College and Research Libraries which traditional librarians will be forced into an even more passive position than the one they now occupy. Despite all their faults, the papers imply a dynamism that libraries are not yet prepared to accept .. This remark does not mean that librarians should jump on the band wagon of auto- mation. Many of them are intellectually pretty shoddy affairs anyway (the antece- dent here is band wagon, not librarians). It does mean that librarians do need to ex- amine their whole concept of education, systems, and services and to determine where and how they can move from the passive to a dynamic stage.-Robert S. Taylor, Le- high University. Information Retrieval Today. Papers Pre- sented at the Institute Conducted by the Library School and the Center for Con- tinuation Study, University of Minnesota , Sept. 19-22, 1962. Ed. by Wesley Simon- ton. Minneapolis: Center for Continua- tion Study, 1963. 176p. $5. Information retrieval, in its mechanized forms, has not yet become a textbook sub- ject, and those who wish to be informed on the state of the art have two alternatives. One is to keep current with developments through journal and report literature, study- ing and evaluating each item for reliability and pertinency. The second is not to worry until a particularly attractive conference or institute comes along, and then to take a cram course. The first is arduous and rec- ommended only for the stout-hearted and the dedicated, of whom we need morel The latter is a prudent decision if one chooses the right conference. Those who chose to attend the Institute on Information Retrieval Today did, in- deed, choose the right one. The speakers were well selected for knowledgeability of, and experience with, the topic, and the at- tendants were largely librarians, giving a homogeneity of interests of which the speak- ers could take advantage in shaping their remarks. Consequently, the proceedings were remarkably free from much of the jargon one sometimes confronts when engineers, mathematicians, systems specialists, etc., gath- er to discuss this topic. · The goals of the institute were to present a well rounded picture of the present state of information retrieval, giving attention to both theoretical and practical aspects of tra- ditional and newer methods. The historical development and probable future direction of the art were considered in light of users' needs and requirements. The success of the conference is partially the result of the bal- ance achieved in realizing these goals. 1 esse Shera's "Propaedeutic of the New Librarianship" sweeps across the develop- ment of information storage and retrieval capabilities from medieval times to the pres- ent, and Harold Wooster provides a look at the innovations to come in the near and distant future. Between these splendid ex- positions of our past and our future, we have the bulk of the papers, constituting both theoretical and empirical observations. Calvin Mooers, G. 1ahoda, Ascher Opler, and I. A. Warheit discuss indexing and com- puter practices, and Peter Scott reviews the graphic aids which make valuable contri- butions to the field. Four systems currently in use or under study are described, those being: I) Western Reserve University's ma- chine literature searching projects; 2) the University of Illinois, Chicago, study of data processing applications for technical proc- esses; 3) the serials computer project of the University of California, San Diego; and 4) MEDLARS. Each of the four have by now issued larger studies of the results of their researches and experiences, and the reader may wish to consult those studies for fuller treatment. Bernard Fry's presentation discusses relationships between user needs and the development of new information systems. The final paper is "The Librarian and the Machine" by Henry 1. Dubester, who makes a point which librarians should take to heart. He indicates that if more librar- ians would look carefully at the pattern of work in their area with the same detail one must employ when flow charting for systems analysis and possible mechanization, this ex- amination would yield improvements star- tling in themselves. The observation is sup- ported by the experiences of the University of Illinois project staff, who report many instances where poor routines and work pro- cedures were brought to light. If asked to pick the outstanding paper of the institute, this reviewer would cite I. A. 438 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Warheit's "The Use of Computers in In- formation Retrieval." It displays a keen understanding of the basics of information science and states fundamental criteria for mechanization of the information retrieval process in concise terms. If you have been a follower of the first aforementioned alternative, there is not much here for you that is new. If, however, you belong to the second class, these papers are recommended as a good starting point. The authors present their material clearly, and in the language of a librarian.-H ow- . ard W. Dillon, Ohio State University. Books Briefly Noted An Arizona Chronology; The Territorial Years~ 1846-1912. By Douglas D. Martin. Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1963. SOp. $1.95. A Bibliography of Doctoral Dissertations on Adults and Adult Education. By Law- rence C. Little. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 1963. 165p. $4.50. A Bibliography of Russian Literature in English Translation to 1900. By Mau- rice B. Line. London: Library Association, 1963. 74p. $3.60. Catholic Serials of the Nineteenth Century in the United States~ A Descriptive Bibli- ography and Union List. By Eugene P. Willging and Herta Hatzfe1d. Series 2, Part 6. Washington, D.C.: Catholic Uni- versity, 1963. ix 44, and 6p. $1.95. Foreign Service Directory of American Li- brarians. Edited by Mary Ann Adams. Chicago: American Library Association, International Relations Round Table, 1963. 98p. (Available from Mary Rapp, University of Illinois Library, Navy Pier, Chicago 11, Illinois.) $2. International Scientific Organizations; A Guide to Their Library, Documentation, and Information. Prepared under the di- rection of Kathrine 0. Murra. Washing- ton, D.C.; Library of Congress, 1962. 794p. $3.25. Librarianship and Publishing. Edited by Carl H. Melinat. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University School of Library Sci- ence, 1963. 36p. $1.50. Library Adult Education; The Biography of an Idea. By Margaret E. Monroe. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1963. 550p. $12.50. SEPTEMBER 1963 National Geographic Atlas of the World. James M. Darley, Chief Cartographer and Melville Bell Grosvenor, Editor-in-Chief. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 1963. 304p. 115 maps. $18.75, de- luxe edition $24.50. The London Stage 1600-1800; A Calendar of Plays, Entertainment and Afterpieces Together with Casts, Box-receipts and Contemporary Comment C ompilt!d from the Playbills, Newspapers, and Theatrical Diaries of the Period. Ed. with critical introductions by William Van Lennep, Emmett L. A very, Arthur H. Scouten, George Winchester Stone, Jr. and Charles Beecher Hogan. Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press, 1963. 3v. $75.00. Reference Sources in Agriculture; An An- notated Bibliography. By M. L. Singhvi and D. S. Shrimali. Udaipur, India: Ra- jasthan College of Agriculture, 1962. 418p. $10. Resources of Canadian University Libraries for Research in the Humanities and So- cial Sciences, Report of a Survey for the National Conference of Canadian Uni- versities and Colleges. By Edwin E. Wil- liams. Ottawa: National Conference of Canadian University and Colleges, 1962. 87p. S. Harrison Thomson Bio-Bibliography. By Lubomyr R. Wynar. (Bio-Bibliographical Series: No. 1). Colorado: University of Colorado Libraries, 1963. 32p. Serial Publications Indexed in Bibliography of Agriculture. Library List No. 75, Na- tional Agricultural Library, United States Department of Agriculture. Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agri- culture, 1963. 163p. • • 439 '