I have left--all the symbols books, the 5 volume set Encyclopedia of Sociology (2000), the 3 volume set Encyclopedia of Violence, Peace & Conflict (1999), Encyclopedia of Terrorism (2003), and more.
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Remember, the point of this inventory is not only to discard unused items, but also to remind ourselves of what is there. Let me know what you think--I'm open to any suggestions.

Reference 200's Inventory

2009-06-08T11:09:00.000-07:00

After going through all of the 200's, there are some books that I think should be discarded and some that should be changed to circ. Each category is labeled on the black book cart. Some exceptions:
The Routledge Dictionary of Religious & Quotations should be recataloged to the quotations reference area.
The Yearbook of American & Canadian Churches was a standing order which I have cancelled, although we will keep the 2009 for the time being.
The Catholic Almanac we cancelled as a standing order in 2006. These older editions should probably be discarded.
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Let me know if you disagree with any of these decisions. Also, let me know if there is anything on the shelves that you think should be discarded. I am open to any and all suggestions.
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Also, take a look at some of the items there that you may have forgotten (or never knew about) such as the wonderful How to be a Perfect Stranger which tells the visitor exactly how to act in any house of worship; the Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, which steers the user to every usage of every word in the Bible; the excellent Encyclopedia of African and African-American Religions; the great mythology titles; and Islam: A Guide for Jews and Christians.

Reference 100 Review

2009-04-21T11:02:00.000-07:00

I have just finished going through the Reference 100 shelf. All my recommendations are in red.

It's a relatively small area that is made up largely of multivolume sets, all of which I think we should keep because they are classics in the field and widely held, although I'm not sure spending the money on the available updates is a wise use of our funds. They are:

Encyclopedia of Philosophy (8 vols, 1967 with 1996 suppl; 3770 holdings) - There is an 8 volume 2nd ed which is available for $1162 and was published in 2005 to wide acclaim, but Booklist warned "don't be too quick to retire your first edition..."

Encyclopedia of Occultism & Parapsychology (2 vols, 2001; 838 holdings) - Still in print

Encyclopedia of Psychology (Kazdin, 8 vols, 2000; 2324 holdings) - Still in print

Encyclopedia of Psychology (Corsini, 4 vols, 1994; 3631 holdings) - 2001 revision available for $1200

Encyclopedia of Human Behavior (4 vols, 1994; 1445 holdings) - Still in print

Encyclopedia of Human Intelligence (2 vols, 1994; 1422 holdings - no update, no longer in print

Encyclopedia of Ethics (2 vols, 1992; 1797 holdings) - 2001 update available for $820

Encyclopedia of Bioethics (5 vols, 2004; 1624 holdings) - still in print

Single volume works (these are all on the cart):

One Hundred Twentieth-Century Philosophers (2001, 724 holdings)

Encyclopedia of Learning and Memory (1992, 1465 holdings) - no update

Encyclopedia of Sleep and Dreaming (1992, 1680 holdings) - no update

Astrology Encyclopedia (1994, 1593 holdings) - updated with 2nd ed in 2003 which is no longer in print

Oxford Dictionary of Psycyology (2001, 2346 holdings) - 3rd ed, 2009 is available for $18--I recommend that we purchase it.

Mental Measurements Yearbook (13th ed., 1998, 286 holdings) - 18th ed will be out in the fall for about $200. Tests: A Comprehensive Reference for Assessments in Psychology, Education, and Business (4th ed, 1997, 996 holdings) - 6th ed, 2008 is available for $69 - I recommend that we update one of these and discard the other, probably Tests because it is less academic and more accessible to our customers.

Secret Language of Birthdays: Personology Profiles for Each Day of the Year (1994, 1243 holdings) - no update--just a fun book you probably forgot about or didn't even know that we had.

Animal Rites: American Culture, the Discourse of Species, and Posthumanist Theory (2003) - an extremely academic book that would be better off in circ.

Recommend discard:

Biographical Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1965)

Animals in Research: A Resource Guide (1995)

Let me know what you think. These are just my recommendations; I'm open to anything you have to say.

Editor & Publisher Market Guide

2009-03-07T12:21:00.000-08:00

This yearly publication contains a lot of useful information, yet the last three editions, which were still on the shelf when the 2009 edition came in, look untouched. It costs about $170 per year, which, granted, is not a whole lot compared to some of the titles we have reviewed. But think of it as eight $20 bills and a $10--are we throwing this amount away every year?

The strength of this volume is the large section of market data for US cities that have daily newspapers. This includes, in addition to population and number of households, principal industries, number of banks and amount of deposits, railroads, shopping centers and retail outlets, colleges and universities, names of newspapers and other data. Although much of this information is available on the internet, the convenience here is the collection of these various pieces of information for each city. The sections on Population, Ages and Ethnicity, Housing, Income and Retail sales are more easily found online.

It also includes Metropolital Statistical Area (MSA) rankings for such things as population, income, cost of living, high school graduation rates. quality of life, retail sales.

Is this useful enough, and do we get enough requests for this type of information, to justify the price?

Fulltext Sources Online

2009-02-06T07:03:00.000-08:00

Fulltext Sources Online is a two volume publication that is updated twice per year (We keep it behind the reference desk). It costs $285 per year.

We just received the new edition, and the July edition, which it replaces, looks untouched by human hands. Whenever I see this, of course, I question whether we should be getting it.

It lists 41,234 publications whose full text can be found in 25 aggregators (like Ebsco, Factiva, JSTOR, Newsbank, etc). It is arranged alphabetically by title of publication, with subject, geographic and language indexes.

Significantly, 36,417 of the entries include URLs, and of these 13,035 contain free archives. This is noted by a special symbol within the entry. Blogs, radio programs, TV transcripts and newsletters are also included and noted as such in the entry as a document type.

Definitely this is a useful resource. But do we get asked for this kind of information enough to justify the price, or do most patrons want to know what we have access to here in the library (which can quickly be answered by our E-Journal magazine list which can be found here http://nc9gr8gh9t.search.serialssolutions.com/ ).

United States Code Annotated (USCA)

2009-01-26T13:48:00.000-08:00

I need your opinions quickly on this. The USCA subscription costs us nearly $2500 per year to keep it up to date. It is all online here http://www4.law.cornell.edu/uscode/ and here http://www.gpoaccess.gov/uscode/index.html (although I do find the online hard to use). Do we use the paper edition enough to justify the expense?

I have no plans of getting rid of the NJ Statutes or the NJ Administrative Code. I think we should keep these despite being also online.

The WestLaw pricing for this stuff is very complicated. We pay approximately $300 per month for the WestLaw database, which no one ever uses (and probably never will). However, since we subscribe to that, we get all our print subscriptions at half price, which actually nets us some savings. However, if we cut the print USCA, the database will actually start costing us money, which we cannot justify. So, clear as mud? (Told you it was complicated).

Let me know what you think as soon as possible, since we have to make a decision on this by Friday 1/30.

Marquis Who's Who on the Web

2009-01-08T14:46:00.000-08:00

This week we are looking at a database. Marquis Who's Who on the Web costs $1195 per year. We also still get the paper copy which costs $354 per year. This database is only available within the library. There is no remote access.

As usual, the question is, do we use this enough to make it worth the price? And when we do use it, does it retrieve informtion that answers questions? Is there enough unique information here that is not available in the paper copy? Can we give up the paper copy?

Usage stats are as follows: Jan 4; Feb 8; Mar 11; April 5; May 25; June 15; July 1; Aug 3; Sept 15; Oct 3; Nov 26 (when KF was researching it for her biographical databytes). Unfortunately the way the stats only record searches; they do not record if information was retrieved in the search.

In this year of cutbacks, is this a critical and necessary database? For your information, I have just renewed the Gale Biographical Resource database at the whopping cost of $ 3098 per year (however this does have remote access). At KF's biographical databytes it was generally agreed that this is a critical and necessary database.

United Nations Statistical Yearbook

2008-12-11T09:06:00.000-08:00

At $160 per year, this is not a real big ticket item, yet when I replaced the old edition this year with the new one, it looked like it had never been opened, let alone used. Why don't we use it? Do we not remember it's there? Do we not get asked for this information? Is it readily available on the internet?

It is in both English and French (on the same page) and has a total of 69 tables divided into four parts:

World and region summary includes population, production, trade and finance statistics for the world as a whole and regions of the world such as Europe and Asia, but not specific countries.

Population and social statistics includes statistics on population, education, nutrition and childbearing, and communications for individual countries.

Economic activity, at 465 pages and by far the largest section, includes statistics on wages and prices, labor force, industrial production, manufacturing, energy and the environment, etc. for individual countries.

International economic relations includes tables on international tourism, development assistance, balance of payments, etc.

Appendixes or annexes trace country or area name changes, which countries are included in specific regions and conversion tables.

