ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries S ep tem ber 1 9 9 4 / 4 7 1 Are you thinking about writing a bibliography? By Mike Haddock Tips fo r a winning title Bibliographies play an exceedingly valuable role in the research process. Theodore Besterman’s A W orld B ibliography o f B ibliog ­ raphies and Alice Toomey’s supplement togeth­ er list more than 135,000 titles, and they cover only through the year 1974! Thousands more have appeared in the twenty years since. The Eunice Rockwood Oberly Memorial Award for Bibliography in Agricultural Sciences was es­ tablished in 1922 to provide national recogni­ tion of bibliographic scholarship in the field of agricultural or related sciences. This award is administered by ACRL’s Science and Technolo­ gy Section and is presented in odd-numbered years at the ALA Annual Conference. (Ed. note: Application procedures are on page 507.) Over the years, the Oberly jury has judged many bib­ liographic submissions, some of extremely high quality, some of lesser prominence. The cur­ rently serving Oberly Award Committee mem­ bers felt it might prove valuable to individuals contemplating the creation of a bibliography (in any field) to offer hints as to what consti­ tutes a bibliography of distinction. Preliminary considerations When considering writing a bibliography, the potential author should first determine wheth­ er there is a significant need for such a work. Will it make a unique contribution to the body of knowledge? The compiler of a bibliography should be a specialist in the subject field that is to be covered.1 This will provide competent judgment as to what should or should not be included in the work. It is preferable, though not always possible, for the compiler to per­ sonally examine all items to be included in the bibliography. Most importantly, as D. W. Krummel notes, the bibliographer requires ad­ equate time to complete the bibliography.2 Introductory material One of the first areas where a bibliography can show weakness is in its introductory material, or the lack thereof. The author should consid­ er whether his or her introduction states the objective of the bibliography clearly and con­ cisely. A good introduction should delineate the primary organization of the work and de­ scribe the format in which the citations will occur. Additional relevant background infor­ mation will facilitate the usefulness of the bib­ liography. Such information can be as varied as abbreviation or stop-word lists or sketches of the author’s credentials. Additional features can greatly enhance pref­ atory material. Have the scope and content been unambiguously identified? Readers like to know what has been excluded as well as what is ac­ tually covered. What is the audience that the bibliography is being created for? Is the audi­ ence highly limited? Though this is not neces­ sarily a negative, publishers will be much more receptive if the potential audience is not so narrow as to place great constraints on sales. Has the timeliness o f the topic been consid­ ered, when appropriate? If in-depth reflection has not been given to the purpose, scope, and intended audience, the project should be seri­ ously reconsidered. Coverage A high-caliber bibliography will provide in- Mike H addock is agricultural reference librarian a t Farrell Library, K ansas State University, M anhattan; e-mail: HADDOCK@KSUVM.EDU mailto:HADDOCK@KSUVM.EDU 4 7 2 / C&RL News depth coverage of its chosen subject. Complete­ ness within the stated scope should be the goal. Many bibliographies are less than successful in this regard. Have all possible resources been exhausted in the compiling of the work? If the bibliography is not intended to be comprehen­ sive, but has been limited by time period, lan­ guage, geographic area, etc., this should be clearly articulated in the introductory materi­ als. Readers should also be informed o f what types o f materials have been included, e.g., books, journal articles, conference proceedings, research or technical reports, dissertations, gov­ ernment documents (both state and federal), videotapes, films, manuscripts, etc. The author should also state what types of materials, if any, that have been purposely excluded. Citations must be accurate The most significant features of outstanding bibliographies are their accuracy and citation completeness. All citations should be verified before publication! The Oberly Committee has seen bibliographies with partial citations, mis­ spelled words, nonstandard abbreviations, and conferences cited with no date or location giv­ en. Inaccuracies can lead users of the bibliog­ raphy to view the entire work with a certain amount o f skepticism. The