Thursday, February 10, 2011

A Core Collection for Young Adults (book and CD)


Welch, R.J. (2011). A Core Collection for Young Adults (2nd Ed.). New York: Neal-Schuman. ISBN: 978-1555706920.

Expert author Rollie Welch, a longtime member of YALSA’S Best Books Committee and Quick Picks for Reluctant Young Adult Readers, makes collection building easy for school and public librarians through this extraordinarily sound, field-tested and diverse selection of recommended, acclaimed and award-winning titles. This remarkable new tool has been extensively revised and expanded to include a comprehensive, up-to-date guide to over 1,200 must-have titles across 34 different genres that will appeal to teens of all different ages, genders, ethnicities, and economic backgrounds.

Along with material that spans the gamut of fiction and non-fiction subgenres, from action and adventure to fantasy to history to science-fiction, Welch includes a number of innovative new sections dedicated to more specific interests, like supernatural beings, edgier “almost-street” literature, coming-of-age tales, graphic novels, religious-themed fiction and new classics.

Each title includes full bibliographic information along with an annotation that provides a brief plot and character summary, an audience recommendation, and content advisories. A companion CD-ROM offers titles and lists in various formats (Excel, Word) to facilitate easy collection maintenance, selection, and acquisition.

Novice and veteran librarians alike will find this to be the ultimate go-to-source for YA collection development.

(book description)

Monday, February 7, 2011

Essential Cataloguing


Bowman, J. H. Essential Cataloguing. London: Facet Publishing, 2007. 025.32 Bowma. ISBN: 1-85604-456-4

This book covers descriptive cataloging and is designed as a simple companion to AACR2. The author believes that most items can be dealt with by using comparatively few of the rules, and that many of the more abtruse ones can be ignored until you need them. This book therefore concentrates on the basics. It has a clear, informal approach, with less important aspects set in smaller type, and is fully cross-referenced to AACR2. Concentrating on the materials most Anglo-American libraries are most likely to meet, it includes MARC21 coding and examples, and is designed for library school students and beginning catalogers.

Cataloging and Organizing Digital Resources: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians



Mitchell, Anne M. and Surratt, Brian E. Cataloging and Organizing Digital Resources: A How-To-Do-It Manual for Librarians. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2005. 025.344 Mitch ISBN:1-55570-521-9
This practical volume addresses the ways a library can manage electronic collections. The goal is to provide an overview of management concerns and issues regarding bibliographic control in an online environment and to suggest tools that are available. The 10 chapters address such topics as development of digital libraries, organization of work flow, alternatives to cataloging, cataloging rules and records, online monographs and serials, integration of resources, and trends. Each chapter offers an introduction; guidelines, instructions, or strategies; and a summary and references. The writing is clear, with plentiful examples that include figures and titles. The volume should be useful to librarians seeking a broad survey of the online information territory and how it can be managed. Patricia Hogan Copyright © American Library Association.

This volume is a clear representation of how to catalog online resources and is a valuable tool for experienced and novice catalogers alike. --Library Collections, Acquisitions, and Technical Services