ACRL College & Research Libraries News

Association of College & Research Libraries

New Publications

George M. Eberhart

1000 Great Guitarists,by Hugh Gregory (164 pag- es, July 1994), identifies mu- sicians from every genre ranging from superstars to lesser-known session play- ers and stage sidemen. Vir- tuoso guitarists are recog- nized whatever their musical preference: classical (Julian Bream), country (Merle Travis), jazz (Wes Montgom- ery), rock (Jeff Beck), blues (B.B. King). A brief bio and critical evaluation is provided for each, with the musician’s favorite guitar models highlighted. The book features a 36- page set of color fold-outs that details the ca- reers of 12 guitarists. Copies are $19.95 from Miller Freeman Books, 6600 Silacci Way, Gilroy, CA 95020. ISBN 0-87930-307-7.

Another excellent title from the same publisher is The Fender Inside Story, by Forrest White (257 pages, 1994), which details the history of the company that made the electric guitar a commercial success. $22.95. ISBN 0-87930- 309-3.

The Big Book of Library Grant Money,prepared by the Taft Group for the American Library Association (1,207 pages, 1994), contains profiles of 1,471 private and corporate foundations and direct corporate givers receptive to library grant proposals. Each profile includes a financial summary, a contributions summary, corporate and giving officers, application information, grants analysis, and recent grants. Multiple indexes by headquarters, operating location, officers and directors, grant recipients by state, and library recipients by state enhance access. Copies are $140.00 from the ALA Order Dept., 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611-2795. ISBN 0-8389-0636-2.

Career Opportunities for Bilinguals andMultilinguals, by Vladimir F. Wertsman (333 pages, 2d ed., January 1994), offers a quick way to locate educational resources for learning non-English languages and identifying employers in hiring professionals with foreign language skills. This enlarged edition lists more than 3,800 annotated opportunities in more than 300 languages. The appendix, “Reminders and Recommendations for Successful Job Hunting,” has been substantially enlarged with details regarding the presentation of resumes and cover letters, and a list of job titles for which knowledge of one or more foreign languages has proved helpful for finding a job. The book is $35.00 from Scarecrow Press, P.O. Box 4167, Metuchen, NJ 08840. ISBN 0- 8108-2764-6.

The Directory of Business and FinancialInformation Services, by Charles J. Popovich and M. Rita Costello (471 pages, 9th ed., February 1994), was last updated in 1984. This edition contains an expanded and annotated list of business and financial resources that are available in print, online, and CD-ROM formats. These seivices include current awareness services in looseleaf format, investment advisory newsletters, and other media that distribute facts, statistics, or news in a focused subject area for a specialized readership. Each of the 1,249 entries provides an address, phone and fax numbers, frequency, and subscription information in addition to a descriptive review. Copies are available for $75.00 (SLA members $60.00) from the Special Libraries Association, 1700 Eighteenth St., N.W., Washington, DC 20009-2508. ISBN 0-87111-420-8.

The Limcα Book of Records 1994,edited by Vijaya Ghose (240 pages, 5th ed., 1994), is an Indian version of the Guinness Book of World Records that has become the subcontinent’s nonfiction bestseller. This book of Indian superlatives even tops Guinness for entertainment value, in part because the criteria for inclusion in Limca are much looser and the editors don’t balk at such entries as “biggest ice cream stick structure,” “fastest upside-down palm tree climb,” and “most mythological roles in a single film.” However, the bulk of the text is a serious tribute to Indian culture and achievement. Entries that are also world records are identified by a special icon. An appendix has very helpful descriptions and maps of each Indian state, and this edition is the first to feature color photos. By the way, at the Birla Industrial and Technological Museum in Calcutta, chil- dren of certain classes may check out and take home pets for as long as a month—not your usual dogs and cats, but fish, pigeons, and non- poisonous snakes. You can order the book from Limca Book of Records, DDA Complex, Ring Road Naraina, New Delhi 28, India. ISBN 81- 900445-0-8.

Microsoft Bookshelf 1994,an electronic factfinder on CD-ROM for multimedia PCs, com- bines the American Heritage Dictionary, The Columbia Dictionary of Quotations, Roget’s The- saurus, The People’s Chronology, The Concise Columbia Encyclopedia, The Hammond World Atlas, and The World Almanac and Book of Facts 1994 into one fully searchable text and image database. Bookshelf’s chief value lies in its abil- ity to access these sources either individually or all at once. Microsoft Encarta (see C&RL News, November 1993) has more detailed, en- cyclopedic articles, but Bookshelf 1994 excels as a writer’s resource. The software can be used either by itself or within most Windows-based applications (such as Word, PageMaker, Excel,

Paradox, and Corel Draw) by keeping the Quick- shelf toolbox available— the toolbox will stay visi- ble on top of any active window. The weakest parts of Bookshelf 1994 are its atlas and the exportability of its illustra- tions (both PageMaker and Micrografx Picture Publisher choked on a black-and-white bitmap, although Corel Draw was able to import it). For me, the best feature is com- plete access to The Peo- ple’s Chronology’s wealth of dates and data. Other features include 80,000 dictionary pronunciations spoken in a human voice, and some 60 animations and video clips of scien- tific concepts and historical events. Suggested retail price is $99.00. For more information, contact Microsoft Corpora- tion, One Microsoft Way, Redmond, WA 98052- 6399.

Video Collection Development in Multi-type Libraries: A Handbook, edited by Gary P. Handman (452 pages, April 1994), combines both practical and theoretical approaches to video collection development in a wide vari- ety of libraries. Of primaiy interest are the chap- ters by Kristine R. Brancolini (“Video Collec- tions in Academic Libraries”), Thomas R. Harrington (“Video Services for the Deaf’), James Self (“Cinema on Video in Academic Li- braries”), Jean T. Kreamer and Gary P. Handman (“The Rights Stuff: Video Copyright and Col- lection Development"), and Howard Besser (“Future Trends in Library Video and Film Col- lections”). An extensive section on reference tools and selection aids offers suggestions for finding both mainstream and alternative vid- eos. A copy is $75.00 from Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Box 5007, Westport, CT 06881. ISBN 0-313-27902-0.

Wounded Libraries in Croatia,edited by Tatjana Aparac-Gazivoda and Dragutin Katalenac (58 pages, 1993), recounts the systematic destruction of Croatian books and librar- ies by the Serbian army since 1991. The Public Li- brary in Vinkovci, with its collection of 85,000 vol- umes that contained orig- inal manuscripts of many Slavonic writers, was burned down. The Vukovar Town Museum library was demolished— the fate of its rich collec- tion of books printed be- tween the 16th and 19th centuries is unknown. Numerous illustrations of damaged or destroyed li- brary buildings and books riddled by bullets accompany this depress- ing catalog of bibliocide, only occasionally relieved by stories of books evac- uated just in time or col- lections rebuilt through generous donations. Request a copy from the Croatian Library Associ- ation, c/o National and University Library, Marulicev trg 21, 41000 Zagreb, Croatia; fax (041) 426-676. ■

The “Grad" Public Library in Dubrovnik, which dates back to the 16th century, was badly damaged several times by shelling.