General Sports Encyclopedias

“The family you can depend on — all year long.” That was the lead on an ad for the Books in Print “family” of R.R. Bowker. The acquisitions/reference librarian interested in obtaining a sports encyclopedia could raise an eyebrow at the claim. Of the seven titles listed in the bibliography to this article, titles taken from the 1981–82 Subject Guide to Books in Print under the heading SPORTS — DICTIONARIES, three are actually not in print. The o.p. titles are included in the discussion below because many libraries may either have one or more of them on the shelves or because they still might be obtainable. All went out of print over the year just past, and they might be findable in an infrequently weeded bookstore or secondhand shop. But to further reduce the choice of the four still in print, one, the Encyclopaedia of Sport, while of historic interest (see the discussion of that title below), should not be consulted by anyone looking for up‐to‐date information.