Textbook Round-Up (Part II) - Reference and Web Programming

Whew, I am finally done for the semester. Next semester I will only be taking two classes, so hopefully I won't be quite so overwhelmed with school.
In my last textbook post, I talked about all of the books used for my Intellectual Freedom and Youth course. This post will cover two classes, with only three books.
The first is the two-volume set Introduction to Reference Work, by William A Katz. These are very comprehensive books, covering all sorts of reference needs. Katz analyzes not only the source of the materials he discusses, but also the cost, and how they could be used at different types of libraries. The first volume covers all the necessary sources: encyclopedias, dictionaries, periodicals, ready reference, etc, etc. The second volume discusses actually doing reference work. My only complaint with these books was that the information on the internet was out-of-date. Really anything that was published in 2002 and talking about the internet is going to be behind, but some of the information seemed like they didn't even bother updating it for the 2002 edition. This was disappointing, to say the least. Other than that these books were an excellent match for the class, and would be very useful for any new librarian learning the ropes.
The only textbook used in my web programming class was HTML, XHTML & CSS, by Elizabeth Castro. This was a stellar book, one I would highly recommend to anyone who is learning how to work with any of the above languages. It is also excellent for reminders, in case your skills have become rusty. I even had the opportunity to recommend this book to a patron who was looking for a good book on the subject. The class was good, although I'm still not sure how it applies to my overall Library Science degree, and I doubt I will be pursuing web design in the future, but for learning about it, this book was great.
And that's another semester finished! Next semester it will be Collection Management, History of Library and Books, and Evaluation of Youth Services. I am not joking when I say I am really excited.

Textbook Round-Up (Part I) - Intellectual Freedom and Youth

This semester I took a course covering issues of intellectual freedom and young adult services at libraries. Intellectual freedom is a fascinating issue, and one that I am very happy to support through my work at the library. It is interesting to see how the freedom to read pertains to children and teens - it is often from parents that challenges come, and so being familiar with how to handle material challenges is critical for any librarian serving young adults.
The first book that we used, and the one that we spend the most time in, was The New Inquisition, by James LaRue. This is a fantastic book that should be on the shelf of any library, and should be read by every library worker. It gives insight into why challenges happen, and how to handle them effectively, by trying to understand the patron's concern, rather than becoming defensive. LaRue also gives some great practical tips for handling challenges.
Another book that we looked at, but didn't spend too much time in was Radical Reads, by Joni Bodart. This book gives a list of 101 books that are all controversial titles, and why they should be recommended to teens. In addition to summaries and bibliographic information, she includes reviews, booktalks, curriculum tie-ins, and much more for each title. The appendices also include information on building a rationale for books in your collection that you think may be considered controversial, and may come up against challenges.
A third book that we used in this class pertained more towards customer service. That book was Defusing the Angry Patron, by Rhea Joyce Rubin. This book examined the reasons behind anger, and offered ways to approach different people based on the source of their anger. This is a very practical book, and would be great for anyone who works in customer service, although it is tailored to libraries.
A final book that I found very useful for this class was the American Library Association's 2007 edition of Banned Books, by Robert Doyle. This book includes all of the books that have been challenged recently and why, in alphabetical order by author's last name. There are also indexes of authors, regions, and reasons for the challenges, as well as information on critical court cases. This book is invaluable for anyone studying the reasons why specific books have been challenged in the past. It is amazing to see how challenges still come up every year, even for classic titles.