College and Research Libraries Book Reviews The Library-College: Contributions for American Higher Education at the Jamestown College Workshop, 1965. Ed. by Louis Shores, Robert Jordan, John Harvey. Philadelphia: Drexel Press, 1966. 2 8 7 p . For several years before the Jamestown College Workshop was convened in De- cember 1965, the participants had circu- lated papers and corresponded on the li- brary-college idea. They were already advo- cates of the idea when President Sillers in- vited them to think with him and members of the Jamestown faculty about the estab- lishment of a library-college for the liberal arts on that campus. Their papers, the Library-College Newsletters, and the James- town Workshop Committee Reports—Char- ter, Curriculum, Personnel, Supporting Me- dia and Architecture—are gathered in this volume. "A Genealogy of the Library-Col- lege Idea" and a chronologically arranged "Library College Bibliography" compiled by Robert Jordan round out a collection which should be of vital interest to any librarian who is concerned as an educator. The earliest paper was written in 1934 by Louis Shores and is entitled "The Library Arts College, a Possibility in 1954." He says that his "undergraduate experiences like those of many other students, convinced him he could learn much more in the li- brary reading than he could by attending most classes." Looking ahead he saw the library arts college as "merely the logical culmination of such current trends in Ameri- can education as are exemplified by honors courses, comprehensive examinations and other reforms of the last decade." And indeed, under B. Lamar Johnson as dean and librarian, Stephens College be- came a "library arts" college as early as 1938. Books were made a constant part of the student's environment, and teachers and librarians merged into a single instructional staff. "Vitalizing a College Library" and the Summary are his valuable contributions to the book. In the decade after World War II the trend described by Louis Shores and ex- emplified by Stephens College did not con- tinue. Rather, older institutions expanded in a pattern of classroom and lecture hall for larger and larger groups of students. New small colleges like the experimental ones begun in the 1930's were not de- veloped. New ground was broken by Patricia Knapp in 1956 in her paper "A Suggested Program of College Instruction in the Use of the Library" (see "The Monteith College Library Experiment," CRL, XXVII [Novem- ber 1967]). According to her, library use is one of the liberal arts and the library is the college. She states this in "The Library Organization of Resources As the Curricu- lum: a Minority Report," where she writes, "Educators maintain the curriculum should be based on the structure of the discipline. The organization of the library reflects that structure. Where better than in the Library- College can we try out the notion that there might be some merit in relating the two?" In the 1960's Robert Jordan has gathered together many librarians who feel that there is a teaching function to librarianship. He asserts that librarians have an "unique mis- sion as the guardians of general education," and calls for more courage and self-confi- dence ("The Library-College—a Proposal, 1962"). If there was a neglected topic of discus- sion at Jamestown, it was, perhaps, the "Training and Orientation" of librarians. John Harvey's paper suggests that superior colleges, presumably ones where independ- ent study takes place, are the best place to recruit a library-college faculty; Dan Sillers' report on personnel calls for a faculty of bibliographical experts. For our own train- ing and orientation we librarians need a library-college.—Charlotte Fletcher, St. John's College. A Critical Survey of University Libraries and Librarianship in Great Britain. By Harrison Bryan. Adelaide: Libraries Board of S. Australia, 1966. iii, 255p. $2. Although it bears a 1966 imprint date, this Critical Survey was presented for the Diploma of the Library Association of Aus- / 157 158 / College b- Research Libraries • March 1968 tralia in 1959 and is actually based on visits made in 1957/58 which were in turn pre- ceded by a questionnaire. The University Grants Committee returns of 1955/56 were used as the source of certain factual data. The work is thus a description of universi- ty libraries in Great Britain as they were ten or twelve years ago. It antedates the "new universities," the great increase in university enrollment, and a rather con- siderable amount of new contruction of li- brary buildings at universities. At first sight one might think of it as a companion vol- ume to the Parry Report (U.G.C. Report of the Committee on Libraries. 1967) or as bearing some relation to the Shackleton Report (Oxford University. Report of the Committee on University Libraries. 1966). Except in most general terms, this is not the case. After describing the purpose of his study and noting some of the disparities between British and Australian universities, Bryan appraises the place of the library in the university in Great Britain. In a series of chapters he undertakes to present a generalized account of university libraries in terms of finance, book stock, buildings, staff, library routine, services, and decentraliza- tion. Bryan considers the financial support "not ungenerous," the ingenuity displayed in adapting ill-designed buildings to serve library purposes commendable, and the lack of attention to subject cataloging deplorable. He notes some of the peculiarities of circu- lation systems and of cataloging procedures and records that are still in use. In his treatment of acquisitions and cata- loging, Bryan underscores the duplication of records and of staff effort that is fre- quently found because the work is not organized systematically with forms and information passed on from one office or department to another. He describes in some detail the various types of catalogs maintained and notes the lack of use of the B.N.B. printed card service. One might have expected that Bryan would be even more critical than he is on this point because of the potential economy and promptness of service that use of the service would make possible. Although there are undoubt- edly some exceptions and although there have been discussions of library automa- tion, it would appear that the situation has undergone few changes in the years that have passed since Bryan's visit. The second part of the book is devoted to descriptions of each of the university libraries emphasizing special features, nota- ble strengths and regrettable weaknesses as appropriate. Reduced floor plans of many of the libraries visited are included and there is a bibliography of over four hun- dred items. The book is marked by many typographical errors which even casual proofreading should have eliminated. The Survey was undoubtedly informative for Mr. Bryan, as it will be to those of his readers who have not had an opportunity to visit these libraries. But changes have oc- curred since Bryan's survey. Whether its publication may lead to further improve- ments remains to be seen. Apparently, Mr. Bryan had some experiences in the course of his visits which he found trying and which are unfortunately reflected in some of his remarks.—Stephen A. McCarthy, As- sociation of Research Libraries. Cleaning and Preserving Bindings and Related Materials. By Carolyn Horton. Chicago: (ALA, 1967). (Library Tech- nology Program Publications No. 12) 76 p. The Library Technology Program of ALA starts a new series—Conservation of Library Materials—with a pamphlet written by Mrs. Carolyn Horton, illustrated by Aldren A. Watson, and devoted to the tech- niques of cleaning and preserving bindings and related materials. A clear style and simple illustrations are so expertly combined that any librarian or book collector who isn't all thumbs can do everything described in this pamphlet— and everything that needs to be done is described. This is a practical, elementary manual which presupposes no previous training or experience, and yet even people who think they know a thing or two about preservation will find here such a skillful concentration of professional advice that something new is bound to be added to their knowledge. The pamphlet is divided into three sec- tions: preparing to recondition a library;