College and Research Libraries


ties in this volume are the following: publi-
cations are too numerous, and many are of 
such minimal value that stockpiling can-
not be justified; lack of satisfactory micro-
text reading devices for individual owner-
ship and use; inadequacy and cost of bibli-
ographic information; deteriorating paper; 
delays in cataloging; high costs in terms of 
time, money, and frustration of borrowing 
from other libraries. He then outlines twen-
ty-one programs of research which he be-
lieves will provide solutions to most of these 
current research library problems. Grants 
from the Council on Library Resources and 
financial assistance from other sources have 
already brought more than half of these 
problems under study. Many of the facili-
ties that will be needed are already available 
in developmental stages: telefacsimile trans-
mission, computer indexing, high ratio-re-
duction photography, improved individual 
microtext reading devices, specialized in-
formation centers, and computer controlled 
typesetting systems. 

. The Future of the Research Library ap-
pnses us of the progress already made 
against problems that plague research li-
braries and becomes a useful guide for 
future library research. It does not predict 
the early obsolescence of books, but it pro-
poses a reasonable course that makes maxi-
mum use of all devices, gadgets, and ideas 
that have possible implication for the ac-
quisition, storage, and retrieval of knowl-
edge. It gives comfort and hope to librarian-
ship and the scholarly world and places all 
of us more in Verner Clapp's debt for 
imaginative leadership at a critical period 
in library history.-Benjamin E. Powell, 
Duke University. 

Scientific and Technical Libraries; Their 
Organization and Administration. By 
Lucille J. Strauss, Irene M. Strieby and 
Alberta L. Brown. (Library Science and 
Documentation, vol. 4) New York: In-
terscience, 1964. 398p. $8.50. (64-15421). 

This is an extensive revision of the book 
Technical Libraries: Their Organization and 
Management, published in 1951, which was 
edited by the senior author of the present 
work. There is considerable similarity in 
the organization of the chapters, but the 
content has been brought up to date. Even 

parts which are quite similar to the previous 
text (because no basic change was needed) 
have been rewritten in a more readable 
style. Attention has been directed to the 
many changes in nomenclature, techniques, 
services, and functions which have taken 
place in science and technical libraries in 
the last fifteen years. 

As an example of the differences between 
the editions, the reviewer examined the 
chapter dealing with the filing and indexing 
of nonbook materials (called "miscellane-
ous" in the 1951 edition). The earlier edi-
tion has nine pages of text and thirty-two 
citations. The new edition has twenty-seven 
pages of text and eighty-seven citations. 
Only seventeen of the citations are dated 
prior to 1950, and many recent references 
through 1963 are included. Ten pages of 
material on "nonconventional indexing for 
information retrieval" are included in the 
new edition, and there are some details on 
technical reports, which were not men-
tioned in the earlier edition . 

Writing about special libraries is difficult 
because of the wide range of subjects, size 
of staffs, diversity of functions, and other 
dissimilar factors. Librarians operating small 
libraries may find adequate details for their 
limited needs, whereas librarians of rather 
large libraries will consider some of the 
coverage rather skimpy. One book cannot 
satisfy all needs or all points of view. These 
authors are to be commended for undertak-
ing this compilation, which must fall short 
of an encyclopedic treatment and yet in-
clude · enough substance to satisfy most of its 
intended audience. 

The Preface indicates that this book, 
within the over-all concept of "an introduc-
tion to the organizational procedures and 
essential functions," is directed toward four 
specific objectives: ( 1) to meet require-
ments of practicing librarians in the fields 
covered; (2) to be a source of operational 
and bibliographical information for new 
members of the profession; ( 3) to serve as 
a text for library school students and others 
whose interests are in the literature of the 
physical and life sciences; ( 4) to present an 
over-all perspective to the management of 
an organization as to what is involved in 
the establishment of a library. All of these 
objectives seem to be met to some extent 

438 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



within the intended framework. Profession-
al terminology has been kept within the 
range of understanding by nonprofessional 
interested readers, or has been explained, 
when necessary. 

The extensive references and suggestions 
for additional sources of information are in-
dicative of the wealth of information avail-
able to practicing special librarians who 
need to go beyond the scope of this compila-
tion. The authors have deliberately and 
wisely refrained from going into minute de-
tail about machine systems or the advanced 
area of information storage and retrieval, 
which by now, require separate books. A 
brief overview, with bibliographical refer-
ences and addressing of leading manufactur-
ers, is adequate for the purposes of this 
manual. 

New members of the profession or those 
for whom work in a science-technical li-
brary is a new experience will welcome the 
insight into this specialized library field. 

It is suitable as a text for library school 
students studying science libraries. It can 
serve as a supplementary text for those 
studying the bibliography of the sciences, 
since in addition to the many references 
throughout the text, the Appendix (p. 305-
388) includes a well selected list of basic 
reference publications and bibliographies 
for a number of specific subject fields. 

This book should provide a better per-
spective for management of the complexity 
of special library organization and services 
and the possibilities of real assistance to the 
promotion of company objectives which can 
be developed through a well run library. 

There are, nonetheless, categories of in-
terested librarians for whom this manual 
will not provide all the necessary and useful 
information. One group consists of academic 
librarians such as those in branch libraries 

in science .and engineering in university li-
braries. These have important problems re-
lating to their operation with regard to the 
university library as a whole; with parts of 
the system which may supply some of their 
needs (centralized acquisition, for example) ; 
with the faculties and/ or faculty library 
committees; and similar problems differing 
from those in industrial company libraries. 
Another category of librarians who will 
look in vain for special information of value 
to them are those in military I naval scien-
tific libraries. For example, no mention was 
found of the multiple problems involved 
with classified reports, governmental pro-
cedures, etc. 

There are also shortcomings in the in-
dexes. The Author Index appears to refer 
only to the places in the text where the 
author is mentioned. The bibliographic in-
formation must then be found in the "bib-
liography" sections at the end of the chap-
ters. But no reference is made in the Index 
to the many equally useful citations in the 
"supplementary references" appended to 
each chapter. Nor are references included 
in the Author Index which have corporate 
author or title entries. None of the refer-
ences in the long Appendix are cited in the 
Author Index. 

The Subject Index contains some defi-
ciencies. There are no cross references. In-
formation about reference books is listed 
under "basic reference publications." Ma-
terial on serials is included under "periodi-
cals." Machine systems are entered under 
"information retrieval syst~ms." Abstract 
bulletins issued for library users are listed 
under "library bulletins." There are some 
errors in alphabetical sequence. "Interlibrary 
loan" is entered before "insurance"; "mime-
ograph" is entered after "minicard."-Jo-
hanna E. Tallman, UCLA. 

Books Briefly Noted 
Bibliography of Use Studies. By Richard A. 

Davis and Catherine A. Bailey. Philadel-
phia: Drexel Institute of Technology, 
Graduate School of Library Science, 
1964. (Graduate School of Library Sci-
ence, Project No. 195). lOOp. $1.50. 

SEPTEMBER 1964 

Catholic Subject Headings. A List Designed 
for Use with Library of Congress Subject 
Headings or the Sears List of Subject 
Headings. Ed. by Oliver L. Kapsner, 
O.S.B. 5th ed. Collegeville, Minn.: St. 
John's Abbey Press, 1963. 

439