Choice Review

"Intended for the college student, the casual researcher, and the professional researcher and writer," Beasley's revision of his How to Use a Research Library (1988) includes "material on the use of electronic bibliographic aids, [adds] information on microform resources and [updates] bibliographic references." As promised, there are two pages on CD-ROM resources, seven on the Internet, and two on commercial microfiche collections. This edition is, however, virtually a reprint of the 1988 edition, including an identical discussion of online searching, featuring DIALOG. Most bibliographic references have been updated, but dated sources still exist throughout the entire book: Vincent H. Duckles's Music Reference and Research Materials (3rd ed., CH, Oct'74) is cited, as is Leslie T. Morton's How to Use a Medical Library (4th ed., 1964), ignoring the later editions of 1997 and 1990. Information about copyright is outdated: the 1998 Copyright Extension Act, which extended copyright protection by 20 years, is not mentioned. Although Beasley provides some useful information for knowledgeable researchers using major research libraries, college students will be better served by Nancy D. Lane et al.'s Techniques for Student Research (CH, Dec'00). Not recommended.** D. L. Miller Lebanon Valley College