Submitted October 13

The followiing list represents the books I were assigned in completing these evaluations:

1. Citation:  Gales Database of Publications of Broadcast Media. 1969- Farmington Hill, MI: Gale Group. (online)
2. Purpose:  To provide a directory of media related references.
3. Authority: Entries are derived from annual questionnaire mailings and telephone calls to publishers and broadcasters.
4. Scope:  Contains over 87,000 records from newspapers, magazines, periodicals, journals, directories, newsletters, radio, and television.
5. Format: Similar to a MARC record – abbreviations on the left side margin; details of that particular record on the right. Three types of records: database, producer, or vendor.
6. Entries:  Include name or title, owner or publisher, address, phone and fax number, editors, information about circulation, price, frequency, advertising rates, subject coverage, alternative formats, dimensions, and printing methods.
7. Special features:  Available in ERA (an online redistribution and archiving service)
8. Uses:  Ability to search by city and state to find publications in a specific area.
9. Overall Evaluation:  I do not see this as an essential tool for academic library, most of the same entries can be found in Gales’ broader Ready Reference Shelf Database.

1. Citation:  Gales Directory of Databases.  1993-Farmington Hills, MI: Gale Group. (online)
2. Purpose:  According to the website http://library.dialog.com/bluesheets/html/bl0230.html#AB, to “find the desired physical media of a database.”  Useful reference tool for producers and vendors.
3. Authority: Produced by Gale Research.
4. Scope:  Includes over 9,800 databases and database products by more than 3,400 database producers.  (World wide, not limited to the English language.)
5. Format: Similar to a MARC record – abbreviations on the left side margin; details of that particular record on the right. Three types of records: database, producer, or vendor.
6. Arrangement:  Two volumes: the first covers actual online databases, the second covers CD-ROMs, diskettes, magnetic tapes, handhelds, and batch access databases.
7. Entries:  Database entries include content and subject coverage, type, language, timespan, frequency, geographic coverage, producer contact, information, and vendor availability. Online database entries also include file label, rates, other electronic formats, price, software, and system requirements.  Producer entries include address, phone and fax numbers, email address, former names, branch offices, and lists of available databases or database products.  Vendor entries include address, phone and fax numbers, email address, former names, and branch offices, and lists of available databases or database products. Online vendor entries also include information on conditions of access, networks used, and gateway access. For portable vendors, includes a list of distributors.
8. Special features:  Includes international entries.
9. Uses:  May be useful for an acquisitions department looking to purchase database sources for library.
10. Overall Evaluation:  Similar to the Gales Database of Publications of Broadcast Media, not necessary for most libraries, as many entries can be found on Ready Reference Shelf Database, also by Gales.

1. Citation:  LMP (Literary Market Place).  2006. Medford, NJ: Information Today.
2. Purpose:  Provides industry information to professionals. Directory of publishing.
3. Authority: Information Today is a recognized corporation in the publishing industry.
4. Scope:  Contains over 14,000 entries which are derived from U.S. and Canadian publications.  Two volumes: one contains industry specific information such as publishers, editorial services, agents, associations, book trades, events, awards, books, and magazines; volume two focuses on trade resources and services, including book manufacturers, advertising, marketing, publicity, sales, distributors, and all services and suppliers.
5. Format: Various ways to search: name, geographic location, subject, type of publication.
6. Arrangement:  Arranged alphabetically.
7. Entries:  Include name, address, telephone, staff, and informative statistics.
8. Special features: 
9. Uses:  Publishers and writers would have the most use for this.
10. Overall Evaluation:  Very informative, more relevant to members of the publishing industry rather than those of an academic library.  However, it might be a useful to have available for patrons looking for information on publishing.

1. Citation: Publist.com – http://www.publist.com
2. Purpose:  An electronic database service that contains both print and electronic reference entries (magazines, journals, e-journals, newsletters, and monographs).
3. Authority: According to the website, Frederick Bowes III founded the database in 1998. Infotrieve bought the rights in 2000.
4. Scope:  This database contains over 150,000 national and international entries in over 300 subject areas.
5. Format: Entries appear on the screen in the format of a colored card.  They are clear and easy to interpret with the heading of each section of information in bold text.
6. Arrangement:  Entries are divided into three parts: main screen, publisher information, and full record, as indicated by the three tabs across the top of the “card.”
7. Entries:  Entries include information on the following: Title, Publication Type, Frequency, ISSN, Country, Language, Editor, Publisher, Publisher Address, Publisher Contact Information,
8. Special features:  There are five ways to search the database: title, publisher, subject, advanced search, browse, ISSN.
9. Uses:  User friendly; one does not need to be a scholar to successfully retrieve results from this site.
10. Overall Evaluation:  At the time of access, the parts of the website were being. Reconstructed.  Therefore, it was not possible to search by subject.  This put the website at a disadvantage. Similarly, the “browse” section was unavailable. This was disappointing; as overall, it appears to be a useful tool for libraries.

