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Agricultural commodities index: Ready-reference to U.S.D.A. statistical series
Government Publications Review, Vol. 6, No. 4, pp. 413-418. 0
Pergamon
Press 1979. Printed in Great Britain.
BOOK REVIEWS DAVID C. HEISSER Documents Librarian, Wessell Library, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02115, U.S.A. Following the untimely death of Arne Richards, I have taken on the duties of book review editor for this journal. In the future we shall continue to review titles of interest to our readership, especially: significant studies, indexes, abstracts, guides and other finding aids for official publications, bibliographies, directories and other reference works, and important microform sets. Persons who wish to write reviews or to suggest titles for review are invited to contact me. Publishers likewise are requested to send me announcements of new and forthcoming titles which may interest our readers. All communications should be addressed to: David C. Heisser, Documents Librarian, Wessell Library, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, U.S.A. Telephone (617) 628-5000 x388.
Agricultural Commodities Index: ReadyReference to U.S.D.A. Statistical Series. Edited by Jane Buzby McFall, Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1978. 1956 pp. ISBN O-912700-09-2. L.C. Card No. 78-59614. $95.00. This analytical index to tile U.S.D.A. statistical output covers about 10 years’ worth of publications received by the Pennsylvania State University Library, including the situation and outlook reports, national and selected local market news, crop and livestock reports, Agricultural Economic Reports, Stathticai Bulletins and many other titles. The commodity/concepts index is an alphabetical file by commodity name or concept (subarranged alphabetically by title). The concepts are economic terms or other data elements (e.g. acreage allotments, family farms, green revolution, pickers, quotas). Each entry contains: subject heading; issue, series and periodical titles, dates, and numbers; frequency; notes; geographic coverage; call number of Pennsylvania State; and code numbers indicating the type of statistical content (e.g., production, prices, receipts, stocks, exports, imports). The entries on each page look as if they could have been photocopies from a card file; they appear in twelve boxes per page and measure approximately 3 % x 1Win. each. The next section is the statistical category index,
which is arranged numerically by the 27 categories, subarranged alphabetically by title. Each entry contains all of the data found in the commodity/concepts index except the commodity/concept headings and the other category codes. The title index follows with the entries in one column with little margin. The entries contain titles, series notes, dates, Superintendent of Documents classification numbers (SuDoc), the National Agricultural Library call numbers, and the names of the issuing agencies in abbreviated form (there is a key to these agency abbreviations preceding the section). Anyone having recurring need for agricultural commodity data will shelve Ms. McFall’s book next to his desk. Its value is in the length of time covered, its currency, and its analytical nature. The average number of entries is 19 for each of the over 1000 titles analyzed. It is too bad that the SuDoc numbers were not included in the data in the commodity/concepts index. Anyone who has a separate documents collection and needs the SuDoc number would need to take the added step of checking the title section after identifying the needed documents in the commodity/concepts index. The reviewer also questions the value of the statistical category index. The great majority of searches are for data on a commodity. Type-of413
414
BOOK REVIEWS
data searching is done in connection with a specific commodity. Also, most of the titles cited are on particular commodities, so a search for a type of data on all commodities would require a bit of searching in the appropriate category. An improvement would be to put the titles dealing with commodities in general at the beginning of each appropriate category code. It is a nicely bound volume. However, one of the two copies seen by the reviewer had a few blank pages which should have been printed. Some of the commodity headings in the first section were so light as to be difficult to read. The title index would be more readable if it were in two columns rather than stretched across the entire page. Larger academic, public and other research libraries should purchase it even if they already have a copy of American Statistics Index because it is a specialized index covering a large span of time. PHILIP VAN DE VOORDE Government Publications Librarian, Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA 50011, U.S.A. Directory of Government Document Collections and Librarians. 2nd edition. Edited by Nancy
Cline and Jaia Heymann. Washington, DC: Congressional Information Service, Inc., for American Library Association, Government Documents Round Table, 1978. 527 pp. ISBN o-912380-49-7. L.C. Card No. 785459. $22.50. This well-conceived and prepared directory merits careful consideration by all libraries serving patrons whose needs include government publications. It provides detailed information on nearly 2,300 document collections in the United States and identifies over 3,600 persons involved in government documents work. The first section of the directory comprises descriptive main entries arranged alphabetically by state, city and name of institution. In addition to the address and telephone number, each entry lists the kind of documents received, by level of government, with an indication of the relative size of holdings in each area. Names, titles and responsibilities of staff are provided. All governmental agencies for which the library is a designated depository are listed, with dates of designation. These include such bodies as GATT, OAS and the U.S. Geological Survey, in addition to GPO and state designations. Also noted are agencies whose publications are collected in great numbers, but are not received on deposit. Notes inform the user about policies on public access, circulation and interlibrary loan. Over half the volume consists of useful indexes, including one by library name and another by
