- Email: [email protected]
The documentation of the European communities: A guide
296
Reviews
will happen to the American Memory Program difficult. Despite the caveats, the future looks bright for the American Memory Program. The premise of making previously little-used Library of Congress collections more accessible across the country is laudable. Even with only a few components operational, the project is off to an auspicious beginning and demonstrates considerable potential. For further details on the American Memory Program contact: Carl Fleischhauer at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540. MICHAEL SIMONS Getchell Library University of Nevada, Reno Reno, NV 89557 USA
World Media Handbook. Prepared by the United Nations Department of Public Information. New York: United Nations Department of Public Information, 1990. (Distributed by Unipub) 299 pp. ISBN: 92-1100426-8. DPI/l021. $38.00. This handbook brings together data from a number of sources to provide the user with a concise summary of media activities in the 70 countries covered. Prepared primarily as a reference tool for the United Nations Department of Public Information, this first edition of the Handbook contains data only on those countries that host United Nations Information CentreslServices (UNICS). Many hosts are developing countries for which media data is difficult to obtain. In short, every country is not summarized in this reference tool, but those that are, are covered extensively. Working with figures from the 198Os, entries for each country fist provide some basic population, per capita income, and life expectancy data as well as cultural background such as student population and illiteracy rates. The media information provided includes the number and circulation of daily newspapers, the number of radio transmitters, radios, televisions and televisions per 1,000 population, the number of telephones, phones per 100 population and telex subscriber lines. The names, addresses, FAX numbers, phone numbers, and circulation figures are provided for major newspapers of each country. Addresses, FAX and phone numbers are provided for major magazines and perodicals, news agencies within the country, radio and television broadcast companies, journalistic associations, journalism education centers, and, finally, the United Nations Information Centre in each country. This is truly a wealth of information for those countries that are covered. This reference tool is particularly outstanding when compared to commercially produced sources. Although there are excellent tools that provide much more detailed information on newspapers, and radio and television stations in the United States and Canada like Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media (Formerly Ayer Directory of Publications), there are few that comprehensively cover other countries of the world, especially third world countries. Specialized tools such as the International Television and Video Almanac, the World Radio TV Handbook, and the Television and Cable Factbook provide more detailed information on the United States, Canada, and the Virgin Islands, but none provide the broad range of information in this new U.N. Handbook. The greatest drawback to this handbook as a reference tool is the limited number of countries included. The introduction suggests that only this first edition will be limited to the countries that host U.N. Information Centres. It is highly recommended that future editions expand to include other countries of the world, thus making this the best source for international media information. LAURA LEE CARTER University of Colorado, Boulder Boulder, CO 80309-0184 USA
The Documentation of the European Communities: xiv, 382 pp. ISBN o-7201-2022-5. f35.00.
A Guide. By Ian Thomson. London: Mansell,
1989.
The purpose of this book is “to describe the current (early 1988) range of publicly available printed documents” produced by the institutions and organizations of the European Communities (Preface, p. viii) [l].
Reviews
297
The author is keenly aware of the need for an up-to-date sequel to John Jeffries’s work, A Guide to the Official Publications of the European Communities, and acknowledges his debt to Jeffries [2]. The Introduction sketches the institutional setting and provides a brief overview of European Community (EC) documentation, indicating the fearsome quantity (720,000 pages of text submitted for publishing to the Offtce for Official Publications of the European Communities, OOPEC, in 1987); categories of documents (legislative documents, internal and external research publications, and explanatory and background material); certain problems of documentation (poor bibliographic control, decentralized publishing); availability and distribution of the material; and the role of OOPEC. Chapter 1 deals with primary, secondary, and supplementary EC legislation, and the resulting documents and publications. Particularly useful are a description