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Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to examine the evidence behind breast self examination recommendations. Design/methodology/approach – In this paper the recommendations of various professional and specialty organizations are reviewed along with an analysis of the randomized controlled trials that provided data for these recommendations. Methodological issues regarding these trials and the conclusions that can be drawn are evaluated and presented here. Findings – The paper finds that the current evidence is not sufficient to make recommendations to western women for or against breast self‐examination. Practical implications – The paper implies that breast cancer is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in women in the USA. Originality/value – The paper shows that, while mammography and clinical breast examination remain the standard of care in screening for breast cancer, much controversy has surrounded recommendations for breast self‐examination in breast cancer screening.

Communications regarding this column should be addressed to Mrs. Cheney, Peabody Library School, Nashville, Tenn. 37203. Mrs. Cheney does not sell the books listed here. They are available through normal trade sources. Mrs. Cheney, being a member of the editorial board of Pierian Press, will not review Pierian Press reference books in this column. Descriptions of Pierian Press reference books will be included elsewhere in this publication.

The following is an annotated list of materials dealing with information literacy including instruction in the use of information resources, research, and computer skills related to retrieving, using, and evaluating information. This review, the twenty‐second to be published in Reference Services Review, includes items in English published in 1995. After 21 years, the title of this review of the literature has been changed from “Library Orientation and Instruction” to “Library Instruction and Information Literacy,” to indicate the growing trend of moving to information skills instruction.

Marketing orientation refers to a culture in which organizations strive to create superior value for their customers (and superior performance for the business) by focusing on customer needs and long-term profitability. Some studies have found that firms with a high degree of marketing orientation experience improved performance; others have found mixed or nonsignificant results. The marketing orientation of small businesses has not been thoroughly investigated, however. This study of more than 200 small business CEOs examines the marketing orientation levels of small to medium-sized firms (SMEs) as well as the impact of various internal variables (sales/profit performance, company characteristics, and CEO characteristics) on marketing orientation levels. The results confirm some earlier research on marketing orientation and provide new insights into this important strategic dimension.

The following bibliography focuses mainly on programs which can run on IBM microcomputers and compatibles under the operating system PC DOS/MS DOS, and which can be used in online information and documentation work. They fall into the following categories:

The purpose of this paper is to elaborate the conceptual picture of the relationships between the affective and cognitive factors in information seeking and use.

Conceptual analysis focusing on the ways in which the affective and cognitive factors and their interplay are approached in the Information Search Process model developed by Carol Kuhlthau, and the Social-Biological Information Technology model elaborated by Diane Nahl.

Kuhlthau’s model approaches the cognitive factors (thoughts) and affective factors (feelings) and affective-cognitive factors (mood) as integral constituents of the six-stage information search process. Thoughts determine the valence of feelings (positive or negative), while mood opens or closes the range of possibilities in a search. Nahl’s taxonomic model defines the affective and cognitive factors as components of a biologically determined process serving the ends of adaptation to information ecology. The interplay of the above factors is conceptualized by focusing on their mutual roles in the cognitive and affective appraisal of information.

The findings are based on the comparison of two models only.

So far, information scientists have largely ignored the study of the interplay between affective and cognitive factors in information seeking and use. The findings indicate that the examination of these factors together rather than separately holds a good potential to elaborate the holistic picture of information seeking and use.

The underdetermination argument establishes that scientists may use political values to guide inquiry, without providing criteria for distinguishing legitimate from illegitimate guidance. This chapter supplies such criteria. Analysis of the confused arguments against value-laden science reveals the fundamental criterion of illegitimate guidance: when value judgments operate to drive inquiry to a predetermined conclusion. A case study of feminist research on divorce reveals numerous legitimate ways that values can guide science without violating this standard.