The 25th anniversary of the detection of AIDS came and went this summer without much ado in the book market. If memory serves, only one dared tackle the state of the virus in the United States, Susan Hunter’s AIDS in America (Palgrave), which my reviewer thought too strident in its criticism of the Christian Right and the Bush administration.

The failure of this book and the lack of any others were a grave shame considering that AIDS is an epidemic in this country among African Americans (and is projected to become the third leading cause of death worldwide by 2031), though you’d never know it unless you live in a predominantly black neighborhood (I do—Bed-Sty, Brooklyn, whose bus stops often bear ads for AIDS/HIV medication). As LJ reviewer Elizabeth Williams reports in her forthcoming collection development article on AIDS and African Americans (look for it in the January 15th, 2007 issue), although blacks make up only 13 percent of the population, they add up to 50 percent of Americans diagnosed with HIV/AIDS.  

With a figure like that, you’d think there’d be a bevy of print and A/V materials for consumers, but there are not. The value of our article lies in the precious resources Elizabeth managed to dig up (e.g., Eric Goosby’s Living with AIDS/HIV), as well as her informed weeding suggestions. I’ll post the link closer to publication, and I welcome you to offer up any other titles to augment the rather spare bibliography.

For those who care, here’s the 2007 Collection Development schedule in total:

• January 2007 African Americans & AIDS
• February 2007 Genealogy
• March 2007 Travel to Canada
• April 2007 Business of Nonprofits
• May 2007 Gay/Lesbian Fiction
• June 2007 Water Sports
• July 2007 Anime
• August 2007 Knitting
• September True Crime
• October Neuroscience
• November Punk Music
• December Regional Gardening (Northeast)