Monday, July 21, 2008

Yet Another Reason to Downsize Your Print Reference Collection

Baker & Taylor Continuations sent us an email today announcing that the Consumer Drug Reference will cease publication this year. The edition we received in December 2007 will be the last one in the series.

Written for the layperson, the Consumer Drug Reference was always a "must-have" title on my Top 40 Reference Countdown: The Best Print Sources. In its last edition, distributed to Jane Pearlmutter's UW-SLIS Collection Development class in 2006, this particular title was #9.

The Baker & Taylor email noted that a 2009 edition of The Complete Guide to Prescription and Nonprescription Drugs will be published. Not mentioned, however, is my alternative to the Consumer Drug Reference. According to the Countdown, I considered The Essential Guide to Prescription Drugs "an excellent title if you are pinched for funds". Apparently, this annual ceased publication with the 2006 edition, when it listed at $20.95, compared to $44.95 for the CDR.

Makes me wonder what other Top 40 titles have fallen by the wayside during the past 2 years.

Hey, here's another retirement project! If I'm so inclined.

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