Booklist Online: Book Reviews from the American Library Association

Ths week, EBSCO Publishing and Alexander Street Press both announced that they are going mobile for patrons of subscribing libraries
EBSCO has released EBSCOhost Mobile, allowing people to search EBSCOhost databases using smartphones and other handheld devices. Features include search modes, full text limiting, and date ranges,  plus limiting by peer-reviewed content or publication. Scrollable results lists have citations, Image Quick [...]

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Internet Project in 2007,  “62% of adult Americans have either accessed the internet with a wireless connection away from home or work or used a non-voice data application using their cell phone or PDA.”  Non-voice data applications include not only texting, e-mailing, taking a picture, and recording a video, but also [...]

A lot of ink has been spilled recently over the growing power of Google. The current New Yorker has an article discussing the question of whether Google is getting too big.  Last week a New York Times article on the Google Books settlement referred to Google as “the 800-pound  gorilla of digital information”; today, there’s an op- [...]

Another Reference merger!  And, good news that the World Almanac will move online eventually.
Infobase Publishing Acquires Iconic World Almanac Brand
New York, NY (September 1, 2009)–Infobase Publishing announced today that it has acquired the World Almanac imprint from Weekly Reader Publishing Group. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

I’m putting the finishing touches on Reference Books Bulletin’s annual Encyclopedia Update, which is published in the September 15 issue of  Booklist. In it , we review the (ever-dwindling) print and online general encyclopedias like Encyclopaedia Britannica and World Book.
Over the years, RBB’s eagle-eyed encyclopedia reviewers have taken publishers to task for not keeping their print encyclopedias [...]

Reference Books Bulletin’s annual Fall Reference Preview comes out soon in the August issue of Booklist.  A quick survey of past Fall Reference Preview is a good indication of how reference publishing has changed over the years. We took a look back at the first FRP, published in 1998, and saw many familiar names that have [...]