of component parts of the Oficial Journal of the European Communities and a review of bibliographical aids. The subject of the subsequent six chapters is the Commission of the EC (or European Commission). Chapter 2 discusses the structure, functions, and documentation of the Commission. Chapters 3 and 4 are devoted, respectively, to bibliographical and general documentation. Chapter 5 is an overview of the more important items issued by the Directorates-General of the Commission (these range from external relations through economic and financial affairs to environment, consumer protection, and nuclear safety). Chapter 6 gives a detailed discussion of printed and electronic information produced by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat). Chapter 7 is an overview of the Spokesman’s Service and information offices. The next five chapters examine institutions of the EC other than the Commission: the Council of Ministers (Chapter 8), the European Parliament (Chapter 9), the Economic and Social Committee (Chapter IO), the Court of Justice of the European Communities (Chapter ll), and the Court of Auditors (Chapter 12). The final chapter (13) treats other EC organizations; for example, the European Investment Bank and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Each chapter discusses the structure and major functions, as well as the documentation, of the respective institution or organization. There are six appendices: (a) a list of major EC reports, periodicals and series; (b) a list of EC databases and online services, indicating availability to the public; (c) EC information offices (in member states) and external delegations (in states outside the EC); (d) sales offices and agents for EC material; (e) a brief annotated bibliography of sources of information about, but not published by, the EC; and (f) a worldwide list of European Documentation Centres, “Euro Info Centres,” EC depository libraries, and European Reference Centres. A combined subject-title-organization name index completes the volume. Ian Thomson has not merely achieved his stated aim of describing the range of publicly available printed EC documentation. He has provided a thorough, systematic treatment of the sometimes frustratingly complex corpus of EC source material in various media, relating the documentary output to the originating institutions in a clear and concise manner. In addition to widely distributed documents and publications, he also discusses those categories of internal documents that are made available on a regular basis; for example, “COM documents” (pp. 66-70). Some sections of the book give painstakingly detailed descriptions of important sets; for example, SCAD (Service central automatise de documentation) publications (pp. 4347) and Eurostat titles (pp. 176-92). Similarly helpful is the description of EUR reports: items resulting from scientific research that are not as widely known as they deserve to be and are at times difficult to obtain (pp. 138-39 and elsewhere; see Index, p. 359). Sections, at the end of most chapters, on further information, “sources and references” or “notes and references” are also useful, although more extensive information in those sections would have been welcome. The tables (for example, the one illustrating the EC legislative process, pp. 20-21) are well constructed and informative; oddly, no page references to them are given in the table of contents. The index is excellent. It is clear, detailed, and easy to use. Among its strengths are: bold type for principal references and inclusion of informal titles (for example, the “Cecchini Report”). One curious reference (but understandable, given the fact that the author is steeped in EC terminology) is to “historical archives, EC” rather than to “archives” where one might expect it. The criticisms are minor and few, and the merits of the book are considerable. Librarians, researchers, academic and business people, as well as government officials should find it very useful, especially as 1992 approaches and the EC achieves increasing integration and ever greater economic and political influence. All in all, Ian Thomson’s volume is a worthy companion to the Jeffries work and to Michael Hopkin’s European Communities Information: Its Use and Users [3]. NOTES 1. Both “European Community” and “European Communities” are used to denote collectively the three Communities: the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European
298
Reviews
Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). 2. John Jeffries, A Guide ro the O~‘$cial Publicarionsof the European Communiries, 2d ed. (London: Mansell, 1981). 3. European CommunitiesInformation:Its Use and Users, ed. Michael Hopkins (London: Mansell, 1985). PETER I. HAJNAL University of Toronto Library Toronto M5S lA5 Canada
State Documents Checklist: A Historical Bibliography. By Susan L. Dow. Buffalo, NY: William S. Hein & Co., 1990. 224 pp. ISBN: O-89941-739-6.
LC: 90-33881. $38.50.
