Review by Choice Review
In this revised edition, the authors correct major shortcomings of the first edition, published under the title The Complete Guide to Citing Government Documents (1984). The new title adds a chapter on electronic formats and another covering foreign government information sources, so the claim to be a "complete" guide is much more accurate. The first three chapters on US government, on state, local, and regional, and on international/IGO materials are basically unchanged, with some sample citations updated. The introduction and glossary have been revised to reflect the new chapters. The chapter on electronic resources is invaluable since it covers all currently available formats, even electronic mail and Internet. This volume, intended for writers and for reference and documents librarians, assumes basic knowledge of government information and its idiosyncrasies. One minor drawback is the continued use of a cumbersome numbering system for chapters and sections. The typeface and print size are a great improvement over those used in the first edition. Belongs in every academic collection as a unique and essential supplement to such guides as Kate L. Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses and Dissertations (5th ed., 1987) or MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers, Theses, and Dissertations (3rd ed., 1988). M. Strange; University of Missouri
Copyright American Library Association, used with permission.
Review by Library Journal Review
Prepared by the American Library Association's Government Documents Round Table, this revised edition of the very useful Complete Guide to Citing Government Documents (Congressional Information Service, 1984) includes new chapters by Debora Cheney and Helen Sheehy, devoted to electronic formats and foreign government information services, respectively. The sample citations conform ``as much as possible'' to American National Standard Institute (ANSI) bibliographic standards, with references to the U.S. Code , Federal Register , maps, state agricultural experiment publications, European Community reports, and much more. The extended treatment of electronic formats includes CD-ROMs, online services, and E-mail, many of the citations being similar to those found in the National Library of Medicine Recommended Formats for Bibliographic Citation (1991). Some electronic citations are quite lengthy, raising the possibility that writers, editors, and instructors may question the inclusion of information such as the number of bytes, access software, and system requirements as citation elements. Notwithstanding, this item is essential for reference and professional collections in academic and research libraries.-- Patrick Ragains, Montana State Univ. Lib., Bozeman (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Choice Review
Review by Library Journal Review