ACRL College & Researc Libraries News

College & Research Libraries News

PUBLICATIONS

by George M. Eberhart

• Advanced Stamp Collecting: A Serious Collector’s Guide to the Collection and Study of Postage Stamps, by Barry Krause (159 pages, 1990), offers in-depth information for those who have mastered the basics of philately. Looking beyond the business of collecting, however, this manual contains much useful information on stamp museums and libraries, philatelic magazines and books, and exhibitions. Other chapters cover packaging and shipping stamps, techniques of photographing a collection, detecting fakes and frauds, and collecting such neglected specialties as dead countries, unusual covers, unlisted material, and postal stationery. Stamps are a very effective way to make history, geography, and the fine arts relevant, and thus are a worthy topic for research collections. The book costs $9.95 and may be ordered from Betterway Publications, P.O. Box 219, Crozet, VA 22932. ISBN 1-55870-159-1.

• Arts and Access: Management Issues for Performing Arts Collections, edited by Barbara Naomi Cohen-Stratyner (102 pages, November 1990), has been published as volume 15 of the Theatre Library Association’s Performing Arts Resources series. Featured in this volume are articles on creating, managing, and interpreting collections in university and performing arts company settings. Some of the special collections that are highlighted include the University of Washington Drama Library, the University of Mississippi Blues Archive, the ÚCLA Archive of Popular American Music, the Ohio State University Theatre Research Institute, and the Lyceum Theatre’s Shubert Archive. Copies cost $25, which includes an institutional membership to the Association. Contact the Theatre Library Association, 111 Amsterdam Ave., New York, NY 10023. ISBN 0-032610-12-0.

• Bacon’s 1991 Publicity Checker (2 vols.. October 1990) contains a listing for every U.S. and Canadian publication that is receptive to publicity. The names and titles of more than 110,000 editorial contacts are given, along with details on how to submit publicity materials to each publication. The newspaper volume lists 1,700 daily newspapers, with up to 31 department editors and four columnists for each. Nearly 8,100 weekly newspapers are also included, as are news services, syndicates, and syndicated columnists. The magazine volume lists 8,400 business, trade and consumer magazines organized by 200 industry categories. The set is sold on a subscription basis for $195.00, which includes quarterly updates. Contact Bacon’s Publishing Company, 332 S. Michigan Ave., Chicago, IL 60604.

Bacon’s also produces a radio/TV directory ($195.00), which provides similar information for the broadcast industry.

• The Egyptian Pyramids: A Comprehen- 8Ìve, Illustrated Reference, by J. P. Lepre (341 pages, December 1990), brings together much of the known archaeological and architectural information about the pyramids built by the 42 pharaohs of Dynasties III-XIII. The author, who has conducted extensive explorations of many pyramids (and who is planning a thorough investigation of the two pyramids of King Sneferu of Dahshur), dispels a number of myths in this work: that there were only handful of pyramids constructed (Lepre provides descriptions of 100); that the Step Pyramid of King Djoser from Dynasty III was the first pyramid built in Egypt (ten smaller step pyramids preceded it); that the pyramids were built by paranormal means or with the aid of "ancient astronauts” (a chapter on pyramid construction describes the tools and stones used by the ancient Egyptians, as well as a machine they used for lifting heavy stones). The book is arranged chronologically by pharaoh, and concisely reports available facts about each ruler, his pyramid, and his pyramid complex in a quick-reference format, followed by a more detailed discussion.

Many of the illustrations, some of them new drawings of the Great Pyramid of King Khufu, at Giza, are published here for the first time. These include drawings of the mysteriously contrived crosses located in the east and west walls of the Grand Gallery; the controversial raised boss and granite leaf in the antechamber; the unorthodox, tri-shaped southern air channel in the burial chamber; newly discovered red ocher construction lines and symbols in the Queen’s Chamber passageway; and a detailed rendition of the subterranean chamber. The author adds much information from his own investigations to the foundations laid by Egyptologists Grinsell, Weigall, Edwards, Petrie, Lauer and Gardiner. Copies may be obtained for $51.95 postpaid from McFarland & Company, Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950-461-2.

• Leslu’s Handbook of Public Relations and Communications, edited by Philip Lesly (874 pages, 4th ed., October 1990), continues Lesly’s Public Relations Handbook, which was first published in 1950. A definitive source for all types of public relations activities, the handbook has been restructured and updated to conform to communications practices in the 1990s. Appendices include a source and contact list, bibliography, glossary, codes of professional standards, and a list of public relations organizations. Copies are available for $39.95 from Probus Publishing Company, 118 N. Clinton St., Chicago, IL 60606. ISBN 1-55738- 133-X.

• Music of the Middle Ages; Stule and Structure, by David Fenwick Wilson (403 pages, October 1990), presents a thorough and understandable survey of medieval music from plainchant through the late 14th century. The author examines the structural and compositional aspects of early music and places it in a cultural context. Although 10th- century music sounds primitive to our modem ears, Wilson points out that medieval listeners would find 20th-century music “unsettling and cacophonous, lacking the peace and simplicity of their own idiom.” Medieval music is subdivided into four eras: the Carolingian Era, 800-1150, in which polyphony was bom; the Flowering of Style, 1050-1250, in which new forms of both sacred and secular monophony were introduced; the Era of the Motet, 1200-1400, which originated in Paris and quickly became a dominant international style for more than 100 years; and the Polyphonic Song Era, 1330-1400, in which the madrigal, caccia, and ballata flourished. The book includes numerous exercises in medieval composition for music students, 124 musical examples, seven facsimiles, three maps, and annotated bibliographies at the end of each chapter. Copies are available for $29.95 from Schirmer Books, 866 Third Ave., New York, NY 10022. ISBN 0-02-872591-X.

