Learning the RC: Am I crazy, or is it just my mental health test?

In case you've ever wondered what it is that your job is actually measuring when human resources has you take a psych evaluation test , we have in the collection a review of mental tests titled The Sixteenth Mental Measurements Yearbook, edited by Spies and Plake (016.3712 MEN 2005). This 1000+ page volume takes a critical eye to the tests and informs readers of:

• the purpose of the test,
• the correct population to take the test,
• how the test should be administered,
• cost, time to take the test, author and publisher,
• and a full review including a description, the development of the test, technical data, and the reviewer's commentary.

When I first saw this, I asked myself, "why does a public library have this?" But upon review of the book, I can see how knowing the science behind the tests may help to understand why they are given, both for the end consumer and for any test givers. Types of tests reviewed cover the following classifications:

• Personality
• Vocations
• Intelligence & General Aptitude
• Behavior Assessment
• Subject mastery (reading, English/language, Math, Foreign Language, Fine Arts, Science
• Neuropsychological
• Developmental, Speech and Hearing, Sensory-Motor
• Achievement

My only complaint is that each yearbook reviews new tests without any mention of older reviews and we only have the one volume (out on the floor- I haven't checked archives). There is not even an index of previously reviewed tests, although there is mention of the website, which is managed by Ebsco and is, I assume, a subscription based service.

Sitting beside the above is a music book. At first I was confused as to why these two should be next to each other, but the answer lies in Dewey 016: "Bibliographies of works on specific subjects." Ah, bibliographies will be sitting next to each other. Of course.

The Book of World-Famous Music: Classical, Popular and Folk by Fuld (016.78 FUL) lists familiar tunes and tracks down their first printing and the associated information about the creators (or at least the person who set the tune to notation). Their example that made it make sense was, "did you ever want to know where Mary Had a Little Lamb came from?"

And then there's the 2nd edition of the Rock Song Index: The 7500 Most Important Songs of the Rock and Roll Era: 1944-2000. This is a simple enough book comprised of three ways to access the basic information about the songs: by title, by artist and by year. The title index has the most comprehensive information, such as the album the song was released under and which recording company produced it, however there is no information about the background of the song (where it came from, why it was written, but that sort of info could possibly come from biographies of the artists). The introduction was all of 2 pages and I only skimmed it, but I am uncertain as to why or how the titles came to be considered "the most important."