Keep in mind that you are to focus on the most useful and authoritative resources for your subject area: TRS is a selective bibliography. Also, space is limited: be as brief and concise as possible. Items which may be useful in more than one subject area generally will be listed only once with full information, 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 editing.

The subdivisions of your subject area may need adjustment. Check the latest edition of Guide to Reference Books to see the possibilities. You can also check the form headings list for the next edition of GRS at http://www.haverford.edu/library/grb/formheadings.html. Some subheadings may need to be added if new resources are available; others may need to be deleted.

You have a deadline. Plan your work accordingly. Don't wait to the last minute: the quality of your work will suffer. Remember, your name is going to be associated with this: everyone will know you did it.

Become familiar with the format guide for this edition. You will be better prepared to note the information you will need to complete your entries and won't have to backtrack for information. You may want to begin word processing your compilation file from the start, adding, deleting and revising entries as required. Note that the section text will need to be submitted in IBM-compatible Word or Wordperfect using "Times New Roman" font and size 12 or in ASCII text. Plan accordingly.

You are updating the 4th edition. Anything you want to retain from the 4th edition can be used in your compilation (it will need to be reformatted, though). Anything you think should be discarded, do so. Also remember, we are adding important electronic sources (web publications, websites, CDROMs, online databases), which have never been covered before, to this compilation.

Note that the contents have changed significantly since the last edition. All laws will be centralized in the Law section. 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 type of resource.

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.

If any problems, questions or delays arise in the course of your work, you should contact the General Editor. He is available to offer advice and help and to resolve problems for all Section Editors.

To build your compilation, examine the section in the 4th edition, looking for obviously out-of-date items and noticing any missing items of which you are aware and think should be included. Also examine annotations for coherence and informativeness: some annotations may need to be reworked. Note that any entries for titles to be continued in your compilation will need to be checked for current availability through Books in Print, through a publisher's catalog, and/or through direct contact with a publisher. A currently-available reprint edition may need to be substituted for the original.

Check your own reference collection for very useful items not present in the 4th edition, especially more recent publications.

Search subject headings (check LCSH) for your topic in online catalogs for libraries with strong collections in your subject and/or through WorldCat, 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 1990 or 1992 will highlight the more recent publications to be considered. Note which libraries own copies of items which sound promising.

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

Check your web links for useful Texas resources. Check web links at other libraries with strong programs in your subject area.

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 may be sitting in your acquisitions or collection development offices.

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.

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.

Check your chosen and potential items against the latest Guide to Reference Books (GRB). Remember, we are a supplement to it and will include items also in it only if a special need is present. General notes for the subject area can be used to list items of importance in GRB or they can be referred to in annotations for other works or a bibliographic entry for the item can be included in your section with a reference to the entry in GRB. Always use the GRB entry number with the title when referring to something in GRB. Under no circumstances are you to copy an entire entry from GRB to include in your section.

Which brings up another point: when creating annotations, DO NOT COPY from reviews, databases or other resources. You may quote from the item itself (using " "). The only 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.

Examine all items directly yourself. The only way to truly evaluate and describe a work is for you to see it, handle it, 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 source or the most reliable source for the information.

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.

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

Be straightforward and direct in your writing. Avoid being long-winded. 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.

Copyright ©2007, Reference Round Table, TLA
Send comments and suggestions to: Beth Thomsett-Scott, bscott@library.unt.edu
Last Modified: March 2007