College and Research Libraries


materials, exhibits and personnel; t w o with 
the state department information libraries; 
three with the elimination of barriers to ex-
c h a n g e ; and t w o with the w o r k of coordinat-
ing agencies in the field of exchanges and 
documentation. O f the latter, one w a s con-
cerned w i t h the w o r k of the American D o c u -
mentation Institute and the International 
Federation of Documentation, and one dealt 
w i t h a proposal of D r . Julian P. Boyd that 
there be established, in conjunction with the 
U . S. N a t i o n a l Commission for U N E S C O , a 
national educational, scientific, and cultural 
authority. T h e various recommendations 
w e r e directed to a number of agencies: to 
the A . L . A . ( 5 ) , A . R . L . ( 4 ) , U N E S C O or 
the U . S. N a t i o n a l Commission for U N E S C O 
( 5 ) , the D e p a r t m e n t of State and the L i -
brary of Congress (4 each), the Congress, 
the armed services, the T r e a s u r y D e p a r t -
ment, the A m e r i c a n Book C e n t e r , and the 
L i b r a r y of Congress Planning Committee (1 
each), besides three expressions of opinion 
without definite recommendations to a par-

ticular body. 
T h e readers of the proceedings of the 

Princeton conference deserve to be informed 
w h a t progress has been made, during the 
year and a half which it has required to print 
its transactions, in executing its recommen-
dations. It is g r a t i f y i n g to know that if a 
report of progress wrere to be made at the 
present time, it would show that f e w of the 
recommendations have not had or are now 
failing to receive serious attention, and that 
some are actually in process of accomplish-
ment. Nevertheless, it is to be hoped that a 
systematic report w i l l soon be made available, 
showing not only just w h a t has been done, 
but where, and the extent to which responsi-
bility has been accepted f o r accomplishing 
w h a t still remains to be done. T h e Prince-
ton conference, if it already has some claim 
to be regarded as a landmark, will only prove 
usefully so if it is actively employed as a 
point f r o m which to measure distance and 
direction.—Verner W. Clapp, Library of 
Congress. 

British Sources of Reference 

British Sources of Reference and Informa-
tion, a Guide to Societies, Works of Ref-
erence and Libraries. Compiled under the 
direction of a Committee of A s l i b and edited 
by T h e o d o r e Besterman. London, published 
f o r the British Council by Aslib, 1947. 58p. 
T h i s selective guide to the resources of 

British libraries supplements and by no means 
supersedes the ASLIB Directory of 1928. 
Even allowing for the latter's inclusion of in-
formation agencies other than libraries and 
its different organization resulting in some 
repetitive information, the older 425 page 
quarto volume contains information on more 
libraries and more special collections than the 
new slim octavo of 56 pages. 

H o w e v e r , the new guide brings informa-
tion to date, with its news of some f o r m e r 
collections that w e r e bombed and burned out 
of existence and, on the other hand, of col-
lections which have increased in size, like the 
M a n c h e s t e r University L i b r a r y , which ap-
pears to have doubled itself in the last twenty 
years. N o t e s on the facilities for photographic 
reproduction, and other services which li-

braries are now prepared to offer, are also a 
welcome addition. 

T h e general description of the British li-
brary system as a whole, with its efficient or-
ganization f o r a national lending service, and 
the accounts of the British library and book 
organizations, constitute a new and valuable 
introduction for the scholar, student, or li-
brarian beginning or renewing acquaintance 
w i t h the great bibliographical resources of 
G r e a t Britain. It should be noted that certain 
Irish libraries wThich w e r e included in the 
ASLIB Directory, published before the es-
tablishment of the independent sovereignty 
of Eire, are missing here. O n e w i l l have to 
turn back to the old directory or the still older 
University and College Libraries, by New-
combe, for information about T r i n i t y C o l l e g e 
L i b r a r y , which is mentioned in the new guide 
only as one of the copyright libraries which 
does not lend books. 

T h e arrangement of material differs from 
that of the old guide. Instead of an ex-
tensive list by subject of special collections, 
w i t h a list of libraries arranged by city and 

JULY, 1948 •277 



an index of collections by name, five lists of 
libraries are grouped as copyright, university, 
principal public, special and government li-
braries. T h e key to subject specialization is 
the index of eleven columns. T h e names of 
some, but not all, special collections are in-
cluded in the index. F o r example, the B a l -
c a r r e s state papers in the N a t i o n a l L i b r a r y of 
Scotland are entered in the index, but not the 
Denmilne papers in the same l i b r a r y . Some 
omissions and inconsistencies of subject entries 
also detract f r o m the usefulness of the index. 
F o r example, the special collections on f u r n i -
ture in the Bethnal G r e e n and Shoreditch pub-
lic libraries are indexed, but not the special 
collection on f u r n i t u r e in the N a t i o n a l L i -
brary of Scotland. T h e collection on Scottish 
music in the national library is indexed under 
"Scottish music," but that in the D u n d e e P u b -
lic L i b r a r y is under "music, Scottish." 

A s the object of the index is presumably to 
guide the inquirer to the libraries w h i c h con-
tain m a t e r i a l on the subject of his interest, 
one might suggest that it could have been im-
proved, even doubled in length, by the omis-
sion of the list of general w o r k s of reference. 
T h e s e can be easily found in bibliographies 

of reference books and various textbooks f o r 
readers' self-guidance. I t is perhaps j u s t as 
w e l l that "technical difficulties on the pro-
duction side" prevented the inclusion of the 
selected book lists originally planned. If any 
list of specific books is to be included, one of 
printed library catalogs and bibliographies 
w h i c h locate copies w o u l d be more appropri-
ate to this type of book. H o w e v e r , w i t h the 
system of national and regional union cata-
logs in G r e a t Britain, this kind of list might 
not seem too necessary to a person d w e l l i n g 
or sojourning there, as it does to one on the 
other side of the ocean. T h e consultation of 
the printed aids to location of books is a 
time- and money-saver only f o r the w o u l d - b e 
b o r r o w e r thousands of miles a w a y . 

In conclusion w e may say that this little 
book, hardly more than a pamphlet, is as 
w e l c o m e as the first thin slice of roast beef 
w a s a f t e r rationing and scarcity, but w e look 
f o r w a r d to the day when a w h o l e roast can 
be put before us again. T h e cooks have doubt-
less done the best they could under the circum-
stances. T h e y have w h e t t e d our appetites f o r 
more.—Margaret Hutchins, School of Li-
brary Service, Columbia University. 

Revision of "Organisation and Personnel Procedure1' 

A subcommittee of the A . L . A . B o a r d on 
Personnel A d m i n i s t r a t i o n is w o r k i n g on a 
revision of " O r g a n i z a t i o n and Personnel P r o -
c e d u r e , " which w a s first published by the 
board in 1940. I t is hoped to include in the 
revision several examples of good personnel 
f o r m s , such as application blanks, i n t e r v i e w 
sheets, service rating f o r m s , agreement or 
contract forms, letters of appointment, and 
the like. T h e subcommittee urges librarians 
w h o have f o r m s w h i c h they consider satis-

f a c t o r y to send five copies of each f o r ex-
amination. 

T h e committee is made up of representa-
tives of college and university, large public, 
small public, school, and special libraries, and 
is interested in a response f r o m all types of 
libraries. K i n d l y send copies of f o r m s imme-
diately to A m y W i n s l o w , chairman, Subcom-
mittee on Personnel O r g a n i z a t i o n and P r o c e -
dure, Enoch P r a t t F r e e L i b r a r y , B a l t i m o r e , 
M d . 

278 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES