Balraj, 'LITTLE OXFORD GUIDE TO ENGLISH USAGE', LIBRES v5n02 (July 31, 1995) URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/libres/libres-v5n02-balraj-little LIBRES: Library and Information Science Research Electronic Journal ISSN 1058-6768 July 31, 1995 Volume 5 Issue 2 Quarterly LIBRE5N2 Reviews _____________________________________________________ THE LITTLE OXFORD GUIDE TO ENGLISH USAGE, 2ND EDITION COMPILED BY ESC WEINER AND ANDREW DELAHUNTY NY:OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS, 1994 _The Little Oxford Guide to English Usage_ is perfect for quick look-ups on spelling, pronunciation, definitions, and grammar of standard British English. This guide includes over 4,600 words and phrases, which are 200 more than the first edition published in 1983. The format is essentially the same as the first edition with four main sections for word formation, pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar. Each entry's headword is indicated by bold type with cross- references also indicated by bold type followed by the page number to its main entry when appropriate. This usage guide is not intended to be comprehensive but to provide the traditional user a simple and straightforward answer to typical usage questions. Most entries have examples taken from well-known 20th century literature to assist the user in understanding the concepts more clearly. Three useful appendices follow the four main sections. Appendix two lists cliches and overused diction which should be avoided by serious writers. Appendix three gives a brief overview of the variations of English usage in five major countries (including the U.S.) outside the United Kingdom and Ireland. Finally, an extensive phrase, alphabetical word, and subject index concludes this volume. Although this work primarily focuses on British English, _The Little Oxford Guide to English Usage_ is a relevant source when one needs to know the usage of a word or the appropriateness of a word in almost any English speaking country. This source is a worthwhile acquisition for any home, office, school or Library's reference collection. Leela E. Balraj Reference Librarian Kent State University Libraries and Media Services Kent, OH LIBRARY RESEARCH MODELS: A GUIDE TO CLASSIFICATION, CATALOGING AND COMPUTERS. By Thomas Mann NY: Oxford University Press, 1993 248 p. (ISBN:0-19-508190- 0) Thomas Mann, a reference librarian for fifteen years at the Library of Congress had, in his previous book _A Guide to Library Research Models_, published in 1983, presented a basic model of procedures for using research libraries. In his latest publication, Mann builds on this basic model by comparing and contrasting six models as a means of establishing a framework for researchers and librarians. He points out that "all researchers work within the horizons of one or another... mental constructs or frameworks. Each lays out and defines--and usually limits--the range of what users expect from libraries, what questions they permit themselves to ask in the first place, and what they judge to be satisfactory results, that is results sufficiently acceptable to cause them to terminate their search. Yet few researchers are fully conscious of the limiting effects of the models they assume, or even of the fact that they are working within one model rather than another in the first place" (p.vii). An analysis of the individual strengths and limitations of these six models, as well as anecdotal examples drawn from his professional experience are provided. Since the intended audience is both the researcher using and the professional library staff working in research institutions, Mann may have underestimated the value of the presented in his book. Individuals with an interest in research or who are striving to improve reference services in any type of library will find that this book provides sufficient stimuli to re-examine established patterns of doing research or acting as an information provider. It may also be assumed that a book title which places its emphasis on library- related functions may make it less likely for researchers who are not librarians to read this work. Library and Information Science students taking advanced reference courses could also find this book a meaningful context for class assignments. The six models explored are 1) the Specific Subject or Discipline Model 2)Traditional Library Science Model, 3) the Type of Literature Model, 4) the Actual Practice Model 5) the Computer Workstation Model, and 6) the Methods of Searching Model, with individual chapters devoted to the Specific Subject or Discipline Model, the Type of Literature Model, and the Actual-Practice Model. Due to the complexity, models 2,5, and 6 receive more in-depth coverage. Mann provides the best synopsis of his evaluation of these models when he states that " the discussion of several different conceptual and physical models for arranging the universe of knowledge records has indicated that no one of them by itself is adequately comprehensive. An overall problem is that each model imposes too restrictive a from on the vision of the researcher (or librarian); each in practice closes off as many options as it opens, forgoes as many alternative as it pursues, and limits as much as it liberates"(p. 151). The Actual-Practice Model bears closer scrutiny and is illustrated by the chapter on the Principle of Least Effort (pp. 91-102). Mann states that researchers more often than not, abandon every rudimentary subject/ discipline searching and pursue a course of "...footnote chasing, super-ficial use of the library catalog, general browsing, [and] talking to colleagues" (pg.76). Rather than ignore the fact that researchers generally tend to expend little effort if the results are marginally satisfactory, Mann concurs with other authors who suggest that as information providers "...it is our responsibility...to know and understand people's search behaviour and to design services to optimize the likelihood for people getting the information they need given their patterns of behaviour" (pg. 98). On the basis of the existing research and his own experience in a research library, Mann suggests that the Methods of Searching Model provides the means to incorporate the five other models he discusses in his book in that it "... categorizes the universe of knowledge records according to the ways in which they are searched" (pg. 156). In this model, eight methods of searching "the universe of knowledge records" are delineated. The searching methods are the use of controlled-vocabulary sources (any format), key-word, and keyword/ citation sources in print format, indexes to published bibliographies, and special collections, people sources, computer sources, related- record search (CD-ROMs) and classified bookstacks for systematic browsing of full text. (See figure 11, p 172) I share Mann's view that "...both researchers and librarians must be careful not to lose the benefits of our existing systems of access to knowledge records in exchange for unfulfillable promises" (p 191). Mann's cautionary note signals the prevalent tendency in our field to be seduced by technology, often to the exclusion of other valuable resources In articulating his various concerns about limitation of any one model, Mann delivers the clear message that librarians must question the status quo and explore and re-explore all options available to them. Suzanne Milton Head of Information Services Eastern Washington University Library ________________________________________ This document may be circulated freely with the following statement included in its entirety: Copyright Leslie Haas, 1995. This article was originally published in _LIBRES: Library and Information Science Electronic Journal_ (ISSN 1058-6768) July 31, 1995 Volume 5 Issue 2. For any commercial use, or publication (including electronic journals), you must obtain the permission of the section editor: lhaas@kentvm.kent.edu To subscribe to LIBRES send e-mail message to listserv@kentvm.kent.edu with the text: subscribe libres _ ________________________________________