Bibliographer Extraordinare!

Janet Clarke, selector for Asian American Studies (and Head of Library Instruction), was a contributing bibliographer for the forthcoming Resources for College Libraries (RCL), which is the long-awaited update to Books for College Libraries, 3rd edition (BCL3), published in 1988. RCL, a print and web resource on essential books for college library collections, will be available in Fall, 2006.

Janet’s contributions to this work are significant: she has incorporated scholarly and creative works germane to the undergraduate Asian American Studies curriculum into the new edition of RCL. The 1988 edition contained no subject headings for Asian American Studies, and less than 20 titles scattered across other traditional disciplines, even though Asian American Studies courses have been taught since 1969. In this new edition of RCL, Asian American Studies has its own chapter with about 1,000 titles.

There has been a considerable increase in scholarly and literary publishing since BCL3 was published. Contemporary works from the late 1980’s to present are emphasized in RCL, with some older classical works included even if they are out-of-print or available only as reprints.

When asked about her work on this project, Janet remarked: "Those of us in the field knew there was a real need for a collection development resource like RCL for Asian American Studies, so I felt very excited to be part of this project."

More information about Resources for College Libraries is available from http://www.rclweb.net/