Women's Desk Reference: An A-Z SourceBook

Library Journal

Authors Frank and Brownstone have written other reference sources, such as The Green Encyclopedia ( LJ 11/15/92) and Dictionary of 20th-Century History ( LJ 8/90). Here they compile information on a broad range of topics of interest to women. Subjects range from legislation and social problems to health issues, history, and literature. The first section contains 1500 alphabetically arranged entries, which often have a list of books and agencies for additional information. Cross references, highlighted boxes with special information, and charts complement the text. Although the book is written ``in the spirit of advocacy,'' entries appear to be objective and unbiased. The second section provides text to documents such as the Declaration of Sentiments and Resolution, statistical charts, books by women, and a time line of women's history. While other books cover specific areas of women's studies, this wide-ranging tome provides basic and concise information on issues affecting both genders. Recommended for all academic and public libraries.-- Mary Salony, West Virginia Northern Community Coll. Lib., Wheeling

From The Critics

This guide to the broad spectrum of women's concerns provides encyclopedic coverage of issues, personalities, and terms relating to women. Arranged from "Abandonment" through "Zygote", articles use clear, matter-of-fact language. Many provide lengthy bibliographies and referral information to organizations concerned with the matters discussed. There are copious cross-references within articles as well as from varying forms of headings; for example, "Abdominal Delivery" refers the reader to "Cesarean Section". Brief biographies of women (and men) important to the women's movement are included. Line drawings illustrate such entries as "Pregnancy" and "Breast". Boxes include "Tips for Making Visitation Work" and "Tips for Preventing AIDS." Quotations from women add interest Appendixes include the declaration from the Seneca Falls Women's Rights Convention in 1848; the "Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women," adopted by the U.N. General Assembly in 1979; statistics on women in political life, working women, and the world's women; an author-title list of 75 "books by women whose words have changed the world," prepared by the Women's National Book Association; and a time line of the fight for women's rights Although this title fills an important need, it has a few flaws. First, despite its "A-Z" organization and thorough cross-references, it needs an index. Second, there is no in-depth discussion of minority women's issues. Those attempting to find information on African American, Hispanic, or Asian American women's matters are referred to the article "Feminism". This brief article does not deal with specific concerns of minorities. In the article "Religion and Women's Rights", the authors provide only a superficial discussion of non-Christian religions. There are no articles on Islam or Judaism and no listings for such organizations associated with those religions With the caveats noted, "The Women's Desk Reference" is an appropriate choice for high school, public, and academic libraries. At least for now, it's the only game in town.

Booknews

Contains some 1,500 entries on people, organizations, issues, books, politics, and health, each with see also references and many with bibliographical references. Useful as a first-stop reference. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

WomanSource Catalog & Review: Tools for Connecting the Community for Women

With so much information to digest, desk references seem to be the thing these days. One volume works that give you a wide range of information on a particular subject have high appeal. Women's Desk Reference is such a sampler with everything from "guidelines for using a condom" to a 15-page essay on child abuse and neglect, complete with an extensive resource listing. It's alphabetized like an encyclopedia, so you can look up information on a noteable woman, find a phone number for an organization, locate definitions for terms of interest to women, access reading lists on a particular topic or read one of the many topic essays. The downside to desk references is they tend to be a bit dry and limiting; some of the descriptions here are a little sketchy. No doubt, however, you will find this book a good jumping-off point for a variety of topics relating to women; we did.
—Ilene Rosoff