Her highly readable text explains the intricacies of government information and how to find sources that meet specific research needs. New features in the third edition include detailed coverage of Internet resources, directories of World Wide Web addresses, and quick tips on which government Web sites to search for different types of information. Helpful guides to government abbreviations and citations are also included, as are numerous new tables, user guides, exercises, and illustrations.

    He begins with an excellent analysis of the rise of modern professions and the extended historical debate over librarianship as a profession. . . . Winter's intriguing, if sometimes too complex, discussion of these theories [of the sociology of professionalism] and their application to librarianship ultimately leads him to suggest a composite model that does help establish a general framework for intelligent thinking about who we are and what we do. In a thoughtful concluding chapter Winter suggests further areas of possible research into librarianship as an occupation that deserve our careful attention. Above all Winter is to be congratulated for having breathed new life into what was a tired old topic. Wilson Library BulletinThis volume is intended to change the way librarians think about their work, and indirectly, the way they work. Challenging some dominant modes of thinking, it offers an in-depth examination of the social theory of industrial society, the nature and development of librarianship, and how the sociological study of professions and occupations can be used to understand librarianship. Winter provides schematic models to help in understanding the relevance of different approaches to the professionalization process. He uses a composite model to illustrate an appropriate strategy for understanding how the professionalization process applies to librarianship.