Sourcebook on Noise Control

Sourcebook on Noise Control
L. Gooday, M. Scanlon and J. Devine, Eds.
Institution of Mechanical Engineers, 1 Birdcage Walk, London SW1H 9JJ, UK.
v + 245 pp, soft cover, 1994, GBP 32.00

This is the 9th sourcebook to be published by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. A sourcebook contains a selection of relevant sources of information in a specialized field and is intended to provide a ready means by which the readers may find sources of information and the organizations to assist them. This sourcebook is divided into two main sections.

The first section (Noise Control Information) comprises the first half of the sourcebook. It lists abstracting and indexing services and publications, important books dealing with noise control, companies and consultancies, university courses, short courses, research institutions, European noise directives, journals, online data bases, professional organizations, reports, software programs and standards. Information concerning sources in the United Kingdom is quite complete, but coverage for the rest of the world is largely lacking.

The second section (Noise Control References) includes the abstracts of 402 papers on noise control that have been published during the last decade in the world's technical literature. The abstracts cover a number of different topics, including active noise control, aircraft, autos, construction industry, handtools, industrial plants, military equipment, office environment, power industry, railways, shipping, standards, waste treatment and others. It is difficult to cover such a wide range of subjects with only a few hundred references, but the uninitiated reader is at least given a place to start in the quest for information.

The sourcebook contains a large amount of useful information assembled from the viewpoint of a noise control engineer practicing in the United Kingdom.