This encyclopedia offers 224 entries concerning consumer rights and safety. The 88 contributors represent a variety of US colleges and universities, consumer groups and other related organizations. The editors intentionally limited the scope to the USA. The front matter includes a list of important policies affecting consumer rights or safety that was enacted during each US President’s term of office. Each original entry is well written and concludes with see also references and a list of references and additional readings. In addition to a Selected Bibliography, the end matter also contains five primary source documents including the first sessions of the 85th Congress of the USA, an excerpt from FMLA policy, Identity Theft and Assumption Deterrence Act, Sherman Anti-Trust Act and the Declaration of Human Rights.
This encyclopedia is available in print or as an e-book subscription resource, as reviewed here, that can be accessed easily with a username and password. IP authentication can also be arranged, but was not available to this reviewer. After logging in, any other ABC-Clio books purchased by the user are listed. Users can browse their titles alphabetically or search. Pages and graphics load at a normal rate and access is generally fairly fast.
The initial page of this encyclopedia has a clean look and is easy to navigate. It includes a table of contents and a search box to the left of the main text. By clicking on different entries or chapters in the table of contents, users can navigate to whatever topic interests them and it will display in the main text area to the right. The search box allows you to search Within This Title or search all titles by keyword, author or title. The search functionality is basic and although there is an Advanced Search, it does not handle complex search queries well. However, the search capabilities are sufficient for navigating a title and for locating a title in the collection.
Wendy Reiboldt earned a doctoral degree in consumer economics from The Ohio State University and is currently a professor of consumer affairs at the Department of Family and Consumer Sciences at California State University, Long Beach. Melanie Horn Mallers earned a doctorate in family studies and human development from the University of Arizona, Tucson. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Human Services and the Masters in Gerontology Program at California State University, Fullerton. Contributors include university professors and some lawyers. Several contributors are associated with groups or organizations concerned about safety, rights and well-being of consumers. Each article is signed and contributors are listed at the front along with any affiliations they may have.
The publisher provides the ability to print a chapter, e-mail a chapter, cite a chapter in MLA, APA, Chicago and Harvard style or to export the citation to RefWorks or EasyBib. Users can highlight a word and click the dictionary link to lookup a word in The American Heritage College Dictionary, fourth edition. It also provides a persistent link to the chapter being viewed. Users can increase and decrease the size of the font displayed and, after logging into the My Bookshelf feature, can create bookmarks and make notes. The publisher also provides toll-free phone numbers for both customer service and technical support.
Pricing for this title is based on full-time enrollment of the purchasing school, library or college. The publisher, ABC-Clio, offers unlimited, simultaneous access to all students, faculty, staff and authorized users of the institution that purchases or subscribes to an ABC-Clio e-book. Authorized users may access the content via IP recognition, username/password or barcode authentication.
This title is also available as a two-volume print set, but the electronic version is easier to search. Other books about consumer rights have been published, but they are usually more narrowly focused. This encyclopedia broadly covers all aspects of consumer rights, safety and well-being.
High-school students, undergraduate students and general readers would benefit from this unique resource. It is easy to use and covers all aspects of consumer rights, safety and well-being thoroughly without using field-specific jargon. This resource is well suited to both academic and public libraries and is highly recommended.
