Use these comprehensive guides to identify the date of release, performance, or publication and then determine which indexes, databases, and full-text reference sources have coverage during the given year. Although it's easy to simply stop at the full-text databases, we encourage researchers to make use of both print and online indexes and sources. Not only is there variation in date range coverage, but each source - despite sometimes considerable overlap - indexes a given set of periodical titles (and even books in certain cases).

We hope that these graphic guides make the review-searching process easier. Enjoy, and let us know what you think!

And don't forget that there's a similar review-finder for film.

Coming soon, another review guide for theater and performance reviews!

Manny Paiges, Library Beat

Boston, Mass. - Just ask your friendly librarian, and she'll tell you: not all encyclopedias are created equal.

Within the last few weeks, on an undisclosed date, the Iwasaki Library acquired the 2009 Encyclopedia of Journalism, a one-of-its-kind six-volume scholarly behemoth that experts say is the encyclopedia to end all encyclopedias. Several of the librarians there have been observed in recent days whispering and shaking their hands in presumed delight while using the new reference work.

"It's kind of a big deal," exclaimed an anonymous source within the library.

With over 360 signed entries in the first four volumes alone, this attractively designed book leaves little to the imagination. This reporter noticed that each of these entries featured "further readings," and each of the volumes also included an index for the entire set.

"We're very pleased, that's all I can say at this time," said another unnamed source within the library, as she trembled and embraced one of the six volumes.

One of the librarians was eager to point out that volume 5 contains key documents in the field, including laws, court cases, codes of ethics and standards, educational statements, and data on the profession. Volume 6 appears to have even more information in the form of appendices that list journalism awards, country ratings of journalism freedom from Freedom House, and a guide to recent literature.

One student interviewed was clearly pleased by the new set. Hugh Tabb Lloyd, a 3rd year journalism student, pored over one of the volumes, smiling widely. "This thing might just save my ass," he said.

Response: Believe us when we say we'd LOVE for students to be able to book study rooms online. Unfortunately, our current booking system, EMS, can't make online reservations, but we're hoping that in the future this option might become available.

The 2006 Stern Review Report on the Economics of Climate Change commissioned by the British government warned that a failure to strongly and promptly reduce carbon emissions "could create risks of major disruption to economic and social activity, later in this century and in the next, on a scale similar to those associated with the great wars and the economic depression of the first half of the 20th century." And despite the now firmly established scientific consensus on global warming, a recent national survey conducted by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press revealed a disturbing decline in the proportion of Americans who (1) believe that there is solid evidence of a rise in global temperatures and (2) say global temperatures are rising as a result of human activity.

Use this week's "pick" to educate yourself on this most urgent matter.

More properly called an encyclopedia, this indispensable work is a must-use for any researcher grappling with the often elusive and squirmy antagonist of theatre and performance theory. The Dictionary features an illuminating thematic index, which groups entries into those concerning Dramatugy, Text and Discourse, Actor and Character, Genres and Forms, Staging, Structural Principles and Aesthetic Questions, Reception, and Semiology. Consisting of brief to mid-length entries with references, and authored by Patrice Pavis, a French expert in the field, this book may just become your new hero!

To research or not to research? There can be no question. Don't be a fool - consult this masterly tome when the demands of theory are upon you.

With nearly 600 entries written by 376 experts and scholars, this new multidisciplinary encyclopedia is an excellent first stop for any research question that touches upon racial or ethnic topics. It contains more than 120 entries on specific groups in the United States, and over 100 essays treating race and ethnicity in other countries, making it relatively comprehensive in its scope. Don't forget about the very handy "Reader's Guide," a thematic table of contents in the front matter, or the appendix of related historical statistics for the United States.

From "Health Disparities" to "Higher Education: Racial Battle Fatigue" to "Hip-Hop," there's something in here for everyone at Emerson. Enjoy!

Response:
Thank you for your comment. Limitations of space and material are keenly felt by all. Unfortunately, complications related to the Pharos print management system make it impossible for print jobs to properly collate, necessitating manual sorting, and staplers are provided as an extra service. Please feel free to bring a personal stapler to the library or print in many of the various locations across campus. We will consider placing an extra regular stapler in the classroom. Thanks!