This can be frustrating to use because of the difficulty in collecting similar statistics for all countries, but, of course, that is no fault of this resource. For example, it is impossible to find out the female population of Chad, because only the total population is counted, and the latest for that is 1993. The difficulty and obstacles encountered in collecting these statistics is illustrated by the four pages of fine print foot notes following the country population table, and it is helpful to know why needed information does not exist.

All things considered, it is good and reliable resource. But, should be continue to get it?

Ref 000 Shelf Clearing

2008-11-17T12:08:00.000-08:00

I have just finished going through the entire Ref 000 collection. On the cart are items that are up for discard. Some individual explanations:

Whitakers Almanac and Time Almanac--we stopped this as a standing order. Probably not a good idea to keep these old issues there?

Farmers Almanac we are keeping, but do we really need all these back issues there? I kept 2007, 2008, 2009.

Magazines for Libraries is nearly 10 years old. A few things have changed in the magazine world during that time.

International Organizations we cancelled as a standing order in 2003. The 39th ed, which is 2002 seems a little old to be useful. The same is true for World of Learning, Official Museum Directory, American Book Trade Directory and ILMP.

Although I have actually used American Book Prices Current several times, the volumes we have are becoming increasingly outdated.

Is there anything on this cart that you would like to save? Also, is there anything there that you think we should resubscribe to? Also, take a look at what I have left on the shelf to see if you think there are anymore items that should be discarded.

Printed Stock Information Products

2008-10-15T17:19:00.000-07:00

This week we're going to take a look at three printed stock information products.

The first is Trendline: Current Market Perspectives, a monthly publication that we have in our magazine section. The cost is $655 per year. It includes quick 1/6 page snapshot summaries of about 2400 stocks, plus charts such as the 70 best and worst performing and fastest growing stocks for the month, top yielding stocks, best industry performers, etc. It also includes a stock and industry comparator which shows price changes in companies' stock by industry.

The second is another S & P stock publication--Stock Reports which gives more information (a full page of tiny print) on approximately 3000 stocks, but it is only updated quarterly, and does not have the ranking and comparison charts. The cost is a whopping $4,185 per year.

The third is Value Line (not an S & P product) which has information similar to S & P Stock Reports on about 3500 stocks. The regular and small and mid-cap together cost $1,047.

So, I guess the question is, what do we need in the way of printed stock information? I'll be interested to hear your thoughts.

NewsBank Trial

2008-09-15T08:49:00.000-07:00

This week we're going to take a look at the NewsBank database to which we have a free trial until 10/15/08.

As you know, the Newark Star Ledger is no longer supporting the interface through which we received the Trenton Times archives (along with a number of other New Jersey newspapers). These have been sold to NewsBank.

Go to http://www.infoweb.newsbank.com/ The user name and password are both prinpl (although I didn't have to log in). Click on "America's Newspapers," then check New Jersey. The available newspapers for New Jersey will come up. We can get just the Trenton Times or any combination of the newspapers listed here.

They can be searched all together, or you can choose to search several or just one, by checking the desired titles. Clicking on the individual titles will give you the metadata for each, most importantly the dates of coverage.

NewsBank has entered into a partnership with EBSCO which provides two very desirable features. First, the user can search by issue just as in EBSCO. The most recent issues come up when you click on a title, and clicking on any one of these will give you all the articles. There is a drop down box beside this that allows the user to choose another month. The second is the fact that any of the newspapers we choose here can be searched along with any or all of our EBSCO products.

The scope of the coverage mimics Factiva coverage--full text of all articles, but no images, charts, tables, advertising or score columns.

The rep has not given me a price as yet, but I do know that is will be considerably more than the $420 we were paying for the interface we received through the Star Ledger. As soon as I know prices, I will let you know.

In the meantime, play around with it, and let me know which of these titles, in addition to the Trenton Times you would like to have (in the best possible world). I really want to hear from you on this one!

Europa World Year Book

2008-09-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

The Europa World Year Book has long been one of my favorite reference sources both for the quality and depth of the information provided and its ease of use. It is updated yearly in two volumes and costs $1320 per year. So, of course, the questions are, do we use it enough to justify the price, and how much of this information is easily available on the internet or within our databases.

The entries are arranged alphabetically by country, and each follows the same format: for each country there is an introductory survey, followed by a statistical survey, and then a directory. There is also a 475 page section on international organizations (which I didn't know was there, and have never used).

