The Art of Abstracting

Library Journal

In this revision of the award-winning 1982 edition, the author expands and refines his three-stage analytical reading method that is necessary to preparing informative and indicative abstracts and summaries. Cremmins has 30 years' experience as an abstractor, editor, and teacher of abstracting and writing. A well-written abstract, he says, is highly structured, concise, and coherent; it is also the result of a thorough analysis of the content of the abstracted material. By providing more information than what is given in the title, an abstract assists readers in deciding whether they should consult the full text of the abstracted material. He assumes that "most readers of this book will already have a sound grasp of the fundamentals of scientific, technical, and scholarly writing." This will serve as an excellent textbook for information science students and other special and technical information providers who need to produce abstracts or summaries of technical documents for their clients. Highly recommended as a textbook and for all special and technical collections.Mary J. Nickum, Bozeman, Mont.

Booknews

A revised edition of the standard text outlining the processes, structure, and literature content of abstracts and summaries in the biological, physical, engineering, behavioral, and social science fields. Cremmins advocates a three-stage analytical reading method, solid writing and editing skills, and adherence to abstraction rules and conventions. The appendices include abstract standards, style and writing resources, and a selective bibliography. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)