Best Reference 2005

Whether in print or online or both, reference publishing had a wonderful year in 2005, as evidenced by the following list. This year we have altered our approach, combining print and electronic formats in an effort to reflect trends and show that the issue is content not format. As these resources prove, content remains strong while the way in which it is delivered continues to evolve.

The year marked two notable anniversaries: ABC-CLIO’s Encyclopedia of World War II commemorated the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, while the monumental Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan commemorated the centennial of the Canadian province. As befits America’s largest ethnic minority, two major works on Latinos were released as well: The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States and Scholastic’s Encylopedia Latina, both boasting articles on every aspect of Latino life.

Unfortunately, 2005 was also the year of great disasters. While the damages caused by two devastating hurricanes that struck the Gulf Coast are still being tabulated, you can learn about the Mississippi River and its problems in Elsevier’s Rivers of North America or locate some of those devastated Louisiana parishes in Oxford’s Atlas of North America.

In 2005, students everywhere were checking their profile and those of their friends on Facebook, a new online service for students modeled after the older LiveJournal and MySpace. To better understand this technologically astute generation, ABC-CLIO’s Contemporary Youth Culture discusses media, culture, and youth on a global basis while Urban Dictionary, one of the hottest new web sites around, defines new terms like “emo boys” (boys who listen to pretentious bands, dress with more care than girls, and read in-depth books while sipping on low-fat lattes).

The year also brought some much-needed titles into the electronic market. As expected, EBSCO developed a slew of thoughtful new reference products. Any reference librarian should be delighted to see two excellent book review sources on this year’s list: EBSCO’s Book Index with Reviews and Wilson’s Book Review Digest Retrospective: 1905-1982. Alexander Street Press pulled off another major coup—and made a lovely contribution to the profession—by offering its In the First Person file to researchers for free.

Finally, a significant trend on the database front is illustrated by Oxford’s pricing for its Oxford Digital Reference Shelf: purchase costs start under $200 and range on up. Publishers and vendors appear to be getting past their initial “fits of the vapors” about online prices and are beginning to approach pricing in a more rational way. We hope this holds true.

Antisemitism. 2 vols. ABC-CLIO. 828p. ed. by Richard S. Levy. illus. index. ISBN 1-85109-439-3. $185.

Hostility toward Jews has produced an enormous body of literature. Written by 200 scholars in 21 countries, this A–Z reference traces anti-Jewish stereotyping and hatred to the Diaspora. The 600-plus wide-ranging articles cover everything from antidefamation efforts in the United States to anti-Jewish prejudice in Vichy France. Despite the charged nature of the subject, the focus remains on the search for truth. Even Lindbergh gets a new look. [Ebook: ISBN 1-85109-444-X. $200.] (LJ 9/15/05)

Atlas of North America. Oxford Univ. 320p. ed. by H.J. de Blij. illus. index. ISBN 0-19-516993-X. $125.

It has been more than 30 years since the publication of Oxford’s Regional Economic Atlas of North America, which this atlas replaces. Much has changed since then, even the scope of the work, which now includes Mexico. Featuring newly drawn maps, the atlas highlights the region’s physical, cultural, and political geography. Thick paper, vibrant colors, and a large font make it a pleasure to use.

Berkshire Encyclopedia of World Sport. 4 vols. Berkshire. 1816p. ed. by David Levinson & Karen Christensen. illus. index. ISBN 0-9743091-1-7. $475.

Recent Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, attested to the enduring popularity of sports on a global scale. They also reminded us how little most of us know about sports like biathlon and luge. Interdisciplinary in nature, this reincarnation of the editors’ Encyclopedia of World Sport (1996) includes 430 signed articles that cover individual sports from aikido to wushu and social issues from drugs to sexism. (LJ 8/05)

Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology and American Ornithologists’ Union; www.bna.birds.cornell.edu/BNA

While its content is expert, this electronic counterpart to Birds of North America is so approachable, everyone from grade school students to electronically blasé adults will be coaxed into searching it by the pleasing colors, vibrant images, understandable text, and fantastically true-to-life birdsong. The printed version comprises 18 volumes and covers the 716 bird species nesting in the United States and Canada. The online file will be updated periodically. (LJ 8/05)

Book Index with Reviews. EBSCO; www.epnet.com

This thoroughly constructed and powerful reference tool contains information about nearly four million fiction and nonfiction books across subjects, reader’s age, and formats. About 800,000 of these are fully searchable full-text reviews from a wide variety of publications, including LJ and SLJ. The database uses a four-star popularity rating system, based on ordering patterns by librarians and booksellers nationwide and derived from an eight-year analysis of ordering data from Baker & Taylor. (LJ 7/05)

