College and Research Libraries ShiiDIDer of ExciteiDent COLLEGE & RESEARCH LIBRARIES There wa~ a sense of excitement in 1876 as a group of librarians banded together in cooperative enterprise; and concluding her recent article in our journal, Helen W. Tuttle senses in 1976 a "similar shimmer of excitement" as librarians are on the brink of new areas of cooperation. Given current problems and limitations facing all fields of higher educa- tion, where decreasing budgets and declining enrollments join with in- flationary pressures and the key word is retrenchment rather' than growth, it is difficult to capture this particular sense of excitement. The problems of the moment are all too evident. Even so, we must be able to divorce ourselves at times from these crises and experience that shimmer of excitement as we view the opportunities and challenges before us. Authors in our journal's centennial series have provided that view. Jerrold Orne sees us entering a new century "rich in experience, resources, and learning," from which we can profit, both from the lessons of our failures as well as of our successes. Stanley McElderry visualizes a co- ordinated effort with national leadership to provide the range of resources and services that can support instruction and research during the next century. Connie R. Dunlap points to the need to adapt library organizational structure to give services that are both expanded and more specialized. Although David C. Weber recognizes that economic conditions have forced the library cooperation of the 1970s, technological advances have facilitated it and are providing now "a radical and permanent change in cooperative style." Robert Vosper views the solution to many local problems through international cooperation, with American librarians learning much from their colleagues overseas. Robert B. Downs lists a number of attributes necessary for today's suc- cessful academic library director, features which present a difficult but not impossible combination. Perhaps these· attributes may be applied as well to our libraries as we start the new century: "flexibility and adaptability, willingness to accept change, a stable and equable temperament, emotional balance, and endurance." We. begin this new volume of College & Research Libraries with our deep thanks to Mary Frances Collins and Anne Dowling for their two years of service to ACRL and the profession through their editorship of our news issues. We welcome as their successors John V. Crowley and William B. Weiss and extend to them our good wishes for success as they begin their own term of service. R.D.J. by L. REINER "A superb book, well-suited for a second graduate course in algebra. Topics: extensive review of basic alge- bra; maximal order in skew fields over discrete valuation rings, over Dedekind domains; Morita equivalence, crossed- product algebras, simple algebras, he- reditary orders. Most distinguished fea- tures are the many, fine exercises and the excellent mathematical exposition. " -American Mathematical Monthly, January 1976 1975, 395 pp ., $36.50/£13.80 ISBN: 0-12-586650-X Methods of Numerical Integ ration by PHILIP J. DAVIS and PHILIP RABINOWITZ A Volume in the COMPUTER SCIENCE AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS Series "This book is an expanded and up- dated successor to the previous works on this subject by the same authors .... The new version is almo·st exactly twice the size of the old, yet retains the sparkle of the origincll version. The overall organ- ization is the same, with about sixty-four new sections and subsections added, some of the latter being interpolated two deep . . . . "A mere recitation of details does not do justice to this book. Each section and subsection gives a clear statement of the basic idea discussed, its theore- tical foundation, proof (if needed), ex- amples, and references. It i·s a rare achievement to produce a book which is an inspiration to the student, useful to the occasional as well as the frequent practitioner, and invaluable to the theo- retician as a resource; but that is what the authors have done. "-Mathematics of Computation, July 1976 1975, 459 pp ., $37.50/£26.65 ISBN: 0-12-206350-3 ; also available in Library Edition with Microfiche, $48.75/£34.65 ISBN: 0-12 -206351-1; Microfiche only, $26.25/£18.65 ISBN: 0-12-206352-X The Heat Equation by D. V. WIDDER A Volume in the PURE AND APPLIED MATHEMATICS Series " . . . Widder provides a detailed ex- position of the heat equation. . . . It should be considered as a text in · ap- plied mathematics (partial differential equations) and is excellent as a refer- ence for students of applied mathemat- ics , engineering, and some areas of physics . The style and presentation are excellent, and the author has an excel- lent reputation as a writer and research worker in related areas of applied mathe- matics. Recommended for reference use in undergraduate mathematics and engineering libraries." -Choice, May 1976 1975, 267 pp., $22.50/£16.00 ISBN: 0-12-748540-6 Send payment with order and save postage plus 50¢ handling charge. Prices are subject to change without notice. Academic Press A Subsidiary of Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Publishers 111 FIFTH AVENUE, N.Y., N.Y. 10003 24-28 OVAL ROAD, LONDON NW1 7DX