UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Libraries’ Open Publishing program has launched the online “Bibliography of Library History, 1990–2022.”
Published semi-annually since 1990, the bibliography (BLH) is a long-running effort to help library historians identify the latest books, articles, chapters and dissertations in the field of library history, with an emphasis on North American and European scholarship. The original lists were compiled by Ed Goedeken, professor emeritus of library and information science and former collections coordinator at Iowa State University Library, and hosted by the Library History Round Table, with more recent additions by David Lincove.
“Continually published for nearly 30 years, the collected BLH is the most comprehensive repository of information about publications relating to library history," said Eric Novotny, history librarian at Penn State and database editor for BLH.
The new online bibliography is a searchable database that builds upon and reinvigorates the work done by Goedeken and Lincove. Developed through the efforts of many at Penn State, the database significantly increases discoverability of a wealth of library history scholarship.
“The database is a monumental achievement and a core resource with more than 50 bibliographies published, collectively referencing more than 7,000 publications: books, theses, articles and more. Even in an age of full-text databases and online indexes, there is no other resource that offers the scope and depth of coverage for library history,” said Novotny. The database transforms and enhances the bibliography, bringing it up to date, integrating the contents into a single search and expanding the functionality to make it usable in new ways and to a new generation.
The searchable bibliography includes details such as title, author(s) and publication information. It also organizes content based on geographic region: Africa, Asia, Europe, Latin America, Middle East, Non-United States/Non-Western Hemisphere, Non-United States/Western Hemisphere, Oceania, South America and United States.
Remarking on the added functionality, Goedeken said, “It is hard to believe that those semi-annual bibliographies that I began creating nearly 35 years ago have now been transformed into a remarkable database that can be searched in numerous ways. It is truly a wonder to behold!”
Additional enhancements will include the addition of abstracts and the development of a customized vocabulary to capture aspects relevant to library historians, including community groups, type of library, and time period. These additions will enable robust searching, allowing users to filter results to find the parts of the scholarly record of most interest.
Libraries Open Publishing, the University Libraries’ Open Access imprint, is a unit within the Research Informatics and Publishing department. Libraries Open Publishing provides tools and support for Penn State–affiliated authors and groups to publish full-featured electronic scholarly journals, searchable annotated bibliographies, and monographs using a variety of digital platforms. All publications are free to view online and download. Copyright is retained by the individual authors where possible, or by the journals or sponsoring entity. Almost all are licensed for use under a Creative Commons license.
For more information about the program, visit openpublishing.psu.edu or contact the Open Publishing team at: openpublishing@psu.edu.