For medieval music enthusiasts, the textbook alone will not suffice. For them, Wilson has produced an anthology of musical compositions cited in the text as well as a set of audiocassettes (recorded by the Hilliard Ensemble and Western Wind under the direction of Paul Hillier) featuring examples in the anthology. The anthology sells for $24.95 and the cassettes for $27.95.

• 1939: The Year in Movies; A Comprehen- sive Filmography, by Thomas D. Flannery (December 1990, 302 pages), examines more than 125 of the films released in what many critics consider to be the apex of the Golden Age of Cinema. Some of the greatest films made their debut that year, among them Gone with the Wind, The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach, Wutherìng Heights, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, and this book underscores them well. Flannery provides cast lists, a detailed plot synopsis, background notes, and extracts from contemporary reviews for a select number of U.S. and foreign films. An appendix lists the winners and nominees for Academy Awards in all categories for that year. The movies were very different in 1939, and those of us who missed out on all the excitement back then can sneak in through the side door with Flannery’s book. Copies may be obtained for $39.95 from McFarland & Company, Box 611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950-466-3.

• The Professional Look: The Complete Guide to Desktop Publishing, by Stephen E. Manousos and Scott W. Tilden (276 pages, November 1990), will help desktop beginners as well as pros design and produce ads, newsletters, and other publications that communicate effectively. Well-illus- trated, well-rounded, and filled with useful tips and examples, The Professional Look includes much wisdom—missing from similar books—that the authors have absorbed through their many years of experience in journalism, public relations, and advertising. You will learn practical advice on how to use an X-acto knife; technical details about CGM, EPS, GEM, PICT, and TIFF graphics files; artistic perspectives on the typography and layout of headline copy; ironic commentary on the mistakes and erroneous assumptions that desktop novices make; and informed speculation on how desktop publishing will affect business life in the next few years. Do your staff a favor and get them their own copy; otherwise they will have the reference desk copy permanently checked out to the computer room. The book may be ordered for $19.95 (plus $2.00 handling) from Venture Perspectives Press, 4300 Stevens Creek Blvd., Suite 120, San Jose, CA 95129. ISBN 0-932309-40-2.

• Shadυucatchers: A Directory of Women in California Photography before 1901, by Peter E. Palmquist (272 pages, April 1990), profiles more than 850 women active in photography throughout California. Each entry includes a brief biography, place of birth, and type of occupations held. Portraits of the photographers, their studios, or their subjects are included where possible. Six essays written by contemporary women are reprinted. Copies are available for $40.00 (plus $2.00 handling) from Peter E. Palmquist, 1183 Union St., Areata, CA 95521.

• Sølv os salte: Fotoerafì og forsknine íSil- ver and Salts: Photography and Research], edited by Tove Hansen (335 pages, November 1990), has been published as volume 29 of Finds and Research in the Collections of the Royal Library in Copenhagen, Denmark. This well-illus- trated work was planned as a homage to the head of the Royal Library’s Department of Maps, Prints and Photographs from 1944 to 1980, Bjørn Ochsner, who died before it could be completed, and who estäblished many of the photographic collections described in this book. The text is in Danish (except for two articles in English) with English summaries of each article at the end of the book. Topics include aerial photography in Denmark, 1890-1990, by Henrik Dupont; women photographers in Denmark before 1900, by Tove Hansen; the current state of photography in Finland, by Ritva Tähtinen; the Soviet photomagazine of the 1930s, SSSR na stroyke, by Rune Hassner; notes on the photographic exhibition as a medium, by Henning Hansen; and a comparison of Robert Frank’s The Americans and Krass Clement’s photoessay on Copenhagen, Byen bag regnen, by Miles Orvell. A copy may be purchased for DKK 256,50 (postpaid) from Det kongekige Bibliotek, Postbox 2149, DK-1016 Copenhagen K, Denmark. ISBN 87-7245-385-0.

• Workplace Competencies: The Need to Improve Literacy and Employment Readiness(47 pages, November 1990) studies the link between literacy rates for young adults and their ability to perform competently in the workplace. This overview, drafted by the U.S. Department of Education, concludes that large numbers of young adults lack the skills necessary to perform such moderately complex tasks as using a bus schedule or following written instructions. It also concludes that despite national demands to do something about literacy skills, educators and policymakers lack the data needed to make significant changes. The booklet presents information on overall young adult literacy rates, literacy rates of high school graduates, specific occupations and the literacy skills they require, current workforce readiness of young adults, and literacy in the future workplace. Copies are available for $2.25 (prepaid) from Dept. 36-HZ, Superintendent of Documents, Washington, DC 20402-9325. Stock no. 065-000-00418-6.

• World Economic and Business Review 1990, compiled by World of Information (756 pages, April 1990), contains a lengthy essay on the state of the economy for every country in the world at the beginning of 1990, accompanied by a map, a list of key facts and key indicators, and a handy business guide. For example, the essay for Iraq examines the country’s recent economic history and economic policy objectives, immediate economic priorities, the Iran-Iraq war, the Kurdish rebellion, and an outlook for the 1990s. The business guide has information on Iraqi climate, entry requirements, health precautions, representation overseas, air access, surface access, hotels, electricity supply, credit cards, car rentals, city transport, national transport, public holidays, working hours, social customs, telecommunications, postal service, banking, trade fairs, and useful telephone numbers and addresses. A European perspective dominates the commentary, which some may find refreshing, others dry. A copy may be purchased for $149.95 from Basil Blackwell, Inc., Three Cambridge Center, Third Floor, Cambridge, MA 12142. ISBN 0- 631-16345-5. (A 1991 edition is scheduled for publication in April, $149.95, 782pp., ISBN 0-631- 179-78-x).