Within our databases, Facts on File World Atlas has a nice summary for each country and Britannica Online also has good country information, but neither has the depth of information included in Europa's statistical survey and directory sections. Online, the best and most complete information I could find was the US Department of State's Background Notes (and, of course, Wikipedia).

Let me know what you think.

Rethinking Some Subscriptions

2008-08-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

This is the time of year Jenny and I go through the Cox subscription list to add or subtract titles. This year, I want us to reconsider some big ticket items.

The first is the Official Airline Guide. This is one that you are going to have a hard time convincing me to keep. The cost is $669 per year. It is a monthly guide to flight schedules worldwide. However with the availability of online travel services like Expedia, Orbitz and Priceline, I doubt if it is being used much, if at all.

The next item is USA Today Newsview, a small newsmagazine of approximately 16 pages and no advertising published by the Society for the Advancement of Education. The price is a whopping $240 per year (probably because of the lack of advertising). According to OCLC, it is a very widely held publication, particularly in school libraries. But how much do you think it is being used here? Is it worth the price?

Weatherwise is $111 per year for 6 issues. It's a neat magazine and I will have a hard time giving this up. Nevertheless, that comes out to $18.50 per issue. What do you think?

Accra Cost of Living Index is a catalogued subscription (REF 338.528 Ame) which comes out twice per year. The cost is $137 per year. It gives the relative price levels for consumer goods, housing, health care, etc., for participating areas. This information is very interesting, however the operative word here is "participating areas" because not all areas are covered. For example, Princeton/Mercer County, which in my experience has been what most people have asked for, is not covered.

Jenny needs to get the updated subscription list to Cox by 9/8, so give me your opinions before then.

ABC CLIO Social Studies Database Trial

2008-08-15T09:27:00.000-07:00

Instead of reviewing a book this week, I want you to take a look at the ABC CLIO Social Studies Database, to which we have a free trial from EBSCO. Here's how you can log on: Go to

http://www.socialstudies.abc-clio.com/ and use janebrown as both the username and password. To me, it looks very much likes our Facts on File database, so you may want to compare the two.

This is a free trial given to us by our EBSCO representative when she found out that we would not have to pay the $5000 extra for Academic Search Premier. The price would be approximately $6300 and this includes remote access. Facts on File and Facts.com combined are $2623. So it would have to be a whole lot better for that price. Check it out and let me know what you think.

Standard and Poor's Dividend Record

2008-08-05T05:41:00.000-07:00

This is another big ticket item that really needs some scrutinizing. The yearly tab for the subscription is $1025. Unlike the S & P Statistical Record (cancelled--see previous blog entry in May) which I actually used years ago, I have never used this, but thought it was necessary information to make available at a public library. However, noting the pristine condition of the material, I realize that it certainly isn't being used heavily, if at all.

It provides a comprehensive record of dividend payments for virtually all publicly owned American and Canadian preferred and common stock shares. It also provides such information as issued stockholders rights, stock splits and dividend per share for S & P indexes. Components of the subscription include annual and quarterly dividend records with weekly updates.

So, the question is, do we need this depth of information on dividends, and at this price? I'll be interested to hear what you think.

Consumer Health Complete

2008-07-25T10:09:00.000-07:00

This week we are again going to look at a database instead of a book. Consumer Health Complete is an Ebsco database with a special, more colorful, user friendly interface. The cost of the database is $2500. It is not included in the regular Ebsco suite of databases which are provided to us free of cost, so we must bear the entire cost ourselves. Previous to last year we used Bristol Myers Squibb funds for this. We no longer have this grant.

I had chosen this database as the one to be axed to make funds available for Academic Search Premier ($5000 per year) because of it's low usage statistics. In the first six months of this year it was accessed 34 times. At that rate it's nearly $37 per access.

Then I decided to use Serialssolutions' (our journal management system) new overlap analysis tool. I discovered that Consumer Health Complete has only 28 unique titles! All the rest are included in other health related Ebsco products already in the suite we get free, such as Health Source Consumer Edition, Biological Reference Collection and Nursing and Allied Health Collection! So basically we are paying for the special interface, which I actually don't like as much as something like the Mayo Clinic site and WebMD freely available on the web.

So, low user stats, few unique titles, funds needed for another more highly used database--that spells three strikes to me. You'll have a hard time convincing me otherwise (but you can try).

Plus YA has gotten a new Teen Health and Wellness database with grant funds, which we will also put on our database pages.

