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Information Sources in Science and Technology by C. D. Hurt Review by: Antoinette Paris Powell The Library Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 2 (Apr., 1995), pp. 248-249 Published by: The University of Chicago Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4309029 . Accessed: 12/06/2014 13:31 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to The Library Quarterly. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 13:31:34 PM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Information Sources in Science and Technologyby C. D. Hurt

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Page 1: Information Sources in Science and Technologyby C. D. Hurt

Information Sources in Science and Technology by C. D. HurtReview by: Antoinette Paris PowellThe Library Quarterly, Vol. 65, No. 2 (Apr., 1995), pp. 248-249Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4309029 .

Accessed: 12/06/2014 13:31

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

.

The University of Chicago Press is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to TheLibrary Quarterly.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 13:31:34 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

Page 2: Information Sources in Science and Technologyby C. D. Hurt

248 THE LIBRARY QUARTERLY

most of the work will be of interest to anyone who works in an organization and wants to be innovative. The book was designed primarily as a text or supple- mentary reading for students in schools of library and information studies and in schools of management. This it does well, but as general reading for informa- tion specialists, librarians, and managers it will be an uneven experience, with some sections being too basic. The book will interest information specialists who want tips on how to carve out a niche within organizations, as well as managers who want to understand how to use information to ensure success.

Anne Woodsworth, Palmer School of Library and Information Sciences, Long Island University

Information Sources in Science and Technology. 2d ed. By C. D. HURT. Library Science Text Series. Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1994. Pp. xiii + 412. $55.55 (cloth); $66.00 (cloth outside North America); $32.00 (paper); $38.50 (paper outside North America). ISBN 1-56308-034-6 (cloth); ISBN 1-56308- 180-6 (paper).

The second edition of Information Sources in Science and Technology contains forty- one more numbered entries than the first edition had and is organized by disci- pline rather than in alphabetical order by subject. The intent of this edition is to "offer the reader a method of evaluating the literature, especially secondary literature, that is available" (p. xi). The volume is not restricted to best sources, and the introduction states that some bad sources are cited but with notes about them. C. D. Hurt takes full responsibility for any omissions and states reasons for omission as space limitations, the tide is not as critical as others, or the work was simply overlooked by him. He also includes some titles in two places because of the difficulty of pigeonholing in scientific disciplines. While the numbers indicate that there are forty-one more entries, it is difficult to judge for oneself because of the double listing of some of the titles.

This 412-page volume includes nineteen sections on specific subjects and one section on multidisciplinary sources. The subjects are arranged by discipline and carry the broad headings of biological sciences (biology, botany, zoology); physical sciences and mathematics (astronomy, chemistry, environmental sci- ences, geosciences, physics, mathematics); engineering (broken down into nine subengineering disciplines); and health and veterinary sciences. Each subject area is divided into publication types for the discipline and, unlike the first edition, does not have a separate section for the history of the science. The second edition includes the history of each subject under the subject instead of in a separate section in the book.

Sources for this edition were compiled from catalogs of the University of Arizona, Arizona Health Sciences Information Center, University of Virginia, University of Toronto, Arizona State University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, McGill University, and the Mayo Clinic. The author used various electronic catalogs over the Internet to locate sources, and he cites American Reference Books Annual as an aid in the compilation of this book.

A unique feature of this book is the inclusion of electronic sources in the various subject areas. These references are not included in the 2,068 entry count, and Hurt cautions the user that these are dynamic sources and were valid when the list was being put together. The information given for the elec- tronic sources is the Internet protocol address and information on how to get

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Page 3: Information Sources in Science and Technologyby C. D. Hurt

REVIEWS 249

on to the system. The entry also gives the last update for the file at the time of the printing of Information Sources in Science and Technology.

Subject coverage of the book is good but does deviate from the earlier edition. In comparing the table of contents of each I find that agriculture has disap- peared as a subject entry. In examining the volume I found some of the agricul- tural sources in the botany section, which covered some of the plant materials, but very little in zoology, which would cover the animal science literature. A section was added to cover health and veterinary sciences, but the animal cover- age is sparse. In checking the first edition, I found that most of the agricultural sources were dropped with no explanation. As the U.S. Department of Agricul- ture was one of the pioneers in using the Internet to disseminate information, I was disappointed to find no electronic sources dealing with agriculture.

The rationale for the placement of some of the sources within the disciplines is not apparent. For example, the database AGRICOLA, published by the U.S. National Agricultural Library, is a major source of information in the plant and animal sciences, but it is listed in the section on chemical engineering. There is very little in AGRICOLA that could be classified as chemical engineering. The subject index does not index AGRICOLA under agriculture. Descriptions of works vary from one sentence to annotations of approximately 150 words. There is a comprehensive author/title index of the paper sources described as well as a subject index at the end of the volume. Both add to the usefulness of the volume.

In thumbing through Information Sources in Science and Technology I find it to be an excellent starting point for anyone wanting to deal with the scientific literature. As a teacher of scientific and technical information, I will make my students aware of this publication but will require use of both editions because of the change in subject coverage. While I was disappointed in the agricultural coverage, it does an excellent job with the traditional disciplines. The major sources are covered and it provides a point of reference for students, beginning professionals, and those researchers who are interested in the literature. The subjects included in the book are fairly complete (as complete as a volume this size can be) and the annotations are concise and easy to read. The author/title index provides access for known titles and the subject index, while flawed, en- ables users of the volume to go directly to the specific subject they are interested in without regard to the physical placement of the source in the volume. This is an excellent reference tool in science and technology, and it is well worth the price. It provides an excellent reference source to a difficult area in the literature.

Antoinette Paris Powell, Agriculture Library, University of Kentucky

Languages of the World: Cataloging Issues and Problems. Edited by MARTIN D. JOACHIM. Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth Press, 1993. Pp. 292. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56024-520-4.

Languages of the World is not a book about languages in the world; but as the subtitle indicates, it is a book on the issues and problems in cataloging materials in languages other than English. This volume not only covers topics on catalog- ing and classification of materials in different languages but also covers "issues such as cataloging in languages in which library staff have no expertise, authority

This content downloaded from 62.122.79.21 on Thu, 12 Jun 2014 13:31:34 PMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions