College and Research Libraries Selected Reference Books of 1960-1961 By CONSTANCE M. W1NCHELL I N T R O D U C T I O N LI K E T H E P R E C E D I N G A R T I C L E S in this semi-annual series1 this survey is based on notes written by members of the staff of the Columbia University Libraries. Notes writ- ten by assistants are signed with initials.2 As the purpose of the list is to present a selection of recent scholarly and foreign works of interest to reference workers in uni- versity libraries, it does not pretend to be either well-balanced or comprehensive. Code numbers (such as A34, 1A26, 2S22) have been used to refer to titles in the Guide3 and its Supplements. I N C U N A B U L A North Carolina. University. Library. Hanes Col- lection. Incunabula in the Hanes Collection of the Library of the University of North Carolina. Compiled by Olan V. Cook. En- larged edition. Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 1960. 180p. $7.50. First edition 1940. An additional 196 volumes have been added in this new listing of fifteenth century books in the Hanes collection, making a total of "732 items from 324 printers, 57 cities and 9 countries." Titles are grouped by country, town, and printer, then by date, and the Proctor number is indi- cated. There is an author index, an index by printers and places, and a "concordance" to Hain and similar bibliographies.—E.S. M I C R O F O R M S Guide to Microforms in Print. 1961- . Wash- ington, Microcard Editions, 1961- . $4. An attempt to list "all that is available in microform from domestic (U.S.A.) commercial publishers," this volume covers much the same ground as E. M. Tilton's Opaque Microforms (N.Y., 1959), but includes a slightly longer list of publishers and is, of course, more up-to-date; theses and dissertations are here omitted whereas 1 CRL, J a n u a r y a n d J u l y issues s t a r t i n g J a n u a r y , 1 9 S 2 . 2 R e f e r e n c e : E l e a n o r B u i s t , R i t a K e c k e i s s e n , E l i z a - beth J . R u m i c s , E u g e n e S h e e h y , J o h n Neal W a d d e l l . 3 C o n s t a n c e M . W i n c h e l l , Guide to Reference Books ( 7 t h e d . ; C h i c a g o : A L A , 1 9 5 1 ) ; Supplement ( C h i c a g o : A L A , 1 9 5 4 ) ; Second Supplement ( C h i c a g o : A L A , 1 9 5 6 ) ; Third Supplement ( C h i c a g o : A L A , 1 9 6 0 ) . Miss Winchell is Reference Librarian, Columbia University Library. some are included in the Tilton list. Books are listed by author, journals by title, and newspa- pers by state, city, then title. Price, publisher, and microform are indicated in abbreviated form. If put on an annual basis, this could be- come a very useful listing.—E.S. L I B R A R I E S British Museum. General Catalogue of Printed Books. Photolithographic edition to 1955. Lon- don, printed by the Trustees of the British Museum, 1959- . v.52- . (To be in approxi- mately 300v.) £6.10s per vol. Contents: V.52-65, Df-England IV, and v.67-76, Eng-Fra. For previous editions see Guide A32 and A33. Between 1931 and 1954, 51 volumes, A-Dezw, of a new printed British Museum Catalogue were published but production was slow and ex- pensive, and since 1954 nothing has appeared. Now a new photolithographic process permits photographing of the "Reading Room Cata- logue" without further editing but including hand-written additions and corrections. It is hoped that eight volumes can be shipped every two months until the catalogue is completed in 1967. At that time v. 1-51 will be redone to con- form to the same terminal date of 1955. T h e Catalogue will then be a complete record of printed books in the Library of the British Museum, which have appeared from the fifteenth century to the end of 1955 in all languages ex- cept the Oriental. T h e coverage of 20th century works is impressive. Bibliographical information is generally more complete than that in the 19th century catalogue (A32) and for new cataloguing includes publisher, paging and size, which were previously omitted, and as in the 20th century catalogue (A33) I and J , and U and V are filed as separate letters rather than interfiled. T h e page is neat and clear in spite of some unevenness of inking and the few manuscript notations do not detract from the general good appearance of the work. T h e probability of hav- ing this extremely important catalogue com- pleted in such a comparatively short time is a prospect welcomed by librarians everywhere. J U L Y 1 9 6 1 285 D I R E C T O R I E S American Association of Museums. Museums Directory of the United States and Canada. Edited by Erwin O. Christensen. First ed. Washington, 1961. 567p. .$7.50. Some 4500 museums and related institutions are listed in this extensive directory. Included are museums of art, history and science; historic houses and societies; planetariums, zoos and botanical gardens; university and college muse- ums; and libraries with collections other than books. Part I lists institutions by state and city. Entry gives name, date of founding, address, tele- phone, director, major collections, activities, pub- lications, governing authority, visiting hours, and admission charges. Part II lists museums alpha- betically by name; Part I I I , by executive officer; Part IV, by category. There are also lists of As- sociation members and of museum associations abroad. A subject index adds to the volume's usefulness.