1. Citation: The Reader’s Adviser.  13^th ed. 5 vols.  New York, N.Y.: R.R. Bowker Company, 1986.
2. Purpose:  To provide a list of books, sorted by subject, to a broad audience (the “nonspecialist”).
3. Authority:  The Reader’s Advisor stresses that it is NOT a research tool for scholars and students.  Therefore, selections are made based on their availability to the nonspecialist through the average, moderately sized library system.
4. Scope:  This edition contains entries for books printed in the United States.  Only those out of print materials that are deemed extremely important to the field are included. 
5. Format:  Entries are arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name.  Each subsection contains a brief bibliography, followed by a more detailed description of selected authors (in paragraph form).  Included is a list of other works by each author, as well as other books about that author.
6. Arrangement:  Volumes and chapter within the volumes are organized to flow from general to specific.  Each chapter begins with an introduction.  General reading lists and full entries follow. 
7. Entries:  Entries are listed in one of two ways: either a simple bibliographic citation or an in-depth, paragraph form description.  Included for each title referenced is the author, title, editor, series title, translator, authors of prefaces (and introductions and forewords), edition, number of volumes, reprint data, publisher, date of publication, and price.
8. Special Features:  Included in each entry is the price.
9. Uses:  Tailored to the nonspecialist.
10. Overall Evaluation: A must for a public library wishing to aid the common patron in a search for nonspecialized reading material. 

1. Citation: Standard Periodical Directory.  23^rd ed. New York: Oxbridge Communications, 2000.
2. Purpose:  To provide uses with a bibliographic reference tool for searching periodicals. 
3. Authority:  Largest directory of periodicals in the United States and Canada. 
4. Scope:  Contains entries from over 56,000 magazines, journals, newsletters, newspapers, and directories in the United States and Canada. Published annually in one volume.
5. Format: The title of each entry is bold.  Listed alphabetically by the title of the periodical.
6. Entries:  Entries include title; any previous titles; location, telephone number, email address, fax number, website address, executive staff of the publisher; a phrase describing the periodical; the year it was established; publication frequency; target audience; information on the production; ISSN and ISBN; the type of publication and whether it is available in other formats; information on advertising, renting space, etc.; and indexing and abstracting services.
7. Special Features:  Also available in CD-Rom.
8. Uses:  It is tailored to librarians, suppliers to publishers, marketers, and advertisers.
9. Overall Evaluation:  Entries are very thorough and include an enormous amount of information.  Having a sample entry outlining the abbreviations is critical to interpreting all of the information provided.

1. Citation: Whitaker’s Books in Print.  London:Whitaker, 1874-. Annual.
2. Purpose:  To provide users with a master reference list of titles, authors, publishers, wholesalers, and distributors.
3. Authority: Entries are obtained directly from publishers in a variety of formats: catalogs, Advance Book Information Forms, and via telephone calls, faxed submissions, and emails. The Electronic Data Interchange accepts these submissions twenty four hours a day, seven days a week.
4. Scope: Includes over a million entries from 50,000 publishers for all types of books, covering all types of topics (includes a complete list of books having multiple editions as well).
5. Format:  Thin, newspaper-like pages
6. Entries:  Included author, contributors (if any), title, subtitle, editor’s information, page reference to the full entry in title index, additional titles by the same author, cross references to joint authors.
7. Arrangement: Alphabetically by author (as this index was for author).  Volume includes a publisher name index, wholesalers, and distributors, a geographic index, and a section devoted to inactive/out of business.
8. Special Features:  Preface offers a vast amount of information on how to use the reference book.  In addition to providing information on how to use the book (including sample entries), it also informs readers on the history of the book and how the multiple volumes are organized
9. Uses:  Reference tool for scholars, anyone seeking literature references.
10. Overall Evaluation:  At first glance, each volume is very overwhelming. New users should take a moment to read the preface, so as to understand how to use the book as a reference tool.