From the Cataloger's Desk: New Titles For the New Year!
by Iris Lee on
Reading Room, Museum Library, April 11, 2017M. Shanley /© AMNH
WorldShare Management Services (WMS) is a cloud-based platform for library management, discovery and access. It is a suite of products from OCLC, whose global cooperative library catalog builds on the participation of members from thousands of libraries around the world making resources more accessible. You have probably searched its catalog on WorldCat.
The AMNH Library online catalog is an extension of WorldCat, featuring our collections and tailored in part for our users. As the Library’s Cataloging & Metadata Librarian I think about the different ways people can find our resources. And while WMS certainly helps us add holdings and publish records, my 2022 New Year’s resolution is to provide monthly digests of the newly available titles in our collection to the Library News page. Listed below are the Library’s recently acquired books in December 2021 by gift or purchase. You can find these books and others in our collection by searching the Library catalog.
Alluvium and empire : the archaeology of colonial resettlement and indigenous persistence on Peru's north coast
by Parker VanValkenburgh
2021
Alluvium and Empire examines the archaeology of Indigenous communities and landscapes that were subject to Spanish colonial forced resettlement during the sixteenth century.
Encyclopedia of Korean folk games (gift)
Issued by the National Folk Museum of Korea
2019
This is Volume 5 (English language version) in a series of works published by the National Folk Museum of Korea as an Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture which will cover eight subjects in its completion: Seasonal customs, Folk beliefs, Folk literature, Rites of passage, Folk arts, the Necessities of living (food, clothing and housing), Livelihood skills and Folk society. You can find more on their complementary website available in different languages at: https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/main
The publication comes in a slip case and contains color illustrations and photographs throughout. While this title is part of the larger series, Han'guk minsok taebaekkwa sajŏn (in romanized Hangul), the AMNH Library catalogs the volumes as standalone records, or serial monographs for my fellow catalogers. Users can discover individual titles in the series by their subject matter and corresponding content. Squid Game research material, perhaps?
Engaged archaeology in the Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico
edited by Kelley A. Hays-Gilpin, Sarah A. Herr, and Patrick D. Lyons
2021
From the 15th Southwest Symposium held in Tucson, Arizona, 2016. Organized around the theme of "interdisciplinary perspectives," the authors identify current and near-future trends in archaeological practice in the Southwest US and Northwestern Mexico, including repatriation, community engagement, and cross-disciplinary approaches, and focuses on Native American archaeologists and their communities, research, collaborations, and interests.
Environmental leadership equals essential leadership : redefining who leads and how (gift)
by John C. Gordon and Joyce K. Berry with a foreword by Norman L. Christensen, Jr.
©2006
The important new approach to leadership that John Gordon and Joyce Berry explain in this book is built upon the experiences of environmental and natural resource organizations as they contend with complex, long-term problems. But the lessons learned apply beyond these groups--to all modern organizations, for-profit and non-profit, that are dealing with the complicated conditions of the twenty-first century.
Europe between the oceans : themes and variations, 9000 BC - AD 1000 (gift)
by Barry Cunliffe
©2008
By the fifteenth century Europe was a driving world force, but the origins of its success have until now remained obscured in prehistory. In this book, distinguished archaeologist Barry Cunliffe views Europe not in terms of states and shifting political land boundaries but as a geographical niche particularly favored in facing many seas.
From land to mouth : the agricultural "economy" of the Wola of the New Guinea highlands (gift)
by Paul Sillitoe
©2010
In this detailed investigation of a Highland New Guinea agricultural "economy" and acephalous political order where sociopolitical exchange figures prominently--constituting the most thorough inquiry into such a tropical subsistence farming system ever undertaken--esteemed anthropologist Paul Sillitoe challenges assumptions about the universal relevance of key economic ideas in noncapitalist contexts and anthropological shibboleths such as the "gift." Furthermore, he makes a reactionary-cum-innovative contribution to ethnographic research methods and analysis, notably in the use of advances in information technology to manage large data sets.
Her wilderness will be her manners
by Sarah Mangold
2021
An innovative book-length poem that delves into the intricacies of natural history dioramas, taxidermy, landscape, and women naturalists, Her Wilderness Will Be Her Manners is an experience of looking for "Woman's Work" in American natural history museums.
Into the wild : the story of the world's greatest wildlife photography (gift)
by Gemma Padley
2021
From some of the very first pictures of wild lions and tigers on record and the first-ever underwater colour photograph, right up to the spectacular images from the wildest corners of the earth that modern-day technology allows, Into the Wild is an extraordinary collection of over 250 images and 150 years of our efforts to document the natural world.
This book spent more time on my desk than others! I paged through it several times in between processing other titles, the remarkable images becoming more astonishing with repeated views. You can view a sample of the book on the publisher’s website featuring one of my favorite spreads of a baboon in a mid-air jump, reminiscent of Henri Cartier-Bresson’s ‘decisive moment’, next to an aerial view of six elephants on the move, their heavy midday shadows looming ominously above their pale bodies as a foreboding signal that their presence and existence are endangered.
Marshes : the disappearing Edens (gift)
by William Burt
©2007
For thirty years William Burt has hauled his large-format camera with him, seeking to capture on film the elusive birds, the wildflowers and grasses, and the unique wild beauty of the marshes. In this book, he selects ninety of his most striking photographs.
The arts of Africa : studying and conserving the collection : Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (gift)
issued by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
2020
The collection of African art at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is among the most comprehensive in the United States, featuring works in all media from across the continent dating from antiquity to today. This volume, the product of a collaboration between the museum's curators and conservators, presents highlights from the collection--some never before published--alongside new scientific analysis and imaging.
The species-area relationship : theory and application
edited by Thomas J. Matthews, Kostas A. Triantis, Robert J. Whittaker
2021
This volume addresses this shortfall by providing a synthesis of the development of the species-area relationship (SAR) typologies and theory, as well as empirical research and application to biodiversity conservation problems. It also includes a compilation of recent advances in SAR research, comprising novel SAR-related theories and findings from the leading authors in the field.
What, if anything, are species?
by Brent D. Mishler
2021
This book is an extended argument for abandoning the species rank. Instead, the author proposes that the rank of "species" be replaced by a pluralistic and multi-level view.
Can’t get enough? For additional new books see our New Books page!
The AMNH Library is not currently open to the public. Resources are available to Museum staff and items may circulate to staff members with full borrowing privileges. Staff can submit an application for access here: https://www.amnh.org/research/research-library/staff-access-and-registration
This entry was written by Iris Lee, Cataloging and Metadata Librarian.