College and Research Libraries


Reference Books of 1944-1946 
Reference Books of 1944-194.6 . . . Fourth in-

f o r m a l supplement to Guide to Reference 
Books, Sixth Edition, by I s a d o r e G i l b e r t 
M u d g e . C o n s t a n c e M . W i n c h e l l . A m e r -
ican L i b r a r y Association, 1947. 94p. 
T h i s f o u r t h supplement w i l l be, M i s s W i n -

chell hopes, the last to bridge the i n t e r v a l be-
t w e e n the sixth and seventh editions of the 
w o r k that has long been r e f e r r e d to simply 
as " M u d g e . " A l i c e K r o e g e r ' s l a b o r s at the 
turn of the century laid the foundation f o r 
M i s s M u d g e ' s excellent book, and it is fitting 
that C o n s t a n c e W i n c h e l l , w h o succeeded 
M i s s M u d g e as reference l i b r a r i a n at C o -
lumbia U n i v e r s i t y , should be c a r r y i n g it on. 

Reference Books of 1944-1946 differs little 
in size, scope, and a r r a n g e m e n t f r o m the 
three supplements which have preceded it. 
In the P r e f a c e gratification is expressed at 
the increasing flow of books f r o m E u r o p e , 
tempered by regret that the flow is still f a r 
f r o m steady. T h i s has resulted in the omis-
sion of a number of items that the author 
w o u l d like to have included. C e r t a i n books 
w h i c h are important mainly in connection 
w i t h the w a r are listed f o r historical rather 
than immediately practical purposes. 

B e c a u s e the seventh edition of the Guide 
to Reference Books is expected by 1950, the 
index, which is so u s e f u l in a classified w o r k 
of this kind, has not been cumulated w i t h 
that f o r the other supplements. T o check 
an item in the w o r k as a w h o l e it is now 
necessary to consult three indexes, not a 
heavy task, nor a f r e q u e n t one f o r any in-
dividual user, and a saving in time and labor 
in the preparation, and of cost and bulk in 
the product. 

C a r e has been taken to keep the record of 
books entered in previous supplements up-to-
date. T h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s Catalog is a 
case in p o i n t ; and f o r this w o r k the anticipa-
tory note on f u t u r e parts is an example of 
the generous service Reference Books of 
1944-1946 gives. 

W o r k s which have been revised since an 
e a r l i e r listing are also recorded, in keeping 
w i t h the declared policy. H e n l e y ' s Twen-
tieth Century Book of Formulas, Processes 
and Trade Secrets appears yet again, f o r the 
sake of " s l i g h t revision and a f e w e x t r a -
numbered pages." T h e v a l u e of this kind of 

entry is open to question. T h e old f a m i l i a r 
faces c r o w d the new, and as the supplements 
come only at three-yearly intervals, l i b r a r i a n s 
are unlikely to rely on them alone f o r data 
about latest editions. M e n t i o n of all im-
portant changes, and perhaps of minor 
changes in f o r e i g n publications, is v a l u a b l e ; 
small alterations to reference books in E n g -
lish might be better l e f t to editions of M u d g e 
itself, supplementary i n f o r m a t i o n to be ob-
tained f r o m the usual bibliographical sources. 

R e s t a t e m e n t and possibly amendment of 
the criteria which determine inclusion as w e l l 
as repetition of entries w o u l d be h e l p f u l in a 
f u t u r e supplement of this kind. T h e f i f t h 
edition of Ulrich's Periodicals Directory, 
published this y e a r , is listed in Reference 
Books of 1944-1946. W h a t is the principle 
f o l l o w e d w i t h c u m u l a t i v e publications such as 
W i l s o n ' s ? T h e 1945 v o l u m e of the Biblio-
graphic Index is entered, and this b e f o r e its 
final cumulation, but certain other periodical 
indexes appear only in their final f o r m . 
M i n d f u l of M i s s M u d g e ' s statement in the 
P r e f a c e to Reference Books of 1935-1937 that 
no attempt w a s made " t o record new v o l u m e s 
of established reference annuals unless some 
discontinuance, i r r e g u l a r i t y of publication, or 
n o t e - w o r t h y c h a n g e " called f o r comment, 
M i s s W i n c h e l l might consider the extension 
of this policy to all w o r k s w h i c h appear 
r e g u l a r l y and are to be continued indefinitely. 
T h e use of open entries, similar to the record 
of Agricultural Index in the sixth edition of 
Guide to Reference Books, w o u l d be sufficient 
indication that a w o r k is appearing at the 
intervals indicated in the description. T h e 
result w o u l d be a considerable decrease in 
the number of entries and a g r e a t e r promin-
ence f o r those that are fresh. O t h e r titles 
that merit inclusion could be listed w i t h o u t 
increased costs. 

