JCOT summer.indd


      PREFACE

Jeanine Ward-Roof
Senior Associate Editor

 Selecting a book for a campus reading program can often be a daunting task for a 
professional. To assist orientation, transition, and retention professionals with this duty, the National 
Orientation Directors Association is pleased to offer a new electronic book review edition of 
NODA’s The Journal of College Orientation and Transition. This edition reviews 12 different types 
of books spanning a variety of broad topics and is divided into three distinct categories: 
common reading—general books which could be used with a variety of audiences; freshman interest 
groups—books that would be ideal to use in a freshman interest group setting— and books that 
address specifi c topics such as fi nancial responsibility, diversity, and vocational issues which could 
be used in a class, colloquium, or other setting with new or special interest groups of students.
 This special edition is possible thanks to a partnership formed with Stephanie Campbell 
Smith at Penguin Group (USA), who provided us with the majority of books for this edition. We are 
in the process of reviewing additional books and expect future editions to include publications from 
Penguin Book Group (USA); Jossey-Bass; as well as John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Stylus Publish-
ing, Inc.; and individual authors and other publishers who sent books for review. In addition to the 
publishers we also thank the reviewers for their efforts as without their work, this edition would 
not have been possible. Reviewers were solicited by a message sent on the NODA Listserv through 
which many people responded and agreed to read and review books.
 Ultimately, selection of a book is determined by many campus-specifi c variables, and it is 
the hope of NODA leadership that this resource will assist its members with that process. In 
addition, we will continue to include book reviews in the print editions of the journal. We hope that 
you enjoy this new resource, and we look forward to making The Journal of College Orientation 
and Transition Book Review Edition an annual resource for members of the National Orientation 
Directors Association.

Jeanine Ward-Roof (jwardroof@admin.fsu.edu) is the Dean of Students at Florida State University.

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