- Email: [email protected]
Law and legal information directory
441
Book reviews
difficult, despite the fact that the Index’s 1938-1979 chart of Title Designations will guide the researcher, at least, to the pertinent title. IHS has announced its intention to compile a cumulative 1938-1976 Index, while simultaneously producing annual indexes for years after 1979; the 18,000 term thesaurus will be expanded to include terms not contained in the 1977-1979 Index. June 198 1 is the target date for the introduction of an on-line data base for this Index, the price and distributors of which are currently being negotiated.
Boston,
LEO McAULIFFE Public Service Librarian Social Law Library 1200 Court House Massachusetts 02108 USA
Law and Legal Information Directory. Edited by Paul Wasserman and Marck ‘Kaszubski. Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1980. 527 pp. $80 ISBN 0-8103-0169-S. LC 80-20178.
Detroit,
This directory is intended to provide access to basic sources of legal information for “individuals in all walks of life.” It is composed of 14 sections, each devoted to a specific category of legal organizations, publications and institutions: National and International Organizations, Bar Associations, Federal Court System, Federal Regulatory Agencies, Law Schools, Continuing Legal Education Programs, Paralegal Education, Scholarships and Grants, Awards and Prizes, Special Libraries, Information Systems and Services, Research Centers, Legal Periodicals, and Book and Media Publishers. When appropriate, individual sections are followed by KWIC indexes, which afford subject access to the alphabetical and geographical directory listings. The editors claim that this is a “comprehensive guide,” but such a characterization is inaccurate. Not only are entries selective, but the criteria for their inclusion are neither stated nor predictable. This causes it to lack the reliability which is the requisite of a first rate reference tool. For instance, the National Law Journal and Legal Times of Washington are included as Legal Periodical Publications, but the most prestigious daily newspaper, the New York Law Journal, is omitted. The Topeka Bar Association Newsletter and the Hennepin Lawyer are included, and a multitude of other local bar publications are not. The section on National and International Organizations include the American Society of Questioned Documents Examiners and 365 other groups “related to the legal field,” but the American Association of Law Libraries is notably absent. This apparently random selection process plagues each section of the directory and detracts from its utility. A substantial amount of information, particularly with respect to personnel, was outdated before publication, and there is no method for supplementing this hard-bound volume. Conceptually, this directory is valuable, and there are numerous entries which often provide precise, current information. However, any major law collection has this information in other sources, and this volume is not the reliable, “comprehensive guide’* which justifies its purchase for a general reference collection.
Boston,
LEO McAULIFFE Public Service Librarian Social Law Library 1200 Court House Massachusetts 02108 USA
Microlog Index: Canadian Government Publications and Reports/Rapports et publications gouvernementales canadiennes. Vol. I- 1979- . Monthly with annual cumulation. Toronto: Micromedia Ltd. Annual subscription (Vol. 3, 1981): $250.00 ISSN 0707-3135. Canada and the United States are becoming increasingly interdependent in fields such as control of natural resources, energy, pollution and defence. Many American librarians are finding it necessary to strengthen their means of access to Canadian publications, especially research reports. One method worth considering is Microlog which corresponds to the NTIS file of U.S. government report literature: Microlog Index covers annually some 7,000 English and French language documents of reference and
Book reviews
difficult, despite the fact that the Index’s 1938-1979 chart of Title Designations will guide the researcher, at least, to the pertinent title. IHS has announced its intention to compile a cumulative 1938-1976 Index, while simultaneously producing annual indexes for years after 1979; the 18,000 term thesaurus will be expanded to include terms not contained in the 1977-1979 Index. June 198 1 is the target date for the introduction of an on-line data base for this Index, the price and distributors of which are currently being negotiated.
Boston,
LEO McAULIFFE Public Service Librarian Social Law Library 1200 Court House Massachusetts 02108 USA
Law and Legal Information Directory. Edited by Paul Wasserman and Marck ‘Kaszubski. Michigan: Gale Research Company, 1980. 527 pp. $80 ISBN 0-8103-0169-S. LC 80-20178.
Detroit,
This directory is intended to provide access to basic sources of legal information for “individuals in all walks of life.” It is composed of 14 sections, each devoted to a specific category of legal organizations, publications and institutions: National and International Organizations, Bar Associations, Federal Court System, Federal Regulatory Agencies, Law Schools, Continuing Legal Education Programs, Paralegal Education, Scholarships and Grants, Awards and Prizes, Special Libraries, Information Systems and Services, Research Centers, Legal Periodicals, and Book and Media Publishers. When appropriate, individual sections are followed by KWIC indexes, which afford subject access to the alphabetical and geographical directory listings. The editors claim that this is a “comprehensive guide,” but such a characterization is inaccurate. Not only are entries selective, but the criteria for their inclusion are neither stated nor predictable. This causes it to lack the reliability which is the requisite of a first rate reference tool. For instance, the National Law Journal and Legal Times of Washington are included as Legal Periodical Publications, but the most prestigious daily newspaper, the New York Law Journal, is omitted. The Topeka Bar Association Newsletter and the Hennepin Lawyer are included, and a multitude of other local bar publications are not. The section on National and International Organizations include the American Society of Questioned Documents Examiners and 365 other groups “related to the legal field,” but the American Association of Law Libraries is notably absent. This apparently random selection process plagues each section of the directory and detracts from its utility. A substantial amount of information, particularly with respect to personnel, was outdated before publication, and there is no method for supplementing this hard-bound volume. Conceptually, this directory is valuable, and there are numerous entries which often provide precise, current information. However, any major law collection has this information in other sources, and this volume is not the reliable, “comprehensive guide’* which justifies its purchase for a general reference collection.
Boston,
LEO McAULIFFE Public Service Librarian Social Law Library 1200 Court House Massachusetts 02108 USA
Microlog Index: Canadian Government Publications and Reports/Rapports et publications gouvernementales canadiennes. Vol. I- 1979- . Monthly with annual cumulation. Toronto: Micromedia Ltd. Annual subscription (Vol. 3, 1981): $250.00 ISSN 0707-3135. Canada and the United States are becoming increasingly interdependent in fields such as control of natural resources, energy, pollution and defence. Many American librarians are finding it necessary to strengthen their means of access to Canadian publications, especially research reports. One method worth considering is Microlog which corresponds to the NTIS file of U.S. government report literature: Microlog Index covers annually some 7,000 English and French language documents of reference and