Certainly map librarians working with government maps could add valuable
insight. If anyone's interested in offering to help ... read below ...

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:        ALA Editions' "Guide to Reference."
Date:   Wed, 2 May 2007 16:59:45 -0400
From:   Malcomb, J. L <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To:       Discussion of Government Document Issues
<[log in to unmask]>
To:     [log in to unmask]



I am forwarding this message to the GovDoc-L because I had agreed to
work on the Government Documents section but find that I cannot find the
time to complete the work.  I hope that someone can pick up the ball and
run with it so that government information is represented well in the
volume.  Bob has told me that it might be possible for a "team" to work
on this so do let him know if it is possible for you to do the work.

Lou Malcomb

Indiana University--Bloomington


To: Government Documents Librarians:

I am writing today to find someone knowledgeable about government
documents reference sources to serve as the section editor for
Government Documents (AF)  of the new edition of ALA Editions' "Guide to
Reference." The Guide was formerly "Guide to Reference Books" and
eponymously known by the names of such previous General Editors as
Winchell, Sheehy, and Balay.

The last edition of the Guide, the 11th, under Bob Balay's editorship,
appeared in the mid-1990s. Given the changes wrought by the Web in
reference services and sources, and given the passage of roughly 15
years since the previous edition closed its database to new
publications, the new edition figures to be very different from its
predecessors.  The new edition is, in effect, the centennial edition and
will be the first to be published electronically and the first to engage
the Web.

We are well along in the project and seek to replace an incumbent editor
who is not able to continue with the section. Since most of the work
will occur in the next four months, with soft launch planned for the
fall and sales in January, we need to find someone who has the time this
spring and summer to devote to the project. All work is done in an input
database developed at ALA Editions. Section editors are responsible for
selecting entries, downloading MARC records for them into the database,
and annotating them. An Editorial Review Board member (ERB) reviews the
entries submitted in the database for style and content and passes them
along to later stages of the editorial workflow.

Typically contributors are practicing reference librarians working in
or, at the least, having at their disposal a research-level collection.
They have a capacious, non-format-specific sense of reference sources, a
complete bibliographic knowledge of works relevant to their area of
contribution, academic as well as working credentials relevant to their
section, and an understanding of trends in reference services and the
way users interact with sources. They have the abilities to meet
deadlines and to work collegially with the general editor and other
section editors, other librarians who may suggest titles for inclusion,
and with the ERB who will review a draft of their section. Contributors
will typically have had experience compiling bibliographies for
publication or instructional uses and writing reviews for publication.
Potential contributors may find a  partner who is willing to work with
them.

Please contact General Editor Bob Kieft ([log in to unmask]) if you
are interested. The Guide has a website with further information at
http://www.haverford.edu/library/grb/. Please note the selection
guidelines and list of contributors as well as the news updates.

Thanks for your interest.