layout of each citation should remain consistent. If citations to differing media ap­ pear, these should be identified and described. The time lag between the termination o f work on the bibliography and its publication should be kept to a minimum. There are further as­ pects o f citations that should be considered. If appropriate, has the language of the cited work been given? If secondary sources have been utilized, have the original sources been noted? Are journal titles spelled out? If abbreviated, have standard abbreviations been employed? User-friendly bibliographies will include a key to any abbreviations used. Annotations greatly enhance the usefulness o f a bibliography. These can be of three types: 1) informative, which show the reason titles have been included; 2) abstracts, which pro­ vide enough of the contents to enable users to decide whether they want to read the original; or 3) evaluative, which are critical appraisals written by individuals knowledgeable in the field.3 Annotations allow users o f the bibliog­ raphy to be more discriminating in regard to the value of particular titles for their specific needs. Though they take a great deal more work on the part o f the author, annotations also dem­ onstrate to the user that the author really has viewed each item included and possesses true familiarity with the subject area. Good indexes are very important Potential bibliography authors should give due thought to the access points that will be uti­ lized in their work. Will there be a table of contents? What type(s) of indices will be in­ cluded, e.g., author, title, subject, keyword, geographical, and/or chronological? How will the body of the bibliography itself be arranged? Alphabetical arrangement by author is the most widely used. Accession number, time period, and subject are other common methods, al­ though these arrangements can all be prob­ lematic, for they do not easily lend themselves to a quick and natural understanding of the primary organization o f the bibliography. Sidney Berger writes, “The arrangement o f a bibliography should be immediately discern­ ible from a glance at any two-page spread.”4 A very common shortcoming o f many bibli­ ographies is to include subject or keyword in­ dices with categories that are much too broad. If subject or keyword indices are included, the bibliographer should create detailed, specific headings in order to avoid user frustration from being forced to page back and forth between large numbers of index references and their corresponding citations. Breaking down broad categories into narrower, more focused groups facilitates user satisfaction. Using narrower sub­ ject categories will often entail placing each citation in more than one index category. Indi­ ces which refer users to page numbers are much less practical than those which cite entries by means o f individual entry numbers. Format m akes a difference Finally, authors (and publishers) should be aware of the impact that the presentation and format of the published work can have on its readers. Is the typeface readable? Stanley Morison writes that, “… any disposition of printing material which, whatever the inten­ tion, has the effect of coming between author and reader is wrong.”5 Have adequate margins been provided for photocopying? What about white space for annotating by the user? (Many libraries annotate citations with the call num­ bers o f those items held in their collections.) Is the paper of superior quality? Has preservation (Bibliographies cont. on p a g e 497) ince 1879… ooks eriodicals echnology The BLACKWELL Companies ervice B. H. Blackwell radition Blackwell North America Blackwell Periodicals eliability Readmore Readmore Academic Services S B P T S T R Oxford • Lake Oswego, O R • Blackwood, NJ • New York • Toronto It handles like a dream and hauls a quarter ton! And now you can take the Gryphon acro ss yo u r floor Book “Truck” for w ithout leaving a FREE two-week any skid marks. test drive! Durability isn ’t an option. The Put th e G ryphon G ryphon Book Book Truck to th e te st in y o u r own Truck is built like a tank. Its precision- library. Keep it for two w eeks…kick th e welded steel frame sta n d s up to years tire s …s te e r it around th e s ta c k s…pile on of use with minimal m aintenance. The y our heaviest loads. th e rm o se t epoxy finish takes w hatever Even a q u a rte r ton of w eight w on’t you dish o ut and still looks show room stall th e G ryphon Book Truck. Six new. heavy-duty swivel c a ste rs en su re easy Test drive th e G ryphon Book Truck handling — even over d oor and for yourself…it will probably s te e r you elevator thresholds. into replacing your w hole fleet. Call