I remember years ago remarking that the quickest way to obtain anything published in the myriad scattered islands of the South Pacific was to go there oneself, with a dozen empty trunks. That is precisely how Pan Pacifica finds the government and private press publications offered in its lists, issued twice a year in loose‐leaf format (two A5 pages per A4 page). From their base in Honolulu, Dixon and Di Giambattista travel through the islands on a regular basis, gathering material to meet the needs of client libraries. They specialise only in indigenously published material, of all types. Official reports, statistical, social and scientific information figure largely in the October 1997 list, which updates that of April 1997 with new serials issues and many new titles, from Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. The territories covered are American Samoa, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Yap), Guam, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, Niue, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Oceania, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Vanuatu, Republic of Samoa (formerly Western Samoa).
Many of the publications listed may never appear in other bibliographies, a few will be noticed only after years have gone by. Prices are given in US dollars, and payment is required by draft in that currency. In general, prices are not discounted. The two most recent catalogues are always to be found on the World Wide Web at http:www.mcn.org/b/panpacifica. Orders may be placed by fax or telephone: (808) 7392326, or by e‐mail at panpac@lava.net. This is a service without equal. It is recommended without reservation to all reference libraries with Pacific research interests.
