The length, style and content of each category and subject chapter varies. This should not surprise the reader, as the following is stated in the preface:

As with previous editions, contributions have not been subjected to restrictive editing, and the individual style of contributors have thereby been retained.

As a result, chapters do not comform to a editorial template or standard layout, which some readers may find a wee bit frustrating at times. For example, some chapters are primarily lists of resources, others mix discussion and commentary together with resource lists, and others feature mostly commentary.

One chapter warranting further mention is the one on materials engineering. The first 17 pages of this chapter cover in great detail the processes used by engineers to find material data. The authors, both engineers, explain that material data needs evolve in two ways. At the start of a project, the engineer needs "low-precision data for all materials and processes", whereas near the end, the need shifts to accurate, precise data for one or a small number of materials, where a richness of detail is needed. The authors discuss material data needs for design, screening and ranking for data structure and sources, supporting information for data structure and sources, and ways of checking and estimating data. The data sources for materials and processes are listed in the appendix, an extensive 26-page bibliography, listing titles in hard-copy, database, and Internet formats. Subject coverage includes pure metals, ferrous and non-ferrous, ceramics and glasses, composite materials, woods and wood-based composites, and natural fibres and other materials.

Information Sources in Engineering, 4th edition, is a worthwhile edition to the reference shelves of any library whose collections and services focus on one or more engineering disciplines.

(NOTE: I must mention that I am a contributor to the forthcoming title, Using the Engineering Literature (edited by Bonnie Osif), having written the chapter on petroleum engineering and refining. No comparisons were drawn between the two titles, which would have been impossible anyway, as I have not seen the other chapters of the book, which is to be published in the near future by Dekker.)

1. MacLeod, Roderick A, and Jim Corlett, eds. 2005. Information Sources in Engineering. 4th ed. München: KG Saur.
   
2. Tenopir, Carol, and Donald W King. 2004. Communication Patterns of Engineers. New York: IEEE Press, Wiley Interscience.
   
3. Pinelli, Thomas. 2001. Distinguishing engineers from scientists: the case for an engineering knowledge community. Science and Technology Libraries: 21 (3/4), pp.131-163.

- Randy Reichardt