American Reference Books Annual, 2008( Volume 39 )( Series - American Reference Books Annual )

The Associate Editor, along with the five ARBA Advisory Board members, will compile 1,500-plus critical reviews of reference books, CD-ROMs, and Websites from the years 2006-2008 written by academic, public, and school librarians or professionals in the field. ARBA differs significantly from other reviewing media in its basic purpose, which is to provide comprehensive coverage of English-language reference books published in the United States and Canada during a single year. ARBA 2008 consists of 37 chapters, an author/title index, and a subject index. It is divided into four alphabetically arranged parts: "General Reference Works," "Social Sciences," "Humanities," and "Science and Technology." "General Reference Works" is subdivided by form: bibliography, biography, dictionaries and encyclopedias, government publications, handbooks and yearbooks, and so on. Within the remaining three parts, chapters are organized by topic. Thus, under "Social Sciences" the reader will find chapters titled "Economics and Business," "Education," "History," "Law," "Sociology," and so on.