For some years I have been collecting the writings of that type of reviewer who, despite his pugnacity, insists on being anonymous. He is the gentleman (I use the courtesy title…
Abstract
For some years I have been collecting the writings of that type of reviewer who, despite his pugnacity, insists on being anonymous. He is the gentleman (I use the courtesy title against my better judgment) whom we all know so devastatingly well—the scribbler on the margins of library books. The hobby of collecting such scribblings (should I call it philos‐graffitism?) has the supreme advantage of costing nothing. But it garners a rich if suppurating harvest of what one might call “literary sidelights”.
Two years ago I wrote to the production manager of a well‐known firm of London publishers, virtuously pointing out that in one of his firm's latest non‐fiction nurslings, written…
Abstract
Two years ago I wrote to the production manager of a well‐known firm of London publishers, virtuously pointing out that in one of his firm's latest non‐fiction nurslings, written by an educated man, and presumably read in galley by an educated proofreader, the subjunctive “have” was rendered as the past‐tense “had” no fewer than nine times. For example: “It should be so arranged that they had plenty of room.” Further, I pointed out patriotically, I had encountered this manifold lapse of civilized grammar in a public library in Canada, a dominion semantically torn between the pull of the adjacent United States and the long‐distance traditional influence of the Motherland. Was there not, then, a responsibility laid upon British publishers and printers to maintain the highest standards of proof‐reading, and so keep the well of Miltonian English pure and undefiled in their crates of literary exports?
DURING the past decade we have witnessed a remarkable improvement in the typography of books, although in large part this has been confined to the design of typefaces rather than…
Abstract
DURING the past decade we have witnessed a remarkable improvement in the typography of books, although in large part this has been confined to the design of typefaces rather than to the design of the books themselves. “Cold type” has undoubtedly become far more legible and far more aesthetic than it had been for many years. Correct use of type by the printer is, however, as important as its manufacture; hence the benefits we should derive from the improvement vary from book to book according to the degree of craftsmanship of the printers.
On January 9th Tony Newton, the Under Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Security, launched the government's £600,000 promotional campaign for the introduction of…
Abstract
On January 9th Tony Newton, the Under Secretary at the Department of Health and Social Security, launched the government's £600,000 promotional campaign for the introduction of the controversial new plastic National Insurance cards. These plastic cards contain the following ‘visible’ information: name, national insurance number and a check digit. What has been of most concern, is that the card contains a magnetic strip that can store information ‘invisible’ to the card holder. As the dhss has announced it is not the intention to include any type of ‘secret information’ on this strip, the current anxiety expressed by certain organisations and individuals has been seen by many as a fuss about nothing; but is there really cause for concern, and what has all this to do with libraries?
The world grows steadily smaller, and affairs are now given as much prominence five thousand miles away from the scene of high incident as they are in places within easy range…
Abstract
The world grows steadily smaller, and affairs are now given as much prominence five thousand miles away from the scene of high incident as they are in places within easy range. The fact has occurred to me with particular force lately when reflecting on the change that has taken place in the political contents of American newspapers. Even less than a score of years ago one might buy papers in Detroit or Chicago and hardly realise from them that Europe existed. The change has been quite sudden and remarkable. Now the foreign news services of the great American papers are regarded as of considerable importance by the managements.
There are people no further away than the mid‐western cities of the United States who will express real surprise when told that Canadians do not spend most of the year dressed…
Abstract
There are people no further away than the mid‐western cities of the United States who will express real surprise when told that Canadians do not spend most of the year dressed like Eskimos, padding around on snowshoes. I have an American friend who shamefacedly admits that when his firm moved him up to Canada, he arranged with his local bookseller to keep him supplied with certain magazines and books. How surprised he must have been to find, not only a plentiful supply of American, English and even some European magazines but also a comprehensive public library system.
This bibliographic essay examines the scope and variety of nonfiction works in comics form with the intent of expanding librarians’ awareness of the diversity of such materials…
Abstract
Purpose
This bibliographic essay examines the scope and variety of nonfiction works in comics form with the intent of expanding librarians’ awareness of the diversity of such materials and serving as a resource for librarians.
Design/methodology/approach
It provides some theoretical background for understanding what constitutes nonfiction in graphic form and an overview of works available in print.
Findings
The article provides a representative (but not comprehensive) survey of graphic nonfiction works in the genres of memoir, travel, journalism, history, biography, science, essays and educational materials.
Research limitations/implications
The essay focuses on materials published in books in English; the library world would benefit from subsequent research exploring the richness of materials available in other formats and other languages.
Originality/value
The field of graphic nonfiction is expanding, and this article serves as a guide for libraries interested in building or expanding collections in this format.
Details
Keywords
I suppose that most noticeable of all the changes in our profession since I came into it has been the multiplicity of the methods by which one can become a librarian. A. E…
Abstract
I suppose that most noticeable of all the changes in our profession since I came into it has been the multiplicity of the methods by which one can become a librarian. A. E. Standley says in a recent article in the L.A.R., in 1970: “The term librarian includes the Library Association chartered librarian, the graduate with a degree in librarianship, the scholar librarian, the information and intelligence officer, the translator, the abstracter, the non‐library‐qualified subject expert”.