ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


December 1 9 9 0  / 1075

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•  A r c h iv e s  a n d  Y ou: T h e B e n e fits  o f H i s t o r i ­

c a l R e c o rd » , a booklet published by the New York 
State Archives and Records Administration (12 
pages, O ctober 1990), helps explain the fundam en­
tals o f historical records to a general audience. As 
examples, five profiles o f how New Yorkers use 
records are presented: a hom eow ner’s association 
near Syracuse uses records from the construction 
of the Erie Canal to make a case for replacing a 70- 
year-old bridge; a botanist uses a botanical journal 
written in 1846 to determ ine th e future use o f Goat 
Island at Niagara Falls; elem entary school students 
in Saratoga Springs learn about their city using 
historic photographs and letters from an 11-year- 
old girl visiting the resort city in 1842; the Dance 
Theatre o f H arlem  uses the records in its relatively 
new archives to plan perform ances o f the company 
and docum ent the history o f the first successful 
black ballet company and school in the world; and 
planners at C entral Park consult historic photo­
graphs, a stereopticon collection, and the drawings 
of F rederic Law Olm sted to rebuild the Park. The 
booklet could serve as an appropriate handout at 
presentations or as part o f a bibliographic instruc­
tion program. A free copy may be obtained from 
Terri Sewell, State Archives and Records Admini­
stration, 10A46 Cultural Education C enter, Al­
bany, NY 12230.

•  A r ts  a n d  E n te r ta in m e n t Fads., by Frank W. 
H offm ann and William G. Bailey (379 pages, 
1990), is a browsable miscellany o f popular b u t 
short-lived enthusiasms o f the 19th and 20th cen tu ­
ries. Most are o f recent vintage, since our fast­
paced, m arket-oriented society seems m ore prone 
to fads than our less capricious ancestors. The 
authors summarize 122 topics ranging from m in­
strel shows to F reddy Krueger. T he descriptions, 
although supplem ented by short bibliographies, 
are ruthlessly brief. However, the book may prove 
a useful resource for undergraduates seeking such 
elusive topics as soft sculpture, dim e novels, and 
answer songs. Copies are available for $29.95 
bound or $16.95 softback, from H aworth Press, 53 
Main St., Binghamton, NY 13905. ISBN 0-86656­
881-6, 0-918393-72-8.

•  B la c k  A r ts  A n n u a l 1988/89., edited by Donald 
Bogle (254 pages, O ctober 1990), is the second in

a series that reports on the year’s im portant events 
in African-American art, photography, literature, 
music, dance, theatre, movies, and television. Each 
w ell-illustrated c h a p te r provides com m entary 
from a Black critical perspective. Celebrities like 
Arsenio Hall and W hoopi Goldberg are included, 
as well as artists D read Scott and M artin Puryear. 
The annual costs $40.00 and may be ordered from 
Garland Publishing, 136 Madison Ave., New York, 
NY 10016. ISBN 0-8240-4943-8.

•  C o m ic s  L ib r a r ia n s h ip :  A  H a n d b o o k ., by 
Randall W. Scott (188 pages, Novem ber 1990), 
delivers a strong argum ent for collecting an often 
neglected bu t socially significant medium. E n te r­
tainingly w ritten by the selector and cataloger o f 
the world’s largest library collection o f comics at 
Michigan State University, this handbook serves as 
a guide for the private collector as well as the 
librarian. T he best way to becom e a comics librar­
ian, says Scott, is to get a job as an acquisitions 
librarian in a research library, engineer a few cu r­
riculum -relevant donations, generate publicity and 
interest, finesse the catalogers into organizing the 
collection, and read the New York Times when it 
looks like you’re having too much fun. Scott covers 
acquisition, storage and preservation, cataloging, 
cartoon history and comic book sociology, and he 
challenges the reader with 232 suggested research 
topics to “encourage thought, research and writing 
about comics.” The final chapter describes 48 li­
braries with special collecting interests in the area 
o f comics or cartoons. The book may be ordered for 
$32.50 from M cFarland & Co., Box 611, Jefferson, 
NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950-527-9.

