[Publib] Developing World History collections

[Judith Turner]

Library Journal book reviews frequently note if a book is a good or essential purchase for a public library and  LJ does periodic subject round-ups that will include the best books in a broad category published since the last accumulation. 

The New York Times book reviews, both Sunday section and the reviews published daily in the paper, have history books that will be of interest to public library patrons, as do other major US newspapers - the Chicago Tribune, Washington Post, and Wall Street Journal are sources that I'm familiar with that  may be helpful.  Granted the majority of history books published in the U.S. are either U.S. history or U.S.-centric but, if you are developing an English-language collection for a public library in the U.S., these newspaper reviews are places where patrons are apt to learn about new books that they will want their library to get.  

If you're developing the collection for a large public library with a research collection and a generous budget, you should look further afield and consider works published in Canada, Central and South America, England, the EU, etc.  

 Less proactive, perhaps, but have you considered browsing the relevant sections at local bookstores to see what they are stocking?  At the least, this may give you some authors and publishers to investigate further.

I would also check out the websites of  publishers who have a reputation for good past work in world history.  Chances are they will have forthcoming titles that are worth considering.   

Judy Turner
Whitefish Bay, WI


k clm <kclm at netzoola.com> wrote:   Greetings all,
  
 
  I'm an MLIS student looking into resources for developing public library collections in World History. I'm having trouble finding resources that aren't either a bit too scholarly (some excellent resources from the American Historical Society, e.g.) or that are geared toward K-12 educators. I



       
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