-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Resources for College Libraries: call for subject editors
Date: Thu, 12 Aug 2004 15:20:34 -0400
From: Marcus Elmore <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Dear colleagues,
I write to request your assistance in identifying suitable candidates to
serve as subject editors in numerous areas, including geography, for
Resources for College Libraries, a new core list of recommended titles
for college libraries to be published by CHOICE and ALA Editions. You
will find, below, a brief description of the Resources for College
Libraries project and the responsibilities of subject editors. We seek
the names of scholars and bibliographers knowledgeable in their general
subject areas, and with a wide range of personal and professional
contacts among those working in that area. Preference will be given to
those with experience in teaching, bibliography, or collection development.
Subject editors will assist in the revision and expansion of the subject
classification taxonomy according to which the contents of RCL will be
arranged. (Previous versions of this project, printed under the title
Books for College Libraries, organized their content according to
Library of Congress subject headings; in RCL, we anticipate expanding
the classification scheme to acknowledge the growth and importance of
new, and especially interdisciplinary, fields of academic inquiry and
teaching.) In addition, the subject editors will take the lead in
recruiting contributors for the RCL project, and will work with me to
refine their suggestions into a comprehensive list of essential print
and electronic resources for a college library.
I’ll be happy to discuss this project with you at greater length, or
answer questions you might have the responsibilities of subject
editors. Please direct any inquiries, as well as your suggestions for
potential subject editors, to me at
CHOICE
100 Riverview Center
Middletown, CT 06457
(860) 347-6933 x140
[log in to unmask] <blocked::mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Many thanks in advance for your assistance.
Best wishes,
Marcus Elmore
Project Editor, Resources for College Libraries
*******************************************************************************************************
Project description: Resources for College Libraries
Resources for College Libraries (RCL) is the long-awaited successor to
Books for College Libraries, 3rd Edition (BCL3), a core list of 50,000
recommended book titles for academic libraries published by the American
Library Association (ALA) in 1988. RCL will be co-published by CHOICE,
the publishing unit of the Association of College and Research Libraries
(ACRL), and ALA Editions, the book-publishing arm of the ALA. CHOICE
will be responsible for content and editorial development, while ALA
Editions will produce, market, and distribute the finished product. RCL
will provide a basic, retrospective list of books and electronic
resources to complement the current reviews offered by CHOICE.
Like BCL3 (and its predecessors), RCL will have a variety of uses for
collection assessment: it will be consulted by accrediting agencies, by
colleges adapting to new curricula, and by librarians weeding
collections but wanting to insure retention of essential works.
RCL will improve on BCL3 in a number of significant ways. Unlike BCL3,
RCL will cover electronic resources as well as books. While BCL3 was
published in six volumes, RCL will exist primarily as a Web-based
product (although provisions will be made for print-on-demand paper
editions). In order to avoid the problems of obsolescence inherent in a
print reference source, RCL will be continuously revised and updated
after its first appearance. Finally, the RCL subject taxonomy will
include appropriate interdisciplinary subject headings to reflect
changes in higher education curricula since 1988.
RCL will be the product of the collaborative efforts of members of the
CHOICE editorial staff and subject/disciplinary editors and contributors
recruited from the teaching faculty and libraries of colleges and
universities. The target date for publication of RCL is currently
2006. We are seeking a large number of volunteer contributors in a
broad range of subject areas. We are particularly interested in hearing
from individuals and groups who are currently compiling or interested in
assisting with the compilation of a core list in a specific subject
area. If you are interested, or know of a qualified individual or
group, please contact:
Marcus Elmore
Project Editor, Resources for College Libraries
CHOICE
100 Riverview Center
Middletown, CT 06457
(860) 347-6933 x 140
[log in to unmask] <blocked::mailto:[log in to unmask]>
Additional information about RCL can be found on the Web at
http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/choice/ed-feb04.htm
<blocked::http://www.ala.org/ala/acrl/acrlpubs/choice/ed-feb04.htm> and
at http://www.ala.org/ala/pr2004/march2004a/ALAEditionsACRLCHOI.htm
<blocked::http://www.ala.org/ala/pr2004/march2004a/ALAEditionsACRLCHOI.htm>.
Description of subject editor responsibilities:
Each subject/disciplinary editor will assist the project editor in
identifying areas where the subject taxonomy of BCL3 (which was based on
the Library of Congress Subject Headings) needs to be expanded, or have
terms added, to adequately reflect the rise of new areas of scholarship
and teaching. In addition, the subject editor will recruit and oversee
the work of a number of contributors, both librarians and scholars, who
will contribute suggestions to a unified core list of essential titles
(print and electronic) for a college library. The subject editor will
review these contributions and make suggestions as to additions or
deletions to achieve adequate coverage of the subject area. Subject
editors will each receive a honorarium and be prominently acknowledged
in RCL for their contributions.
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