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Library Journal Review

This book raises many of the issues that reference librarians face in day-to-day selection decisions. How much does the book duplicate the information in other books? Compared to Chase's Annual Events , a great deal. How much is added in the new edition? Compared to the first edition ( LJ 2/15/86), usually about 15 facts have been added to each day for a total of roughly 45. With that in mind, is the new edition worth buying? Is the book's price reasonable? At $85 it's not a bargain; Chase's Annual Events is $27.95. Will the book answer reference questions in a unique or interesting way? The book is aranged by date of the year with events listed under four headings: Holidays, Religious Calendar, Birthdates, and Historical Events. The arrangement is somewhat unusual,but if a reference librarian is asked for saint's days he or she might go first to John J. Delaney's Dictionary of Saints (LJ 9/15/80) or Oxford Dictionary of Saints (Oxford Univ. Pr., 1978; 1987. 2d ed.). Not recommended.-- David S. Azzolina, Univ. of Pennsylvania Libs., Philadelphia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

CHOICE Review

The format of this edition is identical to that of the 1985 edition, with new material from 1984 through 1989. Arranged by day of the month, entries have the birthdates of renowned persons, major historical events, major holidays of the world, holy days and feasts of the saints. At the beginning of each month, there is a list of moveable holidays and special events, such as Latin American Week, or Art Week. Other features (occupying fewer than 20 pages) are an article on development of the calendar and a glossary of time words. The editors claim more than 5,400 new articles, but a sample study of three months indicates that this number should be reduced by 1,500 unless entries in the index are included. The index has been increased significantly with subject headings. Since only an additional six years of coverage are provided, with fewer than 600 historical events and around 3,000 birthdates, purchase is not recommended for libraries that have the earlier edition. Updated information could be located through almanacs, yearbooks, encyclopedias, and newspaper indexes. For academic libraries this a marginal purchase; but large public libraries should buy because much of the material is very popular. For additional and unduplicated material of this nature, Ruth Gregory's Anniversaries and Holidays is useful (4th ed., 1983; 3rd ed., CH, May'76). -J. B. St. Leger, Central Virginia Community College