ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

New Publications

George M. Eberhart

African Americans and Civil Rights: 1619 to the Present, by Michael L. Levine (296 pages, 1996). A history book intended for un- dergraduates, this stresses the political and legal dimen- sions of racism and resistance as well as the active role played by African Americans in shaping their future. A bib- liography, chronology, glos- sary, and biographies of 60 individuals accompany the text. $29.95. Oryx Press, 4041

North Central Ave., Suite 700, Phoenix, AZ 85012-3397. ISBN 0-89774-859-X.

Banned Books: 1996 Resource Guide, by Robert P. Doyle (139 pages, May 1996), is the latest compendium of books that have been banned or censored since 387 B.C. Books that were challenged in 1995–96 include Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, and (once again) Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In addition to an annotated bibliography, this volume suggests promotional activities, publicity, and clip art for Banned Books Week, September 28–October 5, 1996. $28.00. ALA, 50 E. Huron, Chicago, IL 60611. ISBN 0-8389-7791-X.

The Dictionary of Art, edited by Jane Shoaf Turner (34 volumes, October 1996), may well be a watershed in the history of art reference. It certainly is an ambitious project which seeks the same niche that the publisher’s New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians holds in music. With contributions from 6,700 scholars in more than 120 countries (many of whose writings will appear in English for the first time), this set encompasses both the fine and the decorative arts. Its sheer scope demands superlatives: the largest international collaboration in the history of art publishing; the broadest coverage in English of African, Asian, Eastern European, and Islamic art and culture; the most up-to-date scholarship on 20th-century artists, schools, styles, movements, theories, issues, techniques, patrons, collectors, and critics; the most art biographies (20,800) contained in any single work; the largest single collection of images (15,000) in any one publication; the most com- prehensive selection of topi- cal bibliographies in the field of art history (300,000 entries); one of the most detailed indexes anywhere, with 670,000 index entries providing access to the dictionary’s 41,000 essays. With a list price of $8,000, many libraries may need to find an art patron who will support this acquisition; however, this set will be in high demand once it is on the shelves. Grove’s Dictionaries, 150 Fifth Ave., Suite 916, New York, NY 10011. ISBN 1-884446-00-0.

An Einstein Dictionary, by Sachi Sri Kantha (298 pages, March 1996), includes 600 encyclopedic entries on Albert Einstein’s personal life, physics, philosophy, and politics. This volume is useful as a quick fact-finder. (What was the Einstein viscosity equation? Was Einstein a heavy smoker? Why did J. Edgar Hoover collect thousands of pages of spurious information on Einstein? What Librarian of Congress wrote a poem entitled “Einstein”?) A bibliography of Einstein’s scientific articles accompanies the text. $75.00. Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881-5007. ISBN 0-313- 28350-8.

The Elements of Expression: Putting Thoughts into Words, by Arthur Plotnik (225 pages, April 1996), is a great book. It really, really is. And if you find yourself writing or saying words like “great” or “really” more than you think you should, then get a copy of The Elements of Expression and be inspired by it to write, speak, and even think more expressively, whether in slang or sonnet. Plotnik writes like Woody Allen imitating Calvin Trillin emulating William Safire. He entertains as he instructs you in the arts of verbal forcefulness, apt quotation, identifying the audience, and vocabulary improvement. To dip into Plotnik before writing letters, leaflets, or literature is to sip a fine wine before assaulting the steak and potatoes. See? It even made this review better. $20.00. Henry Holt, 115 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011. ISBN 0-8050-3773-X.

George Eberhαrt is editor and compilerof The Whole Library Handbooks for ALA Editions (1991, 1995). He served as editor of C&RL News from 1980 to 1990.

The Encyclopedia of the Victorian World, edited by Melinda Corey and George Ochoa (672 pages, April 1996), is a helpful reader’s companion to British and American culture and politics from 1837 to 1901. The entries are of manageable length for quickly checking facts, people, and places. Have you always wondered about things like the Reform Bill of 1867, Symbolist poets, cookshops and porridge, Annie Besant and Maud Gonne, and who discovered the satellites of Saturn? This book holds the answers. $50.00. Henry Holt, 115 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011. ISBN 0- 8050-2622-3.

