ILS-519 Acquisitions & development
of library and information resources
 ©2004-2005 Amy Ranger
Interview with an Acquisitions librarian
 Main index
Special project: Collection analysis of Typography books at Western Michigan University

This collection analysis was conducted by Amy Proni (now Amy Ranger) for the course ILS-519, Acquisitions and development of library and information resources, taught by Dr. A. Bielefield, Southern Connecticut State University, Fall, 2004.
Assignment: Your final project is to take a non-fiction section of a library’s collection and to determine which of the materials you find there should be kept, which should be discarded, and what new or reprinted titles should be added to the collection. In other words, you’ll be managing a part of a library collection. Because one part of determining whether or not a title should be on a library’s shelf is to note its condition, you’ll need to physically look at the materials in your subject area.

Collection analysis 
Monographic resources on typography at Western Michigan University
Introduction
 Subject definition
 Rare Books Room
 Location issues
Searching
 Paring the list
 WMU Libraries
Mission Statement
 Evaluation process
List of works
 Statistics
 Resources to add
 Relevant websites
Conclusion
 Endnotes
 Dedication






Introduction
I chose to evaluate the monographic resources on typography at Western Michigan University’s Waldo Library for my collection analysis project. I hold an Associate’s degree in General Printing from Ferris State College and spent many years working with my father, who operated a private press. He was involved with printing, design, and typography for most of his life, and passed that interest on to me.

As it happens, Western Michigan University has a degree program in the School of Art related to this topic; it is the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design.(1) I like what Phil Baines and Andrew Haslam wrote in the introduction to their work on the subject: “Typography is concerned with the structuring and arranging of visual language.” (2) The study of types is an important aspect of the field of graphic design and, in my opinion, is one of the foundations upon which good design is created. For that reason, I thought it would be interesting to evaluate the holdings of this academic library.

Defining the subject
My search began with the Library of Congress Subject Heading: Graphic design (Typography). To confirm my instincts that books related to typography could logically be found under diverse headings, I referred to the Library of Congress Authorities site,(3) for this information about the subject heading:

LCCN
LC Class Number
Heading
Used For/See From
Search Also Under


Found in
 sh97005138
Z246
Graphic design (Typography)
Typographic design
Design
Printing
Layout (Printing)
Work cat.: 97-10546: Graphic design tricks & techniques, 1997 (chapters on type creation, paper choices, etc.) LC database, July, 2, 1997 (195 records with title word "design" and subject word "printing," many with titles such as "printing layout and design," 46 with title phrase "graphic design;" 11 records with phrase "typographic design") Bookman's glossary, 1983 (design, the specifications for graphic format; typography, the arrangement and appearance of type matter; layout, the working diagram of a page or other spatial area)

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At this point I realized that I would need to expand my search to include other relevant subject headings, including Layout (Printing) and Type and type-founding.

Many of these subject headings were subdivided, either by location (United States, or France) or by subtopic (History, or Specimens, or Technique) or by time period (20th century), and this complicated the search. As a user, I found it very frustrating to work with the library’s web-based catalog (Voyager, from Endeavor). For example, searching for the subject heading Graphic design (Typography) retrieved 16 sets of headings. It would have been lovely if all of the subsets were included in the initial retrieval. After the records were identified in the catalog, I used an option offered by the catalog software to email the full records to myself, so that I could edit, then import them, into a spreadsheet or database. The first set of retrieved subject headings included more than 75 records; subsequent sets (each including between 1 and 3 records) were hand-massaged into an Excel spreadsheet and then imported into a FileMaker Pro database. All of this made the project more complex, with the number of available titles growing exponentially (or so it seemed.) Now that the subject heading search had been widened, I hoped to narrow the collection analysis to those works that examined the proper use of typography in relation to a graphic design project or process. To my mind this meant that a work should include the history or background of the typeface, or provide specimens, samples, or commentary on the topic. Having said that, it’s hard to see how this would narrow the group of bibliographic records. In fact, I’m not sure that it’s possible, given the capabilities of the library catalog software, to select records with the afore-mentioned qualities.

The quality of the bibliographic records, the holding records, and original cataloging that may have been done on each title also contributed to my difficulties. Classifying and cataloging technical monographs is as much an art as it is a science. What seems like Graphic design (Typography) to one cataloger may be Commercial art or Graphic arts to another. In the end, sorting through the bibliographic records – and the books – reminded me of what Justice Potter Stewart said about obscene material in 1964, “I know it when I see it.” (4) During the course of my analysis, I looked at a number of monographs that in my opinion were not about typography.

