American Libraries articles from May 1992

American Libraries archives from May 1992

Accreditation Blamed for Library School Closing
May 1, 1992... Citing "continued and unrealistic pressure from COA" (ALA's Committee on Accreditation) and financial constraints, Northern Illinois University has decided to phase out its Department of Library and Information Studies (DLIS). The decision and...

"Masters of the Fax Attack" Save So. Miss. Library School
May 1, 1992... A deluge of calls, letters, petitions, and visits from librarians to University of Southern Mississippi President Aubrey K. Lucas and other top administrators has saved the School of Library Science (SLS) from closing. Lucas reversed a...

Courts Sentence Book Thieves While LC Boosts Security
May 1, 1992... Two court sentences have been handed down and new charges filed in cases involving theft from the Library of Congress, prompting a vigorous new campaign to secure the library's collections. Radiologist Harry R. Katz was sentenced Mar. 16 to...

'Snow White' Is the Latest Title under Attack in Schools
May 1, 1992... Following complaints from parents, Snow White is the latest book to be put on the restricted list in elementary schools in Jacksonville, Fla. The move follows the recent removal of two Stephen King novels from the system's middle school library...

President Bush Comments on Library Issues
May 1, 1992... The President responds to AL's queries on funding, privatization, and other topics. In February's issue in American Libraries (p. 182-185, 192), four Democratic presidential candidates responded to questions about library issues. Those...

Best Books for Junior High Readers.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Building on the success of his Best Books for Children, Gillespie has created a similar work for the literature of young adults aged 12-15. Over 6,000 titles have been selected for inclusion, covering both fiction and nonfiction topics. ...

The Parent's Desk Reference.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Information on nearly every aspect of parenting - that's what is promised and delivered in this handy one-volume desk reference. Included are about 2,500 entries relating to pregnancy and childbirth, infant care, child development, education,...

Dictionary of First Names.
May 1, 1992... This title presents a comprehensive collection of names for both reference and browsing. An extensive introduction covers topics such as royal names, African-American names, biblical names, modern names, surnames as first names, and names of...

The Oxford Dictionary of Modern Quotations.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... This quotations dictionary offers about 5,000 quotations from people who were living after 1900. The preface reports that the quotes were taken from novels, plays, poems, essays, speeches, film, radio and television, songs, advertisements,...

Baseball's Greatest Quotations.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Aficionados are already familiar with Dickson through his earlier titles, which include a 1990 outstanding reference source (AL, May 1990, p. 413-414), The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (Facts on File, 1989). Baseball fans will be delighted...

The Dictionary of Bias-Free Usage: A Guide to Nondiscriminatory Language.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Following George Orwell's recommendation to scrap every word or idiom that has outgrown its usefulness, this dictionary is intended to provide alternative words or phrases for terms containing some form of inherent bias. The author has...

Illustrated Reverse Dictionary: Find the Words on the Tip of Your Tongue.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Part dictionary, part thesaurus, and part book of lists, this work is a compilation of helpful information on over 70,000 English-language words and phrases. Organized in an attractive and readable format, it leads the reader from entry to...

The New Comprehensive American Rhyming Dictionary.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... From Shakespeare to Public Enemy, rhyme has been the basis of much of our language's literature and music. Both poets and musicians depend upon the aural nature of rhyme to provide balance and rhythm to their messages. Unfortunately, such an...

Plays for Children and Young Adults: An Evaluative Index and Guide.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Librarians will welcome this source as the definitive tool for identifying plays that were published between 1975 and 1989 for children and young adults. The entry for each of the 3,560 plays includes grade level for the audience, plus or...

Benet's Reader's Encyclopedia of American Literature.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... A synopsis of the Song of Solomon, background information on writer Bharati Mukherjee, and an essay on Jewish-American literature are examples of the broad coverage that this source achieves as it spans American literature from the time of...

Shakespeare A to Z: The Essential Reference to His Plays, His Poems, His Life and Times, and More.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... The title promises much - and it delivers on that promise. More than one-third of the almost 3,000 entries are descriptions of Shakespearean characters. (Minor characters like Marcade or Quintus are identified.) Synopses of all Shakespeare's...

Shakespeare on Screen: An International Filmography and Videography.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Ever since the moving picture was invented, films of Shakespeare's plays have been made. This guide lists over 750 films and videos of Shakespeare plays produced since 1899 in Europe (both east and west), the Americas, and Japan....

Historic Landmarks of Black America.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... More than 300 places with significant ties to black Americans are described in this combined reference history and travel guide. Cantor, who was travel editor for the Detroit Free Press, has divided the country into regions and within each...

Museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twentieth-Century American Art and Artists.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Folk art is the art of the common people, a spontaneous expression of the feelings of the artist, often untrained. Rooted in our tradition of individualism, folk art is often characterized by simplicity and instinctive creation. Chuck and Jan...

Cambridge Guide to the Museums of Europe.
May 1, 1992... Here is a book for any kind of traveler to any of 20 countries in Western Europe. Arranged by country and then by city or town, this guide gives information on major national and regional museums and on many smaller museums of specialized...

