Keywords
Citation
Layzell Ward, P. (2000), "Harrod’s Librarians’ Glossary and Reference Book. 9th ed.", Library Management, Vol. 21 No. 8, pp. 443-447. https://doi.org/10.1108/lm.2000.21.8.443.5
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2000, MCB UP Limited
L.M. Harrod compiled The Librarians’ Glossary first published by Grafton in 1938, and was involved in its revision up to his death in 1984. Mr Harrod (as a young lecturer at the North‐Western Polytechnic one knew one’s place) was extremely well read in the professional literature and his work was characterised by being informative, well researched and crafted with precision. This was evident in his editions of the glossary, and has thankfully continued in the work of Ray Prytherch.
The publishers indicate that over 1,100 new entries have been added to the latest edition, so that it now contains over 9,600 key terms, abbreviations and acronyms covering libraries, books, information management and ICT. This includes Website addresses for major organisations connected to the field. The revision benefits from the advice of an international network of advisors and contributors, which creates a handbook of international value.
I have been “road‐testing” the volume whilst working on several editorial projects. Checking the exact titles of such bodies as IFLA acronyms used frequently but rarely spelt out is made easy. Finding the date when AARNet was founded the Australian Academic and Research Network was not a problem. The inclusion of postal and e‐mail addresses for many organisations is helpful. It has saved a considerable amount of time. The price of £95 is a reasonable price to pay for a desk book that will be of value to managers in a wide range of information and library services.
The only terms that I couldn’t find and would have liked to see included were para‐professional, peak bodies, and post‐nominals. Although English is the first language in many countries, local terms can present confusion to colleagues overseas. But this is a minor criticism. It really is an excellent reference tool, and Mr Harrod would approve of it.