A second edition of a guide to reference literature offers the compiler an opportunity to smooth down the rough edges and fill in gaps apparent in the first edition, and to some extent Stephen Aby has done just this in the new edition of his guide. The present volume is suitably up to date and comprehensive (within the limitations noted below), and adequately achieves its aim of providing “…undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, librarians, and researchers with descriptions of 576 of the major reference sources in sociology, its subdisciplines, and related social sciences” (p. xiii). Focus is on publications (print and electronic) produced in the period 1985‐1996, with most emanating from the USA and a few from other anglophone countries. About half of the entries are new to this edition, making it worth retaining the earlier edition in cases where comprehensive collection evaluation exercises are likely to be undertaken.
The work is divided into four main parts: General social science reference sources, Social science disciplines, Sociology – general reference sources, and Sociological fields. Each of these is then subdivided by form or discipline as appropriate. Thus the first and third sections cover such form divisions as bibliographies, journals, handbooks, and directories; the second, fields such as anthropology, economics, and history. It is these early sections which are the weakest in the compilation, as they offer just enough information to be irritating and certainly not enough to be valuable. For example, on history and political science Aby lists a mere four and five resources respectively – only the most untutored student would find this of any use. A future edition could well do without this sort of listing, and move directly from general social science materials to the specific sub‐disciplines within sociology.
It is in fact Part 4, on the specific fields within sociology, that gives the work its real value. Here the entries (slightly under 100 pages) are most closely and usefully classified, covering such areas as clinical and applied sociology, gerontology and aging, marriage and the family, race and ethnic relations, social problems, sociology of religion – 22 fields altogether. Each of these is further divided into forms (bibliographies, indexes and abstracts, handbooks and yearbooks, dictionaries and encyclopedias, Web/Internet sites), and also into more specific fields where required. In this regard the work cannot be faulted; the organization is entirely appropriate and easy to follow. The main subheadings read almost like a list of courses in a university undergraduate handbook, covering all of the expected areas at this level.
The compiler has personally assessed “virtually all” sources (a contradiction to be avoided, please); this is evident in the quality of his annotations, which are adequately descriptive and evaluative, and indicate suitable audience level in most instances. It is here that the work comes into its own as a selection tool, as the annotations very clearly assess the quality of a work and its place in the overall corpus. This applies to both print and electronic resources, and with regard to the latter it is especially pleasing to see electronic information sources receiving due attention.
There are some weaknesses in the work, especially as it is intended for readers beyond the undergraduate level. In fact, because of the rather basic nature of most entries, one cannot see many postgraduates or academics making use of the work except in rare instances. As an example, Aby’s coverage of research methods and procedures is undeniably weak, failing to cover any of the excellent handbook‐type guides to research that warrant a place in reference collections (for example, Natalie Sproull’s excellent handbook of research methods in the social sciences). Similarly, in specific aspects of various fields Aby omits many of the most valuable reference materials (for instance, Samuel Southard’s Death and Dying: A Bibliographical Survey). Also, the Internet sites are often puzzling inclusions – the SOCED site, as one example, generates little useful traffic and so has limited value. If Aby were to look beyond his own shores, he might well find many more active and more interesting sociological sites worthy of inclusion in a proactive reference collection.
The indexes (subjects, author/title) are quite adequate, and the author’s introduction clearly sets out his approach to compilation, although he perhaps is too generous in his assessment of what the work achieves – but then who isn’t in an introduction!Taking the various criticisms into account, one can recommend Sociology: A Guide to Reference and Information Sources to librarians seeking to build reference collections for heavy undergraduate use. One hopes that there will be future editions that focus more exclusively on the various fields within sociology and which cover international materials more thoroughly.
