<b><i>Reference Renaissance: Current and Future Trends</i></b>. Eds. Marie L. Radford and R. David Lankes. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2010. 312p. alk. paper $75 (ISBN 978-1555706807). LC2010-000229.

of the two-page definition for the word " abbreviation, " Beal elegantly exhibits the breadth of his knowledge by discussing the origin and use of abbreviations, how often they occurred and when, who used them and why, and alludes to the difficulty of reproducing them in modern, digital transcriptions. Each entry contains a depth of understanding that cannot be easily reproduced with such conciseness and, yet, Beal manages to do so with dexterity. Beal's style follows a natural progression of thought as he explores various facets of a term. His tone is casually academic and rooted in a practical wisdom that comes from years of experience working with the material. Moreover, he does not refrain from discussing a term's metaphorical manifestations, even playfully , as when he describes Shakespeare's punning of the word " gall " or Umberto Eco's use of the word " palimpsest. " A Dictionary of English Manuscript Terminology is an essential guide to the terminology of post-medieval manuscript production and would be useful to a wide range of academic library users, including scholars of the Early Modern era, researchers working with printed and handwritten manuscripts, graduate students in the humanities, students of law, archivists, and special collections librarians. While the hardcover edition remains the more durable option, the newly issued paperback would be a welcome addition to any scholar's personal library.—John M. Dedicated to reference librarians and support staff, Reference Renaissance explores the changing reference landscape where new technologies are merging with traditional services. Editors Marie L. Radford and R. David Lankes took the theme " reference renaissance " from the conference of the same name and comment that this was intended to depict the most up-to-date reference work. The chapters in this work have been updated from the information presented at the 2008 Reference Renaissance conference sponsored by ALA's Reference and User Services Association and the Bibliographical Center for Research in Aurora, Colorado. Part I, " The State of Reference Services: An Overview, " opens the volume with a look at " Reference in the Age of Wikipedia, or Not " and a discussion between library educators and directors. 1 in Section II.1 looks at ways librarians can improve both communication and accuracy in virtual reference transactions and contains checklists of recommendations for facilitating communication in chat reference including some relational barriers to avoid. In Section II.2, chapter 5 discusses the differences between systems-centered versus …