Sources: Guide to Reference: Essential General Reference and Library Science Sources

Guide to Reference: Essential General Reference and Library Science Sources. Edited by Jo Bell Whitlatch and Susan E. Searing. Chicago: ALA Editions, 2014. 248 p. $65 (ISBN: 978-0-8389-1232-4).

ALA’s classic print publication, Guide to Reference Books, was replaced in 2009 with the online Guide to Reference. As the online introduction states, the web subscription version of the Guide to Reference serves as a gateway with interactive features that the former print guide never could have replicated. Indeed, because print publications are by their nature hampered by size limitations, the online guide simply can provide more cross referencing, offer more extensive comparative evaluations and annotations of sources, and become more global in coverage.

With all this in mind, is there really a need for a new Guide to Reference in print? The new Guide to Reference: Essential General Reference and Library Science Sources is much more concise than the original print Guide, and far less comprehensive than either the print or online versions. Both the title and the introduction make it clear that this volume is not intended to replicate the original Guide but instead to provide what the editors consider to be the essential reference sources, with a particular focus on library science sources. Library science students are a target audience for this work, as it covers many print and online resources that would be valuable across a variety of library settings, including public and academic libraries and also, to a lesser extent, school libraries. The book also might be of use in small public libraries, which have an acute need to keep their collections current and well resourced.

The book is organized by resource category, such as biography, genealogy, newspapers, and so forth, and each resource entry is numbered. English language resources are emphasized, but some European and other international web resources also are included. Overall, Guide to Reference would be a very helpful guide for a library science student, a small library, or a librarian who wants to review their essential or ready-reference collection for currency. One glaring omission from this guide is a section on career resources, covering topics such as job searching, resume writing, and interview skills: This category of resources is required in most library reference collections, large or small. One hopes that such a section will be added to future editions.—Laura Graveline, Visual Arts Librarian, Sherman Art Library, Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire