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BOOK REVIEWS 

Lancaster, F. Wilfrid, ed. Proceedings of 
the 1972 Clinic on Library Applications 
of Data Processing: Applications of On-
Line Computers to Library Problems. 
University of Illinois, Graduate School 
of Library Science; London: Clive Bing-
ley, 1972. 169 p. 

The papers presented at the ninth an-
nual clinic represent a welcome continua-
tion in this series. Reports and demonstra-
tions were given on a wide range of library 
applications of on-line computers and re-
flected uses in libraries of various types and 
sizes. Examples of applications were given 
on a variety of jobs which cut across library 
operations from acquisitions, cataloging, 
and serials control to circulation systems 
and the retrieval of biomedical information. 

The traditional conference scheme was 
followed by a keynote address (from a mar-
keting representative), and a summation 
(from a network manager) . Between these 
talks were sandwiched the reports on how 
things work at home. Some flavor was 
added to this clinic, however, with the talk 
by Ellsworth Mason entitled "Automation 
or Russian Roulette." Mason has tried to 
dissolve the smoke screen which has obfus-
cated the cost considerations in library au-
tomation, especially in on-line applications. 
His arguments are telling: library cost stud-
ies are not plentiful nor reliable, while care-
ful comparisons of manual versus machine 
costs are virtually non-existent. Mason's 
part of the program was handled brilliantly 
in the summation by Glyn T. Evans, one 
of our most articulate spokesmen for net-
works. He said: 

Mason is a brilliant performer. His en-
viable command of the language, his ele-
gant turns of phrase, the dismissive wave 
of the hand, his unremitting rhetoric, be-
dazzle and bemuse us to our-and his-
loss. For his supporters are hypnotized by 
the silken glitter of his top hat as he soft 
shoes his cane-twirling, spats-twinkling, 
white-spotlit way across the stage. And his 
opponents, infuriated and goaded, attack 
the shadow of his cape and not the sub-
stance of his argument ( p. 158). 

134/ 

Recent Publications 
Evans goes on to deal speci£cally with 

Mason's points, and agrees that the cost/ 
benefit factor is the critical aspect of on-line 
application. In a clinic devoted to applica-
tions of on-line computers to library prob-
lems, one could expect to see a presentation 
on the largest and most predominant inter-
active system for shared cataloging-that 
of the Ohio College Library Center. Per-
haps it was thought that OCLC has been 
represented sufficiently at meetings and in 
the literature. 

The shared access to various data bases 
within a network organization is a problem 
of manifest administrative and technologi-
cal concern. Although Pizer touches on this 
one area in dealing with "On-Line Tech-
nology in a Library Network," a fuller 
treatment of these questions somewhere in 
this work would have been welcomed. 

Generally, each discussion of the individ-
ual application is clear, concise, and help-
ful. The clinic papers read like one of the 
few conferences about which one could say, 
"I wish I had been there."-Donald D. 
Hendricks, Director of the Library, The 
University of Texas Health Science Center, 
Dallas. 

Burke, John Gordon, and Wilson, Carol 
Dugan. The Monthly Catalog of United 
States Government Publications; an In-
troduction to Its Use. Hamden, Conn.: 
Shoe String Press, 1973. $6.50. 
Don't buy this book. Unless you have 

$6.50 to waste. Of the 113 pages in the 
book, approximately 36 are useful in terms 
of the stated purpose of the book. 36 is 
generous. 

Chapter I contains four pages of original 
text describing the essential bibliographic 
elements which may be found in the 
Monthly Catalog. These pages are clear and 
well written and useful in helping someone 
who needs basic instruction. Accompanying 
these pages are three sample pages from 
the Monthly Catalog, one from the index, 
the second a typical page, and the third a 
sample order blank. The first two samples 
are quite useful as each bit of information 
is clearly identified; they illustrate the text