library personnel. A “Document Collections Index” informs the readers which libraries collect or are depositories for specific levels of government publications. Probably the most valuable of all is a “Special Collections Index,” providing access by subject or agency collection strengths. In an instant the user can determine, for example, which institution is especially strong in environmental materials or Rand Corporation reports and which is a depository for documents of AEC or the Central Treaty Organization. Finally, there is a list of library school instructors in government documents and a “Names to Know” section which identifies key people in the documents field (e.g. members of GODORT’s Steering Committee and the Depository Council to the Public Printer). The directory was compiled on the basis of questionnaires. As the co-editors explain, a number of these were not returned, so that some entries were carried over, unverified, from the first (1974) edition. Directories of any mobile profession tend to get quickly out of date, and this one is no exception, insofar as names of people are concerned. It is to be hoped that some kind of update can be produced every year or two. Libraries will use this volume mainly for making referrals and for interlibrary loans. (In fact, TWX, Telex and Centrex numbers are listed in the main entries.) Perhaps a future edition could provide access to holdings of documents of the major foreign countries by their individual names, instead of by continent or other large geographical area. This edition affords direct access to Canadian and Mexican official publications, but not to those of China or the Soviet Union. Overall this represents a highly commendable effort by the compilers, GODORT, and CIS. The directory’s excellence and relative low cost recommend its purchase by most libraries. DAVID C. HEISSER, Documents Librarian, Tufts University Library, Medford, MA 02155, U.S.A. The Federal Register, What It Is and How To Use It: A Guide for the User of the Federal Register-Code of Federal Regulations System.
Prepared by the General Services Administration, Office of the Federal Register. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1978. 95 pp. GS 4.6/2:F 31/978. Stock No. 022-003-00953-l. $2.40. Everyday lawyers, employers, conservationists, industrialists and average citizens require access to the numerous regulations in the Federal Register - Code of Federal Regulations (FR/ CFR). Unfortunately, the system is a mystery to most; even lawyers and librarians are often unsure in its use. Consequently, the Office of the Federal
Pergamon
Press 1979. Printed in Great Britain.
BOOK REVIEWS DAVID C. HEISSER Documents Librarian, Wessell Library, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02115, U.S.A. Following the untimely death of Arne Richards, I have taken on the duties of book review editor for this journal. In the future we shall continue to review titles of interest to our readership, especially: significant studies, indexes, abstracts, guides and other finding aids for official publications, bibliographies, directories and other reference works, and important microform sets. Persons who wish to write reviews or to suggest titles for review are invited to contact me. Publishers likewise are requested to send me announcements of new and forthcoming titles which may interest our readers. All communications should be addressed to: David C. Heisser, Documents Librarian, Wessell Library, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155, U.S.A. Telephone (617) 628-5000 x388.
Agricultural Commodities Index: ReadyReference to U.S.D.A. Statistical Series. Edited by Jane Buzby McFall, Phoenix, AZ: Oryx Press, 1978. 1956 pp. ISBN O-912700-09-2. L.C. Card No. 78-59614. $95.00. This analytical index to tile U.S.D.A. statistical output covers about 10 years’ worth of publications received by the Pennsylvania State University Library, including the situation and outlook reports, national and selected local market news, crop and livestock reports, Agricultural Economic Reports, Stathticai Bulletins and many other titles. The commodity/concepts index is an alphabetical file by commodity name or concept (subarranged alphabetically by title). The concepts are economic terms or other data elements (e.g. acreage allotments, family farms, green revolution, pickers, quotas). Each entry contains: subject heading; issue, series and periodical titles, dates, and numbers; frequency; notes; geographic coverage; call number of Pennsylvania State; and code numbers indicating the type of statistical content (e.g., production, prices, receipts, stocks, exports, imports). The entries on each page look as if they could have been photocopies from a card file; they appear in twelve boxes per page and measure approximately 3 % x 1Win. each. The next section is the statistical category index,