Specially designed tires are stan d ard Highsmith to d ay to schedule your equipm ent on this Highsmith exclusive. FREE two-week dem o o r to receive a They offer a sm ooth ride, and glide p ro d u c t brochure. - -1 800 543-2180 THE HIGHSMITH COMMITMENT S ep tem b er 1 994 / 4 9 7 initions and to incorporate them into your final b ee n m a n y b a d bibliographers, a n d it is h u m a n to err. 7. N ever guess; y o u a r e su re to b e f o u n d out, a n d then y o u w ill b e written d ow n a s o n e o f the b a d bibliographers, th a n w h ich th ere is n o m ore terrible f a t e ‚6 An outstanding bibliography makes a sig­ nificant contribution to the field of knowledge. It contains introductory material detailing the objective, scope, content, audience, and primary organization o f the work as well as identifying the format o f the citations. The bibliography should provide in-depth and accurate cover­ age of the selected subject area. Citations should be as complete as possible, and they should be verified before publishing. If possible, annota­ tions or abstracts should be included. Multiple access points provide greater utility, but sub­ ject or keyword categories that are too broad should be avoided. An attempt should be made to maintain a pleasing typeface and adequate margins. Superior quality paper should always be employed and thought should be given to sturdy binding. Following these general guide­ lines will produce an outstanding bibliography that may win awards. Notes 1. Roy Stokes, The F u n ction o f B ib lio g ra p h y (London: Andre Deutsch, 1969), p. 128. 2. D. W. Krummel, B ibliographies: Their Aims a n d M eth od s (London: Mansell Publishing, 1984), p. 101. 3. Bibliography Committee, Reference and Adult Services Division, American Library As­ sociation, “Guidelines for the Preparation of a Bibliography,” RQ, 22 (Fall 1982): 31-32. 4. Sidney E. Berger, “The Design o f Bibliog­ raphies,” AB B o o k m a n ’s W eekly 86 (November 19, 1990): 1993-2000. 5. Stanley Morison, First P rin ciples o f Typog­ raphy, 2nd ed. (London: Cambridge University Press, 1967), p. 5. 6. Amndell Esdaile, A S tu d en t’s M a n u a l o f B ib lio g r a p h y (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1931), p. 31. References Besterman, Theodore. A W orld B ib lio g ra p h y o f B ibliographies. 4th ed. Lausanne, Switzer­ land: Societas Bibliographica, 1965. Toomey, Alice F. A W orld B ib liog rap h y o f B ib ­ l i o g r a p h i e s 1 9 6 4 - 1 9 7 4 . T otow a, N.J.: Rowman and Littlefield, 1977. ■ document. 6 ) If y o u r lo cal needs d ictate te rm s and co n d ition s d ifferen t fro m th e stan d ard li­ ce n se a g re e m e n t, e x p la in y o u r situ ation cle a rly an d su ccin ctly . Be prepared to ac­ commodate on some provisions and to seek changes in other areas— in other words, ask for what you believe you want, but realize you may not get everything. 7 ) Lay o u t fo r th e v e n d o r an y lo cal r e ­ qu irem en ts th at you m a y have fo r th e p u r­ ch a se o f an e le ctro n ic p ro d u ct. Examples include sole-source statements, the number o f agreement copies required, and the amount of time they can expect the process to take. 8 ) O n ce th e p ro d u ct is installed, be p re ­ p a re d to m o n ito r y o u r u sage o f it to be su re y o u are in co m p lian ce w ith y o u r li­ ce n se agreem en t. If your situation changes, promptly contact the vendor to accommodate this change. Throughout ownership or lease o f an elec­ tronic product patience, flexibility, and under­ standing are necessary. Vendors are not inti­ m a te ly fa m ilia r w ith th e m u ltitu d e o f organizational structures used by library sys­ tems or colleges and universities. The license agreement represents a formal, legal commit­ ment between the library and the vendor. It should be a source onm utual understanding for the operation o f an electronic product. ■ (Bibliographies cont. from p a g e 472) paper been employed? Does the work have good-quality binding that will withstand heavy usage? Though these observations may appear obvious, the Oberly Committee has encountered nominations in its biannual deliberations which faltered on one or more o f these points. Conclusion Though written more than sixty years ago, Arundell Esdaile’s seven commandments to bib­ liographers still have validity for those consid­ ering such a project: 1. B e p ro u d , a n d th in k highly o f y o u r c a ll­ ing. 2. B e hu m ble, a n d d o n ot despise details. 3. B e a ccu r a te, in s m a ll things a s in g reat. 4. B e brief. 5. B e clear. 6. T ake nothin g on trust (w ithou t necessity, a n d n ot even then w ithout sayin g so); there h a v e