—R.K. Publishers' International Year Book; World Di- rectory of Book Publishers, 1960-61. First ed. London, Alexander P. Wales [cl960] 559p $12. T h i s is a world-wide list of book publishers arranged by country and alphabetically by firm name within a country, giving address, telephone and, coded by letter, fields of publication. Also included are a list of publishers' associations and a short selection of international booksellers. Headings and explanation of abbreviations are given in English, French, German, Italian and Spanish. T h e r e is no introductory matter. Run- ning heads for countries in the principal list would have facilitated use of this catalog.—R.K. D I S S E R T A T I O N S Dossick, Jesse John. Doctoral Research on Rus- sia and the Soviet Union. [New York] New York University Press, 1960. 248p. $6. T h e task of finding out "what has been done" at the doctoral level in the field of Russian stud- ies has been considerably eased by Professor Dossick of New York University's School of Edu- cation with his list of 960 dissertations completed in American, British and Canadian universities. In listing them he has set up twenty-three sub- ject divisions, some of which present the re- vealing negative evidence of no completed dis- sertation. Going beyond what one expects from the title and from similar lists, the compiler has added useful introductory comment, many foot- notes, and a varied supplementary bibliography for each subject. These additions for out-number the dissertation titles and are made up of a selection of primary and secondary sources brought together under the relatively modest headings: "Aids to Further Research" or "A Few Standard References." Lacking an index of any kind, the material has to be approached through the T a b l e of Contents at the front.—E.B. P E R I O D I C A L S Bruhn, Peter. Gesamtverzeichnis russischer und sowjetisclier Periodika und Seriemuerke; hrsg. von Werner Philipp. Wiesbaden, In Koinission bei O. Harrassowitz [1960- ]. (Berlin [West Berlin] Freie Universitat. Osteuropa Institut. Bibliographische Mitteilungen. 3) Contents: Lieferung 1-2, A-Derev. Librarians who frequently encounter prob- lems in the verification and location of Russian and Soviet periodicals will welcome this new German union list. Its particular merits are (1) its broad interpretation of the term "periodical" to include newspapers, yearbooks, calendars or almanacs, and numbered series, as well as the regularly appearing journals; (2) its geographical and linguistic scope: all periodicals published within the boundaries of the Russian Empire or of the U.S.S.R. and translations of these abroad, but only Russian language publications of Fin- land and Poland during the time when they were a part of the Empire; publications by the emigration, and by official and semi-official Rus- sian or Soviet groups; (3) its chronological cover- age, from the earliest periodicals through 1956. It is a disadvantage to American users that all entries appear in a German variant of the transcription from Cyrillic used in most Euro- pean countries. For example, a c is used where the Library of Congress system uses ts; ja in the place of ia, or ya. On the other hand, this can be helpful when working from a German refer- ence. Transcription from Bashkir, Kalmuck, Kazakh, Tadzhik, Tartar, Ukrainian, Uzbek, and White Russian is covered by additional Latin letters in the main transliteration table. Another table transcribes Armenian and Georgian char- acters and a third table Arabic (with Persian and Turkish variants). As a union list its primary object is location of specific numbers of periodicals in libraries of the Federal German Republic and West Berlin. In this respect it is generally far more precise than the well known American lists where com- plete holdings are not always specified. Cata- logers will recognize that this list, painstaking as it is, cannot be a final standard for many of the complex works included. As to format, it is unfortunate that a work so valuable for its scope should be so hard on the eye. T h e dates and volume numbers giving bibliographic descrip- tions are often hard to distinguish from the dates and volume numbers representing library holdings. T o further confuse the situation, the numerical symbols representing forty of the larger German libraries are lacking in a simple 286 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S mnemonic device such as the Library of Con- gress uses; this is of course not the fault of the compilers. In spite of these disadvantages the completed work with its many cross references will be a valuable aid in the hands of an ex- perienced user.—E.B. G O V E R N M E N T D O C U M E N T S Great Britain, Parliament. House of Commons. Parliamentary Papers. General Index to the Bills, Reports and Papers Printed by Order of the House of Commons and to the Reports and Papers Presented by Command, 1900 to 1948- 49. London, H.M. Stationery Off., 1960. 