AP - Information Science, Archives, Libraries, Museums

1997

AP -- Information Science, Archives, Libraries, Museums

97-1/2-103

Grundlagen der praktischen Information und Dokumentation: ein Handbuch zur Einführung in die fachliche Informationsarbeit [Fundamentals of Practical Information Science: A Handbook]. Ed. Marianne Buder. Founded by Klaus Laisiepen. 4th, completely revised ed. München [et al.]: Saur, 1997. xliii, 1069 p. ill. 21 cm. ISBN 3-598-11310-2: DM 248.00 (hdb.), DM 148.00 (pbk.)

The foreword to this fourth edition of a popular introduction to information science ("documentation," roughly equivalent to "special librarianship" in North America) promises, like its well-regarded predecessors, a guide to the latest methods, to provide a look at the most modern information services and a description of new technologies and current trends. But since the previous edition's 1990 appearance, the field has broadened so much and developed so many new facets-without the familiar ones, for the most part, being replaced-that it is doubtful a single volume could begin to cover it adequately. This edition does not even try. Most of the 54 essays are carried over (some with revisions) from the third edition; some, without claiming to be history, present the world of information services as it existed in the 1970's. There is a commendable introduction to networks and data transmission that seems strangely out of place. The chapter on the Internet, on the other hand, covers four pages and presents it as a kind of online service. This book might have been useful had it appeared in 1987 rather than 1997. [wvk/gw]

97-1/2-104

Die Bestände der Stiftung Archiv der Parteien und Massenorganisationen der DDR im Bundesarchiv: Kurzübersicht [The Holdings of the Archive for Parties and Mass Organizations of the GDR in the Federal Archives: A Brief Overview]. Ed. Elrun Dolatowski for the Stiftung Archiv der Parteien und Massenorganisationen der DDR im Bundesarchiv. Berlin: Edition Colloquium, 1996. 178 p. 21 cm. ISBN 3-89166-127-4: DM 19.80

At 178 large-type pages, this "brief overview" can indeed provide only a fleeting glimpse of an archival treasure trove covering the political parties, unions, other mass organizations and quasi-official institutions of the former East Germany, and including publications and library collections as well as archives. It does not take on the other resources of the foundation, e.g. on German labor history, general German history, or the history of Communism. Even so, it seems unnecessarily thin and sketchy in its treatment. Publications are listed by title without further bibliographic information; collections of personal papers are identified only by name and birth and death dates. In this, as well as in the use of abbreviations, German Democratic Republic terms and geographic references, the authors seem to assume a specialist's knowledge on the part of the reader. Also, the index is thin and not always reliable. Even with these faults, the work is a valuable introduction to a large and important scholarly resource. [kuw/gw]

97-1/2-105

Guide to the Archival Materials of the German-speaking Emigration to the United States after 1933 = Verzeichnis der Quellen und Materialien der deutschsprachigen Emigration in den USA seit 1933. John M. Spalek and Sandra H. Hawrylchak. Bern [et al.]: Saur. 24 cm. Vol. 1 originally publ. by University Press of Virginia, Charlottesville. ISBN 3-907820-92-4 (complete)

Vol. 1. Reprint of orig. [1978] ed. 1997. 2 parts. xxv, 1133 p. ISBN 3-907820-93-2: DM 328.00

Vol. 3 (1997). 2 parts. xvi, 970 p. ISBN 3-907820-95-9: DM 368.00

Beginning in the mid-1970's, Spalek's two multi-volume publications (the other is Deutschsprachige Exilliteratur seit 1933) have documented primary research materials on post-1933 German-speaking emigrants to the US. The appearance of volume 3 and the reissue of volume 1 make the complete set of this title available for the first time. Close to 1,000 archives, about half of which are in private collections, are represented in the three volumes. The extent of these archives varies considerably (many of those listed in volume 3, part 1 are simply collections of letters to an individual), as does the fullness of description. Part 2 of volume 3 updates the first two volumes and provides a comprehensive name index. The set complements the Deutsche Bibliothek's 1993 Inventar zu den Nachlässen emigrierter deutschsprachiger Wissenschaftler in Archiven und Bibliotheken der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, but a database combining the material in the two publications would be more useful. [sh/gw]

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