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Volume 52 / Humanities

BIBLIOGRAPHY AND GENERAL WORKS

AN UNUSUALLY LARGE SELECTION of subject bibliographies, a varied and distinctive group of useful reference works and a trio of collective bio-bibliographical works are highlights this year. Beyond the highlights, however, there is still a considerable number of items deserving attention. This year has produced a profusion of good works; this introductory essay can only point out a few outstanding examples.

The opening subsection on "General Bibliographies" reaffirms European interest in Latin America in an extensive work, El americanismo en Sevilla, 1900-1980 (item bi 92013719), citing studies covering the greater part of this century. Albert Camarillo's Latinos in the United States: a historical bibliography (item bi 92013720) deals with a narrower topic, but gives a fuller view, with over 1,300 citations backed by abstracts.

The subsection on "State, National, and Regional Bibliographies" is exceptionally rich this year. A model within this category is Josep Barnadas' Introducción a los estudios bolivianos 1960-1984 (item bi 92002124), which not only lists over 6,000 items, but illuminates each subject area with a review essay noting significant works and research trends. Ann Hartness' Brazil in reference books, 1965-1988 (item bi 91021911) provides excellent, annotated coverage of 1,669 items. Though unannotated, three state bibliographies (a genre far more prevalent than usual this year) are impressive for their size and seeming comprehensiveness: Germán Cardoza Galúe's Bibliografía zuliana: ensayo, 1702-1975 (item bi 92002130); Ramón Querales' Contribución a la bibliografía y hemerografía del Estado Lara, 1557-1983 (item bi 89008026), and the four-volume Estado do Pará: pesquisa histórico by Denise Farias de Souza et al. (item bi 89008043). Lastly, it is interesting to note the current abundance of ISBN listings, best exemplified by the five-year Argentine cumulation, Libros argentinos, ISBN: producción editorial registrada entre 1982 y 1986 (item bi 92002159).

It is difficult to choose from among so many commendable works in the subject bibliography category although three titles in the fields of language and literature should be noted: Bobby J. Chamberlain's Portuguese language and Luso-Brazilian literature: an annotated guide to selected reference works (item bi 92002242) provides an informed choice of over 500 works with descriptive and critical annotations; Flora Piñeiro de Rivera's Un siglo de literatura infantil puertorriqueña (item bi 92002256) covers the field with an authoritative bibliographic essay and an array of comprehensive indexes; and finally, Walter Rela's A bibliographical guide to Spanish American literature: twentieth century sources (item bi 92002258) surveys a wide field of well-annotated sources.

In matters relating to library science and services, one should note the prototypical set of conference proceedings concerned with current issues, Bibliotecas populares: identidad y proceso (item bi 89008031), which records the attempts to evaluate the present and future state of libraries in Peru. In a related issue, José Arias Ordóñez and Moisés Pedrazo Robayo examine the current state of library and information science in Colombia in their article Nuevas tendencias de la bibliotecología y necesidades del postgrado en Colombia (item bi 89002846).

Among the collective and personal bibliographies, one Latin American and one Caribbean writer receive superior treatment in fully annotated works: Pablo Neruda: an annotated bibliography of critical studies by Hensley C. Woodbridge and David S. Zubatsky (item bi 92002371) and V.S. Naipaul: a selective bibliography with annotations, 1957-1987 by Kelvin Jarvis (item bi 92002368). Though not annotated, two extensive works on important literary figures are also worth mentioning: E.D. Carter's Bibliografía de y sobre Julio Cortázar (item bi 92002374) and Ramiro Villaseñor y Villaseñor's Biobibliografía Juan Rulfo (item bi 89008070). Three collective bio-bibliographical works are also particularly noteworthy: Diccionario de la literatura venezolana (2a ed., item bi 89008023); Women writers of Spanish America: an annotated bio-bibliographical guide by Diane E. Marting (item bi 92002369); and Mexican autobiography: an annotated bibliography by Richard D. Woods (item bi 92002372).

Three catalogs which describe the contents of collections of interest to researchers in varying fields stand out in the "Acquisitions, Collections, and Catalogs" subsection: Catálogo de la Colección Fondo Reservado de la Biblioteca Manuel Orozco y Berra (item bi 92003040), rich in Mexican history holdings; Peronism and the three Peróns: a checklist of material...in the Hoover Institution Library and Archives... by Laszlo Horvath (item bi 92003041); and Indians of North and South America: a bibliography based on the collection at the Willard E. Yager Library Museum... by Carolyn E. Wolf and Nancy S. Chiang (item bi 92003044). One also notes the Mexican Archivo General de la Nación's continuing program to inventory all municipal archives in the publication Los archivos municipales del estado de México (item bi 92003042).

Heading the "Reference Works and Research" subsection is a discerning three-volume survey, Latin American writers, by Carlos A. Solé and María Isabel Abreu (item bi 92003062), with critical essays and selective bibliographies for each subject. Two information-packed resource guides are welcome additions: Libraries and special collections on Latin America and the Caribbean: a directory of European resources by Roger Macdonald and Carole Travis (item bi 92003063) and the Tinker guide to Latin American and Caribbean policy and scholarly resources in Metropolitan New York by Ronald G. Hellman and Beth Kempler Pfannl (item bi 90000385). An unusual proliferation of biographical directories and encyclopedias is also very much in evidence. The two volume Gran diccionario de Chile: biográfico-cultural by Mario Céspedes and Lelia Garreaud (item bi 92003060) is a good ready-reference source for information on historic people and historic/cultural events. Humberto Musacchio's four-volume Diccionario enciclopédico de México (item bi 92003064) covers similar territory for Mexico. Germinal Nogues' Diccionario biográfico de políticos argentinos (item bi 92003065) restricts itself to biography in a narrower field, while the two-volume Diccionario enciclopédico dominicano by Alejandro Paulino et al. (item bi 92003061) attempts to cover everything to do with the Dominican Republic.

Finally, in the "General Works" subsection, we should point out that Aurelio Tanodi's detailed survey, La situación de los archivos iberoamericanos, (item bi 89009091) is rich in information on specific archives, research guides, and legislation affecting accessibility.

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