Alberta Place Names: The Fascinating People and Stories Behind the Naming of Alberta.

Sandy Campbell is a reference librarian in the Science and Technology Library at the University of Alberta.

With few exceptions, the facts in this book are found word for word in the four volumes of The Place Names of Alberta and in Concise Place Names of Alberta, both published by University of Calgary Press. The words tying the facts together, however, are usually slightly different. The entry for Hesketh, Alberta, for example, illustrates the point. Alberta Place Names: “This hamlet was named after Colonel J.A. Hesketh, an assistant divisional engineer of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Colonel Hesketh was also a graduate of the Royal Military College.” The Place Names of Alberta: “[This hamlet] was named after Colonel J.A. Hesketh, Assistant Division Engineer of the C.P.R. in Winnipeg. He was a graduate of the Royal Military College in Kingston.”

In a few places in Alberta Place Names there is information added under the header “More About …” While some of this material is original (e.g., information about k.d. lang in “More About Consort”), it’s a secondary focus of the book and comprises only a small part of the overall content.

Any library that already owns The Place Names of Alberta does not need this volume. Any library looking for materials about Alberta toponymy will want to buy the four-volume set or the Concise Place Names of Alberta published in 2006. Alberta Place Names is a suitable handbook for the gift market.