College and Research Libraries


above, librarians should consider this list only 
as a first aid in purchasing, requiring the 
advice of faculty colleagues under whose in-
struction the books are to be used. · 

The Catholic list is not restricted to titles 
by Catholic authors. "Works written by non-
Catholic authors covering Catholic topics 
acceptably have been included ... [and] ... 
since the list is merely to supplement, and not 
intended to replace the Shaw list, it does not 
duplicate the titles in the latter" (p. vi). It is 
precisely at this point, the nonduplication of 
"Catholic" titles found in the Shaw lists, that 
the Catholic list is weak. Shaw's lists contain 
numerous titles which acceptably present the 
Catholic point of view (e.g. , in German litera-
ture alone: Droste-Hiilsoff, Ebner-Eschen-
bach, Huch, Nadler, Rilke, Werfel). Since 
the Catholic list carries the imprimatur of the 
Church, it would have been a most valuable 
service to have had these titles identified: a 
short title entry with identifying reference to 
Shaw would have sufficed and would not have 
added appreciably to bulk or cost. Had this 
been done we would have had a significantly 
useful and satisfyingly complete bibiothecal 
entity. 

In this connection, inasmuch as the librari-
ans of Catholic colleges had been aware of the 

need of a Catholic "supplement" to the Shaw 
list since its publication in 1931, the reviewer 
finds it diffiult to understand why they did not 
attempt to work up their list for inc~usion in 
the 1938 Shaw supplement. There is no need 
for the two separate lists. Having missed 
that opportunity, there should not be any 
thought of a new and separate edition of the 
Catholic list. Rather , the Catholic Library 
Association, under whose auspices the compila-
tion was prepared, might well investigate the 
feasibility of joining forces with Shaw in a 
new addition or additional supplement of the 
basic Shaw list wherein the "Catholic" titles 
will be identified. Under the one over-all 
editor, using and following identical pro-
cedures and methods, having the same scope 
and intended for similar use, a composite list 
of books for all college libraries will be even 
in quality and should make a really significant 
addition to library literature. 

Despite its shortcomings, the Catholic 
list is an important work. It will be a wel-
come addition to the equipment not only of 
Catholic college librarians but also of the 
librarians of all other colleges and of public 
libraries whose clientele includes Catholics. 
-William .A. Kozumplik , Oregon State Col-
l ege Library. 

Binkley and Scholarsh1 p 
S elected Papers of Rob ert C. Binkley. Edited 

by Max H. Fisch. Cambridge, Mass., 
Harvard University Press, 1948, xiii, 426p. 
$5.00. 
The papers in this volume have been 

divided by the editor into three major groups: 
"The Peace That Failed," "The Economy of 
Scholarship," and "Ideas and Institutions." 
In addition to the 18 papers that are repro-
duced, there is a foreword by Luther Evans, 
a brief biographical sketch, and a bibliogra-
phy of Binkley's work. 

The body of Binkley's work that is of the 
greatest interest to librarians relates to his 
interest in what the editor calls "the economy 
of scholarship." This is material with which 
librarians deal from day to day, and it was 
a topic that had a real attraction for Binkley. 
The wide scope of his work and interest in 
this field is indicated by some of the titles: 
" The Problem of Perishable Paper," "New 

Tools for Men of Letters," "History for 
Democracy," "The Reproduction of Mate-
rial for Research," "The Cultural Program 
of the W.P.A.," "World Intellectual Organ-
ization," and "Strategic Objectives in Archi-
val Policy." 

One should recognize that this book is what 
its title indicates; it does not include all of 
Binkley's writings but a judicious sampling 
of them. As a consequence the book reflects 
Binkley, the man , rather than the subject in-
terests of any single group of readers-ex-
cept that very large and diverse group who 
knew Binkley. Binkley, the historian, is 
clearly a matter of concern to historians, but . 
Binkley, chairman of the widely known Joint 
Committee on Materials for Research, the 
promoter and director of much of the impor-
tant historical work of the W.P.A. , and the 
author of the manual on M ethods of R epro-
ducing Research Materials , was dealing with 

482 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



matters of more vital concern to librarians 
than most of us would admit. 

The diversity of Binkley's work was so 
great that only a little of his full impact upon 
librarianship is reflected in the present vol -
ume. This is no fault of the editor, for much 
of Binkley's impact grew out of his energy, 
his imagination and his interest in people and 
their ideas, rather than his writings. The 
brief biography discusses his contributions to 
librarianship, but the biography, quite prop-
erly, is devoted more to Binkley's work in the 
field of history, his major professional field , 
th an to his w ork in connection with libraries 
and their problems. 

Binkley's broad perspective, which was so 
helpful in his planning, may be illustrated by 
his introduction to the brief paper on the 
problem of perishable paper. 

"The invention of writing provided mankind at 
one stroke with two new instruments: a means 
of communication and a new device for re-
membering. This double function of writing 
erv es a purpo se which libraries are expected 

to fulfill. Our civilization expects our libraries 
to be at once institution s for the diffusion of con-
tempor a ry ideas and depositories of the records 
of the race ." 

From this theme he develops the divergency 
and conflict in the duties of librarians , with 
respect to these two t asks, and the rela-
tionship which each has to the physical 
deterioration of the re cords of modern civili-
z ation. 

His perspective is also reflected in the rela-
tive permanence of his articles. The editor , 
of course, has recognized this in his selecting 
process. Everything that Binkley wrote does 

not have quite the same degree of relevance 
today, for much of his writing was, by the na-
ture of his interests , devoted to critical and 
topical problems of the time. He wrote about 
topical items, however, in such a way that 
there is unusually important content and 
meaning still today in much of the material 
relating to procedures and economy. 

This aspect of Binkley's writing may be 
shown by quoting from his article on the re-
production of materials for research. 

" Micro-copying and near-print will force us to 
think anew the whole procedure of library work, 
from selection of acquisitions to lending. The 
mass of material that is 'accessible' is increased 
in astronomic proportions. This will mean that 
our traditional catalogues will no longer control 
the material that is accessible. They will control 
only a part of it. The greater the amount of 
material to be controlled, the greater is the need 
for inventions of all kinds." 

This statement appeared in 1937 and was, 
of course , directed to a very specific subject. 
In the 12 years since then we have made prog-
ress, but we still have some way to go before 
we will be up with Binkley-"We will have 
to think of library systems rather than sepa-
rate libraries .... Our problems will be far 
more intricate than theirs and also, I believe, 
far more interesting." 

This book is valuable, not only because it 
shows us clearly how serious our loss was in 
Binkley's untimely death , but because it re-
calls to our attention-if we have forgotten 
-the variety of unsolved problems relating to 
the provision of materials for contemporary 
and future research.-H erman H. Fussier, 
University of Chicago Library. 

A Helpful Guide for Building Planners 
Planning th e Unive rsity Library Building, a 

Summary of Dis cussions by Librarians, Ar-
chit ec ts and Engineers. Edited by John E. 
Burchard, Charles W. David and Julian P. 
Boyd , with the assistance of LeRoy C. Mer-
ritt. Princeton, N.J. , Princeton University 
Press , 1949. xvii, 145p. $2.50. 
To the many who have had no connection 

w ith the Cooperative Committee on Library 
Building Plans, but who have followed the 
proceedings of its conferences, this book will 
appear to be much more than a by-product 

OCTOBER, 1949 

of those meetings. It adds both system and 
substance to the discussions as previously re-
ported , and supplies a new compendium for 
college and university librarians who are con-
fronted with building projects , and who seek 
the fullest information bearing on the deci-
sions and recommendations they must make. 

As its activities have shown , the purpose of 
the committee was to pool efforts in meeting 
the questions pertinent to the construction of 
university library buildings , and thus to pre-
pare the way for solutions in particular cases 

483