Rural and Small Town Canada

Eileen Goltz is an associate librarian and chair of the Public Services
Department at Laurentian University.

Drawing upon the wealth of information provided in the databases of
Statistics Canada, Bollman and 20 of his colleagues offer chapters
relating to the demographic, economic, and social conditions experienced
by people living in Canadian rural areas or small towns. The exception,
Chapter 2, addresses contemporary rural life in the United States, and
could have served as a point of comparison. Unfortunately, the editor
has not provided any linkage that might explain to the reader the
relationship among chapters.

Since the information contained in the book is derived primarily from
statistical data, the chapters are replete with tables, charts, and
graphs, which may prove daunting to those unfamiliar with statistical
analysis. The book’s biggest disadvantage is that it is based on
relatively recent data—the past 20 years—and thus does not provide a
context for the presentation of historical trends.