College and Research Libraries 4081 College & Research Libraries • September, 1966 been included-plus three essays espe- cially prepared for this publication. The contributors are political and social scien- tists, economists, educators, communica- tions experts, and librarians. The volume is organized to show a con- cern £rst with some of the people who use public libraries as well as those who do not use them; then with libraries them- selves; and £nally with trends in urban politics, government, and £seal policies affecting libraries. Much of what is discussed here has a familiar ring: the effect on the library of the growing student population, the in- creasing number of older people, the move- ment (except for ethnic minorities) to the suburbs, the ineffectiveness of the library in reaching the lower half of the working class, and difficulties arising from the li- brary's effort to be all things to all people, to name a few. The most provocative contributions are those of the social scientists. Howard S. Becker, for example, contributes brilliantly to our understanding of the difference be- tween college and noncollege youth but doubts that the public library is equipped to deal with the problems of the latter. Charles M. Tiebout and Robert J. Willis examine the question of public support for libraries and conclude that, although fed- eral, state, and local governments have a responsibility, the individual library user has not paid his full share. Edward C. Ban- Held, in the same vein, takes a very hard look indeed at the raison d' etre of the pub- lic library and £nds that it has ceased to serve its original purpose and has not ac- quired a new purpose that it can justify. Ban£eld believes the public library should be concerned with the serious reader only and suggests that it offer services which, taken together, more closely resemble spe- ciallibrarianship than what is normally con- ceived of as public librarianship or even present-day research librarianship: provision of cubicles, maintenance of up-to-date, an- notated bibliographies, "personal" librarians who would take telephone "orders," arrange home deliveries and pickups, and offer assistance in £nding books for readers to buy, as well as tutorial service in specialized subject areas. And Richard Meier thinks that the routine and high-volume demands for information will in the future be pro- vided by regional data banks and docu- mentation centers, leaving it to the library to serve the needs of adult education and scholarship by making available materials that cannot be stored and retrieved con- veniently by mechanical means. The whole spectrum of the urban library problem is considered here. The need for further exploration is indicated by the in- clusion of a chapter called "Some Research Questions." Nevertheless these essays, to- gether with the annotated bibliography which accompanies them, will serve as a useful guide and point of departure for librarians and others concerned with public library service in metropolitan areas.-]ames W. Henderson, The New York Public Li- brary. The Superior Student in American High- er Education. Ed. by Joseph W. Cohen. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1966. xvi, 299p. $7.95 (65-27675). "The Honors System . . . at its worst . . . is an educational experiment wqrthy of ob- jective, scientific attention." This, rather than merely "the superior student" is the focus of this volume which, briefly, traces the history of the honors movement in America; spells out some of the charac- teristics and needs of the superior student (and inadvertently exposes the precious- ness of some of them) that lead to the de- velopment of honors programs; gives case studies of honors work in such differing academic milieus as liberal arts colleges, private and state universities, and secondary schools; and treats of the differing objectives and methods of departmental and college honors. Few have been so long and so close- ly connected with the honors movement or done so much to forward it as the editor and principal contributor. His collaborators are equally well qualified. The honors movement in the United States began early in this century but did not gain real impetus until Aydelotte es- tablished his well known program at Swarthmore, and John Dewey laid empha- sis on experimentation in education-both in the 1920's. A slow but steady growth eventually led to the founding of the Inter- University Committee on the Superior Stu- dent. The trebling of the number of honors programs between its founding in 1957 and its formal termination in 1965 gives some measure of its importance. The editor makes two essential points about an honors program: First, that "a beginning must be made" even though lack- ing assurance of adequate support and with planning that is less than perfect; and, second, that an honors program "must always be something dynamic, something vital, something unstereotyped." (An ap- pendix to the third chapter lists "The six- teen major features of a full honors pro- gram-an admirable checklist for those en- gaged in or planning honors work.) There is abundant evidence in the following chap- ters that these principles are frequently ig- nored: too often programs are postponed awaiting ideal circumstances; or, once set in motion, they become, tragically often, dull, routine, sterile. An honors program needs superior teachers as well as superior students. A chapter of particular interest and sig- nificance is that on "Honors and the Sci- ences," in which the difficulties of honors work in science is explored in depth; and there are indeed problems. Nevertheless, a few science honors programs have been de- veloped, although they are most frequently departmental programs involving under- graduate research than all-college programs for the nonscientist. " ... some public un- derstanding of scientific doctrine is impera- tive. In their own self-interest, if not for less selfish motives, scientists must engender sympathetic reception of their proposals. What better audience could be asked than a group of honors students?" The objectivity of the contributions is noteworthy throughout, and nowhere more than in the chapter on the evaluation of honors programs, in which are summarized critical studies of honors, the place of the honors student in the mind of his peers, his later achievement, and so forth. In all, this represents a useful and valuable con- tribution to the literature on one of the more interesting and productive aspects of American higher education. If the librarian wishes some enlighten- ment of the place of the library in honors work, he will have to look elsewhere. There is literally no mention of libraries in the book! Where, one wonders, lies the fault? Book Reviews I 409 Is the library of no significance in honors work? Does it make no contribution? Per- haps its usefulness is so accepted that it needs no mention? Or perhaps those con- cerned with honors have not exploited the library? 'Tis a puzzlement!-John M. Daw- son, University of Delaware. Library Publications. By William R. Hol- man. San Francisco: Roger Beacham, 1965. viii, 67p. + pocket with inserts. $28.50 + $16.50 ( 65-28969). This sumptuous volume, in the tradition of Adrian Wilson's Printing for Theater, is a valuable addition to the notable list of beautiful books produced by fine printers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Composed in Monotype Van Dijck, with Bruce Rogers' Centaur for display, printed on Curtis rag paper, hand-bound with hand-marbled pa- per over boards, the book has numerous examples of announcements and leaflets tipped in by hand as illustrations. It was designed by Barbara Holman, who also did the hand-marbling of the cover papers, and printed by Graham Mackintosh. Library Publications contains many val- uable suggestions for anyone responsible for the format of library announcements, book- lists, etc. Its chapters are titled: Approach to Printing, Simplicity in Design, Planning is Essential, Personality of Type, Paper is Persuasive, The Printing Process, and Print- ing on a Budget. These chapters are filled with advice on paper, type faces, choice of size of stock, color, illustrations, and methods of printing. Available only from the publisher ( 406 Pacheco, San Francisco, Calif. 94116), li- braries may list the two parts separately on the order, but both must be included. The volume is recommended for all collections of fine printing. Mr. Holman's purpose was to "foster a renewal of interest in printing, especially, in printing for the library." Further, he believes that "The book should prove of special value to the medium and small li- braries-public, college, and school-who do not have the services of a graphic artist." But there is a difficulty here, as is indicated by the suggested device of separating the prices of the book and the inserts. What small- or medium-sized library budget can stand $45 for a "a practical 'how-to' book"?