Reference Round Table - Texas Reference Sources Project -- Tips for TRSOnline Continuing Section Editors

TEXAS REFERENCE SOURCES PROJECT

TIPS FOR TRSOnline CONTINUING SECTION EDITORS

TRSOnline Continuing Section Editors are responsible for keeping their respective subject sections up-to-date. This involves periodically checking the existing entries and web links for accuracy and monitoring the field for new or updated publications and web pages. A complete check of each subject section must be undertaken at least twice a year (January and June).

GENERAL TIPS

Keep in mind that you are to focus on the most useful and authoritative resources for your subject area: TRSOnline is a selective bibliography. Items which may be useful in more than one subject area generally will be listed with full information only once and this generally in the subject area most applicable. Cross references ("See" and "See also") may be used in subject areas to refer to an entry present elsewhere. The General Editor will reconcile these situations as they arise in updating, but you may indicate where you think cross references may be needed with your submissions.

The subdivisions of your subject area eventually may need adjustment. Some subheadings may need to be added if new resources become available; others may need to be deleted.

All laws will be centralized in the Law section; all statistical items will go to the Statistics section; and all atlases and maps will go to the Atlases and Maps subdivision of the Geography section. If you want to be sure a particular resource of these types in your subject area is included, refer the item(s) to the Section Editor for the applicable section for the type of resource or alert the General Editor to their existence and he will handlethe referral.

It is understood that you may request help, advice, and assistance from any other colleague you want to consult. If you rely heavily on another colleague and especially if others create some entries for you, notify the General Editor: he probably will want them listed as co-Section Editors for your section. The General Editor also is available to advise and answer questions.

UPDATING TIPS

1. Monitor your own reference collection for very useful recent publications.

2. Search subject headings (check LCSH) for your topic in WorldCat and/or online catalogs for libraries with strong collections in your subject, qualifying for Texas as a geography and using standard subheadings like dictionaries; encyclopedias; almanacs; handbooks, manuals, etc.; bibliography; biography; chronology; history; etc. Limiting your search to items published since 2000 will highlight the more recent publications to be considered. Note which libraries own copies of items which sound promising.

3. Search Books in Print for your subject area using the same search tactics as for online catalogs.

4. Check your library’s web links for useful Texas resources. Check web links at other libraries with strong programs in your subject area. Use Google and other search engines to check periodically for new web sites.

5. Check current Texas publisher catalogs (especially university presses and Texas-based publishers) for new reference items or new editions of older ones. Some catalogs may be available online from the publisher's website. Others may need to be requested from the publisher or picked up from publisher booths at TLA conferences, or may be sitting in your acquisitions or collection development offices.

6. Check with your state documents librarian, Texas State Publications, and the online annual indexes for publications issued by Texas state agencies and universities. These often will be available at Texas State Depository libraries and there should be one near you. You will want the Texas State Documents Classification number for any publications issued through state agencies and universities. Many of these publications also are available full-text at the agency website and you will want to include the URL for full-text access in your bibliographic description. It is helpful to monitor state agency websites applicable for your subject area for new publications and databases.

7. Look for book reviews of potential additions. Book Review Index, Book Review Digest, Index to Texas Magazines and Documents, or subject indexes for your field which include book reviews could be used. Also consider general and subject databases which include book reviews from magazines and newspapers.

8. If a weblink for an existing entry stops working, check to see if the item has moved or the website has been reorganized and the link has changed. If a change message directing you to a new address is not provided, use the website search function or index to try to identify the new location. You may also try to search for the item using Google, Yahoo, and other search engines.

9. Be alert to the books receiving the Reference Round Table’s Outstanding Texas Reference Source Award each year. We need these to be included in the applicable sections of TRSOnline. In some cases, we may also be told about other items considered for the award which may also need to be considered for your sections. The RRT Newsletter, the RRT Texas Reference Source Award webpage, and contact with the Chair of the Texas Reference Source Award Committee can help you monitor this award.

WRITING TIPS FOR ENTRIES

The composition of the text for every new entry and every revised entry is the responsibility of the Section Editor. The complete text of each new entry and each revised entry must be submitted to the General Editor for approval.

1. Become familiar with the format for TRSOnline. You will be better prepared to note the information you will need to complete your entries and won't have to backtrack for information.

2. When creating annotations, DO NOT COPY from reviews, databases or other resources. You may quote (using " ") from the item itself. The only other resource from which you may copy verbatim is a prior edition of Texas Reference Sources. Copyright coverage has become much more of a problem for us.

3. Directly examine all items yourself. The only way to truly evaluate and describe a work is for you to see it, handle it, and use it. If you need to examine something which isn't in your collection, see if it may be available at a nearby library. Contact colleagues at libraries which have the publication to see if they might be able to let you borrow it for a short time. Contact the General Editor for help in getting a publication. If something you thought would be useful turns out not to be very generally available, is it really a useful item? You will expect many libraries (especially those with strong collections in your subject area) to own any important Texas reference source. Of course, some specialized items with limited current availability may be justified for listing if they provide the only or the most reliable source for the information.

4. Naturally, read prefaces, introductions and instructions for important information about scope, coverage, and use which may need to be mentioned in your annotation. Consider what information is necessary to give a reader an adequate introduction to coverage, arrangement, and use of the item.

5. Keep your descriptions FACTUAL and NON-PARTISAN. Describe what is rather than what you would like it to be.

6. Be straightforward and direct in your writing. Space is limited: be as brief and concise as possible. Get to the point. Note that complete sentences are not required (your grammar teacher will roll in her grave!) so long as the information presented is understandable. Direct active tenses are better than passive tenses: they are more forceful and save on the number of words necessary to say something.

SUBMITTING REVISIONS, DELETIONS, AND ADDITIONS

Submit all revisions and additions and requests to delete entries using email attachments in Word or ASCII to the General Editor at heplib@hotmail.com or jhepner1@verizon.net. Include information on which section the change affects and be sure to specify if it goes into a particular subsection of a subject. The General Editor will review all submissions prior to making changes to the online text. New items will be inserted in their applicable section in appropriate places left vacant by prior deletions before creating a new entry number. This may affect alphabetical order in sections which were listing items alphabetically by title. At some future date, we may reestablish the original ordering of entries, but for now we will not make any attempt at this in order to remain coordinated with the existing print version.

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