Monday, February 18, 2013

learning the reference collection

I'll admit it- I got caught doing reader's advisory at the reference desk (this is a euphemism for "reading"). My supervisor asked me if I knew the reference collection and I'm like, dude, that's over a 1000 books. So he looks at me with that kind of eyebrow lifting expression that says, "get crackin', you obviously have time," and well, here I am starting small, but starting nonetheless with:
  • Dictionary of Symbols by Carl G. Liungman- "From early cave drawings to modern corporate logos, graphic symbols have been used to convey meanings both tangible and abstract..." Cool book- Part one is an intro to symbols. Part two are the symbols themselves and their various meanings depending on culture. Parts three, four and five are indexes to aid search, including a graphic search (yes, you look at the pictures, find the one that interests you and then look at the page number to find the description.). These are mostly simple line drawing symbols.

  • UFOs and Popular Culture: An Ecyclopedia of Contemporary Myth by James R. Lewis & The UFO Magazine UFO Encyclopedia by William J. Birnes- both of these share an entry b/c they are the same structure with possibly different content/entries. Encyclopedic format of alphabetical entries on UFO related material. UFOs and Pop culture has some nice appendices including a chronology of events and a list of UFO organizations and periodicals. Lack of sources/bibliography list.

No comments: