American Popular Culture: A Guide to the Reference Literature

Organized by types of information sources, the book selectively covers guides to the literature of popular culture, including general and subject encyclopedias; subject dictionaries; handbooks and manuals; biographical compilations; directories, indexes, and abstracts; bibliographies, discographies, and videographies; and supplemental sources (e.g., periodicals, research centers, associations). Each section is arranged by subject: general; popular arts (e.g., music, fine arts); mass media (e.g., radio, computers); folkways/oral tradition; and fads, events, trends, and other social phenomena. Selective rather than comprehensive, the book offers entries with descriptive and sometimes evaluative annotations. Essential as a research tool in academic and public libraries, this guide will also be useful in collection development.