College and Research Libraries


in G e r m a n y , " while W i d m a n n tried to an-
swer the question, " W h e r e can bibliographi-
cal evidence be found concerning G e r m a n 
publications issued from 1939 to 1950?" 
( p . 1 6 ) , which allowed him to include much 
material published outside of G e r m a n y . 

In the introductory chapter, on the scope 
of his "Uberblick," the author discusses and 
illustrates the difficulties of his u n d e r t a k i n g — 
questionnaires and personal visits played an 
important role, publishers rather than li-
braries often had the answers—and again 
a f t e r the 216 pages of bibliographical listing 
proper, in a "Riickblick und U m b l i c k , " he 
analyzes once more the plight of the scholar 
and scientist resulting from the political and 
social disruption of the period. V i e w s and 
data as published by the author elsewhere 
(e.g. in Libri, 1950) as w e l l as by other 
authorities, notably G e o r g Leyh ( B e r i c h t : 
1947, supplemented in the Deutschland-
Jahrbuch, 1949), G u s t a v H o f m a n n and 
Heinrich Middendorf (in v. 34, 1950, of the 
Jahrbuch der Deutschen Bibliotheken) and 
by the dean of G e r m a n bibliographers, Joris 
Vorstius, in his forementioned Ergebnisse, 
are further elaborated and extended. 

W i d m a n n then summarizes the state of 
G e r m a n bibliography and succeeds in show-
ing, how on this background of necessity, 
G e r m a n librarians and bibliographers have 
tried and are trying valiantly to do their 
part in building anew their shattered world. 
T h e necessary threads are established for the 
r e a d e r : the present degree of coverage of 
an area is shown, gaps are indicated, prospects 
of future publication discussed, whether it be 
in the complicated f r a m e w o r k of the Deut-
sche Allgemeine Bibliographie (p.16-22), 
especially a f t e r 1940, the date of the last 
Fiinfjahreskatalog, or in any of the subject 
fields, such as Germanistics (p.79-86). 

A special chapter is devoted to an extensive 
review of foreign effort and success in cover-
ing G e r m a n publications of the period under 
consideration. In some areas the G e r m a n s 
have not succeeded as yet in reestablishing 
systematic bibliography (e.g. Oriental Studies, 
p.88-93, an<f Classical Philology, p.68-74) 
and foreign publications are serving instead 
( D u t c h and French in the fields referred t o ) . 

In bringing V o r s t i u s up to date and com-
plementing him amply the author has pro-
duced indeed a well-documented picture of 
attainments, which, though necessarily un-

even, nevertheless w a r r a n t the modest claims 
of progress made. 

Every reader w i l l heartily endorse W i d -
mann's closing thoughts on the value of 
bibliography in bridging the gulf between 
specialists as well as between peoples and 
that it may succeed better than a f t e r the first 
holocaust of our time in closing the gaps. 
M a y the author receive much help in re-
sponse to his introductory Herder-quota-
tion: "lass es nicht beim T a d e l , sondern bes-
sere und baue w e i t e r . " — I c k o Iben, Urbana, 
Illinois. 

Copyright and Librarians 
Literary Property in the United States. By 

Ralph R. Shaw. Washington, Scarecrow 
Press, 1950, v, 277p. $6.00. 

Librarians w h o have followed the illustri-
ous activities of versatile Ralph Shaw w i l l not 
be surprised to learn that this present writing 
is of the same high caliber as his inventing. 
H o w he finds time to achieve all of his many 
accomplishments is something for wonder and 
amazement. W i t h this treatise, based on his 
doctoral dissertation at the University of 
Chicago, Shaw has definitely made a signifi-
cant contribution to a clearer understanding 
of the rights of authors from historical, 
philosophical and practical standpoints. 

T h e book is not a guide for obtaining copy-
right such as M a r g a r e t Nicholson's A Man-
ual of Copyright Practice ( N e w Y o r k , O x -
ford University Press, 1945, 255p.), but 
forms an excellent companion volume to it. 
T h e book is not a l a w treatise for practition-
ers although such terms as "assign," "license," 
"prima facie" and "affected with a public 
interest" are employed without definition. 
Rather, this w o r k attempts to determine 
from the American court records just w h a t 
literary property is; its relation to copyright; 
w h a t copyright is intended to protect, why, 
how and for w h o m ; the extent to which these 
goals have been achieved; and what, if any-
thing, may be done about the situation. A n 
attempt is made to identify all significant 
problems, stating the extent to which the 
courts have interpreted each and indicating 
possible solutions. 

Practical minded authors w h o are experi-
enced with the procedure of the Copyright 
Office may register a minor objection to 
Shaw's method of presenting one vital aspect 

298 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



of copyright l a w . In his preface Shaw ac-
curately states that copyright is obtained 
merely by publishing with the proper notice, 
but then he waits until the sixth and ninth 
chapters to offer the caveat that certain other 
requirements are also necessary. 

M e m b e r s of the publishing trade w i l l un-
doubtedly object with angelic indignation to 
Shaw's contention that in having the copy-
right in their name, believing that they "may 
gain more or get better protection," they do 
so " a t the expense of the author." T h i s 
stand, along with substantiated examples of 
confusion in the law, forms the basis for 
Shaw's proposal to redraft the copyright 
statute and make copyright the exclusive 
domain of authors. T h e reviewers concede 
that this position may be sound in theory, 
but from a practical standpoint they query 
whether any substantial change would be 
effected in the light of standardized contracts 
and practices in the trade. 

Unquestionably the most valuable portion 
of the book as f a r as librarians are concerned 
is Chapter X V I I I which deals with literary 
property and scholarly institutions. T h e con-
stantly haunting legal problems of facsimile 
reproduction, such as by photostat and micro-
film, recompiling and the replacement of 
pages is expertly dealt with in a lucid man-
ner. T h i s chapter in effect reveals one more 
facet of the classic problem facing libraries 
with regard to the acceptance o(r rejection 
of manuscripts, theses and other materials, 
namely, exactly w h a t is it that the donor 
has a right to give in the first place? A f t e r 
perusing the chapter with this aspect in mind, 
librarians are well advised to re-examine 
their collections. Some startling discoveries 
and reactions are assured. 

Each of the pithy chapters ends with a 
summary of its contents, which is useful both 
as a preliminary survey of each chapter and 
a final thought provoking reappraisal. T h e 
text is well documented although the refer-
ences are inconveniently placed at the end 
of the book in a separate section and the 
term " C . O . B . " is constantly used without any 
indication that it is an abbreviation for Copy-
right Office Bulletin. Bibliophiles and per-
fectionists may object to the price of six dol-
lars placed on the volume by author-publisher 
Shaw, pointing out the uneven inking, slick 
paper and deficiencies in the binding process. 
Notwithstanding this, the treatise is highly 

recommended for librarians and others w h o 
believe that it is their obligation to have more 
than a smattering of the concepts of literary 
property and copyright l a w . — H a r r y Bitner 
and Mortimer Schwartz, Columbia Univer-
sity Law Library. 

Educational Measurement 
Educational Measurement. Ed. by E. F . 

Lindquist and published by the American 
Council on Education. Washington, D . C . 
1951, 819P. $6.00. 

T h i s is a comprehensive handbook and text-
book on the theory and technique of educa-
tional measurement on the advanced grad-
uate level. T h e volume w a s planned by the 
Committee on Measurement and Guidance of 
the American Council on Education in 1945 
to overcome the lack of reference and in-
structional materials in those universities 
offering graduate training in educational 
measurement. 

Seventy experts in the measurement field, 
under the general editorship of E. F . Lind-
quist, participated in the writing of this 
volume. T h e proceeds from the sale are to 
go into a permanent Measurement Book 
P r o j e c t Fund which will be used for future 
revisions of the w o r k . • 

T h e book contains 18 chapters divided into 
three parts: T h e Functions of Measurement 
in Education; T h e Construction of Achieve-
ment T e s t s ; and Measurement T h e o r y . 
Ample charts, graphs, illustrations and se-
lected references are furnished throughout. 
F o r those teacher-training institutions not 
offering graduate courses in measurement, 
this w o r k may w e l l find a place in the refer-
ence collection to supplement w o r k s such as 
the Encyclopedia of Educational Research.— 
Irving A. Verschoor, Columbia University. 

The H. W . Wilson Company 
The H. W. Wilson Company; Half a Cen-

tury of Bibliographic Publishing. By John 
L a w l e r . Minneapolis, University of M i n -
nesota Press, 1950, $3.00. 
L a w l e r ' s The H. W. Wilson Company is 

presumably an example of the growing tend-
ency of historical scholarship to be concerned 
with the critical analysis of the emergence 
and development of American commercial 
and industrial enterprise. B u t in the pages 

JULY, 1951 299