Book Review Digest Retrospective: 1905–1982. Wilson; www.hwwilson.com

Librarians take note: according to Wilson, switching to this file can save your library the more than 14 feet of shelf space that is currently occupied by the 78 printed annual volumes. Covering nearly 80 years, this beguiling database assesses 300,000 books in 1.5 million reviews and includes review excerpts from more than 500 English-language publications. (LJ 1/06)

Contemporary Youth Culture. 3 vols. Greenwood. 674p. ed. by Shirley Steinberg & others. illus. index. ISBN 0-313-32716-5. $199.95.

This resource serves as an important beginning for the scholar researching today’s youth culture. Using a variety of sources ranging from academic to autobiographical—even poetical—an international group of specialists seeks to make some sense of the post–World War II youth culture by discussing topics like Queer Punk, Emo Music, piercing, and sex bracelets.

Davidson, Mark. Right, Wrong and Risky. Norton. 570p. bibliog. ISBN 0-393-06119-1. $29.95.

The only regrettable thing about this work is that its author died before he could revel in its popularity. Ten years in the making, the book provides answers to questions about word choice, spelling, grammar, and punctuation. So if you want to be “cool” but are not sure if that word is still “extent” or “extant” and don’t know how to pronounce “reprise” (rhymes with breeze), make this a “requisite” (or is it a “requirement”?). (LJ 10/15/05)

Encyclopedia Latina. 4 vols. Grolier. 1826p. ed. by Ilan Stavans & Harold Augenbraum. illus. index. ISBN 0-7172-5815-7. $449.

“En boca cerrada no entran moscas.” Literally, a closed mouth does not attract flies. This example of dichos, defined here as sayings or witty aphorisms, is just one of 650 spectacular entries on Latino life. Contributed by academics, artists, journalists, even chefs, the pieces consume 1.2 million words, which generated, according to editor Stavans, 26,000 emails. (LJ 6/15/05)

ProductNameEncyclopedia of Animal Science. Taylor & Francis. 926p. ed. by Wilson G. Pond & Alan W. Bell. illus. index. ISBN 0-8247-5496-4. $495.

Reminding us that “domestic animals are an integral part of human existence,” this one-of-a-kind resource covers in 300 entries topics ranging from “adaptation and stress” to “zoo animals.” We learn that cattle, sheep, and goats were first domesticated around 8500 B.C.E. in the Fertile Crescent region of the Near East and that chickens can be traced back 8000 years to Thailand. The essay-long entries are enhanced by hundreds of figures, tables, and color photos. [Ebook: ISBN 0-8247-5495-6. $553.] (LJ 2/15/05)

Encyclopedia of Anthropology. 5 vols. Sage. 2373p. ed. by H. James Birx. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-7619-3029-9. $895.

With thick pages on brilliant white paper, 300 spectacular color illustrations, top edgings in elegant brown, further readings in green boxes, and cross references in red, this resource’s attention to detail is unparalleled. Defining anthropology as “the comparative scientific study of human societies throughout the world and throughout time,” the work covers key themes in 1000 authoritative entries. Expensive, but worth it. [Available online through Gale Virtual Reference Library.] (LJ 4/1/06)

Encyclopedia of Disability. 5 vols. Sage. 2459p. ed. by Gary L. Albrecht. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-7619-2565-1. $850.

The passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 established disability as involving a class of individuals protected under the law against various forms of discrimination. With contributions from 500 scholars, this work expertly covers more than 1000 topics ranging from ableism (prejudicial attitudes toward persons with disabilities) to xenodisability (disability in the animal world). [Available online through Gale Virtual Reference Library.] (LJ 5/1/06 )

Encyclopedia of Geology. 5 vols. Elsevier. 3297p. ed. by Richard C. Selley & others. illus. index. ISBN 0-12-636381-1. $1,318.

As noted in the foreword, few areas of science have changed as fast as geology in the past 40 years. Applications of new methods from physics, chemistry, and mathematics have revolutionized the study, and this masterful and accessible compilation reflects that. Its corps of over 300 international experts have written 340 lengthy essays on every aspect of geology, from biodiversity to weathering. [Available online through Elsevier’s ScienceDirect platform.]

The Encyclopedia of New England. Yale Univ. 1564p. ed. by Burt Feintuch & David H. Watters. illus. maps. index. ISBN 0-300-10027-2. $65.

