ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries


October 1993 / 5 2 9

C o m m ittees in th e  U.S.
C o n g r e s s  1947—1 9 9 2 , V ol­
u m e  1: C o m m itte e  J u r is ­
d ic tio n s  a n d  M em b er R os­
t e r s , b y  G a rris o n  N e lso n  
(1,015 pages, July 1993), is 
the first of tw o  volum es that 
p re s e n ts  a c o m p re h e n s iv e  
h i s t o r y  o f  c o n g r e s s i o n a l  
c o m m i t t e e  m e m b e r s h i p .
N elson has d raw n  o n  h u n ­
d red s o f sources to com pile 
th e m em b ersh ip  lists o f ev­
ery H ouse, Senate, joint, se ­
lect, a n d  special com m ittee 
since 1947. Party affiliation, ranking, a n d  se­
niority level are given for each m em b er for each 
session. V olum e 2, to b e  p u b lish e d  in N ovem ­
ber, will detail ea ch  m e m b e r’s com m ittee as­
signm ents th ro u g h o u t his or h e r career. Vol­
u m e  1 costs $225 a n d  m ay b e  o rd e re d  from  
C ongressional Q uarterly Books, C ustom er Ser­
vice, 300 Raritan C en ter Parkw ay, P.O . Box 
7816, Edison, NJ 08818-7816. ISBN 0-87187-729-5.

G a y  a n d  Lesbian Characters a n d  Themes
i n  M y ste r y  N o v e ls , by  A n th o n y  Slide (199 
pages, A ugust 1993), provides descriptions of 
m ore th an  500 novels w ith hom osexual them es, 
b o th  m ainstream  a n d  th o se specifically for gays 
a n d  lesbians. Each entry includes a plot sy n o p ­
sis a n d  critical com m entary. Som e fam ous a u ­
thors are featured— Agatha Christie, Ed McBain, 
Patricia Highsm ith, Sir Arthur C onan Doyle, a n d  
Jo h n  D. M acD onald— w hile in the in troduction 
h o m o s e x u a l th e m e s  are c re d ite d  to  c e rta in  
w orks o f D ickens a n d  Balzac. A c o p y  m ay b e  
purchased for $35-00 from McFarland & Co., Box 
611, Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950-798-0.

A  G u id e  to  t h e  O x f o r d  E n g lis h
D ic tio n a r y , by  D o n n a  Lee Berg (206 pages, 
July 1993), c o m p iled  in consultation w ith the 
OEDs editors, is a n  essential c o m p a n io n  to 
w hat m an y  c o n sid e r th e  w o rld ’s g reatest En­
glish dictionary. T h e first p art describ es each 
structural e le m en t o f th e OED entries, w hile 
the s e c o n d  p a rt consists o f alphabetically ar­
ran g ed  articles o n  gram m atical, lexicographi­
cal, a n d  linguistic term s u s e d  in th e dictionary. 
Many e x am p les are given to illustrate co n cep ts 
discussed in th e text, so that first-time users of 
the OED will b e  p re p a re d  for its a b u n d a n c e  of

N e w
P ublications

G e o rg e  M . E b e rh a rt

inform ation. The guide costs 
$18.95 a n d  m ay b e  o rd ere d  
f r o m  O x f o r d  U n i v e r s i ty  
Press, 200 M adison Avenue, 
N ew  York, NY 10016. ISBN 
0-19-869179-3.

In T h e  M a n l e y  A r t  o f
L i b r a r i a n s h i p ,  b y  W ill 
M anley (242 pages, August 
1993), the form er colum nist 
for th e Wilson Library B u l­
letin w h o  w as fired for w rit­
in g  o n  lib ra ria n s  a n d  sex 
s o u n d s off in his character­

istic w a y  a b o u t th e library profession. M anley 
e x cels at inven tin g  h u m o ro u s  lists, a n d  this 
b o o k  has th em  in ab u n d an ce: 13 g o o d  things 
a b o u t th e A m erican Library Association; 9 signs 
that y o u r library has b e c o m e  to o  bureaucratic; 
15 p roductive u ses o f a d e a d  cataloger; things 
o v e rh e a rd  at catalogers’ cocktail parties; w hy 
food m akes librarians talk; h o w  to avoid bein g  
assassinated o n  y o u r first d ay  o f w ork; a n d  20 
q u estio n s m ost censors d o  n o t w a n t y ou to ask 
them . T he infam ous sex survey is rep rin te d  
here, w ith em bellishm ents. A p o te n t antidote 
to biblioangst, or the uncertainty felt at least 
o n c e  in a librarian’s lifetime that lobster fisher­
m an  or sh e p h e rd e s s  m ight have b e e n  a m ore 
a p p ro p riate  c a re e r choice. A c o p y  m ay be or­
dered for $21.95 from McFarland & Co., Box 6 l  1, 
Jefferson, NC 28640. ISBN 0-89950-866-9.

Special Collections Policies, Procedures
a n d  G u id e lin e s , by C hristopher Anglim (556 
pages, J u n e  1993), w as d e sig n e d  to b e  u s e d  as 
a m odel p lan  for the m an a g e m e n t o f special 
legal collections, b u t it will also pro v e perti­
n e n t to o th e r special collections. M uch o f the 
m odel p lan  is b a se d  o n  the m ission, adm inis­
tration, scope, services, a n d  policies in p lace at 
th e South T exas C ollege o f Law, w h e re  the 
a u th o r is a reference librarian. More th an  haíf 
o f th e b o o k  contains reprints o f p ro ce d u re s and 
g u id elin e s, so m e  o f th e m  from  ACRL’s Rare 
Books a n d  M anuscripts Section a n d  others from 
th e N ational Archives o r th e A m erican Associa­
tion o f Law Librarians. Overall, a useful guide 
to th e th eo ry  a n d  practice o f special collections 
librarianship. C opies are available for $68.50 
from  W illiam S. H ein & Co., 1285 Main Street, 
Buffalo, NY 14209. ISBN 0-89941-814-7. ■