Directory of Obsolete Securities

2008-07-16T11:24:00.000-07:00

This 2082 page tome is exactly what the title says--it is completely devoted to listings of all known obsolete securities. We had actually cancelled this as a standing order several years ago, but then got requests for it, and also questions through Statewide Reference asking for this type of information.

The price for the 2008 edition is $695. However, last year I got a 2006 edition (one year old at the time) for $495. This year I discovered that I could get a 2007 edition through Amazon used books for $365.

The entries are arranged alphabetically by the security name and include the name and such informtion as mergers, acquisitions, name changes, reorganization, liquidation, recapitalization, etc. (where appropriate), all with dates.

Several companies such as Orbis and Bloomberg offer this information online, but, of course, not for free. Newark Public does not have this directory, so we cannot call them for answers to these questions.

So, here are the options: new 2008, used 2007 for a little over half the price, or skip it entirely. Do we get enough call for this type of information to warrant either price?

African American Biographical Database

2008-07-08T12:28:00.001-07:00

This week we are looking at a database rather than a reference book. African American Biographical Database is up for renewal at $1120 for a year. It's main purpose is to provide biographical information on lesser known African Americans from lesser known sources. There is little comparison or overlap with African American History Online section of Facts on File, which has far fewer entries from much more widely available sources (but which is much easier to use).

The database can be searched for profiles of specific persons (a nice feature here is to use the occupation limiter to generate a list of, say, all African American artists or athletes). The full text of each (or all) publications can be searched as well. It can be tricky, and it is best to do a broader search (for example, using only last name) when there are no results for a particular search.

So far in 2008 (Jan-June) it has been accessed 32 times or an average of 5.3 times per month. That means each search costs $35.

That is low for our databases. For example, in the same time period JSTOR was accessed an average of 177 times per month and Academic Search Premier 111. However, looking at it from another angle, if a reference book was used 32 times in six months, we would probably consider it heavily used. Hmmm... Check it out and let me know what you think.

Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media

2008-06-23T07:14:00.000-07:00

This 5 volume set comes out yearly and costs approximately $1100 per year.

Volumes 1 and 2 are what I have always used the most. They contain all publications alphabetically by state, and within state, by city (including Canada). Each entry contains contact information, description of content, circulation figures (when known), and price.

Volume 3 is the index volume. I have always used the Master Index the most. This is very helpful in tracking down publications by name when the place of publication is not known, for example The Record, which we all know is a relatively large newspaper in northern New Jersey, but where? There are other indexes here as well, such as 350+ page newspaper and magazine publishers index. There is also an index of daily and and community newspapers, which is good to have, but in checking daily newspapers for New Jersey, both the Star Ledger and Home News are omitted. In fact, they are not included in the New Jersey section and in the master index are listed as "unable to locate." (Yikes!?) Subject indexes to magazines and radio station formats are very incomplete and have little use.

Volume 4 is a Regional Market Index which lists newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations by general area of the country, such as Great Lakes States, Middle Atlantic States, etc. The newspaper and magazine sections of this volume list in descending order the major publications for these areas, and would be very helpful if there weren't so many errors, for example, in the Great Plains States section the St. Louis Post Dispatch is omitted, and the Philadelphia Inquirer is listed with Northeastern States, rather than Mid Atlantic States where all other Pennsylvania publications are. The radio and TV sections are sketchy and totally useless.

Volume 5 is the international volume. It is arranged just like Volumes 1 and 2 (alphabetical by country, then alphabetical by city), and includes the same kind of information. For some countries, such as the UK, the information appears fairly complete. But a quick look at Buenos Aires showed that none of their major newspapers were listed.

What's your opinion? I'd be interested to know if others have found as many errors as I have.

Broadcasting and Cable Yearbook

2008-06-12T06:48:00.000-07:00

This compendium of information from ProQuest/Bowker on the broadcast industry comes yearly and costs about $245 per year.

The Industry Overview section consists of statistics, charts and tables of all kinds of information such as top 25 cable/satellite operators and cable networks, top TV programs for the previous year, top TV advertisers and advertising categories, a history of broadcasting and a chronology of electronic media from 1666 (?!) to the present.

The bulk of the volume is devoted to broadcast and cable TV stations, and radio stations. Each section gives information on group ownership of stations, plus a list of stations by state and town giving call letters, contact information, personnel, network affiliation, frequency and programming content.

The TV section also has a Nielsen DMA Market Atlas which shows TV stations for each geographical market, plus counties covered, population served and a small map.

The rest of the volume provides information about programming, technical and professional services for the broadcasting industry.

