American Popular Culture: A Guide to the Reference Literature (Reference Sources in the Humanities)

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.