College and Research Libraries Recent Publications· COLLEGE 6o RESEARCH LIBRARIES Books for College Libraries, 2d ed., reviewed by Robert Woodman Wadsworth 0 71 Myers, Margaret, and Scarborough, Mayra, eds. Women in Librarianship: Melvil's Rib Sym- posium, reviewed by Sherrie S. Bergman 74 Sellen, Betty-Carol, and Marshall, Joan K., eds. Women in a Woman's Profession: Strat- egies, reviewed by Sherrie S. Bergman 0 74 Christian, Roger W. The Electronic Library: Bibliographic Data Bases 1975-76, reviewed by Sylvia G. Faibisoff 76 Library Networks '74-'75, reviewed by Sylvia G. Faibisoff 76 Berninghausen, David K. The Flight from Reason: Essays on Intellectual Freedom in the Academy, the Press, and the Library, reviewed by Henry Miller Madden . 77 Shackleton, Robert. Censure and Censorship: Impediments to Free Publication in the Age of Enlightenment, reviewed by Henry Miller Madden . 78 Withers, F. N. Standards for Library Service: An International Survey, reviewed by Felix E. Hirsch . 78 Thomson, Sarah Katharine. Learning Resource Centers in Community Colleges: A Survey of Budgets and Services, reviewed by James 0. Wallace 79 Clarke, D. A., ed. Acquisitions from the Third World, reviewed by J. Michael Bruer 0 80 Diaz, Albert James, ed. Microforms in Libraries: A Reader, reviewed by Louis A. Kenney 81 Sherrod, John, ed. Information Systems and Networks, reviewed by Douglas Ferguson 82 Other Publications of Interest to Academic Librarians 82 Abstracts . 87 BOOK REVIEWS Books for College Libraries: A Core Col· lection of 40,000 Titles. 2d ed. A Project of the Association of College and Re- search Libraries. Chicago: American Li- brary Assn., 1975. 6v. $65.00. (LC 7 4· 13743) (ISBN 0-8389-0178-6) While not the largest of the three col- lege-library booklists published by ALA over some forty years, 1 the second edition of 13ooks for College Libraries (BCL II) is in some respects the most sophisticated. It is more than a revision of BCL I. As ex- plained in the admirably written introduc· tion, it is also the product of a project un- dertaken by ALA with a special grant from the Council on Library Resources to pro- vide-both by selection of titles and by ad- dition of cataloging data-"a highly selec- tive retrospective tool [about 40,000 titles] as a counterpart to the current services of Choice" (Vol. I, p.vii; hereinafter this in- troduction is cited by page only from Vol. I). Much of its interest lies in the methods followed and in the equipment used. Novel features of importance are a "sharp reduc- tion in number of titles to a minimal 'core collection'; the expansion of individual en- tries to provide more complete cataloging and classification information; and the use I 71 72 I College & Research Libraries • January 1976 of automated techniques for the production of the list itself" by use of "regular MARC records issued by the Library of Congress, MARC records released by the Library of Congress especially for use in producing this publication, and records converted ex- pressly for this collection from older Li- brary of Congress catalog records" -this conversion being done "by contract and ac- cording to MARC standards" (p.vii). A by- product of the list, therefore, is an enlarged data base. The first-mentioned of these departures is the striking reduction in number of titles. While nearly half again as expensive as BC L I and nearly twice as large in number of pages, the new edition presents a total of 38,651 titles in place of BCL I's "select- ed list of approximately 53,400 titles." BCL I includes, for example, over sixty en- tries for James Joyce as author or as sub- ject; BCL II has forty-seven. The emphasis is unchanged: the list excludes periodicals and, in general, classroom texts and read- ers; admittedly does little with science and technology; and concentrates on mono- graphs in the humanities and the social sci- ences, with very little in any language but English. "The level emphasized is not only the undergraduate library, but primarily the undergraduate user of that library, although the necessary provision for independent study by the exceptional student requires the listing of some advanced and special- ized works in each field" (p.viii). The primary responsibility for selection rests with the corps of "contributors." "Teaching scholars, specialist librarians, and staff members of several professional associations were invited to check or com- pile lists of books for their specialized sub- ject fields. Many of these subject experts are Choice consultants; some worked on sections of BCL I" (p.viii). "Editorial in- tervention was largely limited to holding the lists to size" (p.viii). During "Stage I'' (1971) working lists were compiled from BCL I, Choice (1964-1970), and bibliog- raphies and were checked by contributors. In "Stage II" (1972- ), with a change of editor and the establishment of a special of- fice for the project in the Boston Public Li- brary, additional contributors were recruit- ed, gaps were filled in, and the work of some of the earlier contributors was re- viewed for balance. In music, for example, in addition to the contributions of a num- ber of chosen specialists, the list had the advantage of ratings made by "an inde- pendently formed committee of the Music Library Association" for all BCLI music titles and for all Choice music reviews (Acknowledgments, Vol. I, p.xii). All con- tributors are named and thanked, and those whose work was limited to Stage I are iden- tified "in case they may not wish to be identified with the final selection" (Ac- knowledgments, Vol. I, p.xi). It is difficult to see how, in a matter of judgment, the editors could have proceeded with greater intelligence or conscientiousness than is evi- denced in this list. And since their product is admittedly incomplete-a "highly recom- mended" selection to be supplemented by each library according to its own education- al requirements-they have largely dis- armed faultfinders. The most striking difference between BCL II and its predecessors is its thorough exploitation of the ready-made cataloging available from MARC and the Library of Congress. The primary role of the editorial staff was conceived as that of a clearing- house "to turn lists of recommended titles into catalog entries without handling the books themselves'' (p.viii). Editions select- ed by the staff (preferably in-print hard- cover American editions at mm1mum prices) were checked against the MARC data base held by the computer contractor, and LC catalog cards for those not already included were converted to MARC stan- dards and added to the base, all MARC data elements being tagged for retrievabili- ty even though certain of them were not printed in the present list. There was edi- torial revision for uniformity and consisten- cy in details. For some entries original cata- loging was necessary. The computer sorted the entries and generated indexes of "au- thors," covering "all main entries (except title) and all joint authors, editors, trans- lators, and institutions associated with the authorship of the work-in short, all trac- ings (except title and series) numbered with Roman numerals on LC printed cards"; and "titles," covering "main-entry titles, all title-page titles whether traced or not, and variant titles if traced" (p.ix). The subject index, on the other hand, is not derived mechanically from traced sub- ject headings but is a selection of nonper- sonal LC subject headings with references to class numbers, not to single works. It is explained that a complete printout of traced subject headings would have re- quired an extra volume (p.ix). This scale of indexing is one reason for the bulk of BCL II by comparison with the more comprehensive, yet more compact BCL I. Another factor is the full cataloging detail-complete except for bibliography and contents notes, prices, and citations of foreign bibliographies, these unprinted but tagged items being retrievable from the data base. The multivolume format (with items serially numbered within each vol- ume) was adopted in order to keep physi- cal volumes small; to permit continuous re- vision, one volume at a time; and to facili- tate simultaneous use of the list by more than one reader (p.ix). Unlike BCL I, which grouped entries loosely in subject blocks based on LC class numbers, BCL II is a "shelflist," with en- tries presented in strict LC call-number order. Topical headings are used to break up the pages, which are legible and attrac- tive. Certain broad classes are moved out of alphabetical sequence for practical con- venience. 2 Each of the five subject volumes contains the full introduction and the gen- eral acknowledgments, with the addition of the appropriate subject lists of contribu- tors for the particular volume. Since the classification scheme used was not devised for a college library, it is easy to pick out objectionable details. Scientific and · Technical Societies of the United States and Canada, being classed in A with "General Works," falls into the "Humani- ties" .volume. Especially unfortunate in a multivolume set is the separation of subject bibliographies in Z from the corresponding subject literatures in other classes. The Chicorel Theater Index to Plays in Anthol- ogies, Periodicals, Discs, and Tapes, the Short Story Index, and the Bibliography of Comparative Literature (Baldensperger and Friederich) are classed in Z (Bibliog- raphy) and placed in Volume V with "Sci- ence" and escape the subject index. The Recent Publications I 73 reader working on "History" (Vol. III) must look in Volume V for the Harvard Guide to American History (classed in "National Bibliography") and the American Historical Association's Guide to Historical Literature (classed in "Subject Bibliogra- phy"). The only "national bibliographies" listed for France are subject bibliographies of philology or history, which belong with the appropriate subject classes. It is fortu- nate that, since the Library of Congress has begun to provide alternate subject class numbers for subject bibliographies, a better arrangement of subject bibliographies can be looked for in future editions of BCL. It is disheartening to find that the ob- solescence that is inevitable in a list of this sort has already set in. The editions listed of Cassell's Encyclopaedia of World Litera- ture, the . Columbia Encyclopedia, the En- cyclopaedia Britannica, the Harvard Guide to American History, and Webster's Colle- giate Dictionary have all been superseded by new editions. It is but a matter of time before much of this carefully drawn up list, representing the "necessary" four-fifths of a minimum-essentials college library (large- ly in terms of in-print American editions), will be out of date. In view of current fi- nancial pressures it would seem that an in- vestment of this size can be justified only if it can be kept useful by conscientious, continuing revision in the light of current listings from Choice. It is encouraging to find that this requirement has been kept in mind in the work on BCL II. "Through the cooperation of Choice and the corps of BCL II contributors and through the use of computer technology, the organization, the subject and bibliographic skills, and the machinery exist to maintain a continuing and useful service to the undergraduate library" ( p.ix) . BCL II is a credit to the sponsors, the contributors, and the editors: Richard Tetreau (Stage I) and Virginia Clark (Stage II).