College and Research Libraries


540 I College & Research Libraries • November 1977 

history of the book.-Susan G. Swartzburg, 
Rutgers University Library, New Bruns-
wick, New Jersey. 

Wright, H. Curtis. The Oral Antecedents 
of Greek Librarianship. Foreword by 
Jesse H. Shera. Afterword by H. J. de 
Vleeschauwer. Provo, Utah: Brigham 
Young Univ. Pr., 1977. 237p. $19.95. LC 
77-73645. ISBN 0-8425-0623~3. 
Librarians should not be deterred by the 

nondescript title, especially since so little 
scholarly research exists on the historical 
roots of the profession. The Oral Antece-
dents of Greek Librarianship seeks to fill 
a significant gap in the literature of librari-
anship. Wright attempts to deal with the 
antecedents of the Alexandrian library 
movement by focusing on the transition of 
classical civilization from an oral to a writ-
ten tradition. Here, the author believes, can 
be found the origins of the library. This 
hypothesis is intriguing and entitles Wright 
to take his reader on a historical journey 
that recounts the function of information 
in classical society from preliterate times 
to classical Greece. 

On the way, he introduces several un-
usual observations, some of which relate 
directly to his theme, others of which di-
gress from it. One strong observation com-
pares Homer to the librarian in terms of the 
information function of each within their 
societies-a unique argument that is well 
defended. Another observation of consid-
erable merit details the heavy influence 
Oriental bibliographic methodology had on 
the Greeks. A third observation, however, 
involves Wright's defense of the "invention-
ist" against the "evolutionist" theory of 
writing. This one makes for a nice story, 
but hardly worth the lengthy effort in terms 
of his theme. 

Of particular concern to this reviewer is 
Wright's heavy reliance on a few secondary 
sources, especially the works of S. H. 
Butcher, Rudolph Pfeiffer, and Chester G. 
Starr. It is obvious the author bought the 
ideas of all three, but his hopes that 
lengthy quotes from their works will serve 
to convince his own readers fall short of 
their mark. This is especially true for chap-
ter Four, where Pfeiffer is referred to or 
quoted in nearly half the 246 footnotes. 

The writing style is frequently burden-

some (especially in chapter One, "The 
Metaphysics of Information"), and the or-
ganization occasionally loose. Shera's Fore-
word is good, but de Vleeschauwer' s essay 
has already appeared in Towar.d a Theory 
of Librarianship: Papers in Honor of ]esse 
H auk Shera, edited by Conrad Rawski 
(Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1973). Taken 
together, the Foreword, Afterword, and text 
cover the subject; but a definitive study 
awaits the scholar who will put more stock 
in primary sources · and be less influenced 
by second-party interpretations.-Wayne A. 
Wiegand, College of Library Science, Uni-
versity of Kentucky. 

Kehr, Wolfgang; Neubauer, Karl Wilhelm; 
and Stoltzenburg, Joachim, eds. Zur 
Theorie und Praxis des modenum Bib~ 
liothekswesens. Miinchen: Verlag Doku-
mentation, 1976. 3v. DM 160. LC 77-
463478. 
German librarianship, like its counterpart 

in the United States, has undergone a dec-
ade and a half of rapid growth and change. 
This handbook represents an attempt to in-
form German librarians and educators of 
new theory and practice, organizational 
reforms, and new technology in the library 
profession. In translation its title reads On 
the Theory and Practice of Modern Librar-
ianship; and its three volumes treat social 
aspects, technological aspects, and adminis-
trative aspects. 

The editors, exercising the principle of 
"limited variety," have compiled three vol-
umes of essays on the state of the art-
recent developments, current problems, and 
future trends in German librarianship and, 
where appropriate, have included informa-
tion about librarianship in other countries 
as well. 

Written by noted German librarians and 
educators, these essays provide a wealth of 
current information on such topics as pub-
lic relations, research in library use, library 
instruction, professional image and educa-
tion, electronic data processing develop-
ments, automation of technical processes, 
audiovisual media, library building plan-
ning, cost-effectiveness studies, manage-
ment theory, personal leadership styles, and 
library statistics in German public and re-
search libraries. 