893. £ 1 5 15s. T h i s 50-year index covers more than forty thousand papers contained in almost twenty- seven hundred volumes of Parliamentary Papers. It follows the general arrangement of the 1852- 1899 volume (i.e., under subject headings the papers are listed by type: Bills; Reports of Com- mittees; Reports of Commissioners; Accounts and Papers), but citations include the session num- bers unfortunately omitted from the earlier cumulation. T h e r e is no numerical index. Though compiled from the decennial indexes, each paper was examined and the numerical accuracy of its references checked. A new feature is the list of bills by short titles, with direct numerical references. In addition to informa- tion on the form, use, and method of compiling the present index, the Introduction provides a kind of brief guide to Parliamentary Papers in general.—E.S. Schmeckebier, Laurence F. and Eastin, Roy B. Government Publications and Their Use. Rev. ed. Washington, T h e Brookings Institution [1961] 476p. $6. T h e last previous edition of this standard handbook ( G u i d e F5) appeared in 1939, so that of late it has been in many respects less useful than Boyd ( G u i d e F3), last revised in 1949. (It is now in order to hope for a new edition of the latter, as the two works, although similar in purpose, are quite different in arrangement and have accordingly long been used together by librarians and others concerned with U.S. docu- ment materials.) T h e new Schmeckebier follows the old closely in scope and pattern, with much of the text unchanged. T h e r e are two entirely new chapters, one on government periodicals, the other on reproduction of documents in micro- print. Particularly useful are the accounts of recent changes in such standard items as the Document Catalog, the Monthly Catalog, the Congressional Record and others, and the listings of new titles and series. Index, format, and typography are good.—J.N.W. E C O N O M I C S American Economic Association. Index of Eco- nomic Journals. Homewood, 111., Richard D. Irwin, Inc., 1961- . v.l- . (In progress) $25 the set. Contents: v.l, 1886-1924. First of a five-volume work designed to index the English language materials in some eighty- five "major professional economic journals pub- lished during the period 1886-159." (Introd.) List- ings include articles, signed editorials, obituaries containing biographical or bibliographical ma- terial, and special subject bibliographies. Arrangement is in two parts, a classified index and an author index. In the first section, ma- terial is arranged in a numerical classification scheme of twenty-three classes and almost seven hundred subclasses developed by a committee of the Association. In the author section, in which only personal authors appear, writings are listed in chronological order under a writer's name. In both parts full bibliographical informa- tion is given: abbreviated titles of journal, vol- ume, paging, and date. T h e index refers to class numbers; the complete classification sched- ule is given and will appear in each volume. T o help the reader locate material on a particular country, a scheme of geographic symbols is used in a class that carries a geographic breakdown. A pleasing two-column page with well defined divisions and running heads is used.—R.K. S C I E N C E AND T E C H N O L O G Y U. S. Library of Congress. Science and Tech- nology Division. A Guide to U. S. Indexing and Abstracting Services in Science and Tech- nology. Prepared for the National Federation of Science Abstracting and Indexing Services. Washington [1960] 79p. $2. Published by the NFSAIS, 301 E. Capitol Street, Washington 3, D.C. Prepared at the Library of Congress, this bibliography—"a compilation of abstracting, in- dexing and title-announcement services originat- ing in the U.S. [as of May 1960] covering the fields of science and technology" (Introd.)— manifests the virtues one begins to take for granted in publications from that source: a concise yet thorough introduction setting forth scope, aims, limitations, etc.; completeness of information; cross references and indexes; and clear layout. Included among the 462 titles are 14 for psychology, anthropology, and related studies, and 188 for medicine. Services appearing in magazines are included, as are some non- scientific serials which consistently include signi- ficant although small listings of scientific litera- ture (e.g., Dissertation Abstracts, Vertical File Index, Population Index). Titles are arranged J U L Y 1 9 6 1 287 under broad subjects; for each is supplied in- formation about publisher, address, date begun, frequency, number, and kind of entries sup- plied yearly, price, subjects covered, and L.C. call number (when catalogued by L. C.). T h e r e is a title and a subject index. T h e files on which this useful work is based are being maintained with the hope of keeping it up to date and possibly extending it to cover services originat- ing in all parts of the world.