This work consists of a 34-page introduction to the history of state document checklists, a four-page scope statement, 145 pages of a state-by-state listing of checklists, a list of sources consulted, and an index to the checklist titles listed. “Checklist” is defined broadly to include retrospective bibliographies, including some master’s theses that consist of bibliographies of publications from specific states. The state-by-state checklist listing is alphabetical by state and chronological within each state. For most entries, the issuing agency (publisher), date of publication, format (paper, microfiche, etc.), and ID Number (RLIN and/or OCLC number) are given. When appropriate, entries contain frequency, ISSN, volume information, abstract, availability, history, and a note field. Personal authors and compilers seem to be the only use of the note field. It is not clear why the field was not termed Personal Author/Compiler. A draft list of state checklists, compiled from standard bibliographic sources, such as the Library of Congress’ Monthly Checklist of State Government Publications, individual state checklists, and published bibliographies was sent to “state document authorities” in each of the states during the summer of 1989 for comment and revision. According to the statement of scope, the bibliography is intended to serve as both an acquisition and a reference tool, helping librarians gain access to the bibliographies that can assist in acquiring state govemment publications as well as providing a source for bibliographic verification of the state document checklists. An excellent background to the history of state document bibliography is provided in the 34-page introduction. A special effort is made to cover the major persons who have contributed to state document bibliography, such as R. R. Bowker and Adelaide Hasse, as well as organizations that have been active in state document work such as the American Library Association, the National Association of State Libraries, and the Social Science Research Council. The introduction could serve not only as an excellent orientation to or review of state document bibliography for practicing librarians, but also as required reading for library school students studying the history of state government publications. The bibliographic listing of state checklists, while useful as a consolidated listing of both current and retrospective titles, does have some shortcomings. Dow claims that the listing includes more detailed information than is provided by other sources, but there is still much information not provided. The “abstract” field is really an extended note, providing information on subtitles, and so on, but not a summary of the content or scope of the checklist. Many states have more than one current checklist/bibliography title listed. Often one is a cumulation or an index to the other, such as the California State Publication, Register and Index. It serves as a cumulation of the annual index found in the December issue of California Srate Publications. In other states, the connection is not obvious or noted. Connecticut’s Report of the State Librarian seems to list state publications since 1907/08 to date and the Checklist of Publications of Connecticut State Agencies appears to do the same on a quarterly basis since 1984. A note clarifying whether they provide duplicate coverage would have been helpful. The same question is unanswered for Publications of the State of Illinois and the Illinois Documents List. Notations on the special functions of some of the checklists, such as the Illinois Documents List’s function of serving as a depository shipping list and current acquisition aid, would have been helpful. The publisher seems to have skimped on typesetting and quality control. The type appears to be based on a relatively unsophisticated desktop publishing/word processing program. Right margins are justified, but the word processing program did not provide true proportional print. The result is extra white space between some words, as well as letters sometimes squeezed together so closely that the “r” and “n” in “governmental” appear to be a misplaced letter from the Cyrillic alphabet. The general heaviness and cramped appearance is not pleasant to read. In the review copy, several pages were sufficiently smudged to give the appearance of an out-of-focus video screen rather than a printed page. Works such as this undoubtedly have limited sales potential and thus production costs must be kept down, but a bit more quality control in production should have exercised. The binding appears to be durable.
Reviews
will happen to the American Memory Program difficult. Despite the caveats, the future looks bright for the American Memory Program. The premise of making previously little-used Library of Congress collections more accessible across the country is laudable. Even with only a few components operational, the project is off to an auspicious beginning and demonstrates considerable potential. For further details on the American Memory Program contact: Carl Fleischhauer at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC 20540. MICHAEL SIMONS Getchell Library University of Nevada, Reno Reno, NV 89557 USA
World Media Handbook. Prepared by the United Nations Department of Public Information. New York: United Nations Department of Public Information, 1990. (Distributed by Unipub) 299 pp. ISBN: 92-1100426-8. DPI/l021. $38.00. This handbook brings together data from a number of sources to provide the user with a concise summary of media activities in the 70 countries covered. Prepared primarily as a reference tool for the United Nations Department of Public Information, this first edition of the Handbook contains data only on those countries that host United Nations Information CentreslServices (UNICS). Many hosts are developing countries for which media data is difficult to obtain. In short, every country is not summarized in this reference tool, but those that are, are covered extensively. Working with figures from the 198Os, entries for each country fist provide some basic population, per capita income, and life expectancy data as well as cultural background such as student population and illiteracy rates. The media information provided includes the number and circulation of daily newspapers, the number of radio transmitters, radios, televisions and televisions per 1,000 population, the number of telephones, phones per 100 population and telex subscriber lines. The names, addresses, FAX numbers, phone numbers, and circulation figures are provided for major newspapers of each country. Addresses, FAX and phone numbers are provided for major magazines and perodicals, news agencies within the country, radio and television broadcast companies, journalistic associations, journalism education centers, and, finally, the United Nations Information Centre in each country. This is truly a wealth of information for those countries that are covered. This reference tool is particularly outstanding when compared to commercially produced sources. Although there are excellent tools that provide much more detailed information on newspapers, and radio and television stations in the United States and Canada like Gale Directory of Publications and Broadcast Media (Formerly Ayer Directory of Publications), there are few that comprehensively cover other countries of the world, especially third world countries. Specialized tools such as the International Television and Video Almanac, the World Radio TV Handbook, and the Television and Cable Factbook provide more detailed information on the United States, Canada, and the Virgin Islands, but none provide the broad range of information in this new U.N. Handbook. The greatest drawback to this handbook as a reference tool is the limited number of countries included. The introduction suggests that only this first edition will be limited to the countries that host U.N. Information Centres. It is highly recommended that future editions expand to include other countries of the world, thus making this the best source for international media information. LAURA LEE CARTER University of Colorado, Boulder Boulder, CO 80309-0184 USA
The Documentation of the European Communities: xiv, 382 pp. ISBN o-7201-2022-5. f35.00.
