College and Research Libraries BOOK REVIEWS Automation in Libraries. By Richard T. Kimber. (International Series of Mono- graphs in Library and Information Science, volume 10) Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1968. 148p. $6.00 (68-57416). This slim volume concentrates on the ap- plication of computer technology to library housekeeping operations. When the admin- istrator of a library decides to automate routine operations, he usually needs three distinct types of information. First, he needs a check-list of questions about pol- icy, systems objectives, cost limitations, staff needs, and ways of estimating the time re- quired to automate the various phases of implementation. Second, he needs to know about systems operating in comparable in- stihitions, particularly how unforeseen problems were solved. Third, he must know the availability and limitations of appropriate hardware and software of sev- eral manufacturers; modifications, delivery times, costs, manufacturer's support of system design implementation, and how up- graded equipment can be integrated into his operating system. The first type of information noted above is partly met by this book; the second type is also discussed but in the context of gen- eral housekeeping systems. In his introduc- tion about the why of library automation, the author states that the book is primarily for people who have "no knowledge of computing." He yields his second chapter to Anne H. Boyd, Lecturer in Computation from the Queen's University of Belfast. In a description of what computers do, how programs are written, and how a comput- ing center may relate to a library, Boyd seems to create more confusion than is necessary. Boyd's description, for instance, of the binary number system is not clear to someone who knows "nothing about computing." In another instance, the read- er's knowledge of scientific numerical no- tation is assumed . Other notations, which form the everyday vocabulary of the com- Recent Publications puter scientist (log n, n+ 1 and "bucket") 2 are incomprehensible to most librarians. It is a difficult task indeed to translate the specifics of computer operations to a lay audience meaningfully in seventeen pages. A good part of this chapter might be val- uable to library programmers who have no experience in the computer processing of text. After two chapters of general orienta- tion, the automation of normal housekeep- ing functim)s of most libraries are discussed, and general processing steps are block di- agrammed. These functions include order- ing and acquisitions, circulation control, periodicals listing, and accessioning. The concluding two chapters deal with auto- mating book catalogs, including the print- ing of accessions lists. The final chapter is a concise amalgam of current automation projects in libraries in the United Kingdom and the United States, with a brief note about possible future developments. All but two of . the ninety-nine references in this book occur in the last chapter. There are a few instances of outdated information, but in a field as dynamic as library automation this condition is to be expected in a relatively slow publication cycle . The author brings to his American readers tantalizing descriptions of some outstanding automation activities in the United Kingdom and on the Continent in addition to those in the United States. A topical sample of Kimber's comments runs as follows. Economics: "As with all computer applications, there is a certain minimum scale of operations below which computer utilization is not economic ." ( p. 52) He does not attack the economic prob- lem or explain how an optimum scale of operations is determined. Searching: he cautions the reader that subject searching by computer, using available data bases, may not be effective. Computing centers: he warns that when local computers are used which are not part of the library, that the overall policy of the computing /273 274 I College & Research Libraries • May 1969 center with which the library must deal affects the stability of the computerized li- brary system subservient to that policy. Users: in his conclusion the author writes, "To design on-line computer systems which perform limited file-searching func- tions may be to miss the real needs of most library users." (p. 132) In some cases more rather than less user inconvenience results from an automated system. Often the elegance of the system design seems more important than the people problems associated with accommodating the needs of the library staff and library users. If these needs are not met, redundant and secret personal systems evolve, causing a peculiar kind of subversion of the new system. Efficiency: in an automated sys- tem, a library should become more efficient as work load increases. As users of com- puting power, small and medium size li- braries may become dependent upon large ones in cooperative arrangements. Docu- mentation: in writing about poor library automation, "The lack of such a literature about failures is keenly felt, especially in the present context." ( p. 118) Many travel dollars and expensive staff time have. been wasted in system circuit-riding based upon the reports of over-enthusiastic authors. Although the book is inadequate in its coverage of microform systems in library automation, it is a refreshing overview which may have more value to librarians and computer people who have been close to the complexity of their pet systems so long that the long view has become lost in the press of day-to-day decisions.-Ron Miller, Five Associated University Li- braries. Librarians hip in Canada, 1946 to 1967; Es· says in Honour of Elizabeth Homer Morton (Le Bibliothecariat au Canada de 1946 a 1967). Ed. by Bruce Peel. Victoria: Canadian Library Association- Association Canadienne de Bibliotheques, 1968. 205 p. (68-143854). Elizabeth Morton is truly a "notable" among Canadian librarians, and the proof thereof is the appearance of the present volume. Librarianship in Canada, 1946 to 1967 is subtitled "Essays in Honour of Eliz- abeth Homer Morton" and is in fact a Festschrift issued on the occasion of her recent retirement from the position of ex- ecutive director of the Canadian Library As- sociation-Association Canadienne des Bib- liotheques. The honor was richly deserved. Miss Morton was not only the first executive director of the C.L.A. / A.C.B. but also for twenty-one years its soul, its cement, and its visible presence. (Figures of speech come easily to mind when referring to her.) Small wonder, then, that a considerable portion of this book is taken up with trib- utes to Miss Morton herself. If the hom- mages (the French word in this case real- ly puts it best) are sometimes a little flowery, well, that's quite understandable and forgivable. The rest of the book consists of essays on a variety of subjects but having in com- mon the aim of attempting to review Ca- nadian library development in the gener- ation after World War II. There are twen- ty of these essays in all: four deal with the C.L.A./ A.C.B. itself, four with munici- pal and regional libraries, two with uni- versity libraries, two with special libraries, two with services for children and young people, three with bibliography and pub- lishing, two with personnel and library ed- ucation. The last essay-"A Cautionary Tale" by Robert Blackburn-is quite sui generis. The contributors are all leading figures in Canadian librarianship and, as might be expected, they write well. They also, as might not be expected from a Festschrift, write to the point. One of the great draw- backs of most Festschrifts is that the con- tributors, pressed for something to offer up, seem usually to have pulled their pa- pers out of some desk drawer where they have lain since being rejected for publica- tion elsewhere. Festschrift essays tend to be stale and dull, and the only connection which most have with each other is that their authors have at some time been as- sociated with the person being honored. Librarianship in Canada, 1946 to 1967 es- capes such occupational hazards of Festschrift publication. The papers are up to date, specifically written for this vol- ume, and together add up . to a most useful