Bilbliographic Guide to the Environment

Abstract

Bilbliographic Guide to the Environment Mary K. Bolin Head, Technical Services, University of Idaho Library, Moscow, ID 83844 USA. TEL: 208-885-7737 Biliographic Guide to the Environment. Boston: G.K. Hall, 1992. 328 pp. US$165.00 cloth ISBN: 0-8161- 7222-6. ISSN: 1063-6153. This volume cites titles added during 1991 to the holdings on environmental topics at the Library of Congress and the New York Public Library. Cited are 3,200 publications in all languages and formats on alternative and renewable energy, endangered species, pesticides, pollution, public policy, law and legislation, conservation, waste management, and other areas. This is a new addition to G.K. Hall's bibliographic guides, joining annual volumes covering such subjects as law, computer science, black studies, education, and music. Each of these cites popular and scholarly titles, children's books, periodicals, videocassettes, and government documents. Complete bibliographic data is provided. There are no annotations. Author, title, and subject entries are listed alphabetically under the main entry (for author, if any, or title), with full library cataloging information, including Library of Congress and Dewey classification numbers. Other access points provide briefer citations. There are also cross references from unused subject terms. While this arrangement, reminiscent of a card catalog, no doubt helped keep this Bibliographic Guide to a manageable size, it is irritating now that we are accustomed to finding the same data retrievable through any access point in on-line catalogs and bibliographic utility databases. While it is useful to have so many citations brought together, any investigator with access to a modem would probably find it easier to let her fingers do the walking through dozens of on-line library catalogs and other databases, thus compiling a similar or more focused list with relative ease. Like the National Union Catalog and other such printed reference tools, any of the volumes in the series of which this Guide is a part would be dubious purchases for any fairly sizable library with access to computerized sources. While they could be useful to libraries lacking on-line resources, unfortunately they are probably too expensive for many smaller institutions.