Publications which publish reviews of new technical books are compared and evaluated. The ideal reviewing journal provides critical reviews of all books--good, bad and indifferent--written by subject specialists, and publishes these reviews at the same time as the books are published. A proposal for producing such a journal is presented for…

This report examining the status of science fiction in libraries during the 30-year period of the genre's infancy discusses past attitudes toward science fiction and policies concerning its selection and acquisition. In order to determine how strong an influence reviews would have been on the purchase of science fiction, the book announcements and…

Describes a study that investigated holdings of small publishers' books in OCLC libraries and selection procedures for these titles, including the influence of reviews, publishers, and vendors. Questionnaire responses from librarians and vendors are analyzed, and results indicating a significant relationship between holdings and reviews are…

The core journals of library and information science were identified by overlap of coverage in Library Literature and Information Science Abstracts. Those core journals which review English language monographs in the field and are published by U.S. trade or university presses were identified. Reviews for the 6-month period from July 1, 1984, to…

A study was conducted in which fiction reviews in five primary book review journals were read to identify titles by previously unpublished fiction writers issued in hardcover by U. S. commercial publishers during 1979, to analyze this critical evaluation, and to gauge the purchase of these titles by libraries. Totals of 216 novels and 10…

Four significant data analyses have been made of 6,622 adult titles selected at random from the collections of 20 United States public libraries. An inductive quality estimate was determined by counting the times each was listed in up to eight evaluation guides. The analyses show that: (1) although there is a positive and significant relationship…

Two main areas of material/acquisition are explored: collection development and the selection process. Emphasis is placed on the role of the librarian/faculty/student/evaluation committee, selection aids, and the selection process. (Author/PF)

This review of young adult paperback publishing covers original paperback romances, romance series, standard series novels, sex in series fiction, and review media. Prominent publishers, popular titles, and sources for paperback reviews are mentioned, and selection of materials for the library collection is discussed. (EJS)

Summarizes results of analysis of 209 reviews of fiction books for children and adolescents appearing in six major selection aids in 1979, and discusses classification of statements in reviews--descriptive (objective statements); analytical (literary elements); and sociological (nonliterary considerations). The Classification of Book Reviews form…

Suggests authors, titles, and resources in the area of Christian fiction to assist librarians in the selection of adult, young adult, and children's materials. A list of Christian fiction book publishers and journal sources that review these works is appended. (21 references) (MES)

This paper reports on a study in which a select bibliography of gay fiction was compiled and checked against the catalogs of the public libraries in Franklin County, Ohio, in order to determine the collection extent and whether catalog subject access is provided for these works. Results show that the percentage of checklist titles held by each…