College and Research Libraries Letters Preservation Efforts To the Editor: Gay Walker's article, "Preservation Ef- forts in Larger U.S. Academic Libraries" (C&RL, January 1975), offers some excel- lent suggestions for coping with the prob- lems caused by deteriorating library materi- als. Two additional suggestions, I feel, warrant consideration. First, any preservation program should emphasize preventive conservation. There are many activities designed to eliminate conditions harmful to a collection which are well within the budget and personnel capa- bilities of most libraries. Examples of such activities are the periodic treatment of leather bound volumes with appropriate dressings and use of protective light filters for fluorescent tubes. Secondly, few libraries can afford to es- tablish an in-house restoration laboratory. One alternative for providing access to pro- fessional restoration expertise is to cooper- ate with other libraries and related organi- zations in establishing and staffing a region- al conservation center. The New England Document Conservation Center is evidence of the feasibility for this course of action. Governed by librarians under the New En- gland Interstate Library Compact, the cen- ter provides "at cost" conservation assist- ance and restoration services for nonprofit library, archival, educational, historical, and cultural institutions in New England. Now at the end of its second year of opera- tion, NEDCC has become self-supporting and has proved to be an excellent means for meeting the restoration needs of li- braries throughout the six-state region. Howard P. Lowell Educational Specialist Bureau of Library Extension Department of Education Commonwealth of Massachusetts Boston, Massachusetts 322 I Reference Service To the Editor: COLLEGE & RESEARCH LIBRARIES The article by Robert Balay and Chris- tine Andrew, "Use of the Reference Service in a Large Academic Library" ( C& RL, January 1975), represents a valuable con- tribution in studies of reference service. One would that more reference librarians undertake serious research to assess the ef- fectiveness of their services. One noteworthy flaw in their study seems to be that Figure 4 and the data from Ta- bles 3 and 6 fail to support the concluding remark that "evening use of reference ser- vice was significant." Only 14.2 percent of all reference inquiries came after 7:00 p.m. Yet the hours of 7:00-10:00 p.m. represent 22.4 percent of the total time during which the reference desk is staffed during a nor- mal week ( 8:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m. Monday- Friday, 8:30 a.m.-5:00p.m. Saturday, 7:00- 10:00 p.m. Sunday). When properly drawn, Balay and An- drew's Figure 4 would look something like the redrawn figure which is provided. In the redrawn figure, the same· proportions are retained, but all intervals on the time axis have been made equal. This reduces the three precipitous peaks to credible size. Some averaging was necessary in redrawing the figure, since exact numbers of inquiries were not available for certain hours of ser- vice in the day. The redrawn figure sug- gests that the students in 1971 may indeed have had a good case when they "chal- lenged the reduction in hours of [library] service and suggested that library funds could be saved by eliminating evening ref- erence service ... " (p.26). Bruce C. Bennion Assistant Professor School of Library Science University of Southern California Los Angeles Letters I 323 720 600 • 480 -Yale u M B - . - - Jon-Yale I R J60 0 , I 240 • Q u I R 120 ----------- ___ ,,,-----... .............. ~~ ,, I I -~~ .... ,, .,., ......... _______ --------s Fig. 1 Yale Versus Non-Yale Users, by Time of Day. Adapted from Table 6 and Figure 4 of Robert Balay and Christine Andrew, "Use of the Reference Service in a Large Academic Library," Col- lege & Research Libraries 36:9-26 (Jan. 1975). Response Mr. Bennion's comments are construc- tive. His reconstructed figure does give a slightly more accurate picture of hour-by- hour use than did our original. Our figure was based on data as gathered, with no averaging; time periods for data collecting were based on reference desk staffing pat- terns and were not reduced to hourly seg- ments. As to Mr. Bennion's contention that our data will not support the conclusion that evening use of reference service was signifi- cant, the matter is more complicated than his calculations would indicate. Since the reference desks both at present and during the period of the study are double or triple- staffed during periods of heavy use, the to- tal number of hours of reference service of- fered on a typical day is 22.5; between 7:00 and 10:00 p.m., the desk is staffed by only one librarian, a total of three hours. The staffing provided during those hours is 13 percent of the total daily staffing, a figure that compares well with the inquiry level of 14.2 percent for the same period. It is also worth noting that 16.3 percent of the users affiliated with Yale appeared dur- irig the hours of 7:00-10:00 p.m.; since these users constitute the primary user group, continuing reference staffing during these hours was, we believe, supported by the data. In any event, this judgment was based on the numerical data produced by our study, not on the pictorial representa- tion of it given in our graph in Figure 4. Robert Balay Head, Reference Department Yale University Library and Christine Andrew Librarian, Bibliographic Center Research Libraries Group New Haven, Connecticut Libraries and Librarianship To the Editor: Permit me a bit of factual correction of W. David Laird's remarks about my Li- braries and Librarianship in the West. It is not "one of those paperback books 324 I College & Research Libraries • July 1975 doctored" to look like a hardbound. As will not surprise anyone familiar with the writ- ing of serious works, my 44 7 closely packed pages of text (about which he says very very little) result from several agonizing re- ductions. The paperback idea is, of course, appeal- ing, and I wish the numerous students al- ready using the book had it available thus. Unless the near future brings a better book written by Mr. Laird or someone else-ac- cording to him the feat ought to be easy-a paperback version may indeed appear. What Mr. Laird read as "Main Index" is "Name Index." Response To the Editor: Sidney L. Jackson Professor School of Library Science Kent State University Kent, Ohio I'll stick by my "doctored paperback" de- scription. Dr. Jackson's book is a paperback. It is constructed of loose sheets glued, rather than quires sewn, to a back-strip. Also, although the covers are stiff, they are not covered with cloth; they are covered with a thin plastic-coated paper. As a com- promise, I suggest "high quality paper- back." Nowhere in my review did I claim it would be easy to write Dr. Jackson's book, but even a bad book can be made respecta- ble if it is handled appropriately with re- gard to index, bibliography, and arrange- ment, and if it is read and "red-penciled" by a competent editor. The fact that we transcribed from electronic equipment "main" for "name" seems hardly important in light of the fact that the book has two alphabetical sequences of index and nine alphabetical sequences of bibliography along with many, many textual errors. W. David Laird University Librarian University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS Manuscripts of articles submitted to College & Research Libraries are to be sent to the Editor: Richard D. Johnson, James M. Milne Library, State University College, Oneonta, NY 13820. Manuscripts should be in two copies and typed in double space. The title, name and affiliation of the author, and an abstract of 75 to 100 words should precede the article. Notes are to be consecutively numbered throughout the manu- script and typed in double space on separate sheets at the end. The journal follows A Manual of Style, 12th ed., rev. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1969) in matters of bibliographic style; and recent issues of this journal may be consulted as well. PART2 Landes , Kenneth K.: PETROLEUM GEOLOGY 2nd Edition Orig . ed . 