ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 318 / C&RL News ■ May 2003 C o l l e g e & R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s news Getting to know your subject specialty Add a little romance (literature) to your life by Heather E. Ward W h e n I b e g a n w o rk as a subject specialist in the R om ance languages a n d history I h a d a m a s te r’s d e g r e e in h isto ry , s o I felt m u c h con fid e n t in m y k n o w le d g e o f th e latter th a n th e form er. H a v in g m in o re d in F re n c h as a n u n d e r ­ g ra d u a te a n d h a v in g s tu d ie d L atin in g ra d u a te sc h o o l, I h a d a g r o u n d in g in th e R o m a n c e la n ­ g u a g e s , b u t I k n e w little o f t h e lite ra tu re . My subject assignm ent included the literatures n o t only o f France, Spain a n d Italy, b u t also th o se o f o th e r S p a n ish - a n d F re n c h -s p e a k in g c o u n trie s . (O n e sm all blessing w a s that o u r collection fo c u se d o n th e th re e m ajor R om ance languages. So, at least I w a s n ’t re sp o n sib le fo r se lec tin g P o rtu g u e se a n d R om anian titles, as w ell.) I n e e d e d to g e t to k n o w th e subject area, the collection, a n d p a tro n e x p e c ­ tations a n d n e ed s, b u t w h e re to begin? I s e a rc h e d t h e lib ra ry lite ra tu re fo r r e le v a n t a rticles h o p in g to fin d a d is c u s s io n o f p ra c tic a l m e th o d s to u s e in o rd e r to b e c o m e p ro ficien t in a n unfam iliar subject area, literary o r o therw ise. I fo u n d that very little general inform ation h a d b e e n p u b lished o n the topic, so I struck o u t o n m y ow n. As I stu d ied th e s e areas further, I realized th at th e m e th o d s I h a d u s e d m ig h t b e o f in te rest to o th e r lib ra rian s n e w to R o m a n c e lite ratu res o r to c o l­ le c tio n d e v e lo p m e n t in g e n era l. A n d so, th is ar­ ticle w a s b o m . The s ta rtin g poin t I b e g a n b y m e e tin g w ith o th e r U niversity o f O r­ e g o n librarians w ith e x p e rie n c e in collection d e ­ m v e lopm ent a n d th e hum anities to learn a b o u t their approaches to selection a n d a bout the sources they o rues e d to stay u p-to-date in their subject specialties. I b o o k m a r k e d th e W eb sites o f lib ra ry v e n d o r s m y lib ra ry u s e d , s o th a t I c o u ld e a sily fin d o u t w h e th e r a title w a s available a n d c o u ld p a ss th e m o st accurate inform atio n o n to o u r acquisitions departm ent w h e n ordering. I also s p o k e w ith indi­ vidual professors a n d e x p lo re d th e R om ance lan­ g u a g e s d e p a rtm e n t W eb p a g e s to find o u t a b o u t th e c u rriculum a n d specific faculty interests. I re­ q u e ste d g ra d u ate stu d e n t re ad in g lists a n d syllabi from th e professors a n d se a rc h e d th e library cata­ log for th e titles listed. B ut to g ain a b e tte r u n d e r­ sta n d in g o f m y c o llectio n a rea s I n e e d e d a fo u n ­ d a tio n in th e literature. F in d in g a g e n e ra l o v e r­ v ie w o f n a tio n a l a n d re g io n a l lite ra tu re s in th e Rom ance languages provided a n excellent starting point. Regional or literary encyclopedias often include articles that describe th e w h o le b o d y o f a national literature. T h e y p ro v id e a b a s e o f k n o w le d g e to b u ild o n s u c h a s n a m e s o f a u th o r s , titles, a n d historical them es, as w ell as bibliographies for fur­ th er reading. Som e o f th em also provide a tim eline o f lite ra tu re th a t c a n h e lp d e e p e n y o u r u n d e r ­ s ta n d in g o f literary d e v e lo p m e n t fo r th a t re g io n o r lan g u a g e. K e e p in g a file w ith c o p ie s o f th e s e articles for future reference is a g o o d idea. A m ong the sources I used w ere the O xford G uide to Contem­ p o r a r y Writing, w h ic h is div id ed into ch ap ters o n literature by country o r region, the C a m b rid g e E n ­ About the author H ea th e r W ard is hum a n ities lib ra ria n a t th e U niversity o f Oregon, e-mail: hw ard@ oregon.uoregon.edu mailto:hward@oregon.uoregon.edu C&RL News ■ May 2003 / 319 cyclopedia o f L a tin A m e r ic a & the C aribbean for extensive articles o n Spanish American a nd French Caribbean literatures, a n d The C a n adian Encyclope­ d i a fo r a b rie f re v ie w o f C a n a d ia n lite ra tu re in F re n c h . D o n ’t lim it y o u rs e lf to literary e n c y c lo ­ p e d ia s, histo ric a l a n d c u ltu ra l d ic tio n a rie s fre ­ q u e n tly include articles o n literature as well. N ext, a n in fo rm a l a s s e s s m e n t o f th e c o lle c ­ tio n is a g o o d w a y to fam iliarize y o u rs e lf w ith y o u r library’s holdings. To d o this, c h o o se a s p e ­ cific a re a o n w h ic h to c o n c e n tra te . I c h o s e to b e g in w ith Latin A m erican literature b e ca u se that is a strong focus in o u r Spanish d epartm ent. Ask o th e r librarians a n d se a rc h th e literature for su g ­ gestions to find a bibliography o f im portant w orks o r core titles in th e selected area. Your o w n refer­ e n ce collection is a rich source o f information a n d there m ay b e authoritative W eb sources as w e ll.1 N ot every bibliography w as created equal, b u t y o u h a v e to sta rt s o m e w h e re . U se y o u r ju d g e ­ m e n t. Y ou m ig h t sta rt w ith th e b ib lio g ra p h ie s g le a n e d fro m th e e n c y c lo p e d ia a rticles b e fo re m o v in g o n to th o s e w ith m o re c o m p re h e n s iv e coverage. T he standard Books f o r College Libraries (BCL) is n o w alm ost 15 years old, so y o u will n o t find th e latest literature o r current literary th em e s a m o n g its p a g es. Literary scholars, h o w e v er, d o n o t limit their re sea rc h to th e m o st re c e n t b o o k s a n d m a y b e in te re s te d in titles th a t h a v e b e e n a d d e d to y o u r collection o ver time. Therefore BCL can b e a n appropriate m easure with w hich to com ­ p a re th e o v e ra ll s tre n g th o f y o u r colle ctio n . In early 2002 Best Books, Inc. pu b lish ed Best B ooks f o r University Libraries, w h ic h s o u n d s sim ilar to BCL, b u t I h a v e n o t e x a m in e d a c o p y o r fo u n d a re v ie w o f it in o rd e r to b e a b le to re c o m m e n d it. Search y o u r library c atalog to c o m p a re y o u r h o ld in g s w ith th e b ibliography. You c a n d o this com prehensively o r b y searching a sam ple o f e n ­ tries. N o t o n ly w ill this p ro c e ss fam iliarize y o u w ith y o u r ho ld in g s, b u t it w ill a lso h ig hlight the strengths a n d g aps in y o u r collection. In this way, th e n a m e s o f m a jo r a u th o rs a n d literary m o v e ­ m en ts will ta k e root, as well. If y ou w ish to fill in g aps a n d y ou are using an older bibliography to g auge your collection, m any o f th e titles m a y b e o u t o f p rin t. T h e w e b h a s m a d e it m u c h e a s ie r to fin d o u t-o f-p rin t b o o k s w ith sites such as AddALL that allow y ou to search multiple b o o k dealers’ inventories simultaneously.2 Unfortunately, locating foreign language b o o k s is still m o re challen g in g th a n locating E nglish lan­ g u a g e m aterials. O n e re a s o n is th a t th e sm aller p rin t ru n s p ro d u c e d in m a n y c o u n tries