Reference Book Analysis

1. Reference Book Analysis Susan Hanzelka LIBR 150: Spring 2008 Week 4 (600s)

2. How to OrganizeJust About Everything Call Number: 640 MLS Bibliographic Citation: Walsh, Peter. How to Organize Just About Everything. New York: Free Press, 2004. Print.

3. Arrangement After a Note to Readers, which includes several disclaimers (“Certain activities described in this book are inherently dangerous or risky. Before attempting any new activity, know your own limitations and consider all applicable risks (whether listed or not)”) is a Foreword, followed by 16 categories. After that you’ll find the Index, and last, the Contributor Credits.

4. Arrangement (categories) • Get Organized: includes “set priorities,” “meet deadlines,” and “live with less.” • Life’s Nitty Gritty: includes “organize your chores,” “never be late again,” and “mastermind a breakup.” • Daily Debris: includes “find your keys,” “sort your sock drawer,” and “sell stuff online.” • Heart & Home: includes “conquer your closets,” “set up a bathroom schedule,” and “merge two households.” • Yard & Garden: includes “plant a kitchen herb garden,” lay out a sprinkler system,” and “set up a compost system.”

5. Arrangement (categories) • Storage Solutions: includes “store bulk purchases,” “organize kids’ schoolwork and artwork,” and “store a boat for the winter.” • Education & Career: includes “ace the college admissions tests,” “work at home with kids,” and “become a Catholic nun.” • Business & Work: includes “create a flawless filing system,” “write a business plan,” and “fire an employee.” • Financial Plans: includes “get out of debt,” “buy life insurance,” and “make a will.”

6. Arrangement (categories) • Family Affairs: includes “budget for a new baby,” “set up a carpool,” and “organize your empty nest.” • Food & Entertaining: includes “plan a week of menus,” “cook for one,” and “impress a date.” • Celebrations & Events: includes “plan a wedding,” “plan to spend Christmas solo,” and “plan a Seder.” • Community Works: includes “organize a book club,” “hold a barn raising,” and “build a school in a third world country.” • Travel & Adventure: includes “plan a trip with children,” “prevent lost luggage,” and “organize a car rally.”

7. Arrangement (categories) • The Unexpected: includes “prepare for an act of God,” “deal with amnesia,” and “outsmart pirates.” • In Your Dreams: includes “become a movie star,” “end world hunger,” and “die rich.”

8. Indexing Theindexisalphabetical (with related topics below). Example: photo Arrange Photos and Pictures, 54 Become a Photojournalist, 178 Hire a Photographer, 330 Organize Your Photos, 53 physics Become a Physicist, 169

9. Scope • This book includes everything from how to organize an archaeological dig to how to become President of the United States! • “More than 500 step-by-step instructions for everything from organizing your closets to planning a wedding to creating a flawless filing system.”

10. Currency • Thisbookis up-to-date, through its publication year of 2004. • Some of the “instructions” are timeless (sort your sock drawer) while others might need revision over time (cure the common cold or save the earth).

11. Intended andAdditional Purposes • “Being organized is the key to a simpler life, in whch the things we own reflect who we are and everything has its place.” • “This definitive guide will help you organize your life from cradle to grave.” • “You’ll find tried-and-true strategies that will help everyone from the hopelessly scattered to the chronically late--bringing relief to the most hard core pack rat.” • “With How to Organize (Just About) Everything, you’ll be ready for anything life throws at you.”

12. Intended andAdditional Purposes • This book is for people struggling with clutter in their lives and how to conquer it. • This book is for people who need to plan a party and are overwhelmed--this book has simple steps to follow to make the process easier. • This book has a section on education and career choices and how to make them happen. • This book has a great business section that will help with organizing your desk, workday, computer files, network, marketing plan, and much more!

13. Intended andAdditional Purposes • This book would be great for moms, as it has sections on stocking a diaper bag, planning family meetings, blending families, setting up carpools, planning field trips, and keeping your kids safe online. • For someone struggling in the kitchen, there are sections on setting up online grocery shopping, cooking ahead, organizing the pantry, planning healthy lunches for kids, and pulling off a last-minute party.

14. Intended andAdditional Purposes • For the bride-to-be, you can look up planning a wedding, budgeting for a wedding, planning an elopement, hiring an event planner, hiring a band, planning your honeymoon, and even preparing for house guests. • For those wanting to get involved in the community, there are instructions on how to plan a toy drive, plan a fund-raising event, organizing a petition, organizing a boycott, throwing a block party, and building a community play structure.

15. Additional Purposes(Reference Question) Create a Schedule for Family Computer Use Steps: • Sit down with all computer users in the house and determine who needs the machine, for how much time, and when. • Establish a schedule that’s fair and sensible. It’s better to have fewer, longer time blocks than to change users every 15 minutes. Question: How can everyone in the household get the computer time they need?

16. Additional Purposes(Reference Question) • Write out the schedule and post it by the computer. Reevaluate it every few weeks. • Use the user-switching feature of Windows XP or Mac OS X to segregate and protect each user’s e-mail, bookmarks, applications and documents. User switching can also prevent inexperienced users from corrupting the computer’s operating system and preferences.

17. Additional Purposes(Reference Question) Tips: • Put a kitchen timer next to the computer, it’s a good tool for letting users know when their time is up. • A written Internet Use Agreement defines expectations for both parents and children. • Consider getting an internet-ready PC (for as little as $400) just for surfing and e-mail.

18. Format Thisisahardcoverbookwith 576 pages. Its dimensions are 9.2 x 6.7 x 1.9 inches. It is not available in any other format. There are two editions (same year, different publishing company: Simon & Schuster & Free Press).

