Management: Collection Development: Selection Tools: Print and Online Directories and Guide

Many tools are available to assist in the selection of audio and video resources.

Professional Directories

Print directories contain information about audio and video materials. Developed specifically for librarians and other professionals, these resources provide comprehensive coverage of the broad field of audio and video. Keep in mind that all print resources quickly become dated. Explore some of the following well-known resources available in print:

• Bowker
  • AV Marketplace
  • Books Out Loud: Bowker's Guide to Audiobooks
• Bowker's Complete Video Directory
• Streaming Media Sourcebook from Information Today, Inc.
• Video Source Book by Gale Research

Reference Guides

Popular print reference guides can provide basic, annotated bibliographies of resources. The following links connect with Amazon and Barnes and Noble to provide additional information about the books.

Film, Video, and DVD

• A List: The National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films - Carr
• Roger Ebert's Great Movies
• Roger Ebert’s Movie Yearbook
• Film Encyclopedia - Katz, Klein, Nolen
• Halliwell’s Film and Video Guide
• Leonard Maltin’s TV Movies and Video Guide - most popular
• New York Times Guide to the Best 1000 Movies Ever Made - Canby, Maslin, Nichols
• Pocket Guide to Collecting Movies on DVD (includes "Best DVDs for Kids" section) - Scheuer & Brill-Scheuer
• TLA Film, Video, and DVD Guide - Bleiler
• Video Hound’s Golden Movie Retriever - Craddock, ed.

Music, Spoken Word, and Audio

• All Music Guide
• Audiobook Reference Guide
• Mojo Collection: The Greatest Albums of All Time
• New York Times Essential Library: Jazz
• NPR Guide to Building a Classical CD Collection
• Penguin Guide to Compact Discs
• Rough Guide Rock: 100 Essential CDs - other topics available

Online Directories and Guides

There are many online directories and guides to assist in locating video materials. Online databases are often much more up-to-date than print materials. Explore the links on the following pages.

Links Pages

• Authority Tools for Audio-Visual and Music Catalogers: An Annotated List of Useful Resources
• AV Online - subscription database from Ovid
• Directory of Publishers and Vendors from AcqWeb
• Film & Video Locator Online - subscription database from National Information Center for Educational Media
• Students who are currently enrolled in a library and information science course are allowed two weeks of free access per semester to the Film and Video Finder Online.
• Film Studies – Indiana University
• Laser Scans DVD Guide
• Media Reference Sources & Information - University of California, Berkeley

Directories

• Center for Independent Documentary
  Collaborates with independent producers to create films and videos on issues of contemporary social and cultural concern.
• DocuSeek Film & Video Finder
  Search site for independent documentary, social issue, and educational videos available in the U.S. and Canada. DocuSeek allows you to simultaneously search several leading film distributor’s complete collections of documentary and instructional media, films and videos available.
• Educational Reviews Online
  Database of video, DVD, and CD-ROM reviews on materials from major educational and documentary distributors. The reviews are written primarily by librarians and teaching faculty in institutions across the United States and Canada.
• EMedialive Buyer's Guide from Information Today, Inc.
  Company and product/service information in the electronic media and digital video industry.
  
• Multimedia & Internet@Schools Buyer's Guide from Information Today, Inc.
  Guide for company information in the K-12 Educational Technology industry.
  National Video Resources (NVR)
  Increases public awareness of and access to independently produced media & film and video
• Ingram Library Services
  Under video services: librarians can enrich their collections through an assortment of lists and programs selected monthly by Ingram's video product experts. We are your source for one of the world's most extensive video inventories.

Television

• TV Guide Online
• "I Saw It On TV..." A Guide to Broadcast and Cable Programming Sources from the Mitchell Multimedia Center, Northwestern University
• PBS Online
• TV Listings Guide from Zap 2 It

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