In this connection, may a r e v i e w e r m a k e 
an i n f o r m a l suggestion about these i n f o r m a l 
supplements? T h e y and the Guide to Re-
ference Books are so good that any w a y of 
m a k i n g them even better is w o r t h consider-
ing. T h e tool is used and v a l u e d in many 
c o u n t r i e s ; might it not enlist their f a r - f l u n g 
aid? T h e editor includes only those books 
she herself has examined. H e r field of selec-
tion is limited by the completeness of bibliog-

JULY, 1948 •273 



raphies and the distributing efficiency of 
publishers. If persons overseas whose w o r k 
brings them into contact w i t h new reference 
books w e r e to send a brief description of 
these to M i s s W i n c h e l l she might be helped 
in her task of assembling titles for examina-
tion. In the final result the very g r e a t use-

fulness of the Guide to Reference Books and 
its excellent supplements, of which Reference 
Books of 1944-1946 is typical, w o u l d be in-
creased f o r all w h o make use of them, both in 
this country and a b r o a d . — W i l m a Radford, li-
brary assistant, Public Library, New South 
IV ales. 

Governing Boards and Libraries 

Men Who Control Our Universities: The 
Economic and Social Composition of Gov-
erning Boards of Thirty Leading American 
Universities. By H u b e r t P a r k B e c k ; w i t h 
a f o r e w o r d by G e o r g e C . C o u n t s . N e w 
Y o r k , K i n g ' s C r o w n Press, 1947. x, 22gp. 
C o l l e g e and university libraries are on the 

w a y to gaining equality of status and con-
sideration with other instructional depart-
ments. L i b r a r i a n s t h e r e f o r e should be re-
v i e w i n g their boards of trustees w i t h the 
same kind of concern as is appropriate to 
cheir classroom-teacher colleagues. T h e mat-
ter of fact is that the librarian's concern is 
g r e a t e r because the average trustee under-
stands the role of librarians less than he 
does that of teachers. 

D r . Beck's book is an indispensable aid to 
the librarian w h o wishes to look squarely at 
his trustee situation. O f special interest to 
the administrator and student of administra-
tion are the numerous tables (p. 168-98) 
which show the distribution of board mem-
bers by occupation, age and length of service, 
offices and directorships in business enter-
prises, and method of designation. T h e in-
formation bearing on socio-economic back-
grounds w i l l have extraordinary meaning f o r 
librarians operating in publicly supported in-
stitutions w h e r e boards of governors must 
represent the claims of their institution upon 
the tax funds of some governmental unit. In 
addition to general analyses which describe 
the composition of governing boards on a 
nation-wide scale, the author has provided 
much enlightening data f o r the thirty in-
dividual universities studied. 

T h e author addresses his study and 
conclusions to an extremely broad audience 
composed of all w h o are interested in the 
relationship of social forces and backgrounds 
to education. L i b r a r i a n s w i l l t h e r e f o r e find 
practically nothing that relates specifically to 
their functioning in institutions of higher 

e d u c a t i o n — w i t h the exception of the reported 
fact (p. 58) that 5 out of 734 board members 
w e r e librarians or museum officials. ( T h i s 
small representation is not as deplorable as 
it may seem when one notes the " t o t a l ab-
sence of professional sociologists, economists, 
psychologists, political scientists, social w o r k -
ers, and social w e l f a r e administrators" f r o m 
governing boards.) T h e r e is a good deal, 
however, which should stimulate thought and 
inference among librarians of college, uni-
versity and endowed research libraries. 

O n e may w e l l , for example, raise questions 
about the educational accomplishment of 
members of governing boards. A very large 
percentage (72 per cent) hold earned bache-
lor's degrees; a still higher percentage show 
educational achievement beyond the high 
school. F r o m the point of v i e w of improving 
financial support generally, and salary scales 
f o r librarians in particular, may it not be 
desirable to have larger numbers of board 
members with an educational background 
which has demanded more extensive and 
serious use of libraries such as is implied in 
any p r o g r a m of g r a d u a t e study? A g a i n , one 
notes that the age-level data places most 
board members in college some thirty to 
f o r t y years ago, in a period w e l l before li-
braries assumed their enlarged role in the 
instructional program. 

A s one reads in D r . Beck's book of the 
numerous and varied business, institutional, 
and charity activities in which individual 
board members engage, he is inclined to ques-
tion w h e t h e r the paucity of time and en-
ergies l e f t f o r a college or university w o u l d 
not of necessity result in superficial interest. 
W i t h all of these activities (p. 105-06), board 
members can hardly be expected to attain a 
w o r k i n g aquaintance w i t h the aims, opera-
tions, and needs of one part of a u n i v e r s i t y — 
its library. It w o u l d be interesting to know 
how frequently, if at all, members of govern-

274 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES