College and Research Libraries


Book Reviews / 321 

history buffs particularly—will long be in 
debt to Edward G. Holley for having re-
kindled the historic coals of the conference 
out of which came the American Library 
Association. As for the book itself, it is 
beautifully printed, admirably illustrated, 
handsomely bound—a credit to the publish-
er, the printer, and the designers. Raking 
the Historic Coals is a solid contribution to 
library history, to the literature of librarian-
ship, and, what is more, it is a real charmer. 
—John David Marshall, Middle Tennessee 
State University. 

British Public Library Buildings. By 
S. G. Berriman and K. C. Harrison. New 
York: London House and Maxwell, 1966. 
260p. $25. 

Public library architecture has long been 
debated, discussed (and cussed), and 
studied. Too often there has been more 
wind than logic; too often architectural 
whims or professional prejudices have 
dominated the scene, and the convenience 
of the user or aesthetic qualities have suf-
fered. 

As the authors have rightly pointed out 
in their monumental record of postwar 
British public library construction, public 
libraries the world over were freed from 
the ornate institutionalism found in build-
ings constructed prior to the 1940's. Un-
doubtedly two important factors influenced 
this change: one a breath of fresh air 
created by architects, working with newer 
materials and under a different economy 
thus permitting materials hitherto too ex-
pensive for public buildings; and the other, 
a completely new understanding on the 
part of librarians, not only for the functional 
operational needs of the staff, but also great-
er consideration for the interrelationship of 
uses of a public library by the public. This 
in many buildings has produced a happy 
combination in a joint understanding and 
relationship between architect and librar-
ian. A study of this volume will indicate 
the extent to which this has occurred in 
Britain. 

The book, containing an index, is divided 
into seven sections: Commentary; Municipal 
Main Libraries; County Library Headquar-
ter Buildings; Municipal Branch Libraries; 
County Branch Libraries; Tabulated Data 

of other Municipal Library Buildings; and 
Tabulated Data of other County Library 
Buildings. 

The Commentary contains a good sum-
mary of public library architectural trends 
and recommendations. It is all too short 
in proportion to the book as a whole. This 
reviewer would have appreciated more 
comments and thinking by the authors, for 
they are in a position to exert great influence 
on future public library buildings. Indeed 
it is a pity that the text was not available 
to architects and librarians before some 
of the structures illustrated were built. It 
is exciting to think that a team of architects 
in the Ministry of Education is producing 
prototype library plans for varying sizes 
of communities. These, however, should be 
subject to continual review for changes re-
quired as new services or equipment is re-
quired and there should be reasonable ac-
ceptance of the prototype plans by all con-
cerned—public, librarian, and architect. 
There is a danger also, of course, in that 
the prototype will be duplicated without 
thought as to local requirements for site 
and local services. Experimentation and 
logical evolution must not be squelched. 

The volume is well illustrated, giving in 
many instances a real dimension to the 
plans. It would have been helpful to have 
had the plans all drawn to the same scale 
and to have had tabulations of pertinent 
statistics. Some floor plans give neither 
the scale used nor the square footage. This, 
however, is a most welcome volume which 
will lead to further thinking on public 
library building problems.—Emerson Green-
away, Free Library of Philadelphia. 

Formulation of Research Policies; Col-
lected Papers from an International 
Symposium. By Lawrence W. Bass, and 
Bruce S. Olds, eds. [Washington, D.C.] 
American Association for the Advance-
ment of Science, 1967. 210p. (Publica-
tion No. 87). (67-29695). 

Research forty years ago, according to a 
colleague, was less than a respectable ac-
tivity for a young PhD in chemistry. In 
recent decades research has taken on an 
entirely different character and is, in fact, 
in Formulation of Research Policies the sub-
ject for attention of nineteen ranking offi-
cials in government and industry.