Though some unevenness of style and 



quality is to be expected in a collection of 
this nature, the overall quality is impres-
sively high. Many of the essays are biblio-
graphic in nature, and most contain exten-
sive bibliographies or lists for further 
reading. Bibliographies are comprehensive 
and current and, although they emphasize 
German scholarship, they are by no means 
limited to it. Outlines of topics to be cov-
ered at the beginning of each essay and the 
inclusion in each volume of a comprehen-
sive subject index to all three volumes en-
hance the handbook's value as a reference 
tool. 

The editors note that library history and 
material on the history of the book and the 
art of printing have been excluded from 
these volumes because they are covered in 
other German reference tools. 

A survey of English language literature 
published in the last decade on the theory 
and practice of librarianship produces no 
single reference source with the scope of 
this German handbook. Kent and Lancour's 
Encyclopedia of Library and Information 
Science covers many of the same topics in 
its twenty volumes issued to date. Although 
it is comprehensive in coverage and interna-
tional in scope and includes much histor-
ical material and emphasizes library educa-
tion, it does not, however, provide the 
depth of coverage the handbook does on 
many topics. Frederick Kilgour's brief ar-
ticle on the Ohio College Library Center 
in the Encyclopedia is little more than a 
publicity release that identifies the topic 
and relates its history. The handbook's es-
say, by contrast, is packed with current 
statistics and information on costs, com-
pares features of the OCLC system to 
BALLOTS and CAPTAIN, and describes 
several similar systems in operation in the 
U.S. and Germany. It also provides an ex-
tensive bibliography for further research. 

The German handbook's essay on library 
instruction draws on American models; al-
though it does little more than summarize 
current thinking in German libraries on 
this important topic, I found this straight-
forward overview preferable to the article 
in the Encyclopedia, which is flawed with 
trendy social science jargon. 

Volume 2 of the handbook, on technolog-
ical aspects of librarianship, can be most 
easily compared to the new edition of the 

Recent Publications I 541 

Hayes and Becker Handbook of Data Pro-
cessing for Libraries (reviewed in C&RL 
37:17G-71 (March 1976) ). Though the 
two reference tools differ in style and ap-
proach, they have similar purposes, address 
similar audiences, and cover much of the 
same material. A brief glance at the treat-
ment of automated circulation systems in 
each tool will point up some essential dif-
ferences, however. The Hayes and Becker 
Handbook provides detailed information in 
easily digested form. The text is replete 
with examples. Graphs, flowcharts, illustra-
tions, and numerical tables supplement and 
highlight the written material. The German 
text is heavy sledding, and, although the 
theoretical information reflects current 
trends and problems, there are no charts or 
other concrete illustrations to break up page 
after page of dense print. Paragraphs are 
numbered and subnumbered, and all foot-
notes and bibliographic references are 
found at the end of the chapter. All of 
these features make it a less valuable ref-
erence source for the practitioner with 
limited time and a desire for graphic illus-
tration of current practice. 

Ralph Ellsworth's excellent, though now 
dated, essay on library buildings in volume 
3 of Shaw's The State of the Library Art 
( 1960) furnishes another point of compari-
son with Franz Kroller's essay on library 
building planning in volume 2 of the hand-
book. Ellsworth's article reflects the state 
of the art at the time it was written. It 
surveys and summarizes the literature on 
the topic and comments on the reliability 
of the data provided. It was intended as a 
planning guide and contains much empir-
ical data to assist in planning new or re-
modeled facilities. Kroller' s essay empha-
sizes the theory of planning and provides 
an excellent view of the current literature 
of planning but provides no data or stan-
dard for the practitioner. 

