#35 on the Reference Countdown

And sinking like a stone. (Sorry, Ben.)

Just after reading the B&T Continuations email re: the demise of Consumer Drug Reference, I found a flyer for this reference warhorse in the day's mail. [Add the grim glue factory comment here.]


No chance this title would make an unlikely 4th edition of my Top 40 Reference Countdown.

Another Sign of the Times

Link to 7/21 PW Online article, "LA Times to Fold Standalone Book Review".

Excerpt: According to a former staffer, the Los Angeles Times is folding its standalone Sunday book review section, laying off two dedicated book editors. The last standalone section will be July 27

And I remember, many years ago now, when the New York Times Book Review actually had some heft to it.

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.