Professional Media Reviews, September 1, 2011 

Aloi, Michael J. & others. Digital Collections Worldwide: An Annotated Directory. Neal-Schuman. 2011. c.418p. index. ISBN 9781555707019. pap. $255. PRO MEDIA
You think you’ve kept pace with what’s available in the digital landscape and then along comes a book like this. Though any printed directory can include only a sampling of the digital world, this sample is annotated and well chosen, including freely available, authoritative, and useful collections. Dowling College librarians Aloi and Marjorie Fusco and Long Island University librarian Susan E. Ketcham [an LJ reviewer] present over 1400 digital collections, organized geographically and indexed by name, subject, and title. The complete list is available on the publisher’s website, accessible via a username and password included in each book, eliminating the problem of typing links. The website indicates it will update nonworking links and include newer collections as well as all the originals found in the printed text. It should be noted that the website lacks a search capability and lacks the excellent annotations found in the printed text; it is purely a list of digital collection titles with their associated web addresses. VERDICT Pricey, but fascinating simply to browse; indispensable for scholars and researchers in digitization particularly, but essential for digital research on virtually any subject. Every reader and researcher, librarians and patrons, will find something of interest and importance in the global range of topics.—Margaret Sylvia, St. Mary’s Univ. Lib., San Antonio, TX

Gregory, Vicki L. Collection Development and Management for 21st Century Library Collections: An Introduction. Neal-Schuman. 2011. 300p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781555706517. pap. $75 with CD-ROM. PRO MEDIA
Gregory (Sch. of Library & Information Science, Univ. of South Florida) has produced a comprehensive orientation to the various components that contemporary collection development comprises. Unlike earlier works using a format-focused approach, this textbook describes interconnected collection development processes from assessment of users’ needs to budget management, marketing, preservation, and deselection. Legal concerns, cooperative resource sharing, and intellectual freedom are also addressed, with each chapter providing suggested readings and insights on library practices through the years. Ian H. Witten and others’ How To Build a Digital Library would be a useful choice for providing how-to details to supplement the overview about the impact of new technologies on collection development. The companion CD-ROM provides examples of collection development and management policies from academic, public, school, and special libraries, along with a spreadsheet of 360 major publishers, distributors, and wholesalers. VERDICT This is a keeper for students to consult during their first professional positions and a handy reference for any librarian new to collection development responsibilities.—Betty Glass, Univ. of Nevada, Reno, Lib.

Haynes, Elizabeth. Crime Writers: A Research Guide. Libraries Unlimited: ABC-CLIO. (Author Research). 2011. 205p. bibliog. index. ISBN 9781591589143. pap. $40. PRO MEDIA
Intended for book clubs, researchers, and librarians, this guide offers an introduction to crime writing’s major players. Haynes (coauthor, Unlocking the Mysteries of Cataloging) opens with an enlightening survey of crime genres and subgenres, including mysteries, thrillers, and works of suspense. She follows this with alphabetized writer profiles, along with bibliographic listings of their works. Each entry contains representative quotations from each writer’s work, allowing for a vivid glimpse of trademark styles. Unfortunately, while covering 50 of what the product description touts to be the “best and most popular” writers, the book omits Edgar Award winner Lisa Scottoline. Moreover, although a significant segment is rightfully devoted to genre maven Agatha Christie, the book devotes merely a single “you might also like” paragraph to detective novel godfather Dashiell Hammett. These apparent oversights suggest the existence of other significant exclusions. Of particular value, however, is the primary- and secondary-source material that follows each writer profile. These point researchers to critical evaluations, additional research guides, and relevant new-media sources, e.g., blogs and author-related social networks. VERDICT Because of its bibliographic depth, this guide is not yet outdone by free online sources and is a useful, if incomplete, addition to public libraries with substantial crime fiction collections.—Savannah Schroll Guz, formerly with Smithsonian Libs., Washington, DC