A wealth of information for the library 
educator or specialist in internationallibrar-
ianship is contained in Hans-Peter Geh' s 
essay on "Professional Image and Educa-
tion" in volume 1 of the handbook. Geh 
offers a detailed outline of the professional 
levels for German librarians, the education-
al qualifications and practical experience 
necessary to achieve each level, and the 
career paths available for each. Choice of 



542 I C allege & Research Libraries • November 1977 

curricula in library and information studies 
is tied closely to the professional level open 
to each student. A distinct graduate-level 
program in library and information science 
has only recently come into being at one or 
two German universities, but the long-range 
trend seems to be for its recognition as a 
distinct discipline of study, perhaps within 
the framework of communications research. 

Perhaps the English language reference 
source that is most similar in purpose, for-
mat, and achievement to the German hand-
book is the excellent series Advances in Li-
brarf.anship, edited by Melvin Voigt. The 
purpose of this series, like the handbook, 
is to present essays on current trends, which 
are timely and of interest to practitioners 
and educators in the . field, and which re-
flect current research interests. Though its 
serial nature gives Advances opportunity 
for broader scope and permits topic special-
ization within an individual annual volume, 
many of the topics it addresses are also 
treated in the handbook. While the German 
source discusses cost-effectiveness studies 
and personal leadership styles, Advances 
focuses on productivity measures and the 
role of the middle manager in its most re-
cent volume. The two tools complement 
one another nicely. 

Kehr, Neubauer, and Stoltzenburg have 
provided a valuable sourcebook for German 
librarianship. They plan a future collection 
on the problems and trends in various types 
of libraries and library systems. May their 
plans come to fruition. 

This handbook is recommended for large 
university and research collections and li-
brary science collections.-Meredith A. 
Butler, Head of Public Services, State Uni-
versity C allege, Brockport, New York. 

Library Acquisition Policies a.nd Proce-
dures. Edited by Elizabeth Futas. A 
Neal-Schuman Professional Book. Phoe-
nix, Ariz.: Oryx Press, 1977. 406p. 
$14.50. LC 77-7275. ISBN 0-912700-
02-5. 
Written acquisition policies are either as-

sumed or enthusiastically supported in the 
literature of librarianship. "Library Acquisi-
tion Policies and Procedures is designed to 
aid librarians, library school students, and 
publishers to understand some of the fac-
tors which underlie and influence library 

materials selection." It is also intended as 
a help to those who may be in the process 
of developing acquisition policies. It will 
best serve this latter purpose. 

This book is primarily a collection of 
acquisition policy statements, with 372 
pages devoted to reprinting, in full or in 
part, 82 policies from both public and 
academic libraries. Including the preface 
and introduction, there are almost 450 
pages. A significant portion of the prelim-
inary pages reports the findings of a survey 
that started with a letter to 3,600 libraries 
requesting their selection policies and will-
ingness to complete a follow-up question-
naire. The response to the initial letter and 
the follow-up questionnaire was some 300 
selection policies and 246 usable question-
naires. In addition seven ALA-approved 
statements about selection are conveniently 
reprinted in the appendixes. 

The most that can be said for the survey 
report on acquisition procedures is that it 
is interesting. For a questionnaire with only 
twelve questions it is difficult to imagine a 
greater incongruity in responses. Can we 
believe, for example, that one academic li-
brary spent 95 percent of its total library 
budget on library materials? Or that . an-
other spent only 3.9 percent? In addition, 
the editor draws attention to discrepancies 
between the policy statements received and 
the answers to questions in the survey. In 
the words of the editor, "The academic and 
public library questionnaire survey answers, 
although certainly not conclusive of any 
trends, do provide some interesting com-
mentary on what happens in the practical 
world of library acquisitions." 

It may be appropriate to comment on 
"acquisition policy" and "selection policy." 
Boyer and Eaton in Book Selection Policies 
of American Libraries (Austin, Texas: 
Armadillo Press, 1971 ) stress the distinc-
tion. Elizabeth Futas does not. If the dis-
tinction must be made, it would appear 
satisfactory to consider "selection policy" 
a vital section of any "acquisition policy." 

The policies selected for reprinting are 
in three categories: public library policies, 
academic library policies, and partial li-
brary policies by category. The policies are 
representative of various types of libraries 
and are worthy examples. Twelve public 
library and fourteen academic library pol-