Information Sources in Engineering, 4th ed.

Citation

Shelton, M. (2007), "Information Sources in Engineering, 4th ed.", Collection Building, Vol. 26 No. 4, pp. 137-138. https://doi.org/10.1108/01604950710831988

MacLeod and Corlett's book can be divided into two broad areas. The first half of the book covers specific kinds of information resources related to engineering such as patents, standards, theses and reports, Internet resources, product information and reference sources. The second half of the book focuses on information related to, and information in support of, specific fields of engineering. Depending on the reader's need, each half can stand alone.

Unlike some similar books that attempt to compile a relatively comprehensive list of information sources, this book takes a slightly different slant. There are many lists of different resources, yet they are provided as background information on the topics covered in the chapters. The lists also provide the reader with a measure of the scope of the topic. What the reader will discover is that the chapters are primarily about different information topics and how the information is organized as it relates to the topics. For example, the chapter titled “Conferences” covers the value of conferences and the kinds of information that is made available through them. In addition to mentioning who organizes conferences, the chapter indicates how an engineer might find out about the conferences. It is only after this background information is provided that the author of the chapter begins to cover how the conference literature is organized and how the researcher can search and find needed information. The “Journals” chapter, on the other hand, focuses primarily on broader issues related to the management of print and electronic journals, while giving some background about journals as an information resource.

In the case of the later chapters in the book, coverage is more about the specific engineering fields, as well as providing associated information resources related to the fields. The chapter covering manufacturing engineering delves into the current state of the field, its impact on businesses, and issues creating change in the field. Only after this do the authors begin to cover information resources specific to the field. The chapter on engineering design also begins with a lesson about the field before covering the resources.

Although the book does well to cover all the topics it has included, the reader should note two important aspects of the book. Since many different authors have written the chapters, there is little consistency between them. Each chapter is organized differently, and each contains different kinds of information. For example, the chapter on bioengineering/biomedical engineering includes sections on definitions and web search strategies, while the chapter on chemical engineering has a section on student textbooks. The chapter on materials engineering almost entirely covers the topic of materials data, how it is used, organized and found. Some of the chapters only give tertiary lists of resources while others go into greater detail. The other item to note is that since most of the authors are British, the book has a decidedly stronger European slant. European resources are more prominent than is found in US titles covering similar content. This book usefully complements any science or engineering collection.