Evaluations allow librarians to evaluate the quality of potential items being considered for purchase (Ross and Dewdney 246). They help make decisions about the suitability of a particular item for a collection and to choose an item over other similar items (Bopp and Smith 317). How the reviewers of Choice and the American Reference Book Annual evaluate the Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature will be critiqued and compared. Choice magazine reveals that the purpose and intended audience of this reference work is a resource for students and readers. The ARBA review neglects to include a statement of intent or describe the intended audience. The scope of the work receives attention in both journals. The ARBA journal provides a description of the material covered. Choice magazine provides a concise statement of scope stating that the work focuses on British literature, with an emphasis on "novelists, poets, playwrights and their works" (Loe 1856). Both journals comment on current events with emphasis on changes made to the current edition. The ARBA Review highlights the contemporary authors added to this edition and the areas that lack current relevance. The ARBA journal does not evaluate the accuracy of the content of the work, while the Choice journal emphasizes this evaluation. Choice magazine states that this work is descriptive in nature and suggests that although the information is presented accurately, the concise nature of the work tends to omit certain facts. While the ARBA review briefly comments that the content is “beautifully organized…” (Lindgren 445), neither review explains how the content in this companion is organized. Special features included in the work receive brief mention in the middle of the article...... Works Cited Bopp, Richard and Linda C. Smith. Reference and information services: an introduction. 3rd. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 2001. Print. Cassell, Kay A and Uma Hiremath. Reference and information services in the 21st century: an introduction. New York: Neal-Schuman, 2009. Print. Drabble, Margaret and Jenny Stinger, eds. The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature. 3rd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007. Print. Lindgren, Charlotte. “Oxford Concise Companion to English Literature.” Annual of the American Reference Book. Ed. Shannon Graff Hysell. Vol 40. Westport: Libraries Unlimited, 2009. 445. Print.Loe, MH. “The Concise Oxford Companion to English Literature.” Choice41.10 (2004): 1854-1856. Print.Ross, Catherine Sheldrick and Patricia Dewdney. Communicate professionally. 2nd ed. York: Neal-Schuman, 1998. Print.