I have been able to find some of this information on the web but not all. For example, I found in Wikipedia a list of TV stations by call letters. I was also able to find TV advertising information on the website of the TV Bureau of Advertising http://www.tvb.org/. (Curiously, the information given does not always agree with what is given in this volume.) Radio station information can be found at http://www.ontheradio.net/ .

Does anyone know of any other good sites that would have this information? Like Industry Surveys its nice to have this info all in one place and easily findable, but how much of it is unique, and is it worth the price?

Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys

2008-05-28T06:44:00.000-07:00

Standard & Poor's Industry Surveys is a 3 volume set arranged alphabetically by 52 broad industry groups. Each industry is updated twice annually. The cost per year of this subscription is $2462.

Each industry entry, averaging about 40 pages, starts with a discussion of the current environment of the industry, followed by an industry profile, a glossary of industry terms, trade journals and associations, and a 3-4 page comparative analysis of companies within the industry. The charts within each industry are interesting. For example, in Environmental & Waste Management, charts include U.S.recycling rates for common materials, percent of various materials in municipal solid waste, landfill capacity, etc.

The first 125 pages are repeated in each volume and include an alphabetical index to all companies mentioned within the industry surveys, industry subsector valuations and summaries, and S&P GICS Composite 1500 Component Statistics.

OneSource also has a great deal of industry information, but it's strength is the depth of information on various aspects of industries, for example analysts reports and market share information. There is no place within OneSource to get a summary of the industry (at least that I could find). The strength of this set, then, is having all of this information in one place, readable and understandable in a logical, linear fashion.

So, what's the verdict?

Annual Register of Grant Support and The Grants Register

2008-05-19T09:38:00.000-07:00

This time we're doing two titles since they are closely related.

Annual Register of Grant Support was $252 for the 2008edition. Basically, it gives information on grant support programs of public and private foundations, corporations, community trusts, unions, educational and professional associations, special interest organizations and government agencies. The information included for each organization includes among other things, areas of interest, names of special programs, eligibility requirements, representative awards, and more. The scope of the entries is US and Canadian.

The entries are arranged by 11 broad subject areas with subheadings under most. There are separate subject, geographical, personnel, organization and program indexes. There is a useful explanation of types of grant sources, and a 10 page guide to program planning and proposal writing. This edition has a binding error--it skips from page 1264 to 1337. These missing pages are at the end of the volume after a number of empty pages for notes.

The Grants Register is international in scope and is now edited in the UK. The cost for the 2008 ed was $303. Entries are arranged alphabetically by name of organization. There is also a subject/eligibility guide which is arranged by 19 broad subject areas, each of which have narrower subheadings. Each subject area is subdivided into elegibility by nationality. There is also an alphabetical index of award names.

The information given for each entry is similar to Grant Support but tends to be more brief. A spot check revealed a great deal of overlap in the US entries (approximately half), but at least half of the entries are not US, but are rather from the other 61 countries included.

The question is, do we need both of these sources, in addition to the Foundation Directory? The obvious advantage to The Grants Register is its international scope, but is there enough demand for this coverage in this community. Do we need them every year? None of this information is readily available on the web (at least that I could find).

Also, they have two entirely different call numbers. Grant Support is 001.44 and Grants Register 378.3. Foundation Directory is in yet another--361.7632. Any ideas on whether these sources should be together or remain as they are?

Corfacts New Jersey Business Directories

2008-05-13T08:50:00.000-07:00

These two directories, New Jersey Business to Business Directory and New Jersey Directory of Small Businesses, are published by Corfacts, a local competitor of InfoUSA. Check out their website here http://www.corfactsonline.com/ You can see that their online product aims to do the same things as RefUSA. This is their printed product. Each directory costs approximately $250.

Each directory has two volumes, and the format is the same for both. Volume 1 has an alphabetical index which lists only the name of the business, the county and the city. This is followed by a geographical index listed by county and then by town. Information given is brief and includes, in addition to contact information, number of employees by range (e.g., 1-5; 6-10, etc) and revenue also by range, plus a very brief description of what the company does. Volume 2 has the companies arranged by SIC code.

Previously in this blog, I have tried not to influence you with my opinion on a particular title. However, for this one it will be hard to do that, because, for the life of me, I cannot see that it has any advantages over RefUSA, which does everything better, and is much more extensive. For example, when looking for companies in Pennington with under 10 employees, RefUSA had 627 and this directory had less than 100.

