Review by Choice Review
For a public whose awareness of addictive behaviors is at an all-time high, this directory (DAOA) provides information on nearly 18,000 programs and facilities engaged in the prevention and treatment of alcohol, drug, and behavioral addictions. Organized by state, then grouped by city, entries provide basic directory information. Most add the addictions treated, "specialty groups" served (teenagers, veterans), types of treatment utilized (family counseling, early intervention), number of clients treated in 1987, and sources of funding. Unfortunately, there are no indexes of any kind. Medical and Health Information Directory (4th ed., 1988; 1st ed., CH, Jun '79) contains a section on "Substance Abuse Services" including more than 4,600 organizations. The US Dept. of Health and Human Services has just released its 1987 edition of National Directory of Drug Abuse and Alcoholism Treatment and Prevention Programs, listing more than 8,600 facilities compiled from the National Drug and Alcoholism Treatment Unit Survey. DAOA assembled its entries from the same survey, adding programs located from other sources, such as state directories of treatment centers. The editors attempted to verify all information via mail questionnaires or "secondary sources," but this reviewer spotted several errors in hospital names in a quick check of known facilities. DAOA contains more details about more programs than either of the other two sources, in a more attractive and readable format. But it costs more than twice as much as the government-produced directory, and the audience for such comprehensiveness is probably limited. For hospital libraries, counseling offices, or large public library collections. -L. N. Pander, Bowdoin College
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Choice Review