The New Walford: Guide to Reference Resources, Volume 1. Science, Technology and Medicine

Citation

Shelton, M. (2007), "The New Walford: Guide to Reference Resources, Volume 1. Science, Technology and Medicine", Collection Building, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 137-137. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604950710831979

Any librarian looking for a comprehensive tool covering current reference resources in science, technology, and medicine need look no further then the first volume of The New Walford Guide to Reference Resources. Being the volume that focuses on science, technology and medicine, the number of resources has the potential to be overwhelming. Not only has the editor done well to gather a wealth of information, but the editor has also organized the information in a consistent way.

Listing nearly 6,500 resources, each entry is annotated to differing degrees. Each annotation is about three to five sentences long and pinpoints the information covered in each resource. In some cases the annotation is a listing of the book's chapters, and in other annotations a review reference is provided. Although variable in content, each quickly gives a picture of what the resource is about. With each entry, detailed documentation is provided, although, depending on the publisher, the pricing information may be in dollars or sterling.

The book is divided into three broad categories as indicated in the title, although the order of these is different from the title. Under each category is the major field, which is further broken down by subspecialties. At the beginning of each major field, a description of that field is provided. Throughout the whole book, the organization remains the same. The resources are categorized using the same 13 descriptive headings for each field or subspecialty. The editor has also done an excellent job in making sure that the placement of resources is appropriate. When a resource is broader in its coverage, the editor has located it appropriately under the broader field name and not under a subspecialty. All items under subspecialties are specific to that subspecialty. Since some resources cover science in the most general of ways, the editor included an opening section that covers science, technology and medicine as a single broad category. It should be noted that not all of the 13 categories are included under each field or subspecialty, but it is rare when a descriptive heading is excluded. It should also be noted that the headings for the 13 categories have been done in light type, making them a little difficult to distinguish among the bold type of other headings and resource titles.

When dealing with so many entries covering so many different fields, a good index becomes critical. This work has exceptional indexes. In addition to the expected author/title index, the book provides a topic index. The topic index goes far beyond just listing the subjects actually covered in the book by providing a significant number of “see” references covering many more specific terms. Overall, this is an exceptional resource and should be included in the reference collection of any library.