1959 443 pp. 14.50 Leake, Chauncey 0 .: PERCIVAL'S MEDICAL ETHiCS Orig. ed . 1927 291 pp. 12 .50 Levi, Howard : FOUNDATIONS OF GEOMETRY AND TRIGONOMETRY Orig. ed . 1956 4.50 Levi, Howard : TOPICS IN GEOMETRY Or ig. ed. 1968 104 pp . In Prep . Long, Wm . E.- Malvino , A.P. : EXPERIMENTS FOR ELECTRIC CIRCUITS LABORATORY Orig. Bfl· 1968 165 pp . 6.95 Lowenthal, W. : PHARMACEUTICAL CALCULATIONS Orig. ed . 1969 424 pp . 9.50 Lubin, G. : HANDBOOK OF FIBERGLASS & ADVANCED PLASTICS COMPOSITES Orig. ed . 1969 912 pp . 32.50 Madorsky, S.L. : THERMAL DEGRADATION OF ORGANIC POLYMERS Orig. ed. 1964 315 pp. 18 .00 Mandler, G. - Kessen, W.: THE LANGUAGE OF PSYCHOLOGY Orig. ed. 1959 301 pp . 9.50 Martens. C.R.: TECHNOLOGY OF PAINTS, VARNISHES. AND LACQUERS Orig. ed . 1967 744 pp . 29.75 Martin, J.J.: BAYESIAN DECISION PROBLEMS & MARKOV CHAINS Drig. ed . 1967 202 pp . 13.50 Maxwell, J.B. : DATA BOOK ON HYDROCARBONS Orig. ed. 1950 267 pp . 13.50 Mead, W.J .: THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF CHEMICAL PROCESS EQUIPMENT Orig. ed.1964 1085 pp . 42 .50 Meeks,J .E.: THE FRAGILE ALLIANCE Orig . ed . 1971 293 pp. 13.50 Meyers, Lester : HIGH SPEED MATH Orig. ed. 1947 575 pp . 16.50 Miller, Kenneth S.: MULTIVARIATE DISTRIBUTIONS Orig.ed . 1964 139 pp . 11 .50 Monter, E.W .: CALVIN'S GENEVA Orig. ed . 1967 250 pp . In Prep . Murphy, Glenn: ELEMENTS OF NUCLEAR ENGINEERING Orig. ed . 1961 213 pp . 12.50 Nagata, M.: LOCAL RINGS Orig. ed. 1962 234 pp . 14.95 Najarian, HaigH.: TEXTBOOK OF MEDICAL PARASITOLOGY Orig : ed . 1967 166 pp . In Prep . Northrop . E.P.: RIDDLES IN MATHEMATICS Orig. ed. 1944 270 pp. 6.95 Persons, Stow: AMERICAN MINDS: A HISTORY OF IDEAS (completely revised 2nd ed iti on) Orig. ed. 1958 479 pp . 17 .50 Rickayzen , G.: THEORY OF SUPERCONDUCTIVITY Orig. ed . 1965 483 pp . 21 .50 Rickers-Ovsiankina, M.A.: RORSCHACH PSYCHOLOGY Orig. ed . 1960 483 pp . In Prep . Rodes, J.E. : GERMANY: A HISTORY Orig. ed . 1964 719 pp . 18.95 Rubin, M.- Haller, C.E.: COMMUNICATION SWITCHING SYSTEMS Orig. ed . 1966 416 pp . 18 .5 0 Sarton, George: INTRODUCTION TO THE HISTORY OF SCIENCE Vol. 1-3 in 5 Volumes (Sold as Sets Only) Orig. ed . 1950 4346 pp . 175.00 Schwartz, A.M .: SURFACE ACTIVE AGENTS & DETERGENTS Orig. ed. 1958 855 pp . 32 .50 Shubik, Martin : GAME THEORY & RELATED APPROACHES TO SOCIAL BEHAVIOR : SELECTIONS Orig. ed. 1964 390 pp. 12.50 Siegel, C.: STRUCTURE & FORM IN MODERN ARCHITECTURE Orig. ed . 1962 309 pp . 22 .50 Simonds, H.R. - Church, J.M. : A CONCISE GUIDE TO PLASTICS Orig. ed. 1963 392 pp. In Prep . Skilling, H.H.: FUNDAMENTALS OF ELECTRIC WAVES Orig. e.d . 1948 246 pp . 10.50 Snead , R.E.: ATLAS OF WORLD PHYSICAL FEATURES Orig. ed . 1972 158 pp . 11 .50 Snell , F.D.-Snell, C.T.: COLORIMETRIC METHODS OF ANALYSIS - Volume 4 Or ig. ed. 1954 676 pp . 27.00 Solomon, D.H. : THE CHEMISTRY OF ORGANIC FILM FORMERS Orig. ed. 1967 In Prep . Stock, J.T.: AMPEROMETRIC TITRATIONS (Chemical Analysis Volume 20) Orig. ed. 1965 730 pp . 35 .95 Terzaghi , Karl : FROM THEORY TO PRACTICE IN SOIL MECHANICS Orig. ed . 1960 425 pp . 17.50 Thorstensen, T.C. : PRACTICAL LEATHER TECHNOLOGY Orig. ed. 1969 400 pp . 22 .50 Tong, L.S. : BOILING HEAT TRANSFER AND TWO -PHASE FLOW Orig. ed . 1965 242 pp . 18.50 Trabasso, T. - Bower, G.H.: ATTENTION IN LEARNING : Theory & Research Orig . ed . 1968 253 pp . 11 .50 Vavra, M.H .: AERO -THERMODYNAMICS & FLOW IN TURBOMACHINES Orig . ed . 1960 609 pp . 24.00 Wagner, A.F. - Folkers, K.: VITAMINS & COENZYMES Orig . ed . 1964 532 pp . 27 .50 Walker, J.F .: FORMALDEHYDE - 3rd ed . 0 rig. ed . 1964 740 pp . 28.00 Wasow, W.: ASYMPTOTIC EXPANSIONS Orig. ed . 1966 362 pp . 20 .00 Welcher, F.J. : STANDARD METHODS OF CHEMICAL ANALYSIS- Vol. 3-B lostrumental Analysis Orig. ed . 1917 1053 pp. 31 .50 Westlake, J.R.: A HANDBOOK OF NUMERICAL MATRIX INVERSION AND SOLUTION OF LINEAR EQUATIONS Orig. ed . 1968 171 pp . 12.50 FOREIGN & DOMESTIC SERIALS SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE TO ALL TYPES & SIZES OF LIBRARIES FROM 11 REGIONAL OFFICES IN THE U.S.A. 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