Another problem is the sloppiness of the data. For example, in each set there is a handy zip code directory by county before the geographical section. Handy, that is, if the zip codes were correct. The first two I checked, Pennington and Camden, were both incorrect. Also this past year we had a great deal of difficulty in getting a good set. The first shipment had a whole section of incorrect data, as did the second shipment. The third was finally correct.

So, what I want to hear from you are any reasons you may have for keeping this that I may have overlooked.

Standard and Poor's Statistical Service

2008-05-05T12:35:00.000-07:00

This is a subscription service costing $1480 per year (for 2008) with three components:

Current Statistics: This contains a complete 12 month record of the daily high, low and close of S&P stock price indices, plus a 12 month record of weekly indices of several Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) industry groups such as banking and finance, production and labor, building, electric power and fuels, etc. These should come out once per month, but they are behind--the latest is 10/07, which we received in mid-February (a call to customer service confirmed that this is indeed the latest and they are indeed behind). Of concern is the fact that some of the stats are not up-to-date, for example, the Prime Rate charged by banks (p. 4 of the yellow) is only listed through 1/31/05, and I was able to find later data on the Federal Reserve web page. Also of concern is the fact that the index on page 2 does not always show the correct page numbers.

Basic Statistics: These give historical statistics for the same GICS categories as the Current Statistics section. This is the weakest part of the subscription. These are updated rarely, and some are as old as 1994. A call to customer service indicated that no updates are forthcoming in the near future. This makes for gaps in data. For example "Gross Domestic Product, National Income, and Personal Income" on page 7 of Current Statistics covers data for 2005 and 2006. It refers the user to pages 97-101 of the Basic Statistics which gives data for 1946-1994. There is no way to get the intervening years (the call to customer service also confirmed this).

Security Price Index Record: This comes out biennially and traces the movement of stock and bond prices by GICS industry group. The data goes back to 1941. I was not able to find this data on the web, however, a spot check of a number of the tables included in Current Statistics revealed that a fair amount of this data is available on the web.

If you have not used this in a while (as I hadn't), take some time to reacquaint yourself with it, and let me know if you think it is worth the price. How much of this can we get on the web? Do we have enough demand for the data that isn't? It might be possible to get it every other year (the year Security Price Index Record comes out).

Corporate Affiliations

2008-04-28T10:52:00.000-07:00

This massive set (8 volumes) is also published by LexisNexis, publisher of last week's Advertising Red Book. It comes out yearly and the cost this year will be approximately $2000.

Included are four sections, each consisting of two volumes: U.S. Public Companies, U.S. Private Companies, International, and the Master Index.

U.S. Public Companies lists 5563 ultimate parent companies with their U.S. and non U.S. sub companies. Information given for each company includes contact information, business description, year founded, stock symbol and where traded, financial and employee figures, business description, personnel, and any subsidiaries. Entries are arranged alphabetically.

U.S. Private Companies is virtually the same as the public company volumes in arrangement and information included minus the sales and financial figures. 49,357 companies with their U.S. and non U.S. sub companies are listed.

International is the same as the private company volumes with 10,066 companies and their U.S. and non U.S. sub companies listed.

The Master Index is the set's strength. The indexes include:
-a complete alphabetical company index for all volumes
-a corporate responsibilities index which lists personnel by areas of responsibility such as chief financial officer, general counsel, etc.
-a U.S. geographic company index arranged by state, and within state by town
-a non U.S. geographic company index arranged by country and within country by city
-an SIC code company index, preceeded by a handy SIC code list
-a NAICS code company index, also preceeded by a NAICS code list.

The big question for this set is: How much of this information can we get from OneSource? Also, when was the last time you used it, and for what purpose?

LexisNexis Advertising Red Books

2008-04-22T07:43:00.000-07:00

Before the proliferation of business information on the internet, this used to be one of my favorite go-to sources for company information, and particularly, brand name information. But how much are we using it today? Is it worth the $1946 per year cost?

The purpose of the set is to provide informtion on advertising agencies, the companies that use them, and the advertising industry. The set includes three main volumes:

Advertisers Business Classifications - this is good for finding groups of companies that produce particular products. Arranged by 55 business classifications, it includes contact information, number of employees, year founded, what the company does, SIC and NAICS numbers, advertising media used, brand names, top company personnel, and advertising agencies used. It includes an index to product categories and an alphabetical index.

Agencies - this is good for information about the advertising industry such as the top 200 US agencies ranked by size, top multicultural agencies, award winners, advertising associations, etc. The individual entries for agencies include similar information to the advertisers, but also include a breakdown of gross billings by media used and major accounts.

