American Library Association. ALA Guide to Medical & Health Sciences Reference.

American Library Association. 2011. c758p. bibliog. index. ISBN 978-0-8389-1023-8. $75.00.

Even though this book was published several years ago and many of its entries may be in need of updating because they reference resources that are out-of-print and/or superseded by later editions, this publication still may be of some value to librarians and/or researchers, who are attempting to build nearly comprehensive medical and health science reference collections and/or who are doing in-depth research. Covering clinical and consumer health information in thirteen chapters that are organized by type of publication (ex. bibliography, biography, classification, dictionaries, directories, encyclopedias, guides, handbooks, histories, indexes; abstract journals, databases, internet resources, quotations, statistics, treatises, etc.), it provides a critically- selected, annotated list of print and electronic, biomedical- and health- related reference resources, including Internet websites and digital image collections. Emphasizing U.S. publications but including materials published in other countries, it covers all types of resources in the fields of bioethics, consumer health, dentistry, health care, international and global health, medical jurisprudence, medicine, nursing, nutrition, pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences, psychiatry, public health, and toxicology. Each entry includes a bibliographic citation, the Dewey and Library of Congress classification numbers, and a detailed annotation. Unfortunately, entries lack list prices or pricing information, which is useful to librarians who need to compare and purchase these publications. Also many entries are cross-posted word-for-word in different sections and/or chapters, which makes reading this book from cover-to-cover an exercise in diligence since this book’s contents may be repetitive. Of interest to students, educators, practicing librarians, and others, this annotated, classified bibliography-- while in need of updating in the not-so-distant future, if it is to remain useful and pertinent-- may be recommended for public, academic, and special library book collections. Review copy. Availability: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble.com