—E.J.R. T H E A T E R The London Stage, 1600-1800; a Calendar of Plays, Entertainments ir Afterpieces, Together with Casts, Box-receipts and Contemporary Comment. Compiled from the Playbills, News- papers and Theatrical Diaries of the Period. Carbondale, Southern Illinois University Press, 1960- . Contents: Part II. 1700-1729, ed by E. L. Avery. 2v. $50. First of the set to be published, these two volumes constitute Part I I of a projected five- part work "designed as a comprehensive reference for all persons interested in London stage his- tory during the Restoration and Eighteenth- Century periods." T h e extensive introduction includes sections on the varied aspects of theater history in the 1700-29 period; e.g., the play- houses and their management, advertising, cos- tumes and stage devices, repertory, actors, the audience, and contemporary criticism. T h e calen- dar itself is arranged by theatrical seasons and provides a day-to-day list of offerings at the various theaters, together with casts when known, and incidental comment (time of per- formance, receipts, benefits, and similar details). Operas and concerts are included in the calendar for this period, but may be omitted from sub- sequent volumes. Although continuously paged, these volumes are separately indexed. T h e r e are both author and title entries for theater pieces, but no index entries for names of actors and actresses. However, an historical note precedes each season's calendar and includes the known rosters of the individual companies. A monumental undertaking, the set is sched- uled for completion over the next five years. Meanwhile, the available volumes make a usable and valuable addition to the reference collec- tion.—E.S. L I T E R A T U R E Dictionnaire des personnages litteraires et dramatiques de tous les temps et de tous les pays. Paris, S.E.D.E. [cl960] 668p. il. 135 n.f. A companion volume to the Dictionnaire des oeuvers de tous les temps et de tous les pays (.Supplement 3R7), this work identifies and de- scribes, in an alphabetical arrangement, charac- ters of fiction, poetry, music, and drama. His- torical persons are included only if they have become literary subjects. Selection has been limited to the more memorable characters of literature to allow for long treatment in pref- erence to inclusion of more names with mere identifications. Entries range in length from a paragraph to several columns. Cross references are made to works analyzed or cited in the Dictionnaire des oeuveres. Articles are signed with initials and contributors are identified in the "Index des collaborateurs." A three-column page is used; type is small but clear. Many il- lustrations, some in color, add interest.—R.K. Gerstenberger, Donna Lorine and Hendrick, George. The American Novel, 1789-1959; a Checklist of Twentieth-Century Criticism. Denver, A. Swallow [1961] 333 p. $4.75. Fourth in the publisher's series of checklists of criticism and explication, this work follows the general pattern of the earlier volumes for poetry, short fiction, and the English novel, but with two significant variations: 1) under indi- vidual authors there are sections not only for individual works, but for general critical studies and bibliographies; and 2) there is a special section for criticism of the American novel as a genre. Complete citations for books referred to in the checklist are provided in a bibliogra- phy at the end.—E. S. Kristeller, Paul Oskar. Catalogus translationum et commentariorum: Medieval and renaissance Latin translations and commentaries. An- notated lists and guides. Washington, D. C., Catholic Univ. of America Pr., 1960- . v.l- . $7.50. At head of title: Union acad^mique interna- tionale. T h i s volume is "the first of a series that will list and describe the Latin translations of ancient Greek authors and the Latin commentaries on ancient Latin (and Greek) authors up to the year 1600 . . . [and] is intended to illustrate the impact which the literary heritage of ancient Greece and Rome had upon the literature, learn- ing and thought of . . . the Middle Ages and the Renaissance." (Pref.) In this issue, extensive lists of the extant Greek and Latin authors (most of whom the series intends to treat) are followed by a first group of bio-bibliographical sketches on nine specific classical writers. These include annotated records of the treatment, translation, and in- fluence of their work on the writers of the Mid- dle Ages and the Renaissance, with location of manuscript copies, lists of printed editions, rele- vant scholarly literature, etc. Such chapters will appear as they are com- 288 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S pleted rather than in any alphabetical or chron- ological sequence and "alphabetical indices of ancient authors will be added when necessary." Langlois, Pierre and Mareuil, Andre. Guide bibliographique des etudes litteraires. Edition revue et augmentee d'un appendice. Paris, Librairie Hachette, 1960. 