Blaise Cronin's "The Hand of Science: Academic Writing and its Rewards" (Scarecrow, 2005) has been named a Choice "Outstanding Academic Title." Choice : Current Reviews for Academic Libraries is a publication of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). The list will be included in the January 2006 issue.
The Choice "Outstanding Academic Titles: The Best of the Best in Published Scholarship" webpage explains the criteria, process, and prestige associated with the list:
"Every year in the January issue, Choice publishes a list of Outstanding Academic Titles that were reviewed during the previous calendar year. This prestigious list reflects the best in scholarly titles reviewed by Choice and brings with it the extraordinary recognition of the academic library community.
The list is quite selective: it contains approximately ten percent of some 6,600 works reviewed in Choice each year. Choice editors base their selections on the reviewer's evaluation of the work, the editor's knowledge of the field, and the reviewer's record. The list was known as Outstanding Academic Books until 2000. The new name reflects an increase in reviews of electronic products and Internet sites.
In awarding Outstanding Academic Titles, the editors apply several criteria to reviewed titles:
- overall excellence in presentation and scholarship
- importance relative to other literature in the field
- distinction as a first treatment of a given subject in book or electronic form
- originality or uniqueness of treatment
- value to undergraduate students
- importance in building undergraduate library collections
The list cites only bibliographic information. The number and publication issue of the Choice review are also provided, to assist readers wishing detailed evaluations of the titles. In addition, ChoiceReviews.online tags all reviews that have been designated as Outstanding Academic Titles."
"More than 35,000 academic librarians, faculty, and key decision makers rely on Choice magazine and ChoiceReviews.online for collection development and scholarly research. Choice reaches almost every undergraduate college and university library in the United States." (Choice website, 12/2/05)
A brief summary of Cronin's "The Hand of Science" can be found on the book's cover:
"The Hand of Science covers the collaborative character of science and scholarship. The world of scholarly communication is evolving with breathtaking speed, propelled by the Web and the rapid transition from paper to electronic journals; the scale of the research effort by an individual is moving toward research conducted by tens or hundreds of scientists scattered all over the globe. Cronin presents compelling information regarding this shift in our society with this unique book."
See a related SLIS News story announcing the publication of Cronin's "The Hand of Science" book.
Posted December 02, 2005