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Caveat: the Rare Books Room
The university has long offered coursework in printing and in graphic arts design, so it is not surprising that there are a number of works related to the topic of typography in the Rare Books Room. I made the decision early on not to evaluate those books. The nature of the collection is that these books do not circulate, under any conditions. Researchers may access the collection while under the eyes of the staff of the Rare Books Room, between 8:00 A.M. and 5:00 P.M., Monday through Friday. The physical condition of these monographs is also not relevant to this collection analysis: most are either out of print, rare, or fragile. This is a collection that is not weeded: rather, it is one to which holdings are added. Decisions along those lines are surely made by the Rare Books Librarian, Dr. Thomas Amos, whose knowledge supercedes mine.

The same issues apply also to monographs held in the university Archive and Regional History Collection: there are a few titles available for perusal in the library, but not for circulation. For that reason, I did not evaluate those items.

Location concerns, again
While some titles in the collection are shelved in the Central Reference Department (non-circulating), or placed in the Permanent Reserves (circulate only within the confines of the building for a short time period), most of the books were found in the regular stacks of the main library. I was surprised by the large number of titles (at least 25) in Storage, only some of which were duplicates. I suspect that they may have been moved to Storage around 1990, when the library facility last underwent a major renovation. Then again, the stacks in this library are rather full. It’s possible that the librarians would have wanted to keep potentially useful materials available to patrons through long-term storage over the expense of inter-library loan options.

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Searching, phase 1
In which I begin to wade through the bibliographic records …

Graphic design (Typography) [16 entries, 96 records]
Type and type founding [40 entries, 191 records]
Layout (Printing) [7 entries, 45 records]

Some bibliographic records retrieved in the search were for materials that fall outside of the scope of this analysis: video recordings, slides, periodicals. Once the original data was pulled from the library catalog, I refined it, keeping the most important MARC fields. For the sake of my convenience, I decided to limit the number of subject headings in a bibliographic record to three. This made it somewhat easier to see which records overlapped between the categories.

Overlap between the three searches: approximately 29 records.

Total number of records: 332, including 1 electronic book,1 title on order, approximately 25 slides, 6 video recordings.

Total number of monographs in the general stacks: 164
Total number of monographs in storage: 25
Total number of monographs in the Rare Books Room: 69
Total number of monographs in the Archives: 2
Total number of monographs in Permanent Reserve: 2
Total number of monographs in Other locations: 2
Total number of monographs in Reference: 6

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Paring down the list
I limited the works to be evaluated to a location (General Stacks) with date parameters ranging from 1995 to 2004. That resulted in a list of 103 books, or about one-third of my working database. To reduce the quantity further, I changed the lower date parameter to 1998. That dropped the number to 92 books, which was still too many. I decided to remove the records that had only the subject heading Type and type-founding and did not cross-reference to either of the other headings. That reduced the number of titles by 9; I still had a list of 83 titles.

As mentioned earlier, I was specifically hoping to analyze books that covered the history or background of a typeface, or provided specimens, samples, or commentary on the topic. With that in mind, I decided to cut out titles that seemed to focus more on the graphic design angle. This finally reduced the number of titles to a manageable quantity: 53 titles, published between 1998 and 2004 that were directly related to typography. But because I am a person who cannot leave well enough alone, I reviewed my list one more time, checking on the records that I had coded with an M (for maybe) in a field labeled “Evaluation?.” When I did that, I found 2 records, one for a Type and type-founding work published in 1995, the other for a Layout (Printing) work published in 1996 that I decided to include in the evaluation because they had caught my eye on the shelf.

Of the original 332 records (now culled to 55), I felt that 2 works should be re-cataloged. Both included the subject heading Graphic design (Typography) (which, I will be the first to admit, is both broad and vague), but it was not especially meaningful for either work. Ten items were either checked out or missing.

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Mission statement of the libraries at Western Michigan University (5)
The University Libraries is a learning and teaching environment fostering the pursuit of knowledge, intellectual and ethical integrity, excellence in teaching and learning, and respect for inquiry and diverse points of view. In supporting the University’s mission as a student-centered research institution, the Libraries:
❧ Collects, organizes, preserves, and provides access to information in multiple physical and electronic formats to meet present and future needs of the University relating to teaching, research, learning, and public service.
❧ Encourages life-long learning by educating users to become self-reliant and discerning in the selection and use of information resources.
❧ Actively participates in and exerts leadership at local, state, national, and international levels to support educational attainment and research.
Due to the nature of the collection, I saw no need to withdraw any books. All of the works that I examined were appropriate to the scope of this research-intensive collection.

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The evaluation process
I visited the library many times, spending hours looking at – and for – relevant books. Some of the books that I hoped to evaluate were checked out or were missing – not checked out, but not on the shelves, either. I made a point to look for the missing titles on three separate occasions, and they never surfaced. They could be in one of the library offices for some reason, or in one of the semi-private office/cubicles used by faculty and graduate students. In theory, faculty and graduate students are supposed to check books out before using their library study rooms, but that does not always happen.