A project of the University of New Hampshire’s Center for the Humanities, this convenient resource covers Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine. Its 1300 entries by 1000 contributors explore broad subjects of regional interest. Along with fascinating articles about clambakes, bundling, and Norman Rockwell, there are innovative segments on gender, complete with a chart on “Homosexual Rights Laws,” and images and ideals that discuss terms like frugality and, yes, even Yankee. This masterful volume sets a new standard for regional reference works. (LJ 10/1/05)

The Encyclopedia of New York State. Syracuse Univ. 1921p. ed. by Peter Eisenstadt & Laura-Eve Moss. illus. maps. index. ISBN 0-8156-0808-X. $95.

Inspired by editor Eisenstadt’s Encyclopedia of New York City, this resource details the history and culture of the state of New York through 4600 entries and hundreds of illustrations. It is the ultimate source for Trivial Pursuit New York Style. We learn, for example, that the state’s 695 apple farms produce 23.8 million bushels, second only to Washington, and that there have been 20 major earthquakes in the state since 1737. In return for state support of $650,000, each of the state’s 1,085 library systems received a free copy.

Encyclopedia of Prisons & Correctional Facilities. 2 vols. Sage. 1334p. ed. by Mary Bosworth. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-7619-2731-X. $310.

Prisons are a big business in the United States and one that is growing at a rapid rate. The 400 entries in this scholarly work provide a critical overview of U.S. penal institutions, discussing topics like convict lease system, conjugal visits, racism, recidivism, and juvenile justice. With firsthand comments from prisoners and a complete list of federal prisons nationwide, this is an essential acquisition. [Available online through Gale Virtual Reference Library.] (LJ 7/05)

Encyclopedia of Religion. 2d ed. 15 vols. Thomson Gale. 10,738p. ed. by Lindsay Jones. illus. index. ISBN 0-02-865733-0. $1,195.

First published in the distant 1987 to considerable acclaim, this resource has undergone a major revision to serve a new generation of students. Of the 2750 entries, only 1800 were retained with few changes; others were either eliminated or significantly revised. The work introduces 600 new topics on healing and medicine, with an overview and separate articles from Africa to Australia. [Available online through Gale Virtual Reference Library.] (LJ 8/05)

Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan. Univ. of Regina, Canadian Plains Research Ctr. 1071p. illus. maps. index. ISBN 0-88977-175-8. $125.

As befits the centennial of Saskatchewan’s entry as a Canadian province, this award-winning work is the single largest publishing project in the province’s history. With contributions from more than 800 writers, it features 2300 pieces that cover all aspects of life and subjects like aboriginal peoples, geography, history, and more. Over 1000 illustrations and stunning photographs complement the text.

Encyclopedia of Science, Technology and Ethics. 4 vols. Thomson Gale. 2378p. ed by Carl Mitcham. illus. index. ISBN 0-02-865831-0. $450.

At the onset of the 21st century, ethical and political challenges have become global in scope. We need only observe the damage wrought by the publication of cartoons in a Danish newspaper. Terrorists’ use of science and technology has intensified the issues. This provocative set confronts the major ethical issues of our time in a series of 675 articles, 33 of which are overviews of topics like computer ethics, while the remainder deal with such “hot-button” issues as abortion and animal rights. [Available online through Gale Virtual Reference Library.]

Encyclopedia of the Documentary Film. 3 vols. Routledge. 1110p. ed. by Ian Aitken. illus. index. ISBN 1-57958-445-4. $475.

Documentary film dates back more than a century. Since then, it has been used to both propagandize and reflect social concerns. In this first comprehensive resource—winner of this year’s Dartmouth Medal—242 scholars contribute 800 articles on film history and filmmakers, concepts and themes, and institutions. While famous directors like Leni Riefenstahl are discussed in detail, so, too, is the lesser-known Bosnian Documentary Movement. (LJ 1/06)

Encyclopedia of the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. 3 vols. Sharpe Reference: M.E. Sharpe. 1256p. ed. by John D. & Joseph Buenker. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-7656-8051-3. $299.

A father and a son have combined their talents with 220 specialists to produce a comprehensive set on a period between 1870 and 1920, when the United States emerged as an urban and industrial world power. Some 900 A–Z entries cover key individuals, events, and organizations of the times, and 17 essays discuss broad themes like the economy, politics, religion, and pop culture. (LJ 1/06)

Encyclopedia of World Trade. 4 vols. Sharpe Reference: M.E. Sharpe. 1278p. ed. by Cynthia Clark Northrup. illus. maps. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-7656-8058-0. $425.