result in fe w e r available c o p ie s o n th e m ark e t in th e first place. In addition, international u se d booksellers still have a smaller online presence th an American b o o k dealers have. If y o u a re u n a b le to find a n o ut-of-print title, a m ore recent imprint m ay serve in its place. Search Books I n P rin t and WorldCat b y author a n d /o r title to identify re p rin ted o r revised editions o f classic w orks. If W orldCat o nly retrieves re co rd s for th e o u t-o f-p rin t e d itio n o f th e w o rk , s e a rc h b y th e sa m e subject h e ad in g to find re c e n t publications that provide similar coverage. D o n ’t forget to speak to colleagues w ith sim ilar subject responsibilities at o th e r libraries. Library discussion lists c a n b e a g o o d p lac e to p o st su c h a q u e ry — se a rc h ACRL’s W eb p a g e s for a se ction re levant to y o u r subject specialty.3 A nother option is to statt w ith a smaller project, su c h as searching y o u r catalog fo r m ajor a uthors a n d th e ir w o rk s. T h e p h ra s e “m a jo r a u th o rs ” is so m e w h a t subjective, b u t a writer’s n a m e a p p ea r­ ing again a n d again in different bibliographies is a g o o d sign that scholars consider him o r h e r im por­ ta n t a n d th a t y o u r p a tr o n s w ill e x p e c t to fin d th ese w o rk s in y our library. T o learn a b o u t priori­ ties specific to y o u r collection, re v ie w th e list o f classes being taught o n individual authors a n d find o u t w h e th e r y o u r faculty m e m b e rs specialize in o n e p articular a u th o r o r sc h o o l o f literature. Sometimes reference w orks will include a con­ v e n ie n t list o f m a jo r a u th o rs , s u c h a s th e o n e I u sed from Latin A m e rica n Writers. Cataloging rules h a v e c h a n g e d o v e r th e y ears, lim iting a n a u th o r se a rc h b y th e title “w o rk s” m ay n o t alw ays m ee t w ith success. In order to search a catalog for com ­ p le te w o rk s it is u se fu l to k n o w th e e q u iv a le n t p h ra se in th e original lan g u a g e in w h ic h th e a u ­ thor w rote (e.g., obras completas, oeuvres completes, opemcompleta). As y o u search for w o rk s in the library catalog, o p e n a se c o n d w in d o w in y o u r brow ser a n d look u p the au th o rs in a general encyclopedia su c h as B ritannica Online or literary reference w ork such as C ontem porary Authors. This gives a nice brief pro­ file o f e ac h person, the basic b ack g ro u n d o n their p e rio d a n d influence, a n d som etim es a list o f the a u th o r’s w orks. It can h e lp y o u d ra w th e c o n n ec ­ tio n b e tw e e n y o u r c o lle c tio n a n d th e b o d y o f lite ratu re itself. O f c o u rs e o th e r literary g u id es, such as the Oxford C om panion series or the Encyclo­ p e d ia o f Latin A m e ric a n Literature, s a v e a similar p u rp o s e and, b y u sin g th e s e sources, y o u g e t to k n o w y o u r p rin t re fe re n c e c o llection. A n e le c ­ tronic so u rc e c a n h e lp if y o u are sh o rt o n time. 320 / C&RL News ■ May 2003 A fu n p a rt o f c o lle c tio n d e v e lo p m e n t is sim ­ p ly b ro w s in g b o o k s . B ro w s in g fam iliarizes y o u w ith c u rre n t a u th o rs a n d to p ic s, w ith faculty in ­ terests a n d curricula, a n d w ith th e ty p e s o f b o o k s p r o d u c e d b y differe n t p u b lis h e rs . T h is in fo rm a ­ tio n will h e lp y o u m a k e m o re in fo rm e d selectio n decisions. Start b y b ro w sin g n e w tex tb o o k s in the u n iversity b o o k s to re a s w e ll as b o o k s th at arrive o n approval plan s o r o n th e “n e w b o o k ” shelves at y o u r library. In