•  Exp e r t  S y s te m s  in  L i b r a r i e s , edited by Rao 
Aluri and D onald E. Riggs (342 pages, O ctober 
1990), describes the expanding field of expert sys­
tems, com puter programs that inform, make rec­
omm endations, or solve problem s in a m anner and 
at a level of perform ance com parable to that dis­
played by a hum an expert. The different aspects of 
expert systems are illustrated by specific examples: 
Refsearch, PO IN T E R , Scholar, ORA, and Med- 
IndEx. An especially detailed survey o f th e use o f 
knowledge-based systems in classification is given 
in a chapter by Irene L. Travis. Copies are available 
for $35.00 (personal) or $52.50 (institutional) from



1076 /  C&RL News

Ablex Publishing, 355 C hestnut St., Norwood, NJ 
07648. ISBN 0-89391-589-0.

•  G a y  a n d  L e s b ia n  L i b r a r y  S e r v ic e , edited 
by Cal Gough and Ellen G reenblatt (355 pages, 
Novem ber 1990), examines theoretical and practi­
cal issues involved in improving library collections 
and services o f special interest to gay and lesbian 
library users. Chapters cover collection develop­
ment, case studies o f special lesbian and gay collec­
tions, bibliographic access, library staff attitudes, 
library exhibits, reference materials, and AIDS 
inform ation. Sixteen appendices list bibliogra­
phies, films and videos, music, plays, publishers, 
and organizations. T he cost is $36.50. Contact 
M cFarland & Co., Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. 
ISBN 0-89950-535-X.

•  G r e a t F lo w e r  Books., 1 7 0 0 -1 9 0 (L  by Sa-
cheverell Sitwell and Wilfrid Blunt (189 pages, 2d 
ed., O ctober 1990), was originally published in 
1956 in a very limited edition. Sitwell’s text and 51 
full-color pages of fine historical prints make this a 
botanical treasu re. M ore th an  750 colorplate 
flower books are described in a bibliography p re ­
pared by W. T. Steam, Sabine Wilson, and Han- 
dasyde Buchanan, and, in a special appendix for 
this edition, Buchanan explains the printing tech ­
niques of the tim e period. A copy may be ordered 
for $65.00 from the Atlantic Monthly Press, 19 
Union Square West, New York, NY 10003. ISBN 0- 
87113-284-2.

•  G u id e  to  th e  L i b r a r y  B in d in g  I n s titu te  
S ta n d a r d  f o r  L i b r a r y  B in d in g , by Jan Merrill- 
Oldham and Paul Parisi (62 pages, O ctober 1990), 
supplem ents the Institute’s binding standard (8th 
ed., 1986) by clarifying its technical language and 
describing procedures in greater detail. The guide 
places bookbinding in a historical context, dis­
cusses research and developm ent issues, and ac­
knowledges unresolved controversies. W hile it 
does not repeat the text of the LBI Standard, its 
num bering scheme parallels the standard so that a 
side-by-side reading o f the two docum ents can be 
made. Sixty-eight illustrations by Gery Frost com ­
plem ent the text. The initiators o f this project were 
members o f the form er Library/Binders Relations 
Com m ittee (now the Physical Quality and T reat­
m ent Comm ittee) o f the ALA Association for Li­
brary Collections and Technical Services’ Preser­
vation of Library Materials Section. Copies are 
available for $17.50 from the ALA O rder D epart­
ment, 50 E. H uron St., Chicago, IL  60611-2795. 
ISBN 0-8389-3391-2.

•  L i b r a r y  P e r s p e c tiv e s  o n  N R E N , th e  N a ­
tio n a l R e s e a r c h  a n d  E d u c a tio n  N e tw o r k , edited 
by Carol A. Parkhurst (75 pages, O ctober 1990), is 
based on the popular Information Packet on N R E N  
distributed at the 1990 ALA Annual Conference. 
This monograph contains twice as much material, 
including the four presentations at the 1990 LITA

President’s Program, an updated legislative chro­
nology and information, and a new glossary of 
terms. The proposed network would be an elec­
tronic telecommunications infrastructure that will 
expand and upgrade the existing interconnected 
array o f research networks so that it could operate 
at a capacity o f 3 billion bits p er second by the year 
2000. The book includes a chronology o f significant 
events in the developm ent o f N REN  and library 
com m unity involvement p rep ared  by Carol C. 
H enderson o f ALA’s Washington Office. It is avail­
able for $10.50 (LITA m em bers $9.50; quantities 
o f 10 or more $8.50 each) from the ALA O rder 
D epartm ent, 50 E. H uron St., Chicago, IL  60611- 
2795. ISBN 0-8389-7477-7.

•  T h e L in g u is tic s  o f  A m e r ic a n  S ign  L a n ­
g u a g e , by John O. Isenhath (255 pages, O ctober 
1990), is a practical guide to understanding Ameri­
can Sign Language (ASL) both as a communica­
tions system and as a leam able language. ASL’s 
linguistic structure is explored, from topicalizing a 
sentence to stress and complex sentences. A variety 
o f sentence patterns are presented with a discus­
sion o f how each pattern is influenced by linguistic 
and situational constraints. A copy may be ordered 
for $37.00 postpaid from M cFarland & Co., Box 
611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950-493-0.

•  P r e s e r v in g  K n o w le d g e : T h e C a s e  f o r  A lk a - 
lin e  P a p e r  (August 1990) has been issued as a 
revision o f the Association of Research Libraries 
Briefing Package num ber 3. Published by ARL in 
collaboration with ALA, the Commission on Pres­
ervation and Access, and the National Humanities 
Alliance, this collection o f papers, documents, and 
standards prom otes the use o f alkaline paper in 
order to ensure the longevity o f research materials. 
Copies may be ordered for $18.00 postpaid (ARL 
m em bers $9.00) from the Association of Research 
L ibraries, 1527 N ew  H am pshire Ave., N.W., 
Washington, DC 20036. ISBN 0-918006-18-X.

•  S c ie n tific  a n d  T e c h n ic a l L ite r a tu r e :  A n  
I n tr o d u c tio n  to  F o rm s o f  C o m m u n ic a tio n , by 
Richard D. W alker and C. D. H u rt (297 pages, 
N ovem ber 1990), examines scientific journals, 
conference proceedings, technical reports, p at­
ents, maps, secondary literature, and online serv­
ices and reports on the strengths and weaknesses of 
each format in authority and accessibility. The 
book provides an excellent historical perspective, 
beginning with the first issue of the Journal des 
Scavans in 1665. The cost is $39.50, from the ALA 
O rder D epartm ent, 50 E. H uron St., Chicago, IL 
60611-2795. ISBN 0-8389-0539-0.

•  S tr a te g ic  P la n n in g : A  H o w - T o -D o -I t M an - 
u a l  f o r  L ib r a r ia n s , by M. E. L. Jacob (120 pages, 
O ctober 1990), draws on material used with the 
ACRL continuing education workshops on strate­
gic planning as well as the planning docum ents of 
more than 200 OCLC m em ber libraries. The book



December 1990 /1 0 7 7

includes chapters on the strategic planning proc­
ess, institution and com m unity, environm ental 
scanning, goals and objectives, action plans, plan 
format, and monitoring. T he m anual’s workbook 
format features many forms, checklists, examples 
and definitions. Copies are available for $35.00, 
$3.50 shipping, from Neal-Schum an Publishers, 23 
Leonard St., New York, NY 10013. ISBN 1-55570- 
074-8.

•  W o r d s  o f  th e  V ie tn a m  W a r , com piled by 
Gregory R. Clark (604 pages, N ovem ber 1990),

defines all th e slang, jargon, abbreviations, nick­
names, slogans, people, and places that you are 
likely to find in any history or novel about the 
V ietnam  W ar. T h e  book has 10,000 e n trie s 
(including see references), with m ore than 4,300 
definitions. A casual stroll through this dictionary 
will let you glimpse what the war was like, from the 
grit to grand strategy. Copies may be ordered for 
$47.00 postpaid from M cFarland & Co., Box 611, 
Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950-465-5.

■■

Call for papers: “Acquisitions or Access? 
The Changing Environment”

The them e o f the Second National C onference 
on Acquisitions, Budgets, and Collections to be 
held April 10 and 11, 1991, at the Radisson South 
Hotel, Minneapolis, is “Acquisitions or Access? 
The Changing E nvironm ent.” Some oth er subtitles 
might be “acquisitions in an e n v iro n m en t o f 
change; growing budget options, collection build­
ing in an era o f electronic com munication and 
docum ent transfer; or conventional acquisitions in 
an increasingly unconventional en v iro n m e n t.” 
Automation, online public access catalogs, online 
subscription agencies and electronic vendor serv­
ices are affecting virtually every aspect o f acquisi­
tions: the types o f materials acquired, the way in 
which they are acquired, processing, procedures, 
and personnel qualifications and duties.

Administrators as budget makers and allocators 
are faced with a growing num ber o f budget deci­
sions such as w hether to fund the acquisition of 
holdings or access services. Is electronic access and 
docum ent transfer a solution to escalating periodi­
cal and book costs? New sources o f funds and new  
fund accounts are needed. Should librarians con­
tinue to acquire expensive books and journals or is 
mere access to them  acceptable? W hat is th e fiscal 
impact o f these changes? Should the library ac­
quire multiple copies o f a reference tool at $349 p er 
copy for th ree locations or should the library buy 
one C D -R O M  at $1,395 and restrict its access to a 
single location? How can the C D -R O M  vendor and 
the library arrive at a mutually acceptable pricing 
structure for single-site, single use, local netw ork­
ing, and dial-in access?

W hat is th e im pact of technology on collection 
developm ent? W hat criteria can be applied to 
making tough choices within tight budgets— i.e., 
allocating funds among com peting formats (audio­
visuals, books, periodicals and electronic media) 
and among a growing variety o f specialized subject 
areas? How should collections continue to be d e ­
veloped? Will new er m edia replace or supplem ent 
older media?

T here will be a $250 award for the best paper 
from each type o f library (academic, public includ­
ing city, state, and federal, and special) and sepa­
rate awards for each of the three topic categories; a 
total of $1,500 in all). C riteria will be substance, 
relevance, timeliness of topic, and clarity. C onfer­
ence breakout tracks will be grouped by type of 
library w here possible.

C ontributed papers are invited from all types of 
libraries (academic, public including city, state and 
federal, and special). Papers are invited on any 
aspect o f acquisitions, budgeting, and collection 
developm ent as well as online acquisitions and 
serials systems or subsystems. The conference is 
intended for acquisitions librarians, serials librari­
ans, library administrators, and collection develop­
m ent librarians. The purpose of this conference is 
to provide a substantive, relevant, practical, educa­
tional experience on current timely issues. The 
conference format will include plenary sessions, 
contributed papers, and vendor exhibits. Proceed­
ings will be published.

P rogram /R eview  C o m m ittee includes D ora 
Biblarz, Arizona State University; Audrey Eaglen, 
Cuyahoga County Public Library; Caroline Early, 
National Agricultural Library; Jasper Schad, W ich­
ita State University, and Katina Strauch, College of 
Charleston, program  chair.

Send two copies of title, outline, abstract or text, 
plus descriptors, name, address, b rief biographical 
data, and phone n um ber o f principal contact by no 
later than February 15,1991. Papers will be distrib­
uted  to the Review C om m ittee. Proceedings will be 
published immediately after the conference. C on­
tributors m ust give presentation and attend confer­
ence at own expense, but will receive discount 
registration. All responses will be acknowledged.

W rite for suggested topics and technical specifi­
cations. Address all papers and correspondence to: 
Acquisitions ’91, c/o Genaway & Associates, Inc., 
P.O. Box 477, Canfield, O H  44406-0477; (216) 
533-2194. ■ ■