Trade is a basic human activity that has evolved over time from the exchange of food and other necessities to exchange of the sophisticated technologies of the 21st century. This set’s 450 entries discuss the development of trade over time by focusing on countries, regimes, organizations, historical figures, key events, and much more.

The Encyclopedia of World War II. 5 vols. ABC-CLIO. 2251p. ed. by Spencer C. Tucker. illus. maps. index. ISBN 1-57607-999-6. $485.

With 4000 books in print and countless movies and miniseries, World War II is one of the most written about events of all time. Coming on the 60th anniversary of the end of the war, this resource sheds new light based on recent scholarship. Over 1500 A–Z entries trace the causes, course, and effects of the war, illuminating, for example, that Canada put ten percent of its population into uniform and the American army sustained nearly one million casualties. [Ebook: ISBN 1-57607-095-6. $530; both formats: $770.] (LJ 8/05)

Firefly Encyclopedia of Trees. Firefly. 288p. ed. by Steve Cafferty. illus. index. ISBN 1-55407-051-1. $49.95.

Firefly’s reputation for producing unusually attractive reference books will be enhanced by this appealing work on trees. It covers all of the conifer genera, the major temperate broad leaves, and the most important trees of the tropics. The former are arranged by family, the latter alphabetically. Chapters on “What Is a Tree,” bark, root systems, leaves, flowers, fruit, and forests are followed by the main body of the work.

Garden Literature Index. EBSCO; www.epnet.com

This is the only game in e-town to find popular, practical, scholarly, and R&D literature on gardening and horticulture in one place, derived from over 300 journals. It is the “stump removal” search that will impress every researcher. Not only do you get a citation to an “Ask Martha” solution from Martha Stewart Living, but you are offered a variety of ideas, including recommendations for specific stump cutters and grinders as well as chemical approaches. (LJ 11/15/05)

GLBT Life with Full Text. EBSCO; www.epnet.com

Although GLBT Life was on LJ’s “Best Reference Databases of 2004” list, we are saluting it again because last year EBSCO added the full text of nearly 40 journals, creating another winner. The interface, scope, thesaurus, and full text combine to make a hugely powerful research tool for a rapidly growing field of study. (LJ 4/15/05)

The Greenwood Companion to Shakespeare. 4 vols. Greenwood. 1372p. ed. by Joseph Rosenblum. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-313-32779-3. $299.95.

While there are many valuable resources on English literature’s preeminent icon, this ranks among the most user-friendly. The combined talents of 41 mostly American specialists have produced 77 essays arranged by genre into four volumes (Overviews and the History Plays, The Comedies, The Tragedies, The Romances and Poetry). Certain to be in high demand. [Available online through Greenwood Digital Collection.] (LJ 7/05)

The Greenwood Library of American War Reporting. 8 vols. Greenwood. 3892p. ed. by David A. Copeland. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-313-32885-4. $995.

For information about their internal and external conflicts, Americans have often turned to newspapers and magazines. Today they also turn to TV broadcasts and web sites. This outstanding work uses primary sources of journalist reports to describe all of America’s conflicts, from the French and Indian War of 1753 to the war on terror since 2001. (LJ 9/15/05)

Guide to Political Campaigns in America. CQ Pr. 457p. ed. by Paul S. Herrnson. illus. index. ISBN 1-56802-876-8. $112.

It sometimes seems as if Americans are in one continuous election campaign. To help us make sense of it all, this volume covers the history, issues, processes, people, and types of U.S. campaigns. We learn that John Quincy Adams first used the term campaign in 1816, and in his era, “it was considered unseemly for political officeholders to solicit votes directly from the people.”

In the First Person, an Index to Letters, Diaries, Oral Histories and Personal Narratives. Alexander Street; www.alexanderstreet.com

This free library index makes the list for sheer originality of purpose. It allows users to perform searches across letters, diaries, oral histories, memoirs, and autobiographies available free online and through Alexander Street databases. It refers researchers to 350,000 pages of full text and 3500 collections of material covering 400 years. And did we mention it’s free?

New Dictionary of the History of Ideas. 6 vols. Scribner. 780p. ed. by Maryanne Cline Horowitz. illus. index. ISBN 0-684-31378-2. $730.

