ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

New Publications

George M. Eberhart

African American Biog- raphies: Profiles of 558 Current Men and Women,by Walter L. Hawkins (490 pages, April 1992), summa- rizes the life achievements of African Americans who have served as role models through their roles as com- munity leaders, athletes, mu- sicians, or professionals. In- dividuals who died in 1968 (the year of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) or before are not included. Many of the names are familiar, but there are others whose accomplishments are not well known but no less deserving of recognition. Occupational and geographical indexes are provided. The cost is $39-95 from McFarland & Co., Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0- 89950-64-X.

Biographies of Scientists for Sci-Tech Libraries,edited by Tony Stankus (228 pages, February 1992), describes reference works that profile the lives of famous biologists, mathematicians, computer scientists, physicists, chemists, geologists, botanists, and physiologists. Mysteriously tacked on at the end of the book are a bibliographic overview of works on spectra and spectroscopy, new reference books in science and technology, and science database news. I suppose that’s because this book is really volume 11, number 4, of Haworth’s Science & Technology Libraries. Copies are $29.95 each from Haworth Press, 10 Alice St., Binghamton, NY 13904-1580. ISBN 1-56024-214-0.

Career Opportunities for Bilinguals and Multilinguals,by Vladimir F. Wertsman (290 pages, 1991), identifies educational resources for learning languages other than English and for identifying prospective American and foreign employers interested in hiring American professionals and paraprofessionals with foreign language skills. The book lists more than 3,500 annotated items (firms, organizations, etc.) covering over 300 languages. At the end there is an extensive annotated bibliography, an appendix on job hunting, and three indexes—by language, educational and occupational background, and geographic name. A copy may be ordered for $35.00 from Scarecrow Press, P.O. Box 4167, Metuchen, NJ 08840. ISBN 0-8108-2439-6.

Congregation of the Con- demned: Voices against the Death Penalty,edited by Shirley Dicks (290 pages, November 19911, features writings by death-row in- mates, members of victims’ families, legal and medical experts, religious and politi- cal figures, journalists, entertainers, and representatives from social or- ganizations. Contributors include Mario Cuomo, Edward Kennedy, Coretta Scott King, Mike Farrell, Tom Wicker, and Watt Espy. Editor Shirley Dicks, whose son Jeff is on Tennessee’s death row, continues to work for the overturn of his conviction and the abolishment of the death penalty in the United States. Copies may be obtained from Prometheus Books, 700 E. Amherst St., Buffalo, NY 14215. ISBN 0-87975- 679-9.

Encyclopedia of the Early Church,edited by Angelo Di Berardino (1,130 pages, 2 vols., February 1992), is a scholarly encyclopedia of Christian antiquity through the 8th century. It covers all the personalities in early Christianity from Augustine and Origen to the most obscure bishops, martyrs, and heretics. Archaeological, philosophical, linguistic, iconographical, theological, historical, and geographical topics are covered in depth, as well as the relationship between Christianity and the thought and philosophy of the pagan world. The encyclopedia is a translation and expansion of the Dizionario Patristico e di Antichită Cristiane published in the early 1980s. An extensive index, 44 maps, 320 illustrations, and a synoptic table of secular, ecclesiastical, cultural, and doctrinal events accompany the text. The encyclopedia costs $175.00 and may be ordered from Oxford University Press, 200 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016. ISBN 0-19-520892-7.

Insuring Library Collections and Buildings,SPEC Kit and Flyer #178 (148 pages, October 1991), examines basic insurance facts that can provide comparative information to help research libraries develop risk management policies. Based on a 1991 survey of ARL libraries, this kit reviews the types of insurance coverage libraries have, valuation providers, insurance valuation, sprinkler systems, and losses and problems experienced by the respondents in the past five years. The kit was compiled by Marcia J. Myers at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Copies are available for $33 00 (ARL members, $22.00) from ARL/OMS, 1527 New Hampshire Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20036. ISSN 0160-3582.

Librarianship in World Perspective: Selected Writings, 1963-1989,by Hwa-Wei Lee (332 pages, December 1991), contains 28 papers by Lee describing developments in area studies collections, bibliographic control, international cooperation, international exchanges and internships, library and information services, library automation, library development, and library networking. Most of the articles feature library issues in East Asia and Southeast Asia. The papers were selected at the urging of the Library Association of China (Taiwan), which sponsored the book’s publication. Copies are available for $16.00 from the Student Book Company, 198 Ho-ping East Road, First Section, Taipei 10610, Taiwan, Republic of China. ISBN 957-15-0255-3.

Natures Gambit: Child Prodigies and the Development of Human Potential,by David Henry Feldman and Lynn T. Goldsmith (266 pages, 1991), focuses on how the study of exceptionally gifted children can illuminate the development of learning in all children. The authors see child prodigies as a human evolutional response to the complexities of modern society. The book provides case histories and writing samples of some very remarkable young children. It may be ordered for $15.95 from Teachers College Press, 1234 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10027. ISBN 0-8077-3143-9.

The Peoples Chronology,edited by James Träger (1,237 pages, 1992), a revised and updated version of the 1979 edition, extends the chronicle of human events through 1991 • The earlier edition has been the most frequently used reference book in my home library, and this new volume will soon feel the ravages of heavy thumbing. Random spot-checking revealed very few deletions from the 1979 volume (some minor business and architectural entries), many corrections of previous errors, and much tighter editing and condensed typography to allow for the new material, which has not been confined to the past 12 years. The index has been vastly improved and expanded. Of course, an overwhelming number of facts is no substitute for a true understanding of history, but if you want to get a feeling for the year 1848, for example, there is no better place to start. A conventional history book covering events in 1848 would never give you a clue that in that year gutta percha golf balls came into use, the names of apple varieties began to be standardized, James Russell Lowell wrote “The Vision of Sir Launfal” (“And what is so rare as a day in June?”), and the Astor Library was founded in New York. Order at least one copy for $45.00 from Henry Holt and Company, 115 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011. ISBN 0-8050-1786-0.

Publishing and Development in the Third World,edited by Philip G. Altbach (441 pages, January 1992), stems from papers that were commissioned for an international seminar on publishing in the Third World, held at the Rockefeller Centre in Bellagio, Italy, in February 1991. It features perspectives from 25 Asian and African publishers and leaders in the field. Selected topics include: “Africa: The Neglected Continent,” by Hans M. Zell; “Challenges and Reality in West African Publishing,” by Jan Kees van de Werk; “Book Development in Burma, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos,” by Sulak Sivaraksa; and “American Book Aid: A Critical Assessment of Two Major Programs of the 1950s-1970s," by Stanley A. Barnett. The cost is $100.00, from K. G. Saur, P.O. Box 31, New Providence, NJ 07974-9903- ISBN 1- 873836-40-6.

Space Utilization in Music Libraries,compiled by James P. Cassaro (152 pages, March 1992), has been published as Technical Report number 20 by the Music Library Association. The authors of the papers in this report, which is based on MLA’s 1990 Preconference on Space Utilization, address the challenges and considerations involved in the renovation, reorganization, and creation of music library facilities. Copies are available for $30.00 ($24.00 to MLA members) from the Music Library Association, P.O. Box 487, Canton, MA 02121. ISBN 0- 914954-44-X. ■