PLC_Qualitative



(613-614.4 - Kalina - work in progress) Shows PLC titles in this range, and whether St. T has it

Jana's note: Does anyone want me to fill in a table for the remainder of the 613-615 range, as Kalina has done? Or has one of the quantitative people already done this? I can totally do it but I don't want to duplicate work!

I have a table that I can send you.

There are several tools available to librarians to assist in the collection development process, especially in terms of selecting new items to purchase. The thirteenth edition of the //Public Library Catalog: Guide to Reference Books and Adult Nonfiction// (PLC) (2008) is a popular example of one such tool. Before our own selection could begin, it was deemed necessary to examine the PLC to become familiar with the recommended core books of such a popular and frequently used source. After such an examination, a number of trends became apparent. For instance, there are several titles geared towards women, most prominently in the Personal Health and Safety section (613). Such titles include: · The new Harvard guide to women’s health · Encyclopedia of women’s health issues · The Black women’s health book: Speaking for ourselves · Healthy women, healthy lives: A guide to preventing disease · For women only! Your guide to health empowerment

Meanwhile, only a handful of books are directed at both men and women: · Basic weight training for men and women · Baby boomer body book

And only one title is targeted strictly towards men: · Men’s health concerns sourcebook

We find this to be rather problematic, as there is an obvious imbalance between the representation of suggested literature directed at women and men. Furthermore, this section of the PLC is completely void of the presence of gay, lesbian, bisexual, or trans-gendered voices or material directed to these audiences. Additionally, the presence of a multicultural perspective is also lacking. //The Black Women’s Health Book// made the cut in PLC, but a health book geared towards other races or ethnicities is noticeably lacking. Other areas presenting an issue of over-emphasis include: · Materials targeted at elderly and aging populations o A wider spectrum of age groups – from young adults to the very elderly – would be more representative and inclusive · Emphasis on vegetarianism o What about books discussing the history, benefits, and downsides of a diet rich in meat products? · Emphasis on vitamins and supplements o What about books emphasizing the methods and importance of attaining proper levels of vitamins and minerals through the foods we consume, rather than relying on supplements? · Emphasis on fad diets o As librarians, we must balance the role of satisfying popular reading interests with providing sound, lasting, quality information. Atkins and South Beach may be popular one year, but they are almost certain to be eclipsed by a completely contradictory diet fad the next. Providing these materials is encouraged and to be expected, but only if balanced by sound, quality information that is not bound to change drastically from year to year. This balance is not present in the PLC.

In terms of under-emphasis, there is the issue of men’s health and health issues of younger populations, as previously mentioned, as well as a notable under-emphasis in the suggested literature in the 613.9 section – Birth Control, Reproductive Technology, Sex hygiene. PLC lists only two books in this section: One geared towards those over 50, and //The Joy of Sex//. The latter of the two – while updated in this 30th anniversary edition – is a title that has been in circulation for almost four decades, making its appeal factor to younger audiences questionable at best.

Religion does not figure prominently in any of PLC’s recommended books; however, Christian undertones were identified in descriptions of three of the books: · Merchants of immortality · You don’t need meat · Vegetarianism: A history

Considering that none of the other books were discussed with reference to other religions, we question why these three titles containing Christian undertones were selected.

Finally, the 614 section – Forensic Medicine; Incidence of Injuries, Wounds, Disease; Public Preventive Medicine – seems to be honing in on a trend found in popular television series such as CSI. A plethora of information on forensic issues surrounding ghastly crimes, eerie whodunnits, and otherwise glorified and messy accounts of death make up the majority of this section. The topic eventually shifts to issues of plague, pestilence, and disease, and – while fascinating – an alarming number of these books were published in the 1990s. This is particularly questionable given that these books attempt to convey present day information (//The Coming Plague//, 1995; //Virus X: Tracking the New Killer Plagues//, 1997).

