ACRL College & Research Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

New Publications

George M. Eberhart

George M. Eberhart is associate editoro/‘American Libraries; e-mail: geberhart@ala.org.

Biographies of Western Photographers,by Carl Mautz (601 pages, May 1997), provides biographical information on some 15,000 photographers who were active in the western states and territories and western Canada prior to 1900. Information on early photographers is often difficult to find; thus some entries are limited to “Active in Virginia City, 1895." Mautz provides an introductory overview of how he obtained information about photographers from cartes-de-visite, cabinet card imprints, and antique photographs. $85.00. Carl Mautz Publishing, 228 Commercial St., Suite 522, Nevada City, CA 95959. ISBN 0-9621940-7-7.

The Changing Face of Reference,edited by Lynne M. Stuart and Dena Holiman Hutto (238 pages, February 1997, vol. 37 of Foundations in Library and Information Science), goes beyond the reference desk to explore the shift from providing collection-based information to service-based information. Contributors address changing user populations, changing technologies, and online services. One interesting essay by Catherine A. Lee describes the differing world view of Generation-X students. $78.50. JAI Press, 55 Old Post Road No.2, Greenwich, CT 06836-1678. ISBN 0-7623-0217-8. Vol. 36 of the same series is Chinese Academic and Research Libraries: Acquisitions, Collections, and Organizations, by Priscilla C. Yu (177 pages, February 1997), which describes the history and structure of the Peking, Fudan, and Nanjing university libraries, as well as the National Library of China. $78.50. ISBN 0-7623-0171-6.

Countdown: A History of Space Flight,by T. A. Heppenheimer (398 pages, May 1997), presents a post-Cold War overview of the space programs of NASA, the Soviet Union, Europe, and America’s Central Intelligence Agency. In recent years, not only have the records of the Soviet space agency opened up, but the CIA’s role in the forefront of the American space program has also come to light. Heppenheimer begins with the rocketry efforts of Hermann Oberth in Germany, Konstantin Tsiolkovsky in Russia, and Robert Goddard and others in the United States at the end of World War II. He brings the space story up to date in the 1990s and beyond with plans for manned and unmanned flights and space stations. In space, politics is paramount; this book explains why. $30.00. John Wiley & Sons, 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158. ISBN 0-471-14439-8. A shadow figure in the Soviet space program for more than 30 years, Sergei Pavlovich Korolev is now recognized as the mastermind behind the launch of Sputnik, the first intercontinental ballistic missile, Yuri Gagarin’s space flight, and the Soviet race to the moon. Korolev, by James Harford (392 pages, May 1997), is the first book in English to detail the life of this engineering genius, from accused spy exiled to a Siberian gulag in 1938 to director of the Soviet space program. $30.00, also published by John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 0-471-14853-9.

Field Guide to Mysterious Places of Eastern North America,by Salvatore M. Trento (334 pages, May 1997), is a visitor’s guide to odd stone structures from Nova Scotia to North Carolina. Most of these sites have been identified by some authors as possible evidence of precolumbian European visits: the Oak Island shaft, Nova Scotia; Mystery Hill, North Salem, N.H.; the stone tower, Newport, R.I.; Ringing Rocks State Park, Upper Black Eddy, Pa.; and the prehistoric wall at Mount Carbon, W.Va. Detailed maps, photos, history, and field notes are provided. Accompanies the author’s Field Guide to Mysterious Places of the West (Pruett, 1994). $18.95. Owl Books, 115 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011. ISBN 0-8050-4449-3.

Les Bons Mots: How to Amaze Tout le Monde with Everyday French,by Eugene Ehrlich (312 pages, May 1997), will get you through cocktail parties and budget meetings alike with an arsenal of French words and phrases to confuse and amaze your colleagues. Like the author’s Amo, Amas, Amat and More (1985) for Latin, this book won’t teach you the French language, but it will equip you to punctuate your pronouncements with gems like: C’est le monde renversé, L ’argent leurfond dans les mains, or II est tordu. With a brief punctuation guide, notes on famous French authors, and an index of Englished phrases. $24.00. Henry Holt and Co., 115 W. 18th St., New York, NY 10011. ISBN 0-8050-4711-5.

Libraries and Librarianship in Japan,by Theodore F. Welch (215 pages, February 1997), examines Japanese library history from early court and temple libraries to the 47,100 libraries in the country today. Welch gives special attention to the National Diet Library and academic libraries, where the directors are rarely trained librarians. Also covered are national bibliographic control and services, automation, library and information science education, and Japanese professional organizations. $75.00. Greenwood Press, 88 Post Road West, Westport, CT 06881-5007. ISBN 0-313-29668-5.

Library Public Relations, Promotions, and Communications,by Lisa A. Wolfe (208 pages, April 1997), offers examples and case studies of proven communication techniques and strategies for all types of libraries. Many of these approaches are appropriate for academic libraries, such as creating effective print communications and media coverage. A good introduction for libraries that need to launch a PR program. $39-95. Neal-Schuman Publishers, 100 Varick St., New York, NY 10013. ISBN 1-55570-266-X. ■