Now, a little bit about the man who made this possible. Dick Beebe graduated from Emerson College, and Yale School of Drama. After Yale, he went to Los Angeles, where he became a successful writer for film and television. His credits include The Lazarus Man, a TV series with Robert Urich, Book of Shadows: Blair Witch 2, "Only Skin Deep", from season 6 of the HBO series Tales from the Crypt, and the 1999 remake of House on Haunted Hill.

As might be expected from a writer who specialized in horror, his video collection is strong in this area. In addition to the classics, it includes unusual items like Charles Crichton's British horror anthology, The Dead of Night, Richard Stanley's cult opus Dust Devil, and Benjamin Christensen's history of witchcraft, Haxan. (This is probably a good place to note that not all of Mr. Beebe's collection is part of the circulating collection. Titles the Library didn't already own will become part of the teaching collection. That said, the circulating collection features plenty of very scary movies--from Alien to Carrie to The Wicker Man to the aforementioned Haxan--and just in time for Halloween.

Another collection highlight reflects Mr. Beebe's interest in television. Starting with The Honeymooners, his collection samples every era--from the 1950's Have Gun, Will Travelto contemporary shows like The Wire.

Sadly, Dick Beebe died June 20, 2008, from complications associated with brain cancer. We feel privileged that he decided shortly before his death to share his love of movies with his alma mater.

The Lavine collection features materials related to Boston theaters, including Emerson's own Majestic Theatre. The collection consists of photographs, scrapbooks, ledgers, playbills, programs and newspaper clippings related to Boston theater in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Images include popular actors of the time, like General Tom Thumb, Sara Bernhardt, and Edwin Booth (brother of the notorious John Wilkes Booth). The programs and playbills feature productions from the Bijou Theatre, Boston Museum, Castle Square Theatre, Tremont Theatre, and Hollis Street Theatre, as well as many other Boston area theaters.

For more information about this collection or about the Archives in general, visit the Emerson College Archives website. For more library information, including Archives updates, follow EmersonLibrary on Twitter!

In one way or another, Emerson College has always been devoted to the study and practice of ethics. Indeed, the founder of Emerson College called for communication that made a moral difference in society, not for communication that we might call "value-free." To this day, the College's mission statement, curriculum, and several departmental objectives reflect the importance of ethics and of training students to make wise ethical decisions. This display features a selection of recent ethics books and articles, including works authored by the following Emerson faculty members:

•Jeffrey Seglin (Writing, Literature and Publishing)
•Elizabeth Baeten (Communication Studies/Philosophy)
•Tracey Stark (Communication Studies/Philosophy)
•Greg Payne (Communication Studies)
•Jerry Lanson (Journalism)
•Manny Paraschos (Journalism)
•Tom Cooper (Visual and Media Arts & Communication Studies/Philosophy)

A new "Ethics Circle" comprised of these faculty and any other interested Emerson faculty and administration will begin to meet this fall to consider Emerson's ethics curriculum, mission, teaching, and research. To honor their initiative and to encourage you to consider the importance of ethics in a world both captivated and victimized by Bernie Madoff and Enron, we draw these books, issues, and the courses taught by these professors to your attention.

- Tom Cooper

Silver works in painting, mixed media, watercolors and photography. She was educated in the Midrasha Teachers' College in Israel and continued taking studio courses in the U.S., at Mass Art and other local institutes. Since 1999, she has been an adjunct professor in the School for Visual and Performing Arts at Endicott College, Beverly, Massachusetts.

Beauty and Danger 22" x 30" Watercolor 2009

I am drawn to mystery and darkness. I strive to play these qualities against a presence of light. In the road theme paintings, the landscapes are the settings of a daily drama. Familiar roadsides stretch beneath overarching skies. The sky, the most beautiful canvas of all, streams down its hues. The common experience of speeding along the highway becomes a metaphor for living; it conveys a sense of moving towards an impending encounter with the unknown.

My process is based on photographs which I appropriate or shoot while driving. I work out the composition through small sketches and manipulations in Photoshop. I apply paint in layers. Using watercolors, I alternate multiple washes and dry brushwork. I love the challenge which is unique to watercolors, of maintaining the white paper highlights. It makes me think of things in life, which need to be protected in order for the light to shine through.