College and Research Libraries tries is provided, as well as a folding map locating the libraries enumerated. What strikes the browser in this valuable compilation is the small size of most of the collections. Obviously the traditional Ger- man system of having numerous small insti- tute and departmental libraries still prevails today.-Estelle Brodman , Washington Uni- versity School of Medicine. Directory of Special Libraries and Informa- tion Centers. Edited by Anthony T. Kru- zas . Detroit: Gale Research Company, 1963. 767p. $25.00. The current emphasis on research and the information explosion which necessitates specialization in almost every field make a knowledge of the location of specialized ma- terials imperative. This volume is an impor- tant contribution to this knowledge. Special libraries and information centers as defined in the introduction are collections that exist to meet the needs of a specialized clientele by providing them with the latest accurate information regardless of where and in what form it may be available. Hence the collec- tion in a special library or information cen- ter may consist of published or unpublished material of many types, may contain no books, and is often organized and admin- istered by unconventional methods. This di- rectory lists and gives information about more than ten thousand such collections located in colleges and universities, public libraries, business and industrial firms, gov- ernment agencies and departments, non- profit institutions, associations, and societies, autonomous libraries, and private collec- tions. The format of the directory is similar to that of the Encyclopedia of Associations is- sued by the same publisher. Entries in a double column to the page are alphabetical by name of the organization or library with separate alphabetical lists for the United States and Canada. All libraries associated with an organization are grouped under the official name of the organization and the major governmental libraries under the United States and Canada, with cross ref- erences for libraries with more than one sponsor. Information given for each library includes the following items, whenever ob- tainable: name of the sponsoring or support- ing organization; name of the library or in- formation center; designation of the library's major subject category; address and tele- phone number; name of the person directly in charge ; founding date; size of professional and nonprofessional staff; important sub- jects represented in the collection; special or unique collections; size of holdings; serv- ices available to the public; publications regularly issued by the library ; names and titles of professional and supervisory staff members. Nine appendixes assist further in the lo- cation of specialized information by listing the U.S . Information Agency libraries, the United States regional libraries for the blind, the United States government depository li- braries, the U.S. Army Map Service deposi- tory libraries, the libraries with United States patent files, the United States regional tech- nical report centers, the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission depository libraries, libraries in the United States and Canada receiving United Nations material, and libraries of the United Nations specialized agencies. A subject index, with reference by page number and item location on the page, re- fers to each collection which contains ma- terial on the subject listed. Although the system for indicating location of the libraries on any given page is cumbersome and time consuming, it is possible through the index to locate the collections dealing not only with the major fields of interest but also with many unusual topics. For instance, we find that there are in the American Christ- mas Crib Society library five hundred books, three hundred manuscripts, five thousand magazines, five thousand letters and clip- pings, six hundred and fifty slides, and ten thousand photographs dealing with Christ- mas alone; that the library of the United Federation of Doll Clubs contains nothing but material on the history, materials, trade- marks, etc. of dolls; that there are, among other things, five hundred thousand aban- doned patent applications in the scientific library of the U. S. Patent Office; that the American Museum of Comedy library and research center contains one million jokes and cartoons as well as books; and that the library of Rescue, Inc. is made up of 1105 books and 380 bound periodicals dealing with suicide, murder, and mental illness. For librarians one of the most useful fea- 528 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES tures of the directory is the indication of availability of the material listed. When the library which contains the material needed has been located through the subject index, it is possible in most instances to determine immediately whether or not the material is available through interlibrary loan, dupli· cation, or personal consultation. The directory is a storehouse of informa- tion on a vast amount of research material not generally listed in the standard bibli- ographies. It will be interesting to note its effect on bringing the researcher and the material together.-Clara Ma e Broll!nJ ]oint Un iversity Libraries. • • Books Briefly Noted The Beginnings of Libraries. By Ernest Cushing Richardson. Hamden, Conn .: Archon Books, 1963. 185p. $5.50. Biblical Libraries} A Sketch of L ibrary His- tory from 3400 B.C. to A.D. 150. By Ernest Cushing Richardson. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books, 1963. 268p. $7 .50. OTTO HARRASSOWITZ Library Agency WIESBADEN • GERMANY Direct service on all German language books and periodicals • Orders and inquiries are invited on both new and out-of-print material • Farmington Plan agent for West and East Germany • For economy} speed, and accuracy you may rely upon your German agent OTTO HARRASSOWITZ Guide to Reference Books} Seventh Edition, Fourth Supplement, 1959- June 1962. By Constance M. Winchell. Chicago: ALA, 1963. 154p. $3.75. Historical Fiction Guide. By Daniel D. Mc- Garry and Sarah Harriman White. New York: Scarecrow Press, 1963. 628p. $ 15. A Lexicon of the Homeric Dialect. By Rich- ard John Cunliffe. Norman, Okla.: Uni- versity of Oklahoma Press, 1963. 450p. $9.95. L ibrary Personnel Administration and Su- pervision. By Kenneth R. Shaffer. Ham- den, Conn.: Shoe String Press, 1963. 226p. $6. A List of Geographical Atlases in th e Li- brary of Congress} with Bibliographical Not es} Vol. 6. Compiled by Clara Egli LeGear. Washington , D.C.: Library of Congress, 1963. 681 p. $5.25. Union List of Russian Scientific and Tech - nical Periodicals Available in European Libraries. Vol. I , The N etherlands. By W. C. Smit and others. Amsterdam: The - Netherlands University Press, 1963. 478p. $27.50. •• EVERY LIBRARY should have at least one Large Reference Globe 24" diameter 75" circumference Cosmopolite Navigator New 1962 Revised Edition • Four times the surface area of a 12" globe • Scale 333 miles to the inch • Over 4 700 names • Physical-Political coloring • Shows warm and cold ocean currents • National and state boundaries in purple Write for beautiful colored brochure G6J, with descriptive information and prices. Persuade a patron to make a gift! DENOYER-GEPPERT COMPANY Maps • Globes • Charts • Atlases • Pictures 5235 Ravenswood Ave., Chicago 40