Editorial

Citation

Chalcraft, T. (2008), "Editorial", Reference Reviews, Vol. 22 No. 7. https://doi.org/10.1108/rr.2008.09922gaa.001

Editorial

Article Type: Editorial From: Reference Reviews, Volume 22, Issue 7

When I first began using major reference libraries for research 20 or more years ago it was always reassuring to find familiar reference works on the shelf. Where it was necessary to venture into the literature section, which was always with some trepidation as this is not the editor’s natural habitat, two major sets frequently acted as pilot beacons. One would be the subdued blue spines of the massed volumes of Dictionary of Literary Biography and the other the far more visually striking spines of Contemporary Authors with their bold blue, pale orange, red and black covering. Familiar reference series become such good friends that they can easily be taken for granted. This has been the case with Contemporary Authors and Reference Reviews. In 22 years of publication we have not once reviewed either a single volume or the entire series. When I became aware earlier this year that the series had reached the milestone of its 250th volume, I decided that we should both redress our previous neglect and commemorate a momentous achievement by offering a review which Stuart James has skilfully provided in these columns (RR 2008/304).

It should be noted that the main print volumes are now only part of the Contemporary Authors story. For many years the parallel series Contemporary Authors New Revision Series has provided updates to the entries in the original set (and misled many novice users who confuse the numbering and function of the two sequences), while the entire family, including the now discontinued Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series, is available as a far more readily searchable and accessible database (the individual volumes are also available as e-books). Due to electronic availability and perhaps budget cuts, Contemporary Authors is no longer so frequently seen on the shelves (2,702 libraries are given as worldwide locations on the main WorldCat record), but it remains a major reference tool especially in its online format. Publisher Thomson Gale must be congratulated for maintaining and enhancing a series first published in 1962. At the time of writing a further 16 volumes have been produced since the 250th reviewed here with number 278 recently announced for May 2009 (Contemporary Authors New Revision Series will reach volume 184 in April 2009).

By coincidence this issue of Reference Reviews also carries reviews of two other major publications from Thomson Gale. The first is the second edition of the International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences (RR 2008/298) reviewed at length by Martin Guha. As Martin recounts, this is a publication that dates back to the 1930s when the 15 volume Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences became the major tool of reference in the field, a position it maintained until a replacement set under the present title appeared in 1968. The new second edition now released is a more modest nine volumes in size (also available as an e-book), and will have stiffer competition than its predecessors, other recent publications covering at least some of the field including the newly released eleven volume and online accessible Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology (www.sociologyencyclopedia.com/public) (RR 2008/109). However, the new edition will revive this illustrious title so that, as our review concludes, it becomes “the social science encyclopedia for this generation”.

The second Gale publication we cover is The Gale Encyclopedia of Science (RR 2008/310) now published in a fourth edition. This new version follows hot on the heels of the third edition of 2004 (RR 2004/387) and is here subjected to detailed analysis by Stuart Hannabuss. Like similar Gale science and technology encyclopedias, for example The Gale Encyclopedia of Medicine (RR 2007/183) which recently appeared in a five volume third edition just five years after the second, this is a title that now appears to be destined for frequent publication.

The original Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences appears in my treasured first edition of John Walford’s Guide to Reference Material (1959). Many readers will be aware that Facet Publishing (previously Library Association Publishing) has revived “Walford” after a few years hiatus. 2005 saw the release of The New Walford: Guide to Reference Resources. Volume 1. Science and Technology (RR 2006/62). Two further volumes were projected at apparently yearly intervals, but it has taken three years for the second, Social Sciences volume, to appear. This is reviewed here at length by Stuart James (RR 2008/289) who, also having covered the earlier volume, is able to give a perspective on progress of the entire venture.

Stuart is also our reviewer of The Encyclopedia of the Cold War: A Political, Social and Military History (RR 2008/324) a five volume set from ABC-Clio. This follows two earlier sets in the same format from the publisher on the “hot” global wars of the last century, one of which, under the title World War I: Encyclopedia, was previously reviewed in these columns (RR 2006/289). Collectively, these three encyclopedias, all under the direction of military historian Spencer C. Tucker, form a major reference on the great conflicts of the twentieth century. Another title following in the footsteps of an earlier publication is the two volume Encyclopedia of Nineteenth Century Photography (RR 2008/319) from Routledge which acts as a precursor to the same imprint’s more substantive Encyclopedia of Twentieth Century Photography (RR 2006/389). Finally, in case the output of the big names of reference world should appear to dominate this issue, let me conclude by highlighting two valuable titles from lesser known publishers. These are the wide ranging An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies from Liturgical Press (RR 2008/292) and the pioneering Dictionary of Place-Names in Wales from Gomer Press (RR 2008/330) unreservedly endorsed by our reviewer of all things Wales and Welsh, Alun Hughes.

Tony ChalcraftEditor, Reference Reviews and University Librarian, York St John University, York, UK