Discovering Fossil Fishes, by John G. Maisey (223 pages, July 1996), traces the evo- lution of fishes over the course of 500 million years, describing the discovery of their fossils and their role as ances- tors of the terrestrial ver- tebrates (like us). The author’s enthusiasm for the subject is infectious and the illustrations, both of real fossils and artist’s conceptions, are enticing. Other fossil books pass lightly over extinct fish families in a mad dash to describe the dinosaurs, but this one lingers fondly over the diversity of ostraco- derms, arthrodires, acanthoidians, placoderms, sharks, and tel- eosts. Exciting and understandable. Henry Holt, 115 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011. ISBN 0- 8050-4366-7.

In Our Own Voices: The Changing Face of Librarianship, by Khafre K. Abif and Teresa V. Neely (434 pages, December 1995), is a well- chosen collection of essays by 25 African Ameri- can, Asian American, Native American, Mexi- can American, and Latin American librarians who describe their introduction to librarianship, their encounters with racism, and their desire to succeed in a challenging profession. Of par- ticular interest to academic librarians is Part I, which includes Monica Garcia Brooks (“Mexi- can American Mountaineer”), Deborah Hollis (“On the Ambiguous Side”), and Edna Dixon (“To Be Young, Maybe Gifted, and Truly Black”). All types of librarians will empathize with Tanya Elder’s dissection of the children’s librarian’s experience, “Hip v. Nice v. Tradi- tional v. Nasty v. AAAARRRGGGHHH!” With a foreword by E. J. Josey. $45.00. Scarecrow Press, 4720 Boston Way, Lanham, MD 20706. ISBN 0- 8108-3074-4.

Microsoft Bookshelf 1996–97 Edition (CD-ROM, April 1996) has been improved by the addition of an Internet Directory with in- formation on and links to nearly 5,000 Web sites and newsgroups (updates to the directory are available for downloading after the 5th of each month), the Hammond maps have been replaced by a concise Encarta world atlas (though nowhere near the detail offered by the full version), and a national zip code directory (you provide the address, Book- shelf gives you the zip code). The user interface has also been improved for this edition, and Macintosh support has been en- hanced. Retails for approxi- mately $55.00.

Two completely new Mi- crosoft products are Complete Gardening CD-ROM and the Reader's Digest Complete Do-It-Yourself Guide CD- ROM (both of these require Windows 95). The Gardening CD-ROM gives concise descrip- tions of nearly 4,000 plants likely to be found in American gardens and offers solutions to such common problems as pests, diseases, adverse soil conditions, and overwatering. Video and ani- mation sequences provide overviews of types of plants or gardening activities. The Do-It-Your- self CD-ROM allows the home or library main- tenance specialist to learn the best way to tackle repairs and use 600 different tools. You can also tour an interactive, animated 3-D house to learn how plumbing, heating, and wiring works. Each CD-ROM retails for approximately $35.00.

Postcards in the Library: Invaluable Visual Resources, edited by Norman D. Stevens (233 pages, March 1996), contains 18 articles on the importance of postcard collections in scholarly research. Although postcards are vastly underutilized in research settings, Stevens reminds us that they may contain the only remaining visual images of a building, monument, person, or place during a specific time period; that postcard collections may represent the best set of images of a natural feature, an historic event, or a city or town; and that the messages written on the backs of postcards can reveal a great deal about individual or societal attitudes. Of particular interest are articles on the Curt Teich Postcard Archives (Katherine Hamilton-Smith), the Marguerite Archer Collection of Historic Children’s Materials (Meredith Eliassen), George Watson Cole’s plan for postcard classification and the holdings of the American Antiquarian Society (Jennifer Henderson), and postcard preservation options (Jan Merrill-Oldham). Simultaneously published as Popular Culture in Libraries, Vol. 3, No. 2. $34.95. Haworth Press, 10 Alice St., Binghamton, NY 13904-1580.

The Seismo-Wαtch Newsletter, a weekly publication now in its fourth year, offers a worldwide survey of earthquake activity with particular emphasis on North American events. Libraries in fault areas will find this newsletter especially useful as a timely record of local quakes. Predictions and forecasting are explicitly excluded. Notable seismic events, trends, historical correlations, seismological and geological terms, and significant earthquakes of the past are summarized in sidebars. Preparedness information is also included. A yearly subscription is $65.00. Advanced Geologic Exploration, P.O. Box 18012, Reno, NV 89511. ISSN 1079- 2821. ■