Jana's qualitative observations (so far):

All books are in English. (Same for Kalina's books)

Health and medicine are frequently discussed from an American perspective (U.S. authors, protagonists, agencies, and case studies), or from a European perspective. None of the books focuses on Canada exclusively, and very few focus on health and medicine in the Eastern world. (Same for Kalina's books)

Examples of U.S.-focused titles:

• Beating back the devil: On the front lines with the disease detectives of the Epidemic Intelligence Service (U.S. agency; celebrating their accomplishments in disease control) • The American plague: The untold story of yellow fever, the epidemic that shaped our history. • Pox Americana: The great smallpox epidemic of 1775-82 • Polio: An American story • Don’t eat this book: Fast food and the supersizing of America
 * Fat land: How Americans became the fattest people in the world
 * American Dietetic Association complete food and nutrition guide
 * Ultimate fitness: The quest for truth about exercise and health (investigates 30 years of America's physical fitness craze)

Furthermore, there is an excessive number of reference works about natural/alternative medicine (at least 12), for example:

• Gale Encyclopedia of Alternative Medicine • Mayo Clinic Book of Alternative Medicine • Encyclopedia of Natural Medicine • The Encyclopedia of Complementary and Alternative Medicine • Physicians Desk Reference for Non-Prescription Drugs, Dietary supplements and Herbs • Encyclopedia of Herbal Medicine • Consumer’s Guide to Herbal Medicine

In terms of overall quality, the PLC list generally includes books that have received critical acclaim. However, upon further investigation, some of the PLC books have actually received mixed reviews. For example, while Publishers Weekly lauded the first half of Frank Ryan’s Virus X: Tracking the New Killer Plagues, it called the last half “far less successful,” criticizing Ryan for his overly fanciful style and inability to explain ecological concepts accurately (Stuttaford & Simson, 1996, p. 50). Publishers Weekly also questioned the credibility of another PLC-recommended title, Lynne McTaggart’s The Field: The Quest For The Secret Force Of The Universe, suggesting that “the supporting data here is somewhat sketchy” (Gold et al., 2002, p. 53). Interestingly, in the case of Anna Wise’s Awakening the Mind: A Guide to Mastering the Power of Your Brain Waves, the PLC list features a selective excerpt from Library Journal, while omitting the reviewer’s comments that Wise’s “overuse of such corporate trainer jargon as mastery and power can become tedious,” that the book “doesn't really offer anything new, “ and that Robbins’s A Symphony of the Brain would be a better choice (Haines, 2002, p. 121). In addition, while Norman Cantor’s In the Wake of the Plague: The Black Death and the World it Made received praise in Booklist, the reader reaction has been considerably less positive, with the book currently holding an average user rating of two out of five stars on Amazon, based on 197 reviews. Finally, the inclusion of a book by Gary Null raises an eyebrow or two, as Null has been criticized for having questionable credentials, and is known to back rather extreme movements not entirely based in scientific fact (for example, anti-vaccination movements and HIV/AIDS denialism). The inclusion of his book //For Women Only! Your Guide to Health Empowerment// is rather questionable indeed, as Null authors a hefty 600 pages of this collection meant "for women only".

In sum, due to an over-emphasis of certain topics, and under-representation of others, we find that the PLC tends to take a conservative approach to its recommendations, and tends to lean more towards satisfying popular reading interests rather than providing alternative titles. However, this does not apply to all of their recommendations; it merely indicates that the collection development librarian should peruse this list with a critical eye. As we have completed that task, we can now move on to our list of recommended titles for purchase; and yes, it does include some well-justified titles from the PLC.

Gold, S. F., Rotella, M., Andriani, L., Scharf, M., & Zaleski, J. (2002). [Book review of The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of the Universe]. Publishers Weekly, 249(23), 53.

Haines, A. (2002). [Book review of Awakening the Mind: A Guide to Mastering the Power of Your Brain Waves]. Publishers Weekly, 127(8), 121.

Stuttaford, G., & Simson, M. (1996). [Book review of Virus X: Tracking the New Killer Plagues]. Publishers Weekly, 243(51), 50.

THIS IS GARY NULL.

http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/upload/2010/04/too_deliciously_ironic_for_words_gary_nu/GaryNull.jpg