254p. 980 n.fr. Intended primarily for professors at small French colleges lacking extensive library facili- ties, this guide should, as the preface suggests, prove helpful to the non-specialist and to stu- dents and teachers of French literature at insti- tutions outside France. It provides a basic bib- liography for the whole range of French language and literature, listing (with introductory remarks and many annotations) author and subject bib- liographies, critical and standard editions of au- thors' works, anthologies, works of criticism, etc. T h e r e is a list of periodicals in the field, a list of publishers, and one of recordings of literary works. Having only the second edition at hand, it is impossible to judge the extent of the revision; certainly a fair number of 1959 and 1960 publi- cations have been added, and there is a new appendix, "Contribution de la critique £trang£re" (pp. I - X X X I I ) . — E . S . McBurney, William Harlin. A Check List of English Prose Fiction, 1700-1739. Cambridge, Mass., Harvard University Press, 1960. 154p. $3.75. T h e immediate prose fiction background out of which the English novel grew is traced in the four hundred titles herein assembled for the specialist. T h e compiler lists year by year the prose fiction by native authors or translators which was first published in England between 1700 and 1739 (Richardson's Pamela appeared in 1740). Information given for each item includes full title and imprint, price (where available), later editions to 1739, and at least one library location if possible, here or abroad. T h e check- list includes three times as many such titles as does the C B E L . — E . J . R . Modern Language Association of America. American Literature Group. American Literary Manuscripts; a Checklist of Holdings in Academic, Historical and Public Libraries in the United States, compiled and published under the auspices of the American Literature Group, Modern Language Association, by the Committee on Manuscript Holdings: Joseph Jones, Chairman. Austin, University of Texas Press, [1960] 421p. $5. "Though the compilers do not claim to have located all the diaries, manuscript originals, let- ters, and marginalia of all American writers, they are indicating here the scattered where- abouts and extent of thousands of such manu- scripts pertaining to approximately 2,350 Ameri- can writers." (Introd.) Writers' names are listed alphabctically, fol- lowed by Library of Congress symbols for nearly three hundred participating libraries (including several publishers' collections) holding manu- scripts of creative works, journals or diaries, let- ters to and from the author, special collections relating to the author, etc. Type and extent of each library's holdings are shown by one or more "category-symbols" with, when possible, indication of the number of pieces. No further attempt is made to assess the collection, but despite the brevity of the listings this should prove an invaluable aid to literary scholarship. —E.S. B I O G R A P H Y Dictionary of Wisconsin Biography. Madison, Wis., T h e State Historical Society, 1960. 385p. $11. An alphabetical directory of about 1500 per- sons who have made "some significant contribu- tion to the history of Wisconsin" (Introd.), this volume was compiled under a board of editors composed of Wisconsin college and university professors and was sponsored by the State His- torical Society of Wisconsin. Coverage is from the earliest years of exploration to the present, but no living persons are included. Entries are short, averaging 200 to 300 words and carry bibliographies which cite not only published materials but also the WPA manu- scripts which served as the nucleus of the com- pilation. Cross reference is made from names mentioned within entries to their alphabetical listing. Contributors are listed but not other- wise identified; entries are not signed. Material is set in a two-column page of pleasing typeface. — R . K . Dizionario biografico degli Italiani. Roma, Isti- tuto della Enciclopedia italiana, Fondata da Giovanni Treccani, 1960- . v.l- . L. 14,000. Contents: v.l, Aaron-Albertucci. Prepared by a group of eminent scholars, it is expected that this new Italian biographical dic- tionary will include some forty thousand biog- raphies of Italians from the fifth century to the present day, exclusive of living persons. T h e first volume contains about one thousand sketches, each signed by the writer and each in- cluding a bibliography of source materials. T h e length of the articles ranges from one to several columns and the bibliographies are often quite extensive. T h e plan is to publish about two volumes a year, so that it may take twenty years to complete, but it is encouraging to see at least the beginning of a much needed "Dictionary of National Biography" for Italy. J U L Y 1 9 6 1 289 Kaplan, Louis. Bibliography of American Auto- biographies, compiled by Louis Kaplan in as- sociation with James Tyler Cook, Clinton E. Colby, J r . [and] Daniel C. Haskell. Madison, University of Wisconsin Press, 1961. 