A Guide. By Ian Thomson. London: Mansell,
1989.
The purpose of this book is “to describe the current (early 1988) range of publicly available printed documents” produced by the institutions and organizations of the European Communities (Preface, p. viii) [l].
Reviews
297
The author is keenly aware of the need for an up-to-date sequel to John Jeffries’s work, A Guide to the Official Publications of the European Communities, and acknowledges his debt to Jeffries [2]. The Introduction sketches the institutional setting and provides a brief overview of European Community (EC) documentation, indicating the fearsome quantity (720,000 pages of text submitted for publishing to the Offtce for Official Publications of the European Communities, OOPEC, in 1987); categories of documents (legislative documents, internal and external research publications, and explanatory and background material); certain problems of documentation (poor bibliographic control, decentralized publishing); availability and distribution of the material; and the role of OOPEC. Chapter 1 deals with primary, secondary, and supplementary EC legislation, and the resulting documents and publications. Particularly useful are a description of component parts of the Oficial Journal of the European Communities and a review of bibliographical aids. The subject of the subsequent six chapters is the Commission of the EC (or European Commission). Chapter 2 discusses the structure, functions, and documentation of the Commission. Chapters 3 and 4 are devoted, respectively, to bibliographical and general documentation. Chapter 5 is an overview of the more important items issued by the Directorates-General of the Commission (these range from external relations through economic and financial affairs to environment, consumer protection, and nuclear safety). Chapter 6 gives a detailed discussion of printed and electronic information produced by the Statistical Office of the European Communities (Eurostat). Chapter 7 is an overview of the Spokesman’s Service and information offices. The next five chapters examine institutions of the EC other than the Commission: the Council of Ministers (Chapter 8), the European Parliament (Chapter 9), the Economic and Social Committee (Chapter IO), the Court of Justice of the European Communities (Chapter ll), and the Court of Auditors (Chapter 12). The final chapter (13) treats other EC organizations; for example, the European Investment Bank and the European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions. Each chapter discusses the structure and major functions, as well as the documentation, of the respective institution or organization. There are six appendices: (a) a list of major EC reports, periodicals and series; (b) a list of EC databases and online services, indicating availability to the public; (c) EC information offices (in member states) and external delegations (in states outside the EC); (d) sales offices and agents for EC material; (e) a brief annotated bibliography of sources of information about, but not published by, the EC; and (f) a worldwide list of European Documentation Centres, “Euro Info Centres,” EC depository libraries, and European Reference Centres. A combined subject-title-organization name index completes the volume. Ian Thomson has not merely achieved his stated aim of describing the range of publicly available printed EC documentation. He has provided a thorough, systematic treatment of the sometimes frustratingly complex corpus of EC source material in various media, relating the documentary output to the originating institutions in a clear and concise manner. In addition to widely distributed documents and publications, he also discusses those categories of internal documents that are made available on a regular basis; for example, “COM documents” (pp. 66-70). Some sections of the book give painstakingly detailed descriptions of important sets; for example, SCAD (Service central automatise de documentation) publications (pp. 4347) and Eurostat titles (pp. 176-92). Similarly helpful is the description of EUR reports: items resulting from scientific research that are not as widely known as they deserve to be and are at times difficult to obtain (pp. 138-39 and elsewhere; see Index, p. 359). Sections, at the end of most chapters, on further information, “sources and references” or “notes and references” are also useful, although more extensive information in those sections would have been welcome. The tables (for example, the one illustrating the EC legislative process, pp. 20-21) are well constructed and informative; oddly, no page references to them are given in the table of contents. The index is excellent. It is clear, detailed, and easy to use. Among its strengths are: bold type for principal references and inclusion of informal titles (for example, the “Cecchini Report”). One curious reference (but understandable, given the fact that the author is steeped in EC terminology) is to “historical archives, EC” rather than to “archives” where one might expect it. The criticisms are minor and few, and the merits of the book are considerable. Librarians, researchers, academic and business people, as well as government officials should find it very useful, especially as 1992 approaches and the EC achieves increasing integration and ever greater economic and political influence. All in all, Ian Thomson’s volume is a worthy companion to the Jeffries work and to Michael Hopkin’s European Communities Information: Its Use and Users [3]. NOTES 1. Both “European Community” and “European Communities” are used to denote collectively the three Communities: the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), the European Economic Community (EEC), and the European
298
Reviews
Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). 2. John Jeffries, A Guide ro the O~‘$cial Publicarionsof the European Communiries, 2d ed. (London: Mansell, 1981). 3. European CommunitiesInformation:Its Use and Users, ed. Michael Hopkins (London: Mansell, 1985). PETER I. HAJNAL University of Toronto Library Toronto M5S lA5 Canada
State Documents Checklist: A Historical Bibliography. By Susan L. Dow. Buffalo, NY: William S. Hein & Co., 1990. 224 pp. ISBN: O-89941-739-6.
