Jennie M. Burroughs and Colleen Major
The purpose of this article is to investigate government document collections to identify subject‐related materials and offer suggestions for making those materials more evident…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this article is to investigate government document collections to identify subject‐related materials and offer suggestions for making those materials more evident to researchers.
Design/methodology/approach
Using American Indian‐related materials as a case study, the authors conducted a keyword and subject heading analysis of federal government publications from 1976 through 2006, quantifying the publication patterns of various agencies. The researchers used the data to gain a better understanding of the distribution of subject matter throughout the collection and to identify key series.
Findings
The paper reveals that, in a traditional, Superintendent of Documents‐classified, federal publications collection, materials with a common subject matter are produced by a wide variety of agencies. This dispersed production leads to disconnected pockets of relevant information, which creates more work for information seekers.
Research limitations/implications
The case study analysis does not address materials produced prior to 1976 due to limited local cataloging. Future analyses could draw on catalogs with more extensive historical holdings.
Practical implications
Libraries can consider several means of drawing users' attention to subject‐related materials, including reclassifying collections, creating subject guides, and developing subject portals.
Originality/value
The paper is useful for those working with separate government information collections who are looking for a methodical approach to identifying unexpected sources of relevant information.
Details
Keywords
When Eugene O'Neill died, theatre critic Brooks Atkinson said of him, “A giant writer has dropped off the earth….He shook up the drama as well as audiences and helped to transform…
Abstract
When Eugene O'Neill died, theatre critic Brooks Atkinson said of him, “A giant writer has dropped off the earth….He shook up the drama as well as audiences and helped to transform the theatre into an art seriously related to life.” (New York Times, 30 December 1953).
The aim of this paper is to examine how the “colleen” archetype was used in the creation of a successful brand personality for a range of soap manufactured in Ireland during the…
Abstract
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to examine how the “colleen” archetype was used in the creation of a successful brand personality for a range of soap manufactured in Ireland during the early twentieth century. It reveals the commercial and political agendas behind this move and the colleen's later application to Ulster unionist graphic propaganda against Home Rule between 1914 and 1916.
Design/methodology/approach
This case study is based on an analysis of primary and secondary sources; the former encompassing both graphic advertising material and ephemera.
Findings
This paper demonstrates how contemporary pictorial advertising for colleen soap was suffused with text and imagery propounding Ulster's preservation within the UK. It also suggests that the popularity of this brand personality may have been a factor in the colleen's appropriation for propaganda purposes by certain strands within Ulster unionism.
Originality/value
This paper is based on original research that expands the historical corpus of Irish visual representation, while also adding notably to discourses within the History of Marketing and Women's History.
Details
Keywords
Machine‐readable data files (MRDF) are now a basic part of the information revolution. Reference librarians can learn to play a major role in disseminating information about MRDF…
Abstract
Machine‐readable data files (MRDF) are now a basic part of the information revolution. Reference librarians can learn to play a major role in disseminating information about MRDF and in helping patrons to use them to retrieve information. A major library may have access to computer tapes or cartridges of numeric and statistical databases. Other MRDF may be available through various online services, electronic bulletin boards, flexible diskettes and optical disks. Since many statistical data are available only in machine‐readable format, reference librarians will need to integrate MRDF into their normal approach to information retrieval. One must concur with Ms. Bliss Beckman Siman who wrote in 1986 that “there is probably too little attention paid either by the literature or the professional organizations to the areas of reference and bibliographic instruction with machine‐readable data files.” Further, she stated “clearly the first necessity is to meet the technical demands of this new media but without more attention to the techniques of public service the expected use of this information resource simply won't develop.” Greater emphasis must be placed on the importance of the reference transaction in expanding the use of MRDF in both teaching and research. This article will discuss some of the major issues concerned with providing reference services for MRDF.