Ref 330-340

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.