Contemporary Authors is a vital reference series for any academic library, particularly libraries serving patrons from English studies, education, and library and information science programs.

Format
Current volumes of Contemporary Authors are hardbound books with glossy coated paper covers. The binding is a burst binding, which is an adhesive binding technique. The books measure twenty-nine centimeters in height and twenty-two centimeters in width. The thicknesses for individual books vary but are all approximately three centimeters.

Scope
Contemporary Authors contains information on approximately 120,000 writers in various media including current fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, and journalism. The source also includes information about authors from the early twentieth century whose works remain popular. The scope is clearly defined in the preface of each volume.

Relation to Similar Works
Contemporary Authors is also available in an electronic format through GaleNet on a subscription basis. Contemporary Authors Autobiography Series and Contemporary Authors Bibliographic Series are related titles that complement the information in the original and revised Contemporary Authors series. These similar titles are listed in the preface of each volume.

Authority
Entries in Contemporary Authors are edited and reviewed by two advisory boards: Product Advisory Board and International Advisory Board. The name, professional title, and institution of each board member is listed in the preface each volume. Advisory board members primarily include librarians from various types of libraries and professors from various disciplines.

Treatment
The advisory boards for Contemporary Authors strive to publish comprehensive, accurate, and highly readable entries on a wide array of authors. Entries that have been compiled from secondary sources but have not been personally verified are marked with an asterisk.

Arrangement
Entries in Contemporary Authors are arranged alphabetically by surname and include information such as personal information, career summaries, awards and honors, writings, and biographical and critical sources. A cumulative index, which provides access to all previous entries in both Contemporary Authors and related titles, is published and distributed semiannually. The arrangement is described in the preface of each volume.

Cost
Each volume of Contemporary Authors costs $243.00. Volumes are published monthly.

"Contemporary Authors New Revision Series." Bowker's Books In Print Professional. 2008. R. R. Bowker LLC. 26 Feb. 2008. <http://www.booksinprint.com>

Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series. Ed. Amanda D. Sams. Vol. 168. Detroit: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2008.