My evaluation process consisted of pulling the book from the shelf, counting the number of stamp marks on the circulation slip in the front of the book, and noting its overall physical condition. I generally read the introduction and tables of contents, then leafed through the work to consider the information and presentation. I jotted down notes in a spiral notebook, then entered the data into a database I created with FileMaker Pro 6.0v1.

The records, in call number order, with my comments, are noted below. The primary author name (in bold type) is displayed on the first line, followed by the title of the work (in italics). If there is no primary author, the title (in italics) is on the first line. Up to three subject headings follow the title. Following the subject headings are the publisher and date of publication (on one line), then the physical description of the work on the next line. Call number, in the Library of Congress format, is next, followed by secondary and tertiary authors (or editors); the number of times the work has circulated; physical condition; recommended action; and my comments.

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List of works

Author name in bold; title in italics. Up to 3 subject headings are listed; followed by publisher and date of publication; physical description; LC call number; additional authors or editors. The lone numeral represents the number of times the item has circulated. Physical condition and recommended actions are noted, followed by my comments on the item.

1. Bhaskaran, Lakshmi.
Size matters : effective graphic design for large amounts
Graphic arts.
Graphic design (Typography)
RotoVision 2004
160 p. : col. ill., maps, facsims. ; 28 cm.
NC 997.B45x 2004
0
N: new; K: keep
Great book; excellent discussion of the importance of type with relation to all else.

2. Fishel, Catharine M.
Minimal graphics
Commercial art.
Graphic design (Typography)
Rockport Publishers 1999
192 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.
NC 997.F5435x 1999
21
N: new ; K: keep
Excellent book: commentary, examples, specimens. 1 ILL transaction noted.

3. Breaking the rules in publication design
Graphic arts.
Graphic design (Typography)
Electronic publishing.
Madison Sq. Press 2001
iii, 176 p. : col. ill. ; 31 cm.
NC 998.4.B73x 2001 Supon Design Group., Inc.
6
N: new ; K: keep
Great examples and commentary.

4. Sawahata, Lesa.
Creativity : innovative ways to build great design
Graphic arts.
Graphic design (Typography)
Rockport Publishers 1999
95 p. : chiefly col. ill. ; 28 cm.
NC 998.5.A1 S28x 1999
22
G: good; K: keep
Great examples and commentary.

5. Sawahata, Lesa.
Black + white and two-color design
Graphic arts.
Graphic design (Typography)
Color in design.
Rockport Publishers 1999
95 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.
NC1000.S28x 1999
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; M: missing
Missing. Not found on shelf on 3 occasions.

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6. Boylston, Scott, 1963-
Creative solutions for unusual projects
Computer graphics.
Graphic arts.
Graphic design (Typography)
How Design Books 2001
191 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 28 cm.
T385.B72 2001
3
N: new ; K: keep
Excellent resource: good samples, nicely designed; essay on typography.

7. Carlson, Jeff.
Typography : the best work from the web
Computer graphics.
Web sites–Design.
Graphic design (Typography)
Rockport Publishers 1999
96 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.
T385.C38x 1999
Malina, Toby.
Fleishman, Glenn.
2
G: good; C: re-catalog
Suggest re-cataloging: delete Graphic design (Typography); even with “typography” in the title, this work is not relevant to the topic. Book layout is poorly designed.

8. Redman, Stephanie, 1955-
Taking the leap into new media
Web sites–Design.
Graphic design
(Typography)
North Light Books 1999
144 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.
TK5105.888 .R43 1999
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; N: not evaluated
Checked out, due 12/10/2004

9. Book design 2
Book design–Pictorial works.
Graphic arts.
Graphic design (Typography)
Graphis 1998
249 p. : chiefly col. ill. ; 31 cm.
Z116.A3 B66x 1998
Pedersen, B. Martin.
Mesnik, Hildy.
18
G: good; K: keep
Chiefly illustrated: nicely laid out with great visual ideas for designers.

10. Printed matter : [bound for glory]
Book design.
Book design–Pictorial works.
Graphic design (Typography)
HBI 1999
184 p. : chiefly col. ill. ; 27 cm.
Z116.A3 P74x 1999
Walton, Roger.
6
N: new ; K: keep
Examples of book design; more on graphic design than on typography.

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11. Spencer, Herbert, 1924-
Pioneers of modern typography.
Printing–History.
Graphic design (Typography)–History.
Art, Modern–20th century–History.
MIT Press 2004
158, [2] p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 24 cm.
Z116.A3 S6 2004
0
N: new ; K: keep
Biography and history of the topic.

12. Haller, Lynn, 1965-
Type.
Graphic design (Typography)–History–20th century.
Graphic design (Typography)–United States–History–20th century.
North Light Books 1999
142 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.
Z124.H215 1999
16
G: good; K: keep
Examples of typographic work done 1975-1999, include concept, client needs, processes. Useful.

13. Beach, Mark.
Newsletter sourcebook.
Graphic design (Typography)–United States.
Newsletters–United States–Design.
Writer’s Digest Books 1998
143 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.
Z246.B42 1998
Floyd, Elaine, 1961-
17
G: good; K: keep
Useful information and examples.

14. Bellantoni, Jeff.
Type in motion : innovations in digital graphics.
Graphic design (Typography)
Credit titles (Motion pictures, television, etc.)
Rizzoli 1999
176 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.
Z246.B44x 1999 Woolman, Matt.
12
G: good; K: keep
Brings concepts of typography up to 21st century; emphasizes use of type in motion pictures.

15. Big type.
Graphic design (Typography)
HBI 2002
144 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.
Z246.B54x 2002
Walton, Roger.
3
N: new; K: keep
Very busy design, hard to read, but does have some good examples and a great glossary.

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16. Carter, Rob.
Digital color and type.
Graphic design (Typography)
Type and type-founding–Digital techniques.
Image processing–Digital techniques.
RotoVision 2002
289 p. : col. ill. ; 27 cm.
Z246.C17x 2002
10
G: good; K: keep
Nice explanations, samples, examples, specimens; includes designer statements.

17. Carter, Rob.
Typographic design : form and communication.
Graphic design (Typography)
John Wiley & Sons 2002
309 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.
Z246.C217 2002
Meggs, Philip B.
Day, Ben.
10
N: new; K: keep
Excellent book includes specimens and examples.

18. Cyr, Lisa.
Brochure design that works.
Pamphlets–Design.
Graphic design (Typography)
Rockport Publishers 2002
159 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 28 cm.
Z246.C97 2002
4
G: good K: keep
Examples of projects with critiques.

19. Drate, Spencer.
Cool type 2wo.
Graphic design (Typography)
Graphic design (Typography)–United States.
North Light Books 1999 160 p. : chiefly ill. (some col.) ; 32 cm.
Z246.D73 1999
Salavetz, Jütka.
14
F: fair; K: keep
Busy and colorful; chiefly samples of work from various graphic designers. Moderately useful.

20. Evans, Poppy, 1949-
Designer’s survival manual.
Graphic design (Typography)–Handbooks, manuals, etc.
HOW Design Books 2001
176 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 22 x 23 cm.
Z246.E93 2001
4
F: fair; K: keep
Useful.

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21. Goodman, Allison.
The 7 essentials of graphic design.
Graphic design (Typography)
HOW Design Books 2001
117, [11] p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 28 cm.
Z246.G64 2001
25
G: good; K: keep
Useful information; examples, samples.

22. Haller, Lynn, 1965-
Page design.
Layout (Printing)
North Light Books 1999
144 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.
Z246.H35 1998
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; N: not evaluated
Checked out– due 12/10/2004.

23. Heller, Steven.
Design connoisseur : an eclectic collection of imagery and type.
Graphic design (Typography)
Type and type-founding.
Allworth Press 2000
208 p. : ill. ; 24 cm.
Z246.H44 2000
Fili, Louise.
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; M: missing Missing.
Not found in stacks on 3 different dates; not checked out.

24. Illuminating letters : typography and literary interpretation.
Graphic design (Typography)–History.
Book design–History.
Univ. Mass. Press 2001
198 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
Z246.I44 2001
Gutjahr, Paul C.
Benton, Megan.
4
N: new; K: keep
Nice essays with samples.

25. Jury, David.
About face : reviving the rules of typography.
Graphic design (Typography)
RotoVision 2002
159 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 27 cm.
Z246.J86x 2002
0
N: new; K: keep
Excellent work with samples, examples, and discussion on the topic.

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26. Kinross, Robin.
Unjustified texts.
Graphic design (Typography)
Type and type-founding–History.
Hyphen 2002
391 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 22 cm.
Z246.K56x 2002
0
N: new ; K: keep
Nice essays on the topic with some examples.

27. Knight, Carolyn, 1947-
Layout, making it fit.
Layout (Printing)
Graphic design (Typography)
Commercial art.
Rockport Publishers 2003
192 p. : chiefly ill. (chiefly col.) ; 29 cm.
Z246.K57 2003
Glaser, Jessica.
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; N: not evaluated
Checked out– due 12/10/2004.

28. Krause, Jim, 1962-
Layout index.
Graphic design (Typography)
Layout (Printing)
North Light Books 2001
311 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 16 cm.
Z246.K83 2001
13
G: good; K: keep
Excellent resource: lots of examples.

29. Lupton, Ellen.
Design, writing, research : writing on graphic design.
Layout (Printing)
Layout (Printing)–United States–History–20th century.
Commercial art–United States–History–20th century.
Kiosk 1996
x, 211 p. : ill. (some col.), charts, form, maps, plan, ports. ; 29 cm.
Z246.L86 1996
Miller, J. Abbott.
12
G: good; K: keep
Very nice examples, essays, and explanations on typography.

30. Meggs, Philip B.
A history of graphic design.
Graphic design (Typography)–History.
Book design–History.
John Wiley & Sons 1998
xiii, 510 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.
Z246.M43 1998
23
G: good; K: keep
Examined c.3: Excellent resource. (c.1 in Visual Resources Library; c.2 not found).

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31. Page layout : inspiration, innovation, information.
Layout (Printing)
Graphic arts.
Graphic design (Typography)
HBI 2000 144 p. : col. ill. ; 29 cm.
Z246.P33x 2000
Walton, Roger.
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; N: not evaluated
Checked out, due 12/10/2004

32. Publication.
Magazine design.
Newspaper layout and typography.
Graphic design (Typography)
Rockport Publishers 1998
79 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 32 cm.
Z246.P92x 1998
8
G: good; C: re-catalog
Includes samples of best work in newspaper design in recent years. Very little information on the importance or role of type related to newspaper design. Not especially relevant to Graphic design (Typography).

33. Richardson, Margaret E.
Type graphics : the power of type in graphic design.
Graphic design (Typography)
Type and type-founding–Specimens.
Graphic arts. Rockport Publishers 2000
192 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.
Z246.R52x 2000
Carter, Matthew.
10
G: good; K: keep
Busy and colorful, but more about graphic arts that typography; not especially useful.

34. Samara, Timothy. Making and breaking the grid.
Grids (Typographic design)
Layout (Printing)
Rockport Publishers 2004
207 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 29 cm.
Z246.S23 2002
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; N: not evaluated
Checked out– due 12/10/2004.

35. Sidles, Constance J., 1949-
Great production by design.
Graphic design (Typography) Color printing.
Pictures–Printing.
North Light Books 1998
144 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.
Z246.S54 1998
6
G: good; K: keep
Primary focus is on general printing but there is an excellent chapter on typography.

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36.Type : no borders, no boundaries, no limits.
Graphic design (Typography)
Type and type-founding–Design.
Computer fonts.
HBI 2002
183 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.
Z246.T952x 2002
Walton, Roger.
10
G: good; K: keep
Very esoteric and busy; appropriate for research level libraries.

37. Vartanian, Ivan.
Typo-graphics : the art and science of type design in context.
Graphic design (Typography)
RotoVision 2003
208 p. : chiefly ill. (chiefly col.) ; 31 cm.
Z246.V37x 2003
0
N: new ; K: keep
Very esoteric: focuses on typography as it relates to countries and culture. Appropriate for research oriented institutions.

38. White, Alex.
Elements of graphic design : space, unity, page architecture, and type.
Graphic design (Typography)
Layout (Printing)
Type and type-founding.
Allworth Press 2002
ix, 149 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 24 cm.
Z246.W56 2002
2
G: good; K: keep
Useful section on typography but primarily concerned with graphic design.

39. Working with type : exhibitions.
Carter, Rob–Exhibitions.
Type and type-founding–Specimens–Exhibitions.
Graphic design (Typography)–Exhibitions.
RotoVision 2000
160 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 27 cm.
Z246.W675x 2000
Carter, Rob.
DeMao, John.
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; M: missing Missing.
Not on shelf on 3 occasions; not checked out according to catalog.

40. Zappaterra, Yolanda.
Editorial.
Graphic design (Typography)
Web typography.
Magazine design.
RotoVision 2001
154 p. : col. ill. ; 30 cm.
Z246.Z36x 2001
14
G: good; K: keep
Useful commentary on graphic arts design and magazines, but not much on typography.

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41. Blackwell, Lewis, 1958-
20th century type
Type and type-founding–History–20th century.
Graphic design (Typography)
Gingko Press 1998
191 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.
Z250.A2 B59x 1998
Hyland, Angus.
6
G: good; K: keep
Busy and colorful; more flash than substance.

42. Loxley, Simon.
Type : the secret history of letters.
Type and type-founding–History.
Type designers–Biography.
I.B. Tauris 2004
vii, 248 p. : ill., ports. ; 25 cm.
Z250.A2 L685x 2004
0
N: new; K: keep
Wonderful history of the topic; great background information.