AIDS and Women: A Sourcebook.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... AIDS has become one of the 10 leading causes of death among women of childbearing years in the U.S. This sourcebook is concerned with how AIDS has affected women, both as patients and caregivers, as well as with the literature of AIDS...

Drugs Available Abroad.
May 1, 1992... Medical consumers now have access to therapeutic drugs from other countries. Drugs Available Abroad lists over 1,000 medically important drugs approved in Canada, Mexico, Western Europe, Central America, the Caribbean, Australia, South...

Encyclopedia of Blindness and Vision Impairment.
May 1, 1992... Visual impairment is the second most common disability in the U.S. This new A-Z compendium contains more than 500 entries covering the social and medical aspects of blindness. Entries range from one-sentence definitions to multipage...

Everyone's Guide to Cancer Therapy.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... When someone asks for information on pancreatic cancer or chemotherapy or what "staging" means, this is the book to suggest. Written in layperson language but including terms and acronyms used in medical parlance, it is comprehensive and...

American Salaries and Wages Survey: Statistical Data Derived from More Than 300 Government, Business, and News Sources.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Is $20,000 a year a good starting salary for a librarian? In South Dakota? In New York City? Consulting this single source makes it far easier to judge the worth of that 20 grand than looking through the over 300 published sources gleaned to...

Economist Book of Vital World Statistics.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... It's a small world. In it there are countries that need, use, and demand products and services and others which produce them. This source, compiled by Britain's respected journal, The Economist, examines the relationships of these buyers and...

Political Parties and Elections in the United States: An Encyclopedia, 2 vols.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... It's an important year in U.S, politics, and now a scholarly, engaging reference source allows the public easy access to a complex subject. In an encyclopedic format, this book covers dates, parties, and people important to the U.S. electoral...

Supreme Court Yearbook: 1989-90.
May 1, 1992... At last! A clear, concise, and timely review of the Supreme Court's work, written for the layperson. This first volume reviews the 1989 - 1990 term; the second (1990 - 1991) is current through the Clarence Thomas confirmation hearings. This...

Directory of Military Bases in the U.S.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... This new directory is the most complete and current guide to U.S. military bases available. Arranged by state, the directory lists over 700 military installations and includes all branches of the armed forces. The concise listings provide a...

Encyclopedia of the Third Reich, 2 vols.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Called a standard work, definitive, impressive, excellent, and essentially by various reviewers, this English translation of the 1985 Grosses Lexikon des Dritten Reiches is the place to look for any and all information on this period in...

Common Poisonous Plants and Mushrooms of North America.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Hikers, wild-food enthusiast, gardeners, and parents of curios children often seek information about poisonous plants. Librarians who receive these requests will find this reference work provides the information in a clear, easy-to-understand...

Mushrooms of North America.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Phillips, a British naturalist and photographer who previously studied and wrote about the mushrooms and fungi of Great Britain and Europe, began researching North American mushrooms in 1983. This beautifully illustrated book is the result of...

Your Resource Guide to Environmental Organizations.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Most everyone is concerned with the environment these days, making this directory a good choice for all types of libraries. Aimed at the layperson, this new source describes the purposes, programs, volunteer opportunities, membership...

Atlas of United States Environmental Issues.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Among all the countries of the world, the United States is the largest user of natural resources, has the third highest per capita income, and has the fourth largest land area and population. As the authors from the Department of Geography...

A Field Guide to Freshwater Fishes: North America North of Mexico.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... This title is noteworthy because it is the first and only guide to all 790 species of freshwater fish found north of Mexico. In preparation for eight years, this guide was sponsored by the National Audubon Society, the National Wildlife...

Dictionary of the Ecumenical Movement.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... The ecumenical movement stresses cooperation and unity among all the churches of the world. This dictionary, compiled under the auspices of the World Council of Churches, with authors and editors from diverse Christian traditions and diverse...

The Encyclopedia of Evolution: Humanity's Search for Its Origins.(Brief Article)
May 1, 1992... Milner describes himself as a "maverick anthropolgist." Although he completed five years of graduate stud, Milner spent several years working in other fields. Now he has returned to his first love - anthropology - and written an encyclopedia...

Encyclopedias Today: Tradition Meets Innovation
May 1, 1992... Electronic products and new ways of selling bring changes to the encyclopedia business. Ever since a pirated U.S. edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica was issued in the late eighteenth century, encyclopedia publishing has been a...

Bank on Talent, Not Budgets
May 1, 1992... With $100 and the help of local art students, Denver PL raises conservation consciousness on a "Summer Reading Safari." A virtual jungle for kids broke all laws of nature at the Denver Public Library last summer. Verdant and blossoming, it...

Spy Novels in the '90S
May 1, 1992... What's a cold warrior to do without a cold war? That's the question spy-novel fans have been asking ever since the Berlin Wall crumbled. Well, the early returns are in, and it looks like we can hold off on all that death-of-a-literary-genre...