372p. $6. A good complement to Matthews' American Diaries (Guide R232), this volume is similar in arrangement to Matthews' British Autobiog- raphies (Supplement 2S18) and much more com- prehensive than the Lillard American Life in Autobiography (Stanford, 1956). T h e latter, a more personal book, grouped nearly three hun- dred autobiographies by occupation with de- scriptive annotation and did not aim for com- pleteness. T h i s new bibliography lists 6,377 autobiographies published before 1945. Certain classes of material were excluded, such as manu- script autobiographies, diaries, autobiographies appearing only in newspapers or periodicals; in- cluded are autobiographies of authors born in the United States who lived abroad. Arrange- ment is alphabetical by author; a subject index offers approaches by occupation, geographical area, or historical period (e.g., athletes, hunters, professors; Armenia, New England States; Civil War, World W a r I). T h e brief annotation for each book includes a library location. It should gladden the hearts of students, researchers, and librarians to have this book in which "for the first time American autobiographies have been caught up in a comprehensive net."—E.J.R. Portrdts der UdSSR-Prominenz. Miinchen, In- stitut zur Erforschung der UdSSR, 1960- . No.l- . (In progress) 1961 subscription: DM90. T h i s is a substantial biographic directory for leading personalities of the Soviet Union, by the organization which produced the Biographic Di- rectory of the USSR (Supplement 3S37). T h e first 24 numbers, or folders of looseleaf pages, provide approximately 500 biographies. T h e German articles are signed and are longer than the ones which appeared in the English direc- tory, averaging two columns for each biographee. Also, a list of the principal printed sources of information is provided. Each page has the copyright year, and recent pages are dated with the month as well. Supplementary pages are is- sued in some cases to bring a previously pub- lished biography up to date. T h e defect of the work so far is that the transliteration key printed on the covers is entirely inadequate. T h i s could be remedied by interim indexes. T h e authors, many of them refugees, are providing a valuable register of biographic information in a Western language, utilizing a variety of Soviet printed sources supplemented by materials in the files of the Institute.—E.B. Who's Who in Atoms; an International Refer- ence Book. 2nd ed. London, Vallancey Press, 1960. 2v. £ 1 0 10s. "Advisory editor—A. W. Haslett, M.A." Without doubt an international, up-to-date list of scientists engaged in nuclear energy re- search is a welcome reference book; this en- larged edition includes 983 pages in two vol- umes (1st ed., 1959, 684 pages), with ten to fifteen biographies per page. It should be of par- ticular value to U. S. libraries for identifying foreign scientists. Nevertheless the omissions and wide variation in quantity and type of informa- tion given are puzzling; surely all cannot be ex- plained away by citing security reasons. For ex- ample, Drs. Tsung Dao Lee, Chen Ning Yang, and Polykarp Kusch, all Nobel Prize winners, are still not included. T h e noted Japanese phys- icist Hideki Yukawa has been added, but only an address and title are given. T h e awarding of the Nobel Prize for Physics is often not included in the information given for a scientist. Indeed, quantity ranges from only the affiliation and ad- dress to thirty or forty lines which include pub- lications. T h i s unevenness does not negate the work's value, but it raises questions about stand- ards of inclusion and sources of information. At over $25 for this edition with a third, 1961, edi- tion announced for publication it does seem that revisions could include information available from such standard reference works as the World Almanac and American Men of Science.—E.J.R. GENEALOGY Pine, Leslie Gilbert. American Origins. Garden City, N. Y., Doubleday, 1960. 357p. $7.50. Written by the editor of Burke's Peerage . . . , this handbook of European genealogical sources is intended for the American inquirer who has ascertained his first immigrant ancestor and who wishes to trace that ancestor in Europe. A gen- eral introductory section is followed by chapters devoted to genealogical research in individual countries, with accounts of the types of records and sources available in each, and often includ- ing addresses of archives and conditions under which the inquirer may write for specific infor- mation. Apart from its usefulness in genealogy collections, the handbook should prove helpful to scholars searching for family records and biographical data. Though there is a detailed table of contents, no index is provided.—E.S. ATLASES U. S. Central Intelligence Agency. Atlas of So- viet Administrative Maps. [Washington] 1960. 