43. Re, Margaret.
Typographically speaking : the art of Matthew Carter.
Carter, Matthew–Exhibitions.
Type designers–Exhibitions.
Graphic design (Typography)–Exhibitions.
Princeton Architectural Press 2003
104 p. : ill. (some col.), 1 port. ; 34 cm.
Z250.A2 R219 2003
Drucker, Johanna.
Mosley, James.
4
G: good; K: keep
Lovely book: biography of Carter, history of his type designs and essays on usability and legibility. PB binding may require rebinding.

44. Triggs, Teal.
Type design : radical innovations and experimentation.
Type and type-founding–History–20th century.
Type designers–Biography.
Graphic design (Typography)
Harper Design Intl. 2003
224 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.
Z250.A2 T75 2003
0
N: new; K: keep
Very busy and colorful; cross-cultural; may appeal to younger generation. Not terribly useful in my opinion.

45. Typographers on type.
Type and type-founding–History–20th century.
Type and type-founding–History–19th century.
Type designers–Biography.
Norton 1995
xii, 188 p. : ill. ; 26 cm.
Z250.A2 T97 1995b
McLean, Ruari.
6
N: new; K: keep
Excellent book of essays by typographers, including Beatrice Warde’s “The crystal goblet.” Highly recommended.

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46. Baines, Phil, 1958-
Type & typography.
Type and type-founding.
Printing.
Graphic design (Typography)
Watson-Guptill 2002
192 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 26 cm.
Z250.B14x 2002
Haslam, Andrew.
14
F: fair; K: keep
Excellent resource; highly recommended.

47. Drate, Spencer.
Extreme fonts : digital faces of the future.
Type and type-founding–Specimens.
Graphic design (Typography)
Printing–Specimens.
Madison Sq. Press 1999
143 p. : col. ill., ports. ; 31 cm.
Z250.D7473x 1999
Salavetz, Jütka.
12
F: fair; K: keep
Useful, but fairly ugly book printed on coated, glossy paper (hard to read); offers samples of contemporary typography.

48. Earls, David.
Designing typefaces.
Type and type-founding–Specimens.
Graphic design (Typography)
RotoVision 2002
160 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 27 cm.
Z250.E37x 2002
5
N: new ; K: keep
Great resource for those who want to design a new typeface. Includes essays by noted designers, examples and illustrations.

49. Samara, Timothy.
Typography workbook : a real-world guide to using type in graphic design.
Type and type-founding.
Graphic design (Typography)
Rockport Publishers 2004
240 p. : ill. (chiefly col.) ; 24 cm.
Z250.S165 2004
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; N: not evaluated
Checked out– due 12/10/2004.

50. Strizver, Ilene, 1953-
Type rules!
Type and type-founding.
Graphic design (Typography)
North Light Books 2001
160 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 29 cm.
Z250.S92 2001
11
G: good; K: keep
Excellent book with history, discussions on usage & techniques, and samples.

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51. Texts on type : critical writings on typography.
Type and type-founding.
Graphic design (Typography)
Allworth Press 2001
xi, 275 p. : ill. ; 25 cm.
Z250.T365 2001
Heller, Steven.
Meggs, Philip B.
4
N: new ; K: keep
Wonderful resource for research intensive collection includes essays by typographers on their work and concepts of type.

52. Heller, Steven.
Letterforms bawdy, bad & beautiful.
Display type–United States–History–20th century.
Graphic design (Typography)–United States–History–20th century.
Advertising layout and typography–United States–History–20th century.
Watson-Guptill 2000
191 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 28 cm.
Z250.5.D57 H45 2000
Thompson, Christine.
15
G: good; K: keep
Offers a counterpoint to the idea that typography is a dry, dusty, obsolete art. Useful.

53. Gale, Nathan.
Type 1 : digital typeface design.
Type and type-founding–Digital techniques.
Universe Pub. 2002
191 p. ; 27 cm. + 1 computer optical disk (4 3/4 in.)
Z250.7.G34x 2002
5
G: good; K: keep
Collection of digital fonts for use as a visual reference. Nicely packaged.

54. Type companion for the digital artist.
Type and type-founding–Digital techniques.
Graphic design (Typography)
Prentice Hall 2002
x, 198 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 24 cm.
Z250.7.T97 2002
Against the Clock (Firm)
0
N: new ; K: keep
Great resource includes essential information on type: history, categories, elements, relationship to design & the Internet.

55. Gill, Martha.
E-zines.
Desktop publishing.
Magazine design–Computer network resources.
Graphic design (Typography)–Data processing.
Rockport Publishers 2000
191 p. : col. ill. ; 28 cm.
Z253.53.G56x 2000
Circulation data unknown
X: Condition unknown; N: not evaluated
Checked out– due 12/10/2004.


