College and Research Libraries


Review Articles 

Medieval Monastery Libraries 
Die Bibliotheksraume der deutschen Kloster 

im Mittelalter, von Edgar Lehmann. Ber-
lin: Akademie-Verlag, 1957. 50p., x x plates. 
D M 19.80. (Deutschen Akademie der Wis-
senschaften, Berlin, Schriften zur Kunst-
geschichte, Heft 2.) 

T h e study of history of libraries and li-
brarianship has naturally only a limited 
number of devotees. T o these Dr. Lehmann's 
study is of considerable interest. Appearing 
in a series specializing in the history of art, 
the treatment of mediaeval German monas-
tery libraries is nevertheless broad in scope 
and yet scholarly enough to satisfy the most 
demanding critic. 

T h e narrative part of this study is divided 
into two main chapters. T h e first deals with 
Romanesque libraries (eighth to thirteenth 
centuries, or broadly speaking the early and 
high Middle Ages). During this period li-
braries developed from small collections in 
chests (armaria) to small rooms found at 
times in close connection with the scripto-
rium. Concern with safety and protection 
against moisture was common then, as it is 
today, and collections of manuscripts re-
ceived the kind of care given to relics or 
holy vestments, in or adjoining the church, 
often on upper floors, sometimes even in 
fortified towers. Storing and reading did 
not take place in the same room during this 
era. 

T h e second chapter covers Gothic librar-
ies (thirteenth to sixteenth centuries, i.e., 
the late Middle Ages). Under the influence 
of universities and the new secular or pri-
vate libraries, special areas and separate 
buildings came into their own rights; storage 
and use were combined in one and the same 
spot. Among points detailed by the author 
we find that the chaining of manuscripts 
was largely limited, at least in Central Eu-
rope, to monasteries in larger towns where 
it seemed necessary to protect them against 
non-resident readers. Throughout the vol-
ume, the influence of monastic orders on 
the development of libraries is discussed 
and thoroughly documented. 

T h i s volume deals preponderantly with 
German libraries, but constant comparison 
with English, French, and Italian libraries 
enhances its value beyond local or national 
interest. 

Pages twenty-nine through forty-seven con-
tain a list (including bibliographical and 
historical notes) of mediaeval monastic li-
brary buildings. Incidental information is 
included, e.g., under Augsburg we read that 
a library room was "moved to get away from 
the noise of laymen." Plans of various mon-
astery libraries and photographs of exteriors 
and interiors are shown on twenty plates il-
lustrating examples from 820 to the sixteenth 
century. T h i s study is valuable to the his-
torian; it is carefully written and will prob-
ably remain "definitive" for a good long 
time. W e noticed that the author did not 
have access, according to his own statement, 
to the second edition of J o h n Willis Clark's, 
The Care of Books or J a m e s Westfall 
Thompson's, The Medieval Library. W e ob-
serve with regret that political frontiers 
often are also intellectual barriers.—Rudolf 
Hirsch, University of Pennsylvania Library. 

Books A r e Being Read 
Books Are Being Read. By Nora E. Jones. 

Los Angeles: University of California Li-
brary, 1959. 46p. (UCLA Library Occas-
ional Paper Number 8.) 

In connection with plans for building a 
research library and for converting the main 
library into a college library, the staff of 
the U C L A Library conducted a question-
naire study of students' reading and use of 
the library. By administering the question-
naire to several large classes, the investi-
gators obtained a sample of 1140 students 
apparently representative of the total stu-
dent body. T h e students were questioned 
about such matters as the frequency of their 
visits to the university library, the depart-
ments they used, the number of books they 
borrowed, the number they read, their suc-
cess in using the card catalog, their other 
sources for books, and their attitudes towards 
the library. 

