The aging of our populations has compelled scientists and society at large to focus major new efforts in the varied disciplines of gerontology and geriatric medicine. The Microfiche Library of Gerontology and Geriatrics offers training materials covering all aspects of aging, answering the need for a definitive source of information in the geriatric and gerontological fields of study. These key materials have previously been available only in scattered libraries and in diverse, sometimes inconvenient formats.

The collection covers the psychological, behavioral and social, and health care aspects of aging. Included are authoritative selections of original contributions based on bibliographies, course outlines, and curriculum guides, as well as medical training guides. In addition, manuals, pamphlets, and flyers from training programs around the world have been included.

Materials for this collection have been compiled and indexed by subject from Duke University's "Key Word Indexed Collection of Training Resources in Aging Project" so that users may benefit from work that has been done in curriculum and program development. There are materials for B.S./B.A., continuing education, and graduate programs. Specific training materials focus on topics including long-term care, nutrition, programs for older adults, program administration, pre-retirement programs, and volunteer programs.

Within the Aging General section, manuals touch on issues such as:

• definition of old age
• social policy and social ethics
• the aging society
• psychological changes
• life-span
• senility and how to respond to it
• aging among minorities including Native Americans and other cultures
• sexual life among the aging, love, and widowhood

Worthy of special note is an oral history entitled, "Old is What You Get; Dialogues on Aging by the Old and the Young," written by A.Z. Shanks.

Educators and professionals will also find the Design/Evaluation materials valuable. Titles include:

• "Guidelines for the Selection and Acquisition of Gerontological Materials"
• "Florida's Plan to Reduce Crime Against The Elderly"
• "Improving Services For the Rural Elderly"

Also included in the Design/Evaluation section are documents on depression, home health care, independent living services for the aging and the handicapped, drug therapy, legal and social work principles for the care of the aging, occupational therapy, psychosocial needs of older people, homemaker services, counseling, ministry to the aging, plus a "Directory of Adult Day Care Centers." Sample titles in the Bibliographies section include: "Bibliography / Filmography: Ethnicity and Aging," and "Bibliography on Excercise Programs for Older People."

Dr. George L. Maddox, member of the Council on Aging and Human Development, Duke University, is the senior editor. The collection contains approximately 700 titles. It will be updated with supplements compiled in cooperation with the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE).

This collection offers unlimited possibilities for research and training support in sociological, psychological, and theoretical aspects of how to care for and support the aging.