61 x 78 cm. (Not priced; limited distribution by issuing agency) A collection of maps produced in the USSR has been photographed in color and bound to- gether to provide for that country an atlas of 290 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S maps on a larger scale than is generally avail- able. T h e r e are 95 plates covering 86 per cent of the country's territory. T h e dates on the maps are generally 1956 to 1958. Most are of the terri- torial-administrative type showing also "rail- roads, roads and passes, water features, forest vegetation, spot elevation, and coordinates." Scales vary from 1:500,000 to 1:3,100,000. T h e plates are arranged alphabetically by transliter- ated title. T h e r e is no index other than a gen- eral key to the sequence of plates and therefore it is important to know that a seven-volume gazetteer published in 1959 may be used for in- dex purposes, although this is not mentioned in the introduction to the atlas. It is the U. S. Board on Geographic Names' Gazetteer No. 42, U.S.S.R. and Certain Neighboring Areas, Office of Geography, Department of the Interior, Wash- ington, D. C., 1959. T h i s is part of a depository series for most large libraries and also may be purchased from the Superintendent of Docu- ments at $3. per volume. T h e atlas contains many of the maps referred to in the gazetteer and place names may be located by coordinates, or by territorial division listed in the gazetteer by code number. Because of its size and detail, the atlas will be used primarily for advanced re- search rather than average reference purposes. —E.B. U. S. Central Intelligence Agency. China; Pro- visional Atlas of Communist Administrative Units. Washington, U. S. Dept. of Commerce, Office of Technical Services, 1959. 48 x 60 cm. $5. T h e issuing agency describes this as " a spe- cialized atlas designed to aid research workers faced with problems of interpreting current in- formation on Communist China in the light of its complex administrative structure. It will be less useful to people who are interested in an atlas primarily for locational purposes." Other warnings are given in the introduction as to the provisional nature of the information and to the linguistic pitfalls. Considered by the non- specialist for its apparent merits as a reference tool, the atlas appears to fullfill its defined pur- pose with admirable clarity and the overall im- pression is that of a well-organized, adequately indexed, and clearly printed volume. T h e in- troductory pages provide four tables of admin- istrative units and commentary, a comparative key to the Pinyin system of romanization from Wade-Giles and Yale, and standard abbrevia- tions of Chinese characters. T h e atlas is ar- ranged in such a way, however, as to be intelligi- ble to people unfamiliar with Chinese characters. Of the twenty-nine plates the first four are maps of the country as a whole, using romanization only; the other twenty-four plates are devoted to provinces and autonomous regions. In these the basic map has Chinese characters, some of which are coded clearly by arabic numerals keyed to a chart on the same page. T h e r e is a master index of administrative names by first and second syllables at the end of the volume. —E.B. H I S T O R Y American Historical Association. Guide to His- torical Literature. George Frederick Howe, Chairman, Board of Editors. N. Y., Macmillan, 1961. 962p. $16.50. T h e long awaited appearance of this successor to the 1931 Dutcher ( G u i d e V2) is, of course, of considerable interest to students and to librar- ians. (Its importance to historians will doubtless receive detailed discussion in due time.) Ar- rangement of the new work is generally similar to that of the old, with most chapters devoted to geographic or political areas, within a chrono- logical pattern; a few chapters are topical, such as "General Reference Sources," "History of Re- ligions," and " T h e World Wars." Within each section materials are arranged, as practicable, by form, e.g., bibliographies, general and specialized histories, biographies, government documents, and various others. In coverage the principal in- novation is an increase in the proportion of material on areas other than western Europe. Despite the impressive total of titles included, the list is admittedly and necessarily selective, and although many older titles are included, many others from the earlier edition have been dropped. Accordingly, the librarian interested in identification and verification will need to use both editions. Many of the annotations seem ex- cellent, but among others there are various in- consistencies of length and degree of analysis. Finally, it is a matter of serious regret that much of the copy was prepared so long prior to pub- lication (1957?), that works appearing since that time are excluded from some sections but ap- pear, at least in part, in others. Format is good, and index references to specific item numbers will prove a great boon.—J.N.W. Bibliotheca Americana Vetustissima. Ultimas adiciones (en dos volumenes); Comentario critico e Indice general cronologico [by] Carlos Sanz. Madrid, Suarez, 1960. 3v. Of these volumes the first two offer "final ad- ditions" to the Bibliotheca Americana Vetustis- sima, continuing the Harrisse listing ( G u i d e A143) of works relating to America published between 1492 and 1551, and adding a section of "Antecedents bibliogr^ficos del descubrimiento de America." Works are chronologically pre- sented, with detailed bibliographical informa- tion, descriptive notes, and numerous maps and facsimiles; some rare items are reproduced in full. T h e third volume is a general chronological J U L Y 1 9 6 1 291 index providing, in tabular form, brief bib- liographical information and references to the Harrisse volumes, to the two volumes of final additions, and to two other works by Sanz (Henry Harrissee . . . 