which is arranged numerically by the 27 categories, subarranged alphabetically by title. Each entry contains all of the data found in the commodity/concepts index except the commodity/concept headings and the other category codes. The title index follows with the entries in one column with little margin. The entries contain titles, series notes, dates, Superintendent of Documents classification numbers (SuDoc), the National Agricultural Library call numbers, and the names of the issuing agencies in abbreviated form (there is a key to these agency abbreviations preceding the section). Anyone having recurring need for agricultural commodity data will shelve Ms. McFall’s book next to his desk. Its value is in the length of time covered, its currency, and its analytical nature. The average number of entries is 19 for each of the over 1000 titles analyzed. It is too bad that the SuDoc numbers were not included in the data in the commodity/concepts index. Anyone who has a separate documents collection and needs the SuDoc number would need to take the added step of checking the title section after identifying the needed documents in the commodity/concepts index. The reviewer also questions the value of the statistical category index. The great majority of searches are for data on a commodity. Type-of413
414
BOOK REVIEWS
data searching is done in connection with a specific commodity. Also, most of the titles cited are on particular commodities, so a search for a type of data on all commodities would require a bit of searching in the appropriate category. An improvement would be to put the titles dealing with commodities in general at the beginning of each appropriate category code. It is a nicely bound volume. However, one of the two copies seen by the reviewer had a few blank pages which should have been printed. Some of the commodity headings in the first section were so light as to be difficult to read. The title index would be more readable if it were in two columns rather than stretched across the entire page. Larger academic, public and other research libraries should purchase it even if they already have a copy of American Statistics Index because it is a specialized index covering a large span of time. PHILIP VAN DE VOORDE Government Publications Librarian, Iowa State University Library, Ames, IA 50011, U.S.A. Directory of Government Document Collections and Librarians. 2nd edition. Edited by Nancy
Cline and Jaia Heymann. Washington, DC: Congressional Information Service, Inc., for American Library Association, Government Documents Round Table, 1978. 527 pp. ISBN o-912380-49-7. L.C. Card No. 785459. $22.50. This well-conceived and prepared directory merits careful consideration by all libraries serving patrons whose needs include government publications. It provides detailed information on nearly 2,300 document collections in the United States and identifies over 3,600 persons involved in government documents work. The first section of the directory comprises descriptive main entries arranged alphabetically by state, city and name of institution. In addition to the address and telephone number, each entry lists the kind of documents received, by level of government, with an indication of the relative size of holdings in each area. Names, titles and responsibilities of staff are provided. All governmental agencies for which the library is a designated depository are listed, with dates of designation. These include such bodies as GATT, OAS and the U.S. Geological Survey, in addition to GPO and state designations. Also noted are agencies whose publications are collected in great numbers, but are not received on deposit. Notes inform the user about policies on public access, circulation and interlibrary loan. Over half the volume consists of useful indexes, including one by library name and another by
library personnel. A “Document Collections Index” informs the readers which libraries collect or are depositories for specific levels of government publications. Probably the most valuable of all is a “Special Collections Index,” providing access by subject or agency collection strengths. In an instant the user can determine, for example, which institution is especially strong in environmental materials or Rand Corporation reports and which is a depository for documents of AEC or the Central Treaty Organization. Finally, there is a list of library school instructors in government documents and a “Names to Know” section which identifies key people in the documents field (e.g. members of GODORT’s Steering Committee and the Depository Council to the Public Printer). The directory was compiled on the basis of questionnaires. As the co-editors explain, a number of these were not returned, so that some entries were carried over, unverified, from the first (1974) edition. Directories of any mobile profession tend to get quickly out of date, and this one is no exception, insofar as names of people are concerned. It is to be hoped that some kind of update can be produced every year or two. Libraries will use this volume mainly for making referrals and for interlibrary loans. (In fact, TWX, Telex and Centrex numbers are listed in the main entries.) Perhaps a future edition could provide access to holdings of documents of the major foreign countries by their individual names, instead of by continent or other large geographical area. This edition affords direct access to Canadian and Mexican official publications, but not to those of China or the Soviet Union. Overall this represents a highly commendable effort by the compilers, GODORT, and CIS. The directory’s excellence and relative low cost recommend its purchase by most libraries. DAVID C. HEISSER, Documents Librarian, Tufts University Library, Medford, MA 02155, U.S.A. The Federal Register, What It Is and How To Use It: A Guide for the User of the Federal Register-Code of Federal Regulations System.
Prepared by the General Services Administration, Office of the Federal Register. Washington DC: Government Printing Office, 1978. 95 pp. GS 4.6/2:F 31/978. Stock No. 022-003-00953-l. $2.40. Everyday lawyers, employers, conservationists, industrialists and average citizens require access to the numerous regulations in the Federal Register - Code of Federal Regulations (FR/ CFR). Unfortunately, the system is a mystery to most; even lawyers and librarians are often unsure in its use. Consequently, the Office of the Federal