Advertisers Indexes - this is great for brand and product names, and this particular index takes up most of the volume. It also includes product categories by state, and a handy SIC index.

There is an Advertisers & Agencies Supplement which comes out in April, July and October.

So, what's the verdict--keep every year, cancel, or every two or three years?

Encyclopedia of Business Information Sources

2008-04-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

The 23rd edition of theEncyclopedia of Business Sources is now out at a cost of $485. It comes out every year, but the most recent one we have is the 21st from 2006. The cover and format for the new edition is exactly the same as the old. The review copy that is on the reference counter is the new one. It is not cataloged yet, but can be returned if appropriate.

Take a careful look at this source if you are not already familiar with it. It gives sources of business information on a wide variety (over 1000) topics. The types of sources include books, abstracts and indexes, CD-ROM databases, directories, handbooks and manuals, databases and statistical sources.

The books are generally disappointingly dated. For example, under the topic "Selling a Business," the two books cited are dated 1999 and 1991. These same titles were listed in the 21st ed two years ago. Our own catalog reveals two titles on the subject dated 2004 and 2007.

However, it is quite handy for tracking down ongoing sources of information on a specific business topic such as internet and online databases, and, especially statistical sources. For example, under the topic "Business Failures" we find that D&B publishes Business Failure Record annually and it is free upon request.

Take a careful look at this and give me your recommendations.

Public Library Catalog

2008-04-05T09:40:00.000-07:00

When was the last time you used Public Library Catalog? How many of you even knew it was still being published? Recent LIS grads--is this still mentioned in your reference resources class?

Basically, its the standard Wilson guide to recommended reference books and adult nonfiction arranged by Dewey number.

The 12th edition came out in 2004. A paperback supplement updates it every year. The 13th will be coming out shortly and the price will be about $400. What's your recommendation--renew or cancel?

Historical Statistics of the United States, Millennial Edition

2007-03-15T09:04:00.000-07:00

The first title we are going to look at in this blog is the new, long awaited millennial edition of the Historical Statistics of the United States. This is a pricey item at nearly $1000, but is one of those reference resources that is still a "must have." Granted, much of the material can be found online, but the convenience of having all this, plus the helpful introductory chapters for each section, all in one place makes the set worth the price. Browsing is a joy and the index is excellent.

Here are some quotes from reviews:

"What can one easily find in this major compendium by using the excellent index or browsing? Attendance at horse racing in 1997 was about half of what it was in 1976. Voter turnout in presidential elections in the U.S. was at a high in 1860, with 81.2 percent voting, and at one of the lowest percentages in 2000, with 49.3 percent. ....one can discover that the incidence of cataracts in the elderly has stayed fairly constant from 1982 to 1995, while the number of people under 18 who have asthma almost doubled in the same period. Among the statistics that one might not expect to find is the number of American Nobel Prize winners by field and country of birth. This is followed by a table of commercial space launches by country."

Booklist

"This ultimate statistical source on numerical U.S. history has been 30 years overdue for an overhaul; now, finally, the best is even better. A bargain for all libraries supporting research; essential particularly where the original statistical sources from which the title draws are out of print."

Library Journal

"...it's densely packed with more than a million numbers that measure America in mind-boggling detail, from the average annual precipitation in Sweet Springs, Mo., to the wholesale price of rice in Charleston S.C., in 1707...The new edition, which sells for $825 and is also available in an online version, is a gold mine for scholars, students and assorted nerds and numbers crunchers..."

New York Times

"Last published in 1975, the five-volume behemoth is 'a numerical atlas of the American past.' In addition to making revisions in areas in which there has been significant new scholarship, such as pre-20th century wages, the book covers areas that had been formerly ignored by the Census Bureau's edition, such as slavery, American Indians and technology."

Kirkus

"Many ordinary students and scavengers of facts—not just academics—should be able to tap this treasure of figures."

Newsweek

My First Reference Blog

2007-03-09T06:46:00.000-08:00

In this blog, I plan to talk about something really old fashioned--paper reference sources. Despite the fact that reference service has changed dramatically with the advent of the internet and online sources, we still spend quite a bit of our precious reference budget on reference books. We are probably spending too much.

Each blog entry will feature a specific reference book and its purpose. I will then tell you what I think about it--whether it should be kept or discarded, and invite your input. Gradually, we will create a reference collection that is really used and really worth the money we spend.