1958, and El gran secreto de la Carta de Colon . . . 1959) which include additions to the B.A.V.—E.S. Hamer, Philip M., ed. A Guide to Archives and Manuscripts in the United States. Compiled for the National Historical Publications Com- mission. New Haven, Yale Univ. Press, 1961. 775p. $12.50. Designed not as a union catalog of manu- scripts but as a guide to direct the searcher to the most useful source for his need, this seems to be a remarkably full and detailed inventory, thoughtfully planned and carefully executed. Papers of thousands of individuals and organi- zations are located by name, as are collections by subject (e.g., labor, railroads), and by provenance (e.g., Indie, Icelandic, etc. manuscripts). Arrange- ment is by depository, geographically listed. Ac- tual description of holdings is in textual form, the materials in each depository grouped by category or type, with individual names, when relevant, then being listed alphabetically. When- ever possible, the nature and extent of each collection are indicated. Following the listing for each depository are references to any pub- lished guides to the individual collections, in- cluding periodical articles as well as separately published works. An extensive index (130 pages) analyzes the collections described. Reference is given only to page, however, so that a good deal of scanning is often necessary to locate an in- dividual item. Otherwise, one can only admire and welcome this excellent tool.—J.N.W. Mayer, Hans Eberhard. Bibliographie zur Ge- schichte der Kreuzziige. Hannover, Hahn, 1960. 271p. $9.90. T h e surprising lack of a comprehensive, up-to- date bibliography on the age of the Crusades makes this compilation particularly welcome. Herr Mayer has assembled over 5000 book and periodical references (in Chinese, Hebrew, Arabic, as well as the western languages) which ap- peared before 1957-58. T h e classed arrangement includes, besides the main topic of the Crusades to 1453, such useful peripheries as the period's ecclesiastical, legal, economic, social, and intel- lectual history; numismatics; topography; geneal- ogy; archaeology; histories of knightly orders; etc. Full bibliographic details, marginal head- ings, and an index of authors, translators, and editors enhance the work's clarity and usability. - E . J . R . Repertoire des medievistes europeens. Supple- ment aux Cahiers de civilisation medievale. Poitiers, University de Poitiers, Centre d'£tudes sup£rieures de civilisation medievale. 1960. 27lp. (Publications du C.E.S.M. 1). An earlier edition of this work appeared sev- eral years ago under the title Repertoire des medievistes d'Europe (Paris, Descl£e, 1954[?] 95p.). T h e present volume is considerably ex- panded, listing nearly seventeen hundred schol- ars. Information given consists only of name, present occupation and address, speciality and publications since 1954, including articles as well as books. A list of institutes and centers of medieval study is appended, and there are in- dexes by city of residence and by subject spe- cialty.—J.N.W. The Worldmark Encyclopedia of the Nations; a Practical Guide to the Geographic, Historical, Political, Social and Economic Status of All Nations, their International Relationships, and the United Nations System. N. Y., Harper for Worldmark Press, 1960. 1456p. maps. $30. A great deal of factual information on 103 countries and the United Nations is to be found in this one volume. Part I is arranged alpha- betically by country, with the information for each under fifty arbitrary headings treating those matters mentioned in the sub-title. A bib- liography generally substantial and up-to-date, follows each national listing. Part II is a 250- page account of the history, organization and operation of the United Nations and its affiliated agencies. Thirty-two pages of colored Hammond maps of world geographic and political areas complete the volume. Articles are unsigned, al- though an alphabetical list of contributors, many of them of scholarly repute, indicates much of the authorship, albeit inconveniently. It is obviously useful to have this amount of current national and political information read- ily available, and the work seems particularly suitable for purchase by individuals and small libraries not possessing a good collection of re- cent encyclopedias and general and specialized yearbooks. In those larger libraries where stand- ard reference sources abound, the librarian and the reader will probably continue to prefer them to the Worldmark volume. T o o much of the material in the new work seems thin and super- ficial (and pedestrian in style), doubtless the re- sult of the fragmented arrangement under such a multitude of topics. Discussions of more sub- stance under fewer headings would seem to have been a wiser editorial plan, especially for the smaller countries. T h e r e is no mention made of the plans for future editions or revisions, with- out which the principal virtue of the work—the currency of its information—will in a short time be largely lost.—J.N.W. 292 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S