College and Research Libraries Recent Publications COLLEGE & RESEARCH LIBRARIES Little (Arthur D.) Inc. Into the Information Age: A Perspective for Federal Action on Information, reviewed by Irma Y. Johnson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 465 Adkinson, Burton W. TwoCenturiesofFederallnformation, reviewedbyHarryWelsh . . .. 466 Douglas C. McMurtrie: Bibliographer and Historian of Printing, reviewed by John V. Richardson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 467 Reader in the History of Books and Printing , reviewed by Susan G. Swartzburg . . . . . . 468 Reader in Undergraduate Libraries, reviewed by Sheila M. Laidlaw ... ............. 471 Taylor, P. J. Information Guides: A Survey of Subject Guides to Sources of Informa- tion, reviewed by Mary Pound . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 472 Progress in Communication Sciences, V. 1, reviewed by Mary B. Cassata . . . .......... 472 Requiem for the Card Catalog: Management Issues in Automated Cataloging, reviewed by Murray S. Martin ... . . .. ..... .. .. . ..... .. . ... ........ . ..... . . ........... 474 Columbia University. Oral History Research Office . The Oral History Collection of Co- lumbia University, reviewed by Martha Chambers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 Soltow, Martha Jane, and Sokkar, JoAnn Stehberger. Industrial Relations and Person- nel Management: Selected Information Sources, reviewed by Barbara R. Healy .. . .. 476 Clinic on Library Applications of Data Processing. Problems and Failures in Library Automation, reviewed by Gregory N. Bullard . . .. ..... ..... .. . .. . . ..... . ..... . . 477 McCoy, Ralph E. Freedom of the Press: A Bibliocyclopedia. Ten-Year Supplement (1967-1977), reviewed by Martha Boaz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478 Mcinnis, Raymond G. New Perspectives for Reference Service in Academic Libraries, reviewed by Scott Bruntjen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 478 Bruer, J. Michael. Toward a California Document Conservation Program , reviewed by