I'm a librarian, author, editor, book reviewer, and reader's advisor. My interests
include:
- Library careers; library employment and recruitment
- Readers' advisory for historical fiction
- Evaluating electronic resources
- Royalty as characters in historical novels
- Linguistics collection development and
bibliography
Editorial tasks: I've been
editing book reviews for the
Historical Novels Review for the past 12 years; I also serve as Professional Reading Column
Editor for Public
Services Quarterly. Previously, I served as the North
American Regional Editor for Reference Reviews and as the editor of
Electronic Resources Review.
With regard to reader's advisory,
I write regular articles and columns for NoveList and have served as treasurer for the
HNS conference in North
America. I also assist with the Historical
Novel Society website.
Book reviewing: I review
historical novels for the Historical Novels Review and
Booklist and reference materials in linguistics, mathematics, and
nonprofit organizations for CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic
Libraries.
I am serving as a contributor in the
areas of linguistics and the history of modern English for
Resources for College Libraries, the long-awaited update to Books
for College Libraries.
For more information on my three books, visit the publisher's information pages:
Historical Fiction
II: A Guide to the Genre
(Libraries Unlimited/ABC-CLIO, 2009, part of the Genreflecting Advisory Series)
ISBN 978-1-59158-624-1 / $65.00 / GBP 44.95 /
738pp / hardbound
See the
publisher's website for more information.
"This volume continues rather than
replaces the earlier work, adding more than 2,700 new titles ...
Historical Fiction was an essential purchase for public and school
libraries, and Historical Fiction II will also be a must purchase
since it covers the latest books in this very popular genre."
Booklist
"Johnson's
excellent volume surpasses readers' advisory to perform a kind of
literary scholarship in its encyclopedic analysis of subgenres ... Like
the previous volume, this is an excellent reference for readers'
advisory or collection building, or for faculty developing courses on
the genre. Highly recommended." CHOICE: Current Reviews for Academic
Libraries
"Every library which serves readers
of historical fiction needs a copy of this book. Authors and aspiring
authors of historical fiction (as well as their agents) who wish to
understand the genre more deeply will find it useful. And if you're
simply a devoted reader of historical fiction you may well want your own
copy..." HistoricalNovels.info
Historical Fiction: A Guide to the Genre
(Libraries Unlimited, 2005, part of the Genreflecting Advisory Series)
ISBN 1-59158-129-X $75.00 / GBP 42.99 / 836pp / hardbound
See the
publisher's website for more information.
Booklist Editors' Choice, 2005
"An outstanding reader's advisory
reference work... a must-have for public and high-school librarians, who
will find it an essential tool for understanding the genre, developing
collections, and advising patrons." Booklist (starred review)
"An excellent, detailed
reference tool for readers' advisors...
Abundant title suggestions from a wide range
of perspectives and topics will please readers... Highly recommended for public
libraries." Library Journal (starred review)
"A well-researched, exhaustive guide to
recent historical fiction, a genre popular with both scholars and casual
readers... An excellent resource....Highly recommended. All levels."
CHOICE

The Information Professional's Guide to Career Development Online
(Information Today, 2002, co-authored with Rachel Singer Gordon)
ISBN 1-57387-124-9
$29.50 / 416pp / softbound
For more information:
http://www.lisjobs.com/careerdev/
"The ultimate guide to new graduates'
personal career development and future in the online information world."
Online Information Review
"Useful for all information
professionals regardless of where they are on the career spectrum."
FreePint
View my
web page
at Publishers Marketplace.
Biographical details: I'm a
native
of Connecticut (Newington High School '87) living in rural
east
central Illinois with my husband, three cats, and about 8,500
10,000 books.
I've
been a librarian for 17 years; I hold an M.I.L.S. (master of
information and library studies) from the University of Michigan, an
M.A. in Linguistics from Ohio State University, and a B.A. in French
from Drew University.
Hobbies include reading and book collecting (particularly historical
novels); genealogy; travel; and watching shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Star
Trek: The Next Generation, and The Bachelor (apologies if this offends
anyone; I know it's cheesy but don't care). I also like American
Idol because I can't carry a tune in a bucket. I love Indian and Thai food, among others, and am perpetually
in search of the perfect saag paneer. Alas, I'm all too often
disappointed.
Pet peeves: Laundry, taxes, not owning enough bookshelves,
attempting to turn left onto 4th St from the Booth Library parking lot
at 5pm, getting called "Susan" (happens at least 2x/week)
Other unusual jobs I've had, besides this one: Computer operator
and trainer for various places; documentation writer for
Drew University's computer
center; planetarium lecturer/intern at
Central Connecticut State
University; math and
linguistics tutor; administrative assistant and "filer rat" at the
Michigan Dept of Transportation; gift shop clerk at the
Science Museum
of Connecticut; volunteer for the UConn Health Center; Dunkin Donuts clerk (great fringe benefits);
professional graduate student (nice while it lasts)
Questions or comments? E-mail me at
sljohnson2 @ eiu.edu. Spaces added
to deter spammers (remove them before contacting me).
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