Keywords
Citation
Shelton, M.E. (2001), "American Reference Books Annual 2000, Volume 31", Collection Building, Vol. 20 No. 1, pp. 36-38. https://doi.org/10.1108/cb.2001.20.1.36.1
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
When it comes to publications that can be used in reference work and as a collection development tool, few titles stand out as clearly as American Reference Book Annual (ARBA). Continuing its tradition of producing a high‐quality reference book, the thirty‐first volume of ARBA is now available.
This year’s volume contains over 1,550 reviews of reference titles published in 1999 primarily in the United States and Canada. Although the primary focus is on reference books, the reader will find reviews of 62 CD‐ROMs scattered throughout this edition.
As a directory of reference works, the organization is designed to be simple. The volume is divided into four broad categories. These categories (general reference works, social sciences, humanities, and science and technology) are subdivided by subject. New to this year’s volume is an expanded chapter covering library and information science included here are reviews of books intended specifically for the library professional.
ARBA indicates that it is comprehensive in its coverage of reference works in all of these areas, with some noted exceptions. These exceptions include books published by vanity presses, or of fewer than 48 pages, or, more significantly, those that are highly specialized and may be of limited interest. It is this last point that may be the reason why one is unable to find reviews of works published by such specialized groups as the Society of Automotive Engineers.
The reviews themselves are produced by over 400 professionals and scholars from all the subject areas. For this reason the reviews are clear and concise, hitting on many of the important details of the reference works. In many cases the reviewer concludes with an opinion on the value of the title, and the quality of the work.
Although there are other resources that annually identify reference books, typically these are short lists like the “best reference sources” list published in the Library Journal. Because it is more comprehensive for North American reference materials, ARBA is a valuable tool for those working in an interdisciplinary library as well as those working in specialized libraries. The reviews are well written and descriptive. The American Reference Book Annual 2000 is a quality reference book and an excellent working tool.