College and Research Libraries literature dealing with phonorecord libraries, however, this book is probably a valid in- vestment. It is unfortunate that such. .a mass of material is currently nonexistent. For academic libraries, especially those out- side Great Britain, its value as a guide to future record libraries and librarians may be justly contested.-Christopher Barnes, Cor- nell University. The Uses of the University. By Clark Kerr. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1963. 140p. $2.95. (63-20770). In the 1963 Godkin lectures at Harvard, President Kerr of the University of Cali- fornia described the many changes that have occurred in universities of the United States during the past twenty years or so. All of us have known that universities have grown larger. We have known that great sums of money have poured in to support research and teaching projects of all sorts, large and small. Many of us have not fully realized, however, that the changes have been so extensive as to produce almost a new institution whose activities are so varied that new names are required for it. Kerr uses "federal grant university" as one term, but his most distinctive name is "the multi- versity." This complex and sprawling or- ganization, he says, has no· single animating purpose and is often . serving divergent or even conflicting aims, but it has developed out of historical necessity. "It is an impera- tive rather than a reasoned choice among elegant alternatives." The demand that has called forth the multiversity is, Kerr says, the increasingly crucial need for knowledge in our society. Academic institutions as the keystone of the "knowledge industry" have been re- quired and will be required to respond to society's urgent demands for information and for expert capabilities. Kerr's book is interesting, informative, and provocative. Every reader will see in it the implications that most affect him. This reviewer was particularly concerned by Kerr's tendency to acquiesce and even to see merit in col}fusion and lack of plan. He mistrusts :Grand Designs. He prefers con- fusion ~ 'for _ the sake of the preservation of the whole uneasy balance" of an academic institution. He de~crjpes the university pres- ident as a mediator playing off power groups against each other, not as a leader wielding power to accomplish his own objectives. He thinks federal grants are more wisely award- ed on the basis of "intuitive imbalance" than on the basic of "bureaucratic balance." Although he expresses some of his opinions in a bantering way and none without ex- plicit or implied reservation, he seems to underestimate both the capacity of a uni- versity to control its own destiny and the dangers of failing to do so. No element of the university is more di- rectly or adversely affected by failures in institutional planning and direction than the library. In Germany, as Danton has recently reminded us, the professors, provided with ample funds under their sole control, cre- ated institute libraries that largely duplicate and supersede the university libraries. The government and foundation grants of recent years raise the possibility, for the first time on a large scale in the United States, that professors, having funds at their disposal outside the customary institutional channels, may now set up similar rivals to the univer- sity libraries. Academic librarians must be prepared to act and react wisely, creating new services where they are justified and resisting forcefully and persuasively where they are not. One of the significant develop- ments of the next few years will be the in- tensification of the trend toward new li- brary facilities arranged, not on a tradi- tional subject basis but on a project basis, whether that be a geographical area of the world, an uncommon language, or a new scientific application. In order to plan and to act wisely, librarians will need to be well informed about recent and future trends. Kerr's book is ~n excellent beginning step. No one with any concern for higher edu- cation can afford to miss this book; anyone who reads it will profit.-W. L. Williamson, Columbia University. Protecting the Library and Its Resources. ALA Library Technology Project. (L TP Publications, No. 7.) Chicago: ALA, 1963. XV, 322p. $6. (63-19683). This excellent report of . a study under- taken by the Library Technology Project has been well publicized, widely distributed, and so generously reviewed elsewhere that 232 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES ,. it is not necessary to summarize the con- tents. The present reviewers seek only to emphasize significant features in the two sections of the book, the first on physical protection, and the second on insurance. The responsibility for the prevention and detection of fire rests with the chief library officer. He can delegate, of course, but he remains finally accountable. He can make recommendations to his governing board, seek its authorization, ~r otherwise pretend that it assumes final responsibility, but, when the fire is out, he will find himself still ac- countable. Best, therefore, that he read this report carefully whether his building is old or new. He will then understand why he should secure expert advice on the preven- tion of fire occasioned by mechanical or electrical failure; why he must maintain good housekeeping practices; and, why he must define staff responsibility and verify, by test or drill, that it is understood and ac- cepted. He will learn that he should ac- quaint his local firefighters with his building and its equipment. Librarians who are planning new build- ings will be derelict if they fail to read and heed. The wide open, or modular, building presents a problem that requires the pro- fessional attention . of a fire protection en- gineer. The report gives practical advice on the fusing of ballasts in tube lighting, on the choice of acoustical ceiling tile, and other important, sometimes neglected, de- tails. The extent of library loss by fire is con- siderable, despite the relative infrequency of major disaster. In fifty years, fifty-seven college and university libraries had fires with reported losses of $2,700,000. If the average holds, some ACRL member ·will be · reporting a $50,000 loss in 1964. The purpose of the section on insurance is to make the librarian "aware of general insurance practices so that he may deal effectively with representatives of the in- surance industry and . . . familiar with some of the unusual problems he might be required to face." Following a recapitula- tion of day-to-day responsibilities for safe- ty and the development of an accident pre- vention checklist, risks and coverages are discussed and the new Model Policy pre- sented. Traditionally, librarians have considered MAY1964 that tax-supported liQraries, as local govern- ment agencies, are self-insured, and that such libraries incur no liability as a result of accidents · unless the library administra- tion has been negligent. A careful reading of the chapter "Liability Insurance" will not prove or disprove this theory, but it should cause the librarian to consult legal counsel for clarification of the applicable laws on public liability limits. With such counsel the librarian will be more able to understand the library's and his personal liability for such actions as violation of copyright by photocopying, accidents in- volving staff members using personal auto- mobiles to perform library duties, accidents involving minors employed in violation of workmen's compensation laws, etc. In order to understand the effects of co- insurance, use of actual cash value rather than replacement cost value, improper eval- uation of insurable risks, the librarian should consult an insurance counselor. An insurance counselor will require time to study and evaluate the Model Policy since he will be less familiar with its coverage than those of the Public and Institutional Property Policy and the Fine Arts and Val- uable Papers Policy which have been pur- chased by many of the more progressive libraries. The statement that library buildings are insurable on the same basis as other struc- tures but that the content and liability cov- erages are quite different is correct; how- ever, the suggestion (p. 153) that most libraries can be categorized as charitable, nonprofit organizations is questionable. Tax- supported libraries are usually agencies of local or state government. This book is recommended for all stu- dents and teachers of library administra- tion. It is the essential handbook for those who are responsible for the library's house- keeping and insurance programs.-Robert A. Miller and N~vin W. Raber, Indiana University. The President, the Professor and the Col- lege Library. By Guy Lyle. New .York: H. W. Wilson Co., 1963. 88pp. $2.50. (63-9749). . Since librarians are inclined often to seek facts from one another but seldom wisdom, the library essay-a brief disquisition on 233