- Email: [email protected]
Whenis a new edition not a new edition?
Library Acquisitions: Practice and Theory, Vol. 3, pp. 63-64 (1979) Printed in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.
0364-6408/79/020063-02502.00/0 Copyright © 1979 Pergamon Press Ltd
WHEN IS A NEW EDITION NOT A NEW EDITION? SCOTT R. BULLARD Editor-in-Chief
Recently, I acquired the "second edition, revised and updated" of a particular political science reference work for our library's collection. On the surface, everything about it appeared to be in order: the first edition had been published in 1969, and obviously, a great many significant changes have occurred in political science since that time. Therefore, I was a bit surprised when a member of our Reference staff brought the "second edition" back to me, complaining that, with the exception of a slight change in the Preface, the book was an exact reprint of the first edition. Seeing that the "second edition" was published by a university press, albeit a small one, I insisted that we scrutinize the book more carefully. We all know of various con artists who have ripped off the library market with inferior or non-existent books; but, I had never before heard of a university press stooping to such tactics. Now, I have heard o f such a one. Thus, I returned the book to the publisher with a note decrying his bogus "second edition." He replied that his was such a small operation that expanding the book would have proved overly costly to the consumer, and that revising and updating which did not necessitate resetting all the type was the only way his organization could offer the "second edition" at a reasonable price. Therefore, all those sentences in the first edition which began with "By 1969" were revised and updated to read "By 1979," and so forth! I know that some purists among us will contend that the publisher did not advertise his product in a deceptive fashion; they will say that, if the latter book differed in any way from the first, it can truly be termed a "second edition." Moreover, they will note that, however minimally, the "second edition" was "revised and updated." Perhaps one could afford to indulge in such pedantic gamesmanship if his or her library's budget were limitless. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of us must work with finite budget allocations, and being somewhat restricted accordingly, we must strive to purchase as much information as we can with our monies. As the purchasing power of libraries decreases, so should the librarian's tendency to acquire materials which largely duplicate information already in his or her library. S o . . . when is a new edition not a new edition? As indicated above, some purists may disagree with me; but, especially in these times of budgetary stringency, I must adhere tightly to the definition of new {revised} edition which appears in The Bookman's Glossary (New York, R. R. Bowker): 63
64
SCOTT R. BULLARD
An edition containing substantial revisions by the author or editor; not merely a new impression, a reprint, or a reissue from original plates which may or may not contain certain minor variations or corrections in format or text. I urge all o t h e r acquisitions librarians to e d i t i o n or revised e d i t i o n . P e r h a p s materials for refunds, t h e i r m a n u f a c t u r e r s p u b l i s h i n g things at least as valuable as t h e i r
new
c o n s i d e r a d o p t i n g a similar n o - n o n s e n s e d e f i n i t i o n for if we all start r e t u r n i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a l l y d u p l i c a t i v e will be f o r c e d e i t h e r to go o u t o f business or to start p u r c h a s e price indicates.
0364-6408/79/020063-02502.00/0 Copyright © 1979 Pergamon Press Ltd
WHEN IS A NEW EDITION NOT A NEW EDITION? SCOTT R. BULLARD Editor-in-Chief
Recently, I acquired the "second edition, revised and updated" of a particular political science reference work for our library's collection. On the surface, everything about it appeared to be in order: the first edition had been published in 1969, and obviously, a great many significant changes have occurred in political science since that time. Therefore, I was a bit surprised when a member of our Reference staff brought the "second edition" back to me, complaining that, with the exception of a slight change in the Preface, the book was an exact reprint of the first edition. Seeing that the "second edition" was published by a university press, albeit a small one, I insisted that we scrutinize the book more carefully. We all know of various con artists who have ripped off the library market with inferior or non-existent books; but, I had never before heard of a university press stooping to such tactics. Now, I have heard o f such a one. Thus, I returned the book to the publisher with a note decrying his bogus "second edition." He replied that his was such a small operation that expanding the book would have proved overly costly to the consumer, and that revising and updating which did not necessitate resetting all the type was the only way his organization could offer the "second edition" at a reasonable price. Therefore, all those sentences in the first edition which began with "By 1969" were revised and updated to read "By 1979," and so forth! I know that some purists among us will contend that the publisher did not advertise his product in a deceptive fashion; they will say that, if the latter book differed in any way from the first, it can truly be termed a "second edition." Moreover, they will note that, however minimally, the "second edition" was "revised and updated." Perhaps one could afford to indulge in such pedantic gamesmanship if his or her library's budget were limitless. Fortunately or unfortunately, most of us must work with finite budget allocations, and being somewhat restricted accordingly, we must strive to purchase as much information as we can with our monies. As the purchasing power of libraries decreases, so should the librarian's tendency to acquire materials which largely duplicate information already in his or her library. S o . . . when is a new edition not a new edition? As indicated above, some purists may disagree with me; but, especially in these times of budgetary stringency, I must adhere tightly to the definition of new {revised} edition which appears in The Bookman's Glossary (New York, R. R. Bowker): 63
64
SCOTT R. BULLARD
An edition containing substantial revisions by the author or editor; not merely a new impression, a reprint, or a reissue from original plates which may or may not contain certain minor variations or corrections in format or text. I urge all o t h e r acquisitions librarians to e d i t i o n or revised e d i t i o n . P e r h a p s materials for refunds, t h e i r m a n u f a c t u r e r s p u b l i s h i n g things at least as valuable as t h e i r
new
c o n s i d e r a d o p t i n g a similar n o - n o n s e n s e d e f i n i t i o n for if we all start r e t u r n i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a l l y d u p l i c a t i v e will be f o r c e d e i t h e r to go o u t o f business or to start p u r c h a s e price indicates.