Peter signs himself "Wondering in (is it San Diego?). Call me "furious in
New York." I am under two names, Anne Prescott and Anne Lake Prescott, and
they two lists don't correspond. Also, some of what I have published--hey,
listen, we're taling brilliant stuff here that people *need* to read!--is
missing. I haven't checked recently, but one pice I've done that was
unlisted as of a couple of years ago is on Middleton's Gate at Chess. So I
photocopied and sent it to the MLA. It came back with a rather sniffy
letter saying something to the effect that I hadn't given enough evidence
for where it was published, although I had identified it in my letter. I
never bothered to try again, but it is vexing. I had thought they hired
people to do their bibliographies, but I gather that it's wise (not that I
do this) to send them copies. But do include photocopies of the copyright
page and publisher's info. And never write under a triple-worded
name. Anne (Lake, sometimes) Prescott.
On Wed, 31 Oct 2001, Anne Coldiron wrote:
> Hi, Peter,
> No, you are not alone; what concerns me, too, is that the error rate seems
> high: both I and a Renaissance colleague here have had errors in the titles
> of articles we've published. On the other hand, it is a huge work to enter
> all that data, and some mistakes and delays are inevitable.
>
> What I want to know: what can we all do to help improve the situation? DO
> you suppose it would help if we submitted our publication citations with
> keywords to MLAIB on disk or in electronic format? I would be happy to do
> that if it would ease the MLAIB's burden and improve results for us all.
> What do others think?
>
> A. Coldiron
> www.english.lsu.edu
>
> "Peter C. Herman" <[log in to unmask]>@JISCMAIL.AC.UK> on 10/31/2001
> 03:21:19 PM
>
>
> Please respond to Sidney-Spenser Discussion List
> <[log in to unmask]>
> Sent by: Sidney-Spenser Discussion List <[log in to unmask]>
>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> cc: (bcc: Anne Coldiron/acoldiron/LSU)
>
>
>
> Subject: Re: MLAB
>
>
>
>
> I was wondering if this group has had the same experience with the MLA
> Bibliography that I've had and continue to have, i.e., huge, multi-year
> delays between getting something published and getting it listed. I
> recently looked up an article by a friend published in Shakespeare
> Quarterly in 1997, and IT wasn't in there. For my own material, I've tried
> sending them copies return-receipt mail, which means that somebody has to
> actually sign for it, with limited success. Given that the MLAB is still
> the most comprehensive bibliography for literary studies (supplemented, to
> be sure, by ITER and the World Shakespeare Bibliography), these delays seem
> to me a genuine problem.
>
> Am I alone in noticing this, and am I alone in considering it a serious
> issue?
>
> signed,
>
> Wondering in San Diego
> (Peter C. Herman)
>
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