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Choice's annual list of the most significant print and electronic works reviewed during the year.
Choosing the works that constitute our annual Outstanding Academic Titles list-affectionately known as the OATs-takes an entire year of effort.
Each of the subject editors here at Choice combs through the hundreds of titles that were identified as potential OATs over the course of 2016 (we published some 5,300 reviews last year).
What makes a title outstanding? It must achieve a minimum recommendation of "highly recommended." From there, editors, with the help of the reviewers critique and their own subject area expertise, weigh a title's impact on its category. Is it a groundbreaking release? Unusually comprehensive? Does it advance a particular area of study? Has it emerged as a core title for an undergraduate collection? Lastly, did it earn superlatives such as these from our intrepid reviewers:
"[It] does everyone a valuable service."
"Hie fieldwork is exceptional and wide-ranging."
"A must read."
"Thoughtful, highly readable, and provocative."
This year's list features almost 500 titles in 48 disciplines and subsections from 134 publishers. But overall, the OATs reflect the sheer volume of publishing excellence happening in the scholarly market. It's gratifying to think we can present a list of such distinguished work that's hundreds of titles long. Indeed, this prestigious list is perhaps Choice's most anticipated feature of the year-by librarians and publishers alike-and often influences purchasing decisions for the coming year. Choice congratulates the authors, editors, and publishers who made the list and whose work is so vital to the scholarly endeavor.
REFERENCE
General
ACI Scholarly Blog Index, from ACI Information Group. Annual academic subscription based on FTE begins at $1,000 for up to 5,000 FTE; consortial discounts may apply. URL: https:/scholar.aci.info/ Jun'16, 53-4190
Encyclopaedia of Islam Three, ed. by Kate Fleet et al. Brill. Annual academic subscription is $3,800.00; outright purchase for bundled editions is $31,730.00, with annual fee of $1,170.00. URL: http://referenceworks.bri I Ion line. com/browse/encyclopaedia-of-islam-3 Dec'16, 54-1505
Garner, Bryan A. The Chicago guide to grammar, usage, and punctuation. Chicago, 2016. 583p bibl indexes afp ISBN 9780226188850, $45.00; ISBN 9780226191294 ebook, $45.00; Dec'16, 54-1506
Montanan, Franco. The Brill dictionary of ancient Greek, ed. by Madeleine Goh and Chad Schroeder with Gregory Nagy and Leonard Muellner. Brill, 2015....