Using the Fiction Catalog

1. Using the Fiction Catalog Karlen Chase Information Literacy PowerPoint Session Date due: Nov. 7, 2006 klchase@buffalo.edu LIS 518B Dr. Peterson

2. What is the Fiction Catalog? • “Fiction Catalog is a selective list of established and contemporary works of adult fiction either written in or translated into English” (Yaakov and Greenfieldt v). • Available in print or online. • Print version published in hardcover every 5 years, with annual paperback supplements in the interim. • List of works selected by a diverse group of public librarians across the U.S.

3. Yeah, but what kinds of books? • “The best authors and their most widely read works in literary and popular fiction are listed, including mysteries, science fiction, fantasy, Westerns, romance, and more” (“New Edition”). • Chinua Achebe, Jane Austen, Jamaica Kincaid, Stephen King, J.R.R. Tolkien, Sue Grafton, and John Grisham share these pages. • Anthologies, series, short stories, and novellas are also represented.

4. Who uses it and for what? • Librarians Collection development & maintenance Reader’s advisory General reference (“Fiction,” Wilson) • Library patrons Finding books they want to read by author, title, or subject Pricing books Reading summaries & excerpted reviews • Teachers Listing on syllabus as a reference source • Writers Researching authors’ subject matter and bodies of work • Bookstores Acquisitions, pricing Contacting publishers

5. History of the Fiction Catalog • 1908: First published by H.W. Wilson Co. (“Fiction,” JHU). • 1923-1931: title was Standard Catalog for Public Libraries (“Fiction,” JHU). • 1997: Made available online as part of the WilsonWeb databases (“Fiction,” Ulrich’s). • 2006: 15th print edition published, featuring over 8,000 entries (“Fiction,” Wilson).

6. Print Edition: General Info • Yaakov, Juliette, and John Greenfieldt, eds. Fiction Catalog. 15th ed. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 2006. • Price (U.S. & Canada) $240; otherwise, $270. • Price includes hardcover ed. + 4 annual paperback supplements. • ISBN: 0-8242-1055-7

7. Print Edition: Use of Part 1 • Part 1 is the Author Index, except when title is main entry, as in Best American Short Stories. • Look up author’s last name in alpha order. • View titles in alpha order under author’s name. • Each entry includes complete bibliographical info, price, ISBN, brief summary, & sometimes excerpted review. • Analytic entries for works that are part of a larger work, i.e. short stories, novellas. • Includes out-of-print info, as well as cross references for pseudonyms.

8. Print Edition: Use of Part 2 • Part 2 is the Title & Subject Index. Alpha order titles and subjects mixed. • Subject headings are in all caps. If a title or author name is indented under a subject, that work or the work of that author is largely concerned with that subject. • Titles are in regular case. Author’s name follows. • Once you have the author name, go back to Part 1 to find full entry.

9. Print Edition: Use of Part 3 • Part 3 is the Directory of Publishers & Distributors. • Alpha order by company name. • Entries include: complete contact info branch offices “see also” cross references

10. Pros Subject index aids reader advisory. Includes works that are out-of-print. Alpha order of each part aids navigation. Cons “strict author, title, and subject searches” (Macfarlane). No keyword index. Must wait for supplement for update. Mainly works from U.S., Canada, U.K. Print Edition: Pros & Cons

11. Online Edition: General Info • Available through the WilsonWeb databases with an annual subscription. • Contains all the information of the print edition. • Includes more search capabilities, additional review excerpts from Wilson’s Book Review Digest Plus database, & links to your subscriber library’s online catalog (“Fiction,” Wilson).

12. Online Edition: Use • Standard database interface with drop-down menus and search boxes. • Can search by any of the following by entering in the search boxes: keyword, publication year, title, ISBN, subject, ISSN, publisher, document type, author, Dewey decimal number. (“Fiction,” Wilson)

13. Pros “Titles are added daily or weekly” (“Wilson”). Expanded search capabilities. Often “entries link to full-text book reviews…” (“Wilson”) Get ½ off print edition (“Wilson”). Cons “…lost in the…electronic format is the “See also” reference” (Macfarlane). All-Smart search yields many irrelevant results with subject searches (Macfarlane). Online Edition: Pros & Cons

14. Buffalo Area Availability • Both UB Libraries and the Buffalo & Erie County Public Libraries have the print edition. • Neither of the above library systems subscribes to the online edition. • Caveat: All information about the online edition contained in these slides was obtained from secondary sources that follow.

15. Works Cited “Fiction Catalog.” H.W. Wilson. 2006. H.W. Wilson Co. 1 Nov. 2006 http://www.hwwilson.com/print/fictcat.cfm. “Fiction Catalog.” JHU Libraries Catalog. 2004. Johns Hopkins Univ. 1 Nov. 2006 http://catalog.library.jhu.edu/. “Fiction Catalog.” Ulrich’s Periodicals Directory. CSA. SUNY Univ. at Buffalo, UB Libs. 1 Nov. 2006 http://www.ulrichsweb.com. Macfarlane, Carrie. “Fiction Catalog, Magillonliterature Plus.” Library Journal (1976) 129.2 (2004): 134. Library Literature & Information Full Text. H.W. Wilson. SUNY Univ. at Buffalo, UB Libs. 4 Nov. 2006 http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com.

16. Works Cited (cont.) “New Edition of H.W. Wilson’s Fiction Catalog Now Available.” MMISchools.com. 13 April 2006. MultiMedia & Internet@Schools. 1 Nov. 2006 http://www.mmischools.com/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=11290. “Wilson Announces Fiction Catalog, 15th Edition.” Advanced Technology Libraries 35.5 (2006): 7-8. Library Literature & Information Full Text. H.W. Wilson. SUNY Univ. at Buffalo, UB Libs. 4 Nov. 2006 http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com. Yaakov, Juliette, and John Greenfieldt, eds. Fiction Catalog. 13th ed. New York: H.W. Wilson Co., 1996.