Booklist

American Library Association. Examination issue: June 1, 1997.

Authorship: Booklist is dited by Bill Ott. According to Amazon.com, he is the author of 50 Years

Of Notable Books (1996). He edited Book Buyer's Advisory 1991: the Definitive Guide to

Discovering This Year's Best Books (1990) and Booklist's Guide to the Year's Best Books, 1992

(1992). He is assisted by an advisory board, editorial staff, editorial assistants, and individual book

reviewers. Book reviews are signed.

Publication Data: Booklist was first published in 1905. New issues appear on a semi-monthly

basis. Back issues are available.

Bibliographic Entries: Each book review lists the following information: author, title, edition,

publisher, date, paging, ISBN, illustrator, and price. Computer software and audio titles list the

title, producer, date, running time, price, number of cassettes/CDs, call number, and tracings.

Video cassettes are restricted to the VHS format and list the producer, title, date, running time,

price, call number, ISBN, and tracings.

Scope and Coverage: The tool's purpose is to provide a guide to current print and AV materials

worthy of consideration. The scope of included material is very wide, covering print, multimedia,

and reference materials for all age levels. It includes a monthly author/title index as well as a semi-

annual cumulative index. Booklist is aimed at small to medium-sized public libraries and school media

centers. Each issue lists hundreds of entries and, in a given year, Booklist reviews approximately

4,000 adult titles, 2,500 children's titles, 500 reference and electronic titles, and 1,000 audio-visual

items. The journal organizes its book reviews by category; e.g., adult non-fiction, adult fiction,

reference. The media review formats include video, CD-ROM, audio books, and audio. Separate

columns are employed for foreign language titles and other special purpose materials. Booklist

restricts its reviews to those materials which it recommends. In short, it does not presume to

include all materials available in a particular area or genre.

Purpose: Booklist's stated purpose consists of reviewing current information sources likely to

be of interest to librarians, retailers, etc. It appears to be successful in achieving this aim.

Arrangement: The journal employs a classified form of arrangement according to category

(e.g., adult fiction, reference). The reviews are alphabetically listed with each category (e.g., by

authors for books, titles for video cassettes), providing the user with easy access to the particular

area of interest.

Physical Characteristics: Paper quality and overall size are typical of comparable journals

such as Library Journal. Boldface type is used for category headings as well as for titles. It

lacks the visual appeal of typical newstand magazines.

Uses: Booklist was intended to be employed primarily as a buying guide. Due to limitations

regarding the number of titles included relative to publishing industry output overall, it should

be utilized in conjunction with other selection tools. Catalogers would also find Booklist useful

due to the presence of publishing information, a call number, and Library of Congress tracings.

Special Features: Booklist contains feature articles and interviews in addition to reviews.

Publisher, jobber, and retailer advertisements comprise a substantial portion of the journal. It

also reproduces the book jackets and selected illustrations from particular titles.

Cost: An annual subscription costs $65.00. This appears to be a competitive rate. The tool

Is available in the microfilm format; however, the cost is not stated along with the regular

Subscription data.