Best Books for Public Libraries: The 10,000 Top Fiction & Nonprofit Titles

by Bloomsbury Academic

Overview

The subtitle tells us all we need to know about the contents, and the publisher's reputation tells us the rest … beautifully compiled … with thorough subject, title and author indexes. Reference Reviews

It's surprising how quickly a new reference can come to seem essential when it brings together previously uncompiled information. Such is the case with this guide… Reference & Research Book News

I find this book an excellent collection development tool that renders its rivals obsolete … I have used it several times to get patrons on the right track for their reading wants and needs. Wilson Library Bulletin

Based on positive reviews from respected sources (Library Jourbanal, Booklist, Choice, The New Yorker, The New York Times Books Review, Atlantic, Time, Newsweek and others), this cornerstone resource gives you all the information you need to evaluate, choose and order any of more than 10,000 ESSENTIAL books for your collection. Best Books for Public Libraries divides titles into two parts: fiction (by genre) and nonfiction (by Dewey Decimal classes). Entries identify award winners, best-sellers, and large-type editions, in addition to providing the title, author, publication date, publisher, price, edition, ISBN, a brief annotation, and citations for published reviews.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780835230735
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	01/30/1992
Pages:	1
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 1.75(d)

Editorial Reviews

It's surprising how quickly a new reference can come to seem essential when it brings together previously uncompiled information. Such is the case with this guide for librarians to 10,293 critically praised fiction and nonfiction titles published since 1965. The nonfiction titles are arranged by Dewey Decimal Classification and the fiction titles by 15 broad genres. Entries include author/editor name, title and subtitle, hardback/paperback publisher, publication date, hardback/paperback price, ISBN, review citations (each entry received at least two or three positive reviews by respected review sources), awards received, annotation, and Dewey Decimal number (for nonfiction). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

The editor describes "Best Books for Public Libraries" as "designed to give librarians a current, single-volume guide to the top critically acclaimed books suitable for general readers." Covering more than 6,000 nonfiction and 4,000 fiction titles published between 1965 and early 1992, the book lists those receiving positive reviews from two or three of the primary sources librarians use for collection development ("Atlantic", "Booklist", "Choice", "Christian Science Monitor", "Library Journal", "National Review", "New Republic", "New York Review of Books", "New York Times Book Review", "New Yorker", "Newsweek", "Publishers Weekly", "Saturday Review", "Time", and "Times Literary Supplement"). The entries include a note for those titles receiving starred reviews, those receiving major awards, and those appearing on year-end "best" lists. The volume excludes scholarly materials, reference titles, and children's books Nonfiction titles are arranged alphabetically by author within Dewey Decimal Classification numbers; fiction titles appear alphabetically by author within 15 broad genres that are defined in the preface. Each record contains standard bibliographic information (taken from OCLC records, when possible), price, review citations, and Dewey number for nonfiction. A brief annotation is provided, sometimes being a direct quotation from a reviewing source. The type is clear and easy to read. Three indexes--by author, title, and subject--make up 30 percent of the book Because Arozena's selection criteria relied upon positive reviews in recent sources, the list of titles is affected by publishing trends and reviewing practices. Some subjects are underrepresented (non-Christian religions), whereas others are overrepresented (more books on baseball than other sports). In some subjects, the bulk of citations are to biographies instead of how-to information. Compared to other tools for collection development, such as the "Public Library Catalog" and the "Fiction Catalog", no editions of the works of classic authors (Shakespeare, Poe, etc.) are included in "Best Books"; only two works by Mortimer Adler are listed, whereas ten appear in the ninth edition of "Public Library Catalog"; and five titles by Eudora Welty appear, compared to nine in the twelfth edition of the "Fiction Catalog". While substantial duplication exists for some topics and authors, "Best Books" lists works not found in the other sources. For instance, "Best Books" lists five titles on Nicaragua and five by Derek Walcott, whereas the "Public Library Catalog" includes, respectively, one and three of these titles "Best Books for Public Libraries" has some useful features: citations to the major book-reviewing publications in one volume, genre lists of noteworthy fiction titles, and citations for some critically acclaimed books that are in addition to those listed in other tools. It is recommended for purchase by those libraries needing a moderately priced source for this type of information.

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