College and Research Libraries 488 I College & Research Libraries • November 1971 graphic Guide. Pat M. Ryan. Brockport, N.Y. : Drake Memorial Library, 1969. 48p. $1.00. Afro-Americana: A Comprehensive Bib- liography of Resource Materials in the Ohio State University Libraries by or About Black Americans. Mary Dawson Walters, comp. Columbus, Ohio: Office of Educational Services, The Ohio State University Libraries, 1969. 220p. Good recommendations for improved bibliographic control of resources on the black experience have come out of many of the black studies workshops recently held. Despite these suggested guidelines, a flood of bibliographies have appeared whose usefulness and value are difficult to ascertain. The two works reviewed here do not belong to that category; they are con- tributions in some measure to the biblio- graphical literature necessary for the stu- dent of black studies. Black Writing in the U.S.A. unfortunate- ly was not published in its entirety due to a curtailment in funds. From what this re- viewer could glean from the compiler's terse preface, a comprehensive bibliography of black writing-including citations to works by individual authors-was originally planned. Had the compiler been able to complete the task as initially planned, the work would have been an invaluable re- source for scholars, librarians, and other persons interested in black studies. Included in the compilation are four sec- tions: archives, bibliography and reference, periodicals, and collections. The first section contains brief descriptions of selected col- lections of materials on the Negro. Cita- tions to sources of more detailed informa- tion on the various archives are a useful feature. The bibliography and reference section includes citations to monographs and bibli- ographies in books and periodicals. Some publishers' lists and libra1y lists also appear. There are no annotations. The list of periodicals, which includes several titles not widely known, could be improved by expanding the bibliographic data presented. The final section, a com- pilation of collections, is useful as a list and fairly complete. Critical annotations would have been particularly helpful to acquisi- tions librarians for selection purposes. This is an invalid criticism, however, if the au- thor's purpose is merely to list sources. This writer hopes that Ryan will be able to publish another edition with the omitted sections on general background and indi- vidual authors. A preface detailing the scope of the work, intended audience, and criteria for selection will be essential. Some of the bibliographic inaccuracies must also be corrected; for example, the Review of Race and Culture listed as an Atlanta Uni- versity p eriodical is actually the subtitle for Phylon. Afm-Americana is a comprehensive (over 3,000 citations) guide to the collection on the Negro in the Ohio State University Li- braries. It is arranged by main entry within some twenty-five subject areas. An author and personal name index as well as a title index facilitate the location of individual citations. Entries are not annotated, and pagination is not given. The compiler noted in her foreword that unpublished theses are not included. Ac- cess to dissertations on the doctoral level is not a problem , but there exists a recog- nized need for the identification of masters' theses on the Negro. The value of this compilation would have been enhanced by the inclusion of citations of theses not iden- tified in other sources. Periodical titles appear as entries under the subject division. It is therefore some- what difficult to locate titles with ease un- less one happens to chance upon the sub- ject the compiler has chosen. Afro-Americana should prove of value as a location guide and a ready reference tool for identifying works under broad sub- ject divisions . It is suggested that other uni- versity librarians begin to evaluate their collections of Afro-Americana, including not only standard resources such as books and periodicals, but nonprint and original source materials as well.-Saund1·a Rice Murray , Howm·d University. Reader in Library Services and the Com- pute.r. Louis Kaplan, ed. Washington: NCR Microcard Editions, 1971. 239p. One might imagine, considering the phe- nomenal increase in both the interest and the literature in library automation, that the task of compiling a reader would be easy. Such is not the case, however, especially to those with some expertise in one or both of the areas concerned, for generally speak- ing, the literature is not too useful. Kaplan has approached his subject with a definite purpose in mind and with a· cen- tral theme. His concern is primarily with the demands made upon librarians, their response to such demands, new services made feasible by the computer, administra- tive organization for automation, and two specific problems emphasized by computer- ization, copyright, and the production of book catalogs. The theme of potentiality and the use of the computer as a tool is well woven through his selections and serves to maintain the compactness of the volume. The readings are divided into seven sec- tions: the challenge, varieties of response, theory of management, new services, cata- logs and the computer, copyright, and in- formation retrieval testing. "The Challenge" - is represented by three selections, one from the National Commission on Libraries in which the computer is truly recognized as a tool, or a means to an end, not the end itself. The community is charged with mak- ing full and effective use of this tool and its potential. The other two selections repre- sent prevalent, opposing attitudes so often found in the literature, but usually not so well stated. These are a kind of cautious negativism and pie-in-the-sky. "Varieties of Response" covers projects at Harvard, UCLA, Stanford, LC, Chicago, and a sur- vey by Systems Development Corporation. The one contribution to the theory of man- agement reflects the experience at Harvard in coping with the problems of full-scale mechanization. Much of it is cautionary but it is well written and may supply some guidance to future entrepreneurs. Some practitioners may question whether it is huly realistic. '"New Services" is a group of readings in- cluding technical information centers, selec- tive dissemination of information, network prospects, INTREX, and extralibrary ser- vices. One of the most valuable aspects of this group is that they illustrate the need to look in nonconventional places for good literature in the field. One is a dissertation, another is a preliminary report to a national Recent Publications I 489 study, the others are periodical articles. As before, they are carefully chosen and in a sense actually represent new services to most library communities. "The Catalog and the Computer" is represented by two selections, possible-feasible-desirable, and cost. The one selection in copyright touches briefly on the legal problems of traditional copyright and traditional materials and does not deal with file security or computer pro- grams . The final selections on "Information Retrieval Testing" appear somewhat out of kilter with the rest of the work. It is true that the computer has played a large role in analysis and testing of retrieval lan- guages and indirectly therefore affects ser- vices. This appears to be the justification for inclusion. There appear to be only two trouble- some aspects of the readings. Several of the articles are five or more years old. While one might question whether this makes much difference in the library field per se, it does definitely date some of the view- points. Another factor which librarians are particularly aware of is the amount of fu- turistic dreaming. Several of the articles are proposals and some are written in the fu- ture tense. This is included to destroy some of the effectiveness of the arguments. Nei- ther of these two factors, however, detracts from the overall effectiveness of the read- ings. Kaplan is to be commended in his se- lection, faithfulness of purpose, and editori- al cohesiveness. As stated in the introduction, the read- ings are for the library school student and the librarian not very familiar with the lit- erature. The reviewer suggests that the au- dience is much wider and should include anyone interested in libraries as service or- ganizations, the computer and its potential, and the interaction of the two.- Ann F. Painter, Drexel University. OTHER BOOKS OF INTEREST TO ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS American Library Association, Children's Services Division, Library Service to the Disadvantaged Child Committee. I Read, You Read, We Read; I See, You See, We See; I Hear, You Hear, We Hear; I Learn, You Learn, We Learn. Chicago: American Library Association, 1971.