Expanding on the original Dictionary of Ideas (1974), New Dictionary is much more global in scope and content. Covering everything from abolitionism, gay studies, and feminism to social Darwinism and Zionism, it includes more than 750 in-depth articles. New gender and global-inclusive topics include Afrocentricity, critical race theory, man and masculinity, and yin/yang. (LJ 4/1/05)

Olsen, Kirstin. All Things Austen. 2 vols. Greenwood. 804p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-313-33032-8. $149.95.

Between 1811 and 1816, English novelist Jane Austen wrote some of the most enduring novels in English literature. Since the plots of her novels focus on courtship and marriage amongst the English upper class, understanding the day-to-day life of the period is paramount to understanding the novels. That task has been rendered a good deal easier with this wonderful compilation of 150 A–Z entries on the form and function of virtually every object mentioned in Austen’s works. [Available online through Greenwood Digital Library.] (LJ 9/15/05)

Oxford Digital Reference Shelf. Oxford Univ.; www.oup.com/online/digitalreference

This unique online platform consists of 12 separately searchable, self-contained Oxford titles that you can own for not much above what you pay for a single print copy. There’s a sliding scale of costs for the e-format, from $165 to $1,737.50. The titles can also be hosted on your own or Oxford’s servers for ongoing fees. What a refreshing—and smart!—approach to making content available online. (LJ 5/1/05)

The Oxford Encyclopedia of Latinos and Latinas in the United States. 4 vols. Oxford Univ. 2280p. ed. by Suzanne Obler & Deena J. González. illus. index. ISBN 0-19-515600-5. $525.

The 900 A–Z entries that make up this outstanding set—an honorable mention for this year’s Dartmouth Medal—illustrate every aspect of the Latin experience in the United States, from the arts to society. Included are topical entries on subjects as narrow as conjunto and telenovelas and as broad as immigration policy and the environmental justice movement. [Available online through Oxford Digital Reference Shelf; E-ISBN 0-19-518842-X.] (LJ 1/06)

ResearchNow. Berkeley Electronic Pr.; researchnow.bepress.com

This scholarly database just may be the face of the future in online publishing, with content coming from three sources: 25 peer-reviewed bepress journals; working papers, preprints, and other “grey literature” from institutional repositories; and items posted directly to the portal via the ResearchNow Upload Utility. Most notable: the file offers “quasi-open access,” as some content is unrestricted while other content requires a subscription. (LJ 2/1/06)

Rivers of North America. Elsevier. 1144p. ed. by Arthur C. Benke & Colbert E. Cushing. illus. maps. index. ISBN 0-12-088253-1. $99.95.

A group of North American specialists here profile 218 rivers throughout the continent, some represented by a single river system and others grouped by region. For each, they discuss such topics as early human history, physiography, and human impact. Many profiles are accompanied by spectacular photographs, often taken by the contributors, and hundreds of maps and figures. Did you know that the discharge from North American rivers is 17 percent of the world’s total?

Rosen, Fred. The Historical Atlas of American Crime. Facts On File. 296p. illus. index. ISBN 0-8160-4841-X. $75.

In 1992, the William Clements Library of the University of Michigan acquired one of the largest personal collections of American crime literature from retired Brooklyn printer John Medler. Crime author Rosen has mined those resources to describe how geography, population shift, and new methods of commerce, transportation, and weapons technology have impacted crime. In this pioneering resource, he describes familiar and obscure cases, from the Salem witch hunt murders to the sniper shooting spree of John Muhammad and Lee Malvo.

Taruskin, Richard. The Oxford History of Western Music. 6 vols. Oxford Univ. 4154p. illus. bibliog. index. ISBN 0-19-522271-7. $699.

About a thousand years ago, music stopped being an exclusively oral tradition and became a partly literate one. Over the past 13 years, Berkeley musicologist Taruskin has devoted his attention to writing the history of that millennium from Gregorian chants to MIDI (musical instrument digital interface). For a single individual to write a history consuming 1.25 million words is no mean accomplishment. To do it with such style and wit that it sometimes reads like a novel is uncommon. (LJ 2/15/06)

World Cultures Today: Daily Life Online. Greenwood; www.dailylife.greenwood.com

Another beautifully crafted product from Greenwood, this is a worthy companion to its sister title Daily Life Through History Online. Its content is mostly culled from the publisher’s “Culture and Customs” series but also from the “History of Modern Nations” series, Praeger monographs, CIA World Factbook data, and over 150 authenticated web sites. The design is superb, and the content will only get better as more books are added to the file. (LJ 10/1/05)