-Robert Woodman Wadsworth, Bibliographer for English, Librarianship, and General Humanities, The University of Chicago Library. REFERENCES 1. Cf. Carnegie Corporation of New York, Advisory Group on Libraries, A List of Books 74 I College & Research Libraries • january 1976 for College Libraries: Approximately 14,000 Titles Selected on the Recommendation of 200 College Teachers, Librarians and Other Ad- visers, prepared by Charles B. Shaw, 2d pre- liminary ed. ( Chicago: American Library Asso- ciation, 1931. 810p.) A supplement covering 1931-1938 material still in print appeared in 1940. Books for College Libraries: A Selected List of Approximately 53,400 Titles Based on the Initial Selection Made for the University of California's New Campuses Program and Se- lected with the Assistance of College Teachers, Librarians, and Other Advisers, prepared under the direction of Melvin J. Voigt and Joseph H. Treyz ( Chicago: American Library Association, 1967. 1056p. ). 2. The makeup of the set is as follows: Vol. I (Humanities: classes A-BD, BH-BX, M-N. 250 p.) .-Vol. II (Language and Literature: classes P-PZ, 452p. )-Vol. III (History: classes C-F. 349p.) .-Vol. IV (Social Sci- ences: classes G-L. 372p. ) .-Vol. V ( Psy- chology. Science. Technology. Bibliography: classes BF, Q-Z. 257p.).-Vol. VI (Index: Author Index, p.1-144; Title Index, p.l45- 388; Subject Index, p.389-402). Fiction in English is classed, not in LC's PZ, but by national origin. Myers, Margaret, and Scarborough, Mayra, eds. Women in Librarianship: Melvil's Rib Symposium. Proceedings of the Elev- enth Annual Symposium Sponsored by the Alumni and the Faculty of the Rut- gers University Graduate School of Li- brary Service. (Issues in the Library and Information Sciences, no.2) New Bruns- wick, N.J.: Bureau of Library and Infor- mation Science Research, Rutgers Uni- versity Graduate School of Library Service, 1975. 112p. $4.95. (ISBN 0- 8135-0807-X) Sellen, Betty-Carol, and Marshall, Joan K., eds. Women in a Woman's Profession: Strategies. Proceedings of the Preconfer- ence on the Status of Women in Librari- anship Sponsored by the American Li- brary Association Social Responsibilities Round Table Task Force on the Status of Women, Douglass College, Rutgers University, July 1974. 90p. $3.50. (Available from Betty-Carol Sellen, Brooklyn College Library, Brooklyn, NY 11210.) The urgent need to develop specific strat- egies to end sex discrimination in librarian- ship is underscored by the concurrent pub- lication of proceedings of two conferences concerning the status of women in the pro- fession. The Rutgers symposium, more traditional in format, included delivery of papers with audience discussion. Harold Wooster's fa- ble, "How the Library Changed Its Spots- An Ain't So Story," is followed by Anita R. Schiller's "Sex and Library Careers," a his- torical and statistical review of occupational inequality between the sexes: Whatever occupation we examine ... very consistently . . . women earn lower salaries than men . . . are concentrated in the low- er level jobs, and ... tend to be segregated into those positions that are typed for the female sex. . . . It is not due simply to the willful discrimination of prejudiced males [but] ... institutional conditions-social, economic and cultural ( p.l4). Especially pertinent for academic librari- ans is her analysis of varying career pat- terns of men and women librarians: Women librarians are more likely to work in school libraries, where about nine out of every ten librarians are women, than in li- braries of other types, and least so in aca- demic libraries, where the corresponding figure is just over six out of ten. However, if work in each type of library is ranked by the level of esteem it is accorded, the rank- ing is ordered precisely in reverse ... aca- demic libraries are at the top and school libraries at the bottom ( p.15). Psychologist Carol W. Sherif's "Dreams and Dilemmas of Being a Woman Today" pokes holes in sociological and psychologi- cal argumei}tS about women's competence, sexuality, and mental health which are ad- vanced to maintain the status quo. Herman Greenberg, personnel officer for The Free Library of Philadelphia, finds "Sex Discrim- ination Again.st Women in Libraries" to be largely non-existent. Lively rebuttal to his remarks is included in the text of the dis- cussion. Both this volume and Women in a W om- an's Profession include the bibliography Women in Librarianship, 1920-1973, an ex- cellent comprehensive chronological listing of English-language materials. (It should be noted that Ms. Myers has recently is- sued an 'Updated edition.) The appendix to Women in Librarianship also includes the useful reference chart,