a d d itio n to their u s e as a c urrent a w a re n e ss tool th rough brow sing, a pproval plan s that closely re fle ct y o u r c o lle c tio n n e e d s c a n a ls o h e lp y o u form ulate a collection d e v elo p m en t policy in y o u r su b je c t a re a . If s u c h a p o lic y a lre a d y e x is ts fo r y o u r area, re a d it— this w ill h e lp y o u u n d e rs ta n d th e s c o p e o f y o u r c o lle c tio n a n d s e t p a ra m e te rs fo r s e le c tio n d e c isio n s. If a p o lic y h a s n o t b e e n w ritte n o r r e c e n tly u p d a te d , re v ie w in g t h e a p ­ proval p la n a n d co n su ltin g w ith faculty m e m b e rs will h e lp y o u articulate collecting priorities. In m e e t in g w i t h fa c u lty m e m b e rs , t h e first q u e s tio n is u su a lly a b o u t th e ir sp e c ific a re a s o f research, b u t it is a lso u se fu l to d elve into c u rre n t a n d u p c o m in g cla sses o r c u rriculum c h a n g e s s o that y o u c an p la n a h e a d a n d m inim ize last-m inute ru sh o rd e rs. T h e y w ill h a v e m o re c o n fid e n c e in y o u r abilities if y o u th in k to o rd e r re le v an t m a te ­ rials b e fo re th e y a s k fo r th e m . Faculty m e m b e rs c a n a ls o b e h e lp fu l in s u g g e s tin g th e n a m e s o f o th e r universities w ith s tro n g collections in th e ir specialty areas. You c a n follow u p b y checking o u t the n e w acquisitions at th e s e libraries o r b y c o m ­ p a rin g y o u r h o ld in g s t o t h o s e o f th e s u g g e s te d c o lle c tio n u sin g W o rld C a t.4 S e a rch in g a p a rtic u ­ larly strong collection b y subject allow s a quick, if n o t c o m p reh en siv e, w a y to assess y o u r collection a g ain st th a t o f a n o th e r library. If y o u h a v e th e tim e , a u d it a c la ss o r a tte n d a n in s titu te o r w o r k s h o p to f u r th e r s t re n g th e n y o u r subject k n o w le d g e a n d collection skills. T ak­ in g a n in te n siv e S p a n ish c la ss g a v e m e n e e d e d r e a d i n g sk ills a n d a ll o w e d m e t o g e t to k n o w s o m e o f th e d e p a rtm e n ta l facu lty m e m b e rs b e t­ ter. I a ls o a tt e n d e d a C o lle c tio n D e v e lo p m e n t a n d M a n a g e m e n t In stitu te p r e s e n t e d b y th e As­ so c ia tio n fo r L ibrary C o lle c tio n s a n d T ec h n ic a l S e rv ice s (ALCTS), w h ic h n o t o n ly fa m ilia riz e d m e w ith c u rre n t collection issues, b u t a lso h e lp e d m e c o n n e c t w ith o t h e r l ib ra ria n s w i t h sim ila r re s p o n s ib ilitie s . I h a v e p i c k e d u p in fo rm a tio n a b o u t s p e c ific r e s o u r c e s b y t a k i n g p a r t in th e W e s te rn E u r o p e a n S tu d ies S e c tio n (W ESS) R o­ m a n c e L an g u ag es list, a s w ell. M u c h o f w h a t I h a v e l e a r n e d a b o u t m y s u b ­ je c t a r e a a n d a b o u t c o ll e c t in g in g e n e r a l h a s b e e n f r o m c o m m u n i c a ti n g w i t h o t h e r l ib r a r ­ ia n s a n d fa c u lty m e m b e rs d irectly. I a m fo rtu n a te in h a v in g c o m p le m e n ta ry r e ­ s p o n s ib ilitie s . R e fe re n c e w o r k a n d in s tru c tio n h a v e s tre n g th e n e d m y c o lle c tio n d e v e lo p m e n t s k ills a n d v ic e v e r s a . I h a v e l e a r n e d a lo t b y u s in g th e r e f e r e n c e c o lle c tio n in a ss is tin g p a ­ tro n s , p r e p a r i n g to t e a c h c la ss e s , a n d c re a tin g re s e a r c h g u id e s . O fte n , w o r k in g o n a p a t r o n ’s q u e s t io n h a s b r o u g h t u p a n is s u e th a t h a s le d m e t o i n v e s ti g a te a n a r e a o f l i t e r a t u r e I h