Recent Trends in Data Type Specification Book

Hart's book is superb and should be required reading for all graduate students living and working on planet Earth. It's not so much a book of technique, as it is a primer on how to think about one's reading and writing. A lot that's in it is known to those who have performed rigorous bibliographic research. Yet the concepts are laid out in such a way as to be of use to readers of all levels of skill and understanding. In my case, I found myself being reminded of useful concepts that I had long ago forgotten. Other times, I realized that Hart puts into plain English ideas I had sensed, but had never put onto words or heard others express. The epistemological lessons are not in any way diminished by references to outdated information technology (like CD-ROMs -- how quaint). This is a work I will most certainly turn to again for direction, clarity, and comfort. The bibliography has offered me other avenues for gaining insight, thus adding to my forever expanding reading list. Why doesn't my school of grad studies list this 'fantabulous' book as required reading? I'm disheartned to know that my own uni library does not have it, nor do any of the uni reference librarians know of it, even though it's been in print since 1998 (heavy sigh).