Environmental Protection is the latest in a series of guides (18 in total) which was previously known as Butterworths Guides to Information Sources. As a chemistry student on the City University information science course, I became well acquainted with the Information Sources in Chemistry guide by the late R.T. Bottle. Now in its 4th edition this was and still is, essential reading for students of chemical information. Environmental Protection follows the same structure as the previous guides. The editors have managed to bring together 20 independent authors to produce 17 subject specific chapters.
The strength of this guide (and indeed the previous ones) lies in the expertise of the individual contributors, many of whom are directly working in their specialist subject field. Take for example chapter 5, “Environmental effects on ocean, river and inland waters” which is a good example of the style. The three authors work, or have worked in this specialist area and describe the literature from the 1950s onwards, leaving you in no doubt that this is an authoritative review of the subject.
In many ways the chapters are less of a guide to the literature and more of a description of the literature. These books are meant to be read and studied, rather than just “dipped into” which, for the serious information professional or subject specialist alike, is not such a bad thing!
The range of subjects covered is very broad, as you would expect from a topic on the environment. It is not a comprehensive review of the literature, but a highly evaluated one, with the authors including text books, conference proceedings as well as the usual guides, directories, journals, databases and organizations. The coverage of legislation, regulations and official publications (national and international) is very good. I particularly liked the chapters on “The public library and the environment”, “Pressure groups and recent history” and “Education training and research” as they are areas I am less familiar with. Librarians and subject specialists will find this latest edition to the Bowker‐Saur series of great value.
