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Field of medicine: Library and information science.

Format: Hardcover book.

Audience: Students of ethnic minority health.

Purpose: To assist with research, data identification, education, and training with respect to disparity in the health status of ethnic minorities, a significant issue for U.S. society.

Content: This bibliography addresses ethnic minority health from 1970 to 1995. Emphasis is on selective monographs dealing with four populations: Native Americans and Alaska Natives, African Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and Hispanics. Monographic literature comprises 60% of the entries; the rest are for government reports, independent research reports, working papers or chapters, conference proceedings, dedicated journal issues or supplements, and specialized bibliographies and directories.

Highlights: The book is organized into nine broad topics: bibliographies, directories, medicine, mental health, medical education, the health professions, research, service delivery and access, and disease prevention and health promotion. Within each section, titles are arranged alphabetically for each ethnic group. In chapter 10, all of the annotations and complete bibliographic information for each resource are arranged alphabetically by author. Separate appendices provide information on federal and state laws, legislative reports, dissertations and these, multimedia, serials, keywords, and subject headings. Separate author and subject indexes are provided. The annotations are a convenient resource.

Limitations: This book conveniently identifies resources in a single volume. However, the author recognizes that the bibliography is selective. Scholars seeking comprehensiveness will need to search further.

Context: This seems to be the most recent bibliography on ethnic minority health. Many older ones exist, although they tend to concentrate on specific ethnic or minority groups; for example, Elizabeth Ozer's A Bibliography on the Health of Native Americans and Alaska Natives (Office of Ethnic Minority Affairs, 1986); Minority Women, Health and Healing in the U.S.: A Selected Bibliography and Resources (Women, Health, and Healing Program, 1986); and Cultural and Ethnic Diversity in the Aged: Impact on Health, Social and Service Delivery: An Annotated Bibliography (Center for Applied Gerontology, 1985).

Reviewer: James Shedlock, AMLS, Northwestern University, Chicago, Illinois.

Commentary: The art of creating a bibliography for a specialized topic may be lost in the information age, when access to the Internet, the World Wide Web, and scores of databases makes it possible to create bibliographies almost instantaneous. The problem is where to start when the specialized topic is unfamiliar. Bibliographies do guide users who need a start in an unknown area, and they serve to filter vast stores of information. Given the paucity of new bibliographies on ethnic minority health, Haynes provides a valuable service. A bibliography such as this introduces the reader to the literature on a specific topic, and a quick search of existing databases will help the reader bring the bibliography up to date.