19. Special Features • Steps: Each entry has step-by-step instructions on how to complete the task. • Tips: Each entry may feature tips that give you additional information to complete the task. • Example: Put a piece of cardboard in the bottom of your toolbox to soak up oil and moisture.* • Warnings: Each entry may feature warnings, to make completion of the task safer. • Example: Avoid using broken tools (such as hammers with loose heads or cracked handles) and dull saw blades or drill bits. They’re dangerous and harder to use.* *From “Organize a Toolbox.”

20. Special Features • Who Knew?: Similar to tips, these are ideas that may enhance your completion of the task. • Example: Spend money to get fewer tools of higher quality. They’ll last longer, function better and feel much more solid and satisfying to work with.* • Corner Graphics: The top corner of each page has a graphic to tell you which category you’re in (graphic of home for the “Heart & Home” category, an open cardboard box for the “Storage Solutions” category, etc.) The categories are also listed at the bottom corner of each page. *From “Organize a Toolbox.”

21. Authority/Credentials Peter Walsh has a master’s degree with a specialty in educational psychology. He has been an organizational consultant for 17 years (his clients include several Fortune 500 companies) and has been president and CEO of an international training and development company. He is probably best known for hisTLC show, Clean Sweep.

22. Authority/Credentials Contributors: Tara Aronson: author of Mrs. Clean Jeans’ Housekeeping with Kids and “Coming Clean” column in the San Francisco Chronicle’s Home & Garden section. Ellen Conroy: web site content writer, comedy writer, interactive murder mystery scriptwriter, copywriter and freelance writer. Runs An Orderly Fashion, a professional organizing company.

23. Authority/Credentials Barbara Dunlap: editor/publisher of Coming of Age magazine, past assistant editor of the San Francisco Chronicle Home Section and content manager for an award-winning human relations web site. Barbara has a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri at Columbia. Casey Ellis: freelance writer in the San Francisco Bay area specializing in articles on interior design, art and food. She is co-author of The Organized Home: Design Solutions for Clutter-Free Living.

24. Authority/Credentials Louise Kurzeka: co-founder of Everything’s Together and a nationally recognized organization expert who appears regularly on HGTV’s “TIPical Mary Ellen” and radio. Mike MacCaskey: avid gardener. Brian O’Connell: author of ten books and two Book of the Month Club titles. Matthew Richard Poole: freelance travel writer of more than two dozen guides to California, Hawaii and abroad.

25. Authority/Credentials Fred Sandsmark: freelance writer in the San Francisco Bay Area, covering technology and home-related subjects. Marcia Whyte Smart: freelance food writer in the San Francisco Bay Area, she has written for Cooking Light, Sunset, BabyTalk and other magazines. Derek Wilson: Economic consultant, writer (Burritos: Hot on the Trail of the Little Burro), and contributor to How to Fix (Just About) Everything and How to Buy & Sell (Just About) Everything.

26. Authority/Credentials Laurie Bain Wilson: bestselling author and former travel editor at a national consumer magazine. Laurie has written articles for The New York Times and other publications.

27. Reviews Excerpt from a Publishers Weekly review (http://www.amazon.com/Organize-About-Everything-Step-Step/dp/0743254945/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240069582&sr=8-1): “Most of the 500 subjects are covered in a page of clear, commonsensical advice, with warnings and extra little tips highlighted along the margins of the page. You may think more than one page is needed to explain how to be happy, but Walsh actually offers a concise summary of the basic points found in hundreds of self-help books. You could save yourself a lot of time by getting this useful compendium.”

28. Reviews (Amazon reviews: http://www.amazon.com/Organize-About-Everything-Step-Step/dp/0743254945/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240069582&sr=8-1) Amazon reviewers were mixed in their impressions of this book. One reader thought “This book is the ultimate guide to getting super organised. It's a great starting point in streamlining your life.” Another said “The instructions are clearly written and easy to follow.” At the other end of the spectrum, one reader said “Many of the lists were overly simplistic without any helpful organizing tips at all.”

29. Personal Impressions • I thought perhaps this book would be a good starting point for whatever organizing project you had in mind, and once you targeted the basic concepts, you could do further research, if necessary. • I found parts of this book amusing. You probably wouldn’t really consult this book if you wanted to “become a talk-show host,” “fight an ebola outbreak” or needed to know how to “be happy.” • I was impressed with the broad number of subjects this book covered.

30. Reference Uses • I would recommend this book for those overwhelmed by a cluttered closet, desk, garage or attic. • This book would be a great starting point for organizing photos, recipes, socks, or your medicine cabinet. • This book contains useful tips on life insurance, wills, powers of attorney, and bill paying. • This would be useful for planning parties, weddings, and showers, and hiring a caterer or photographer for all of these events.

31. Reference Uses • You could use this book for information on how to travel with kids, with teens, with aging parents, with your spouse, or without your spouse. • There are sections on how to travel by plane, rented car, cruise, or motorcycle, and how to rent a hotel or hostel for when you get there. • This book will help you survive being lost, deliver a baby, rescue a hostage, or make a jail break. • It’s all here!

32. Complementary Sources • One Year to an Organized Life: From Your Closets to Your Finances, the Week-by-Week Guide to Getting Completely Organized for Good (http://www.amazon.com/Year-Organized-Life-Week-Week/dp/1600940560/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240115015&sr=8-11)

33. Complementary Sources • The Get Organized Answer Book: Practical Solutions for 275 Questions on Conquering Clutter, Sorting Stuff, and Finding More Time and Energy (http://www.amazon.com/Get-Organized-Answer-Book-Conquering/dp/1402216831/ref=sr_1_18?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1240115251&sr=8-18)