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Statistics

Books published by year
Pub. date
 1995
 1996
 1998
 1999
 2000
 2001
 2002
 2003
 2004
Quantity
 1
 1
 6
 11
 6
 9
 12
 4
 5



Number of times item has circulated, based on stamp marks in front cover of book
Circ. stats.
 Unknown
 0
 4≤
 8≤
 12≤ 16≤
 20≤
 ≥21
Per title
 10
 8
 10
 8
 8
 6
 2
 4

In other words, 10 items (either missing or checked out) are unknown; 8 items have never been checked out; and 10 items have been checked out on 4 occasions or less. Of the sample, then, half of the books evaluated had circulated between 5 and 21 times, one-third had circulated 4 times or less; no determination could be made for about one-fifth of the titles.
 

Physical condition of the resource
Condition
 Unknown
 Poor
 Fair
 Good
 New
by title
 10
 0
 4
 23
 18

The majority of the books evaluated were in Good condition or better. Considering the age and usage of the collection, this is appropriate.



The Assistant Dean for Resources, Bettina Meyer, was kind enough to provide me with very rough circulation statistics for books classed under NC and Z.

WMU Circulation
 2003-04
 2002-03
 2001-02
 2000-01
NC
 47
 51
 7
 12
Z
 398
 485
 97
 628

Dean Meyer felt that there were problems with the library’s catalog system in 2001-02; the circulation numbers are so far off from the other years that they don’t make sense.

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Resources that ought to be in the collection
I visited a number of places, looking for books related to typography that I felt would be appropriate for this collection. The first place I looked was in the library’s Reference Collection, in the work Books for college libraries : a core collection of 50,000 titles. Unfortunately, the library does not have the most recent edition of this work. There were four titles related to the graphic arts field as a whole (I looked under the NC, commercial art headings, as well as in the Z class headings).

The Libraries have 3 of the 4 titles in their holdings: Graphic design / Milton Glaser (1973); Printing types, their history, forms and use / Daniel Berkeley Updike (1962); Four centuries of fine printing / Stanley Morison (1960). The 4th title, Herb Lubalin : art director, graphic designer, and typographer / Gertrude Snyder (1985) probably should be in the collection, but due to the publication date, would not have been included in my sample.

I also spoke with Tricia Hennessey, director of the Design Center, a practical work center in the University’s School of Art. Professor Hennessey suggested that I look through their collection of reference books (primarily donated by faculty members) and serials. This was quite a useful exercise, as some of the serial subscriptions were different from what I found in the Libraries’ collection.


First, I came across this monograph, which is not in the Libraries but should be added:

Better type / Betty Binns ; with typeset examples by Kathie Brown.
New York : Watson-Guptill, c1989.
191 p. : ill. ; 23 x 29 cm.
Z246 .B55 1989
Graphic design (Typography)
Type and type-founding–United States–Specimens.


Next, I leafed through several serials: I.D., HOW Magazine, and Communication Arts. I looked at advertisements and book reviews. Many titles, I was pleased to note, were already in the collection. There were times when I didn’t find anything related to my topic, probably because it is so specific.

I found a review (6) for a book titled Fancy : typographic embellishment by Letterbox, an Australian design firm, and think that it looks interesting. Information on the company website states that this is a limited edition monograph, and says:
Fancy features a series of 12 typographic stories including a man who trains his geese to skywrite, a signwriter who mysteriously forecasts business lifespans, the evangelist who wrote ‘Eternity’ 500,000 times throughout the streets of Sydney, the office cleaners who spell out huge words of protest on skyscrapers using just lightswitches, the two mile logotype, the woman who maps human energies of typing and many more... (7)

It certainly sounds amusing and informative.

I also searched library catalogs of major universities with programs in graphic arts and design, including Yale University, the University of Michigan, and the Rhode Island School of Design. I searched for articles or book reviews on the topic in the OCLC First Search database. Additionally, websites related to typography often provided links to publishers in the field.

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Relevant sites

Type Directors Club. Reviews of new and classic typographic works.

Typography : an encyclopedic survey of type design and techniques throughout history / by Friedrich Friedl, Nicolaus Ott, and Bernard Stein.
New York : Black Dog & Leventhal : Distributed by Workman Publishing Co., c1998.
592 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 31 cm.
Type and type-founding–Encyclopedias.
Printing–Encyclopedias.
Type designers–Encyclopedias.

[held by Yale, University of Michigan, Library of Congress]

This has got to be the typographic bargain of the year! This massive book-nearly 600 pages, over 2,000 illustrations in a 9.5" x 12" format-costs only $39.95.

This is not a typography textbook. It is the beginning of a reference work which demonstrates the interaction between craft and technology, theory and practice, between functional and experimental ideas. Friedrich Friedl, Nicolaus Ott and Bernard Stein have not delivered the ultimate book on typography (despite the implications of their subtitle), but it is a book full of engrossing information.

Friedl, Ott and Stein consider typography as a key component of culture and have divided Typography into the chronology, the persons and the institutions, the tools, and typefaces. The chronology is a 66-page breeze through the history of writing from Raygun to the Assyrians. The chronology actually goes backward from the present. It is very disconcerting since it breaks the usual threads of influence. Fortunately, the illustrations are excellent and the summary descriptions of each "movement" are succinct and often sharply observed. (8)

The Book Arts Web. Bibliographies of Reference Works.

Basic typography : a design manual / by James Craig.
Phototypesetting.
New York : Watson-Guptill Publications, 1990.
189 p. : ill. ; 28 cm.
TR1010.C73 1990

Interestingly, this book was originally cataloged by the Library of Congress and is in the holdings of the WMU Libraries. I would not have seen it for several reasons: it was published in 1990, before my cut-off date of 1998; the subject heading of Phototypesetting was not one that I cross-referenced to Graphic design (Typography); and the call number in TR1010 is a subclass of Technology : Photography : Photomechanical processes. Even so, I wish it had been in my larger list of titles. These are among the many reasons why collection assessment may be perceived as challenging!


Book Review Digest (Digests of and citations for book reviews)

Paul Renner : the art of typography / Christopher Burke.
1998 1st ed. English Book 223 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 24 cm.
New York : Princeton Architectural Press, ; ISBN: 1568981589 (alk. paper)
Book design – Germany – History – 20th century.
Type and type-founding – Germany – History – 20th century.

This work is listed in the library catalogs at the Rhode Island School of Design and Yale University, and has been lost or stolen at both institutions.

Stop stealing sheep & find out how type works / Erik Spiekermann; E M Ginger.
2003 2nd ed. English Book 188 p. : ill. (some col.) ; 22 cm.
Berkeley, Calif. : Adobe Press, ; ISBN: 0201703394
Type and type-founding.

Yale and RISD both have the first edition; WMU has neither the 1st nor 2nd edition.

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Conclusion
The single most challenging aspect of this project was in winnowing the collection down to a manageable group of titles. I estimate that two-thirds of the time that I worked on this project was spent on a task I can only label “data-massage” — a laborious task of editing, exporting, formatting, importing, formatting, and editing again the raw data gleaned from searches on the library’s catalog. In general, I was pleased with the collection: there were more interesting and well-done works than I had anticipated finding. I used the adjectives excellent or wonderful in my comments on 11 of the 45, and great to describe another 7 titles that were evaluated. And yet, the reality is that the 45 titles I physically handled and evaluated comprise less than 16% of the total number of works on the topic in the library’s holdings. These are also among the most recently published titles in the overlapping fields of graphic design, typography, and layout. If there is any flaw in this collection analysis, it is that the sample may not be truly reflective of the collection.


Endnotes
1. Western Michigan University, School of Art. Retrieved November 19, 2004, from http://artuser.art.wmich.edu/www/programs/graphicdesign/graphicdesign.html

2. Baines, Phil, & Haslam, Andrew. (2002). Type and typography. New York : Watson-Guptill.

3. Library of Congress Authorities. Retrieved November 21, 2004, from http://authorities.loc.gov

4. Silver, Judith. (2003). Movie Day at the Supreme Court or "I Know It When I See It": A History of the Definition of Obscenity. FindLaw Library. Retrieved November 21, 2004, from http://library.lp.findlaw.com/articles/file/00982/008860/title/Subject/topic/Constitutional%20Law_First%20Amendment%20-%20Freedom%20of%20Speech/filename/constitutionallaw_1_86#edn1 which referenced: Jacobellis v. Ohio, 378 U.S. 184, 197 (1964). Retrieved November 21, 2004 from http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=378&invol=184

5. Western Michigan University, University Libraries. Retrieved November 26, 2004, from http://www.wmich.edu/library/about/mission.php

6. Book reviews. (2004, December). HOW design, p. 14.

7. Letterbox corporate website. Retrieved November 26, 2004, from http://www.the-letterbox.com.au/frames_mer_bks.html

8. Type Directors Club. (n.d.) Paul’s picks : Paul Shaw reviews the latest books on typography and graphic design. Retrieved November 26, 2004, from http://www.tdc.org/reviews/books.html#Friedl

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Dedication
in memory of

Harry Bollinger
typophile, teacher, father

Tom Amos
educator extraordinaire

I know that there's a print shop in heaven,
and you guys are in charge of it.

Save some type and paper for me.
Last updated 2007-06-10. ALR. Contact me.