CORE SELECTION AIDS

 

A. Advantages in use

  Save time

  More authoritative than jobber representatives, etc.

   Help ascertain relative quality of resources being considered

  Justify particular selection decisions

  1. Categories
Current sources for in-print books (1) why important: (a) new books represent a large percentage of total annual acquisitions (b) the substantial number of publications appearing each year

the U.S. necessitates ongoing attention on the part of librarians.

 (2) information included geared to ordering; bibliographic

verification a secondary consideration.

 (3) problems: (a) comprehensiveness of most lists depends on the information

submitted by publishers.
  1. (b) confusion over what constitutes an "in-print" title.
(c) major examples: American Book Publishing Record. Bowker. Monthly with annual and 5-year cumulations.

Forthcoming Books. Bowket. Bimonthly prepublication announcements.

Books In Print. Bowker. Annual with mid-year supplement; CD-ROM issued quarterly.

Cumulative Book Index. Wilson. Monthly with annual cumulations; often used by

researchers because coverage--including the U.S. Catalog--goes back to the 19th

century.

 Catalogs, flyers, announcements

(1) reasons employed by publishers:

                  1. (a) they feel in-print lists bury their titles.

                    2. (b) enables them to provide additional selection data of value to collection developers.

                    (c) can stimulate direct ordering.

                  2. (d) can be issued on a more timely basis.

                    3. (2) chief problem: publisher/jobber can engage in deceptive practices

                    Current reviews

                    (1) major types of book review sources:

                  3. (a) for persons making their living buying books (booksellers and librarians).

                    4. (b) for subject specialists.

                  4. (c) for the general public (least used by school librarians).

                    5. (2) trade and professional reviews are of two types:

                  5. (a) those designed to promote.

                    6. (b) those designed to evaluate.

                    (3) advantages of evaluative reviews:

                  6. (a) generally both descriptive and critical.

                    7. (b) occasionally comparative.

                  7. (c) generally prepared with library needs in mind.

                    8. (4) problems:

                  8. (a) lack of comprehensive coverage.

                    9. 1. over 40,000 books published annually in the U.S. alone.

                    2. top review sources cover only a small fraction of these titles (high end, Booklist, 8000+)

                  9. (b) time delay before appearing in print.

                    10. (c) some journals publish only positive reviews.

                    1. why a certain title

                  10. 2. failed to appear

                    11. (d) dependability of individual reviewers.

                    1. background qualifications vary widely.

                  11. 2. may know author.

                    12. (5) indexing services can assist in locating reviews.

                  12. (a) for older titles, can be major time savers; two notable indexes are Book Review Digest
                  13. and Book Review Index.

                    14. (b) however, of limited value with current titles because of

                    1. time lag needed to produce and publish a review, and

                  14. 2. it takes still more time to produce the index.
National bibliographies

(1) chiefly important for acquiring out-of-print books.

(2) e.g., National Union Catalog, British National Bibliography

Recommended, best, and core collection lists

  1. Public Library Catalog (Wilson), School Librarians' Source Sourcebook (Bowker), and the

    2. Handbook of Contemporary Fiction for Public Libraries and School Libraries (Scarecrow)

    are typical of this category.

  2. reasons these lists should not be considered the ultimate determinant in deciding wht to
include in a collection:
    1. emphasis of a school's program may preclude the need for a particular title.
    2. several good alternatives are sure to exist.
    3. any given list is out of date on its publication date.
Subject lists

(1) potential problems:

(a) currency.

(b) means of selecting inclusions.

  1. e.g., Patricia McClung's Selection of Library Materials in the Humanities, Social Sciences
and Sciences (ALA) Online catalogs

(1) main types: cooperative and individual library catalogs

(2) with organization such as OCLC, RLG, and WLN providing access to databases of millions

of records from thousands of libraries worldwide, most libraries don't need access

to national bibliographies for collection development.

Microform aids

(1) not a popular format in public liraries.

(2) examples:

Guide to Microforms in Print (Microform Review)

National Register of Microform Masters (LC)

Microform Market Place (Microform Review)--directory of microform producers

Microform Review (Microform Review)--Periodical with current reviews