LC: 90-33881. $38.50.
This work consists of a 34-page introduction to the history of state document checklists, a four-page scope statement, 145 pages of a state-by-state listing of checklists, a list of sources consulted, and an index to the checklist titles listed. “Checklist” is defined broadly to include retrospective bibliographies, including some master’s theses that consist of bibliographies of publications from specific states. The state-by-state checklist listing is alphabetical by state and chronological within each state. For most entries, the issuing agency (publisher), date of publication, format (paper, microfiche, etc.), and ID Number (RLIN and/or OCLC number) are given. When appropriate, entries contain frequency, ISSN, volume information, abstract, availability, history, and a note field. Personal authors and compilers seem to be the only use of the note field. It is not clear why the field was not termed Personal Author/Compiler. A draft list of state checklists, compiled from standard bibliographic sources, such as the Library of Congress’ Monthly Checklist of State Government Publications, individual state checklists, and published bibliographies was sent to “state document authorities” in each of the states during the summer of 1989 for comment and revision. According to the statement of scope, the bibliography is intended to serve as both an acquisition and a reference tool, helping librarians gain access to the bibliographies that can assist in acquiring state govemment publications as well as providing a source for bibliographic verification of the state document checklists. An excellent background to the history of state document bibliography is provided in the 34-page introduction. A special effort is made to cover the major persons who have contributed to state document bibliography, such as R. R. Bowker and Adelaide Hasse, as well as organizations that have been active in state document work such as the American Library Association, the National Association of State Libraries, and the Social Science Research Council. The introduction could serve not only as an excellent orientation to or review of state document bibliography for practicing librarians, but also as required reading for library school students studying the history of state government publications. The bibliographic listing of state checklists, while useful as a consolidated listing of both current and retrospective titles, does have some shortcomings. Dow claims that the listing includes more detailed information than is provided by other sources, but there is still much information not provided. The “abstract” field is really an extended note, providing information on subtitles, and so on, but not a summary of the content or scope of the checklist. Many states have more than one current checklist/bibliography title listed. Often one is a cumulation or an index to the other, such as the California State Publication, Register and Index. It serves as a cumulation of the annual index found in the December issue of California Srate Publications. In other states, the connection is not obvious or noted. Connecticut’s Report of the State Librarian seems to list state publications since 1907/08 to date and the Checklist of Publications of Connecticut State Agencies appears to do the same on a quarterly basis since 1984. A note clarifying whether they provide duplicate coverage would have been helpful. The same question is unanswered for Publications of the State of Illinois and the Illinois Documents List. Notations on the special functions of some of the checklists, such as the Illinois Documents List’s function of serving as a depository shipping list and current acquisition aid, would have been helpful. The publisher seems to have skimped on typesetting and quality control. The type appears to be based on a relatively unsophisticated desktop publishing/word processing program. Right margins are justified, but the word processing program did not provide true proportional print. The result is extra white space between some words, as well as letters sometimes squeezed together so closely that the “r” and “n” in “governmental” appear to be a misplaced letter from the Cyrillic alphabet. The general heaviness and cramped appearance is not pleasant to read. In the review copy, several pages were sufficiently smudged to give the appearance of an out-of-focus video screen rather than a printed page. Works such as this undoubtedly have limited sales potential and thus production costs must be kept down, but a bit more quality control in production should have exercised. The binding appears to be durable.