reviews.indd


Book Reviews 

Acquisition in Different and Special 
Subject Areas. Ed. Abulfazal M. Fazle 
Kabir for Acquisitions Librarian (no. 
29, 2003). New York: Haworth, 2003. 
122p. alk. paper, cloth $24.95 (ISBN 
0789022893); paper $19.95 (ISBN 
0789022907). LC 2003-12879. 

This thematic issue encompasses ethnic 
music recordings, reference tools, solo 
librarianship, Africana, popular fiction 
and poetry, India studies, and online 
education information. 

The article on ethnic recordings focuses 
exclusively on resources on the Inter-
net—online music vendors, distributors 
and record labels, search engines, and 
online outlets and organizations—for an 
extensive, if not comprehensive, treatise 
on acquiring musical recordings on the 
World Wide Web. Although record-
ing labels are a good starting point for 
building a collection, vendors are best 
for purchasing specific recordings. More 
than an annotated Webography of where 
to find what, the author offers tips on 
how to construct search strings that are 
tailored to the features of two specific 
search engines. 

Education information on the Web 
looks at the implications for academic 
collection development activities in the 
Internet environment. The essay directs 
attention to the “Guide to Information 
Resources in Education” (http://www. 
wsulibs.wsu.edu/educ/guide/index. 
htm) to describe and demonstrate the 
complications and opportunities for 
“special subject” librarians. Annotated 
Web sites for identifying Web-based re-
sources in education for the selection of 
curriculum materials, journals, reports, 
gray literature, and educational policy 
are included. 

Originally presented at ALA 
2002, “Acquiring Reference 
Tools” examines the transform-
ing effects of digitalization on 
the traditional print model and 
current definition of reference 
tools. Evolving issues center 
on models that have shifted from online 
pay per use to optical disc purchases, 
to online index subscriptions, and now 
to full-text database subscriptions. The 
associated problems of selection, manage-
ment, licensure, current and retrospective 
data updates, and duplication of formats 
have restructured budgets in the face of 
the ever-increasing costs of providing 
desktop access to digital resources via the 
Web. The best traditions of librarianship 
challenge libraries and librarians to form 
consortia and collaborations that support 
the search for better services and better 
cost models for all aspects of the process 
of acquiring reference tools. 

“Solo Librarianship” describes a spe-
cial science library where one person is 
responsible for all administrative, staff, 
and service functions. Purposes, defini-
tions, and interpretations of policy take 
on special meaning because of the highly 
specialized needs of the clientele and the 
nature of the materials. Separate collec-
tion policies are necessary even if the spe-
cial library is attached to a larger library 
system. Decisions about “what topics to 
emphasize, formats to avoid, languages 
on which to focus,” and so on are justified 
by the collection policies, which also en-
sure uniformity in the development of the 
collection, promote continuity in services, 
and cultivate good relations between 
the library and its clients. The isolation 
of solo librarianship does not diminish 
the solo librarian’s need for professional 

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356 College & Research Libraries 

development and the acquisition of new 
knowledge and skills. 

The goal of a grant-sponsored col-
laboration between West Virginia State 
College and the National University of 
Benin was to improve library services 
in their respective regions. This paper 
addresses the collection development 
and acquisitions activities of this project 
along with concomitant issues associated 
with language barriers, unreliable com-
munications infrastructure, and cultural 
differences. The paper concludes that the 
best way to acquire materials is “either 
to do it in person or to hire a person or 
business with dealings in Benin to get 
them for you.” Starting a special collection 
requires institutional and administrative 
support for additional personnel, facili-
ties, budget, and technical resources. This 
author, too, feels that collection policies 
are critical for defining the purpose and 
profile of the collection. Suggestions for 
selecting, purchasing, and shipping ma-
terials are detailed. 

“Providing Access to Sources for India 
Studies at Indiana University Libraries: 
Piecing a Quilt” describes an initiative 
by Indiana University academics and 
administrators in cooperation with the 
consulate general and the local Indo-
American community. The librarian was 
asked to develop collections to support 
a curriculum offering language instruc-
tion in Hindi and Sanskrit and classes 
in the philosophy, religion, and culture 
of India. Networking with organizations 
and agencies, both within and without 
the university system, fostered success 
in supplemental fund-raising, selection, 
technical processing, and the continual 
expansion of the collection’s profi le. Web 
links provide access to electronic resourc-
es at other CRL member libraries that 
include full-text journals and e-books. An 
appendix presents tips for selection in an 
unfamiliar language, searching databases 

July 2004 

in transliteration, and using standard 
reference tools to identify and clarify title 
information. 

The articles on popular fiction and 
poetry collections each qualify for the des-
ignated “different” from this collection’s 
title. Because they are not subjects, their 
social, historical, and literary values can 
be easily overlooked. A classic, textbook 
case in favor of popular fiction in academ-
ic and public libraries presents a course 
of reasoning that challenges mainstream 
views of librarians and points up contra-
dictions reflected in traditional collection 
policies for literature. The value of popu-
lar and genre fiction (including works by 
authors of color) is judged by their effect 
on the reader and by the prominence 
of such works in popular culture; they 
should not be judged by traditional liter-
ary standards. The author provides guid-
ing principles, criteria, and procedures for 
selection, and concludes with general and 
focused bibliographies, review resources, 
reader ’s advisory services, and Web 
sources as tools for developing popular 
fi ction collections. 

The value of works by local and 
regional poets and writers is that they 
enhance the historical record because they 
articulate the feelings and document and 
interpret the quality, meaning, and value 
of human experience in a given time and 
place.—Rashidah Z. Hakeem, University of 
Mississippi. 

Bastian, Jeannett e Allis. Owning Memory: 
How a Caribbean Community Lost its 
Archives and Found its History. (Contri-
butions in Librarianship and Informa-
tion Science, no. 99). Westport, Conn.: 
Libraries Unlimited, 2003. 106p. alk. 
paper, $59 (ISBN 031332008X). LC 
2003-54609. 

When the people living in a particular 
place gain sovereignty, lose it, or have it 
transferred to some other country, what