,416 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



Books Are Being Read, published as a 
U C L A Library Occasional Paper, reports 
the "summary results" of this study. T h e 
report is, indeed, summary—so summary, in 
fact, that it is difficult to see how the find-
ings could have been very useful in library 
planning. T h e results of the questionnaire, 
presented in eight pages and interpreted in 
three more, are necessarily generalized. 
Sometimes they are confusing. For example, 
it is explained that the number of books 
borrowed was coded in units between one 
and nine, and in tens between ten and one 
hundred. T h e n it is stated that ". . . the 
pattern for assigned reading shows that the 
most usual amount borrowed was from 10 
to 19 books, the next most usual is one 
book, and the third most usual is 20 to 29," 
without any notation of the number of stu-
dents represented in any of these "most 
usual" categories. T h e "most usual" amount 
of pleasure reading from the university li-
braries is reported as two books. And yet, 
in another place it is noted that ". . . pleas-
ure reading fell far behind, well over half 
the sample canvassed reporting no books 
borrowed for this purpose in the course of 
this semester." T h e final question asked the 
student to comment briefly on the U C L A 
Library. These comments were classified by 
topic, and seventeen pages of pro and con 
samples for each topic are presented in the 
appendix. Again it is hard to see how com-
ments such as " I appreciate the ease with 
which I can get almost any book I want 
to read" and " I t takes too long to get the 
books and after waiting they're usually not 
i n " can be of much help in planning library 
facilities or services. But, with original 
phrasing and spelling carefully preserved, 
some of the comments are delightful. My 
favorite is this: "Quite reading rooms should 
be quite." 

T h e somewhat defensive title of the paper 
is perhaps justified by some indication of a 
bit more pleasure reading than reported in 
earlier studies of this type. T h e evidence 
here, too, however, is very limited. In short, 
this report is neither full enough to provide 
a clear picture of U C L A students' reading 
and their use of the library, nor is it pre-
cise enough to serve as a helpful example 
of research methodology.—Patricia B. Knapp, 
Monteith College, Wayne State University. 

History of Microfilm 
Microfilm: A History, 1839-1900. By Frederic 

Luther. Annapolis, Md.: T h e National 
Microfilm Association, ^ 1 9 5 9 ] . 195p. illus. 
$7.50. 

T h e theme for the April meeting of the 
National Microfilm Association in Washing-
ton was: "A Centennial of Progress." T h e r e 
were papers on the historical aspects of the 
craft and two displays in the exhibit were 
on the history of microphotography. Fred-
eric Luther, the vice president of the associ-
ation, pulled together the results of about 
twenty-five years of study on the early years 
of the art so that his book could be pub-
lished in connection with this meeting. 

T h e greater part of this book deals with 
the activities of two men: J o h n B e n j a m i n 
Dancer (1812-1887) of England and Ren£ 
Prudent Dagron (1819-1900) of France. 
Dancer was a scientist, inventor, and opti-
cal manufacturer of Liverpool and Man-
chester. In 1839, as soon as he learned about 
the process, he began to manufacture da-
guerreotype cameras for which he offered 
processing service. T h a t same year he made 
a daguerreotype microphotograph at a re-
duction ratio of 160:1. When we remember 
what a stir Eastman Kodak caused less than 
five years ago with their Minicard made at 
60:1, we can fully appreciate Dancer's first 
venture into microrecording. After 1851, 
with the advent of the wet-collodion process, 
he experimented with microphotographs 
made on this more suitable medium. T h o u g h 
he solved many of the basic problems and 
produced creditable images, he did not go 
further than preliminary experiments with 
the process. 

Dagron, however, brought the art out 
of the laboratory and into the market place. 
On J u n e 12, 1859, he received the first 
microfilm patent, and in thirty months he 
was doing a business in microphotographic 
novelties that required a staff of 150 work-
men. None of the independent microfilm 
service agencies today can boast such a 
number of employees. In 1870-71 he flew 
out of besieged Paris in a balloon and set 
up the famous pigeon-post airmail micro-
film service in Tours. Mr. Luther's account 
of the balloon trip is as exciting as Carlyle's 

SEPTEMBER 1959 417