a d n o t re s e a rc h e d b e fo re . A p a tro n o n c e a s k e d m e a q u e s tio n a b o u t P r o v e n ç a le lite ra tu re th a t le d m e to b ro w s e s e v e ra l p re v io u s ly u n fa m ilia r ref­ e r e n c e b o o k s . T h e n e x t tim e I h a d a q u e s t io n o n t h e s u b je c t, I k n e w r ig h t w h e r e t o b e g in . E a c h in te r a c t io n le a d s m e t o u s e d if f e r e n t r e ­ s o u r c e s , a n d it is g ra tify in g to a p p l y th is n e w k n o w le d g e w h e n t h e s u b je c t is ra is e d a gain. B u ild in g m y su b je c t k n o w le d g e h a s b e e n a gradual process, b u t th e w o rk has p a id off th rough g o o d faculty relations a n d m o re self-confidence in m y liaison w o rk a n d selection skills. It has h e lp e d to b u ild this stu d y in to m y pro fessio n al g oals s o I c a n lo o k b a c k a n d se e m y p rogress. As I b e c o m e com fortable w ith o n e subject, I find th a t th e re are alw ays n e w o n e s to e x p lo re . After all, p a rt o f th e a p p e a l o f w o rk in g in lib raries is th a t w e a re e n ­ c o u ra g e d to p u r s u e o u r n e v e r-e n d in g q u e s t fo r n e w know ledge. Notes 1. For a n exce lle n t list o f c o re titles in F rench C anadian literature. B ernard Andrés, L a Litterature Q u e b e c o is e e n 6 0 0 Titres, 9 S e p te m b e r 1996, h t t p : / / w w w . s w a r t h m o r e . e d u / H u m a n i t i e s / c l i c n e t / l i t t e r a t u r e / l i t t e r a t u r e . q u e b e c o i s e / a n d res.so m m aire.h tm l (15 Ju ly 2002). 2. A ddA L L : U sed a n d O u t o f P r i n t S e a rc h , h ttp : / /w w w .a d d a l l.c o m / U s e d / (15 J u ly 2002). 3. A C R L S e c t i o n s , 1 M a y 2 0 0 2 , h t t p : / / w w w . a l a . o r g / a c r l / s e c t h p . h t m l ( 1 5 J u l y 2 0 0 2 ) . 4. T h e F irs tS e a rc h i n te r f a c e o f W o rld C a t i n d ic a te s w h e t h e r y o u r lib ra ry o w n s a b o o k . Y o u c a n a ls o lim it y o u r s e a r c h b y t h e lib ra ry c o d e — p r o v i d e d b y W o rld C a t— o f t h e o t h e r u n i v e r s it y . T h u s y o u c a n s e e w h a t tit l e s t h e o t h e r l ib r a r y o w n s o n a c e r t a i n t o p i c a n d w h e t h e r y o u r lib ra ry o w n s a c o p y , to o . M u l­ t ip l e r e c o r d s fo r o n e title c a n t h r o w o f f y o u r re s u lts , b u t it is still a u s e f u l to o l. ■ http://www.swarthmore.edu/Humanities/ http://www.addall.com/Used/ http://www.ala.org/acrl/secthp.html C&RL News ■ May 2 0 0 3 / 321 THE EIGHTEENTH CENTURY’S MOST IMPORTANT REVOLUTION HAS JUST BEGUN The eighteenth century saw what many scholars believe to be three o f the most significant events in w orld history: the American Revolution, the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. And now, three centuries later, Gale® is pleased to announce a “ research revolution” w ith the introduction o f Eighteenth Century Collections Online. Based on the Eighteenth Century microfilm collection from Gale im print Primary Source Microfilm,” Eighteenth Century Collections Online features more than 150,000 printed works — comprising more than 29 million pages — in essence, nearly every book published in the United Kingdom o r in English during the period 1701 -1800.W ith innovative search functions and simple accessibility to material, Eighteenth Century Collections Online provides new research opportunities not available anywhere until now. To take part in the eighteenth century’s latest revolution, contact your Gale Representative today. 1-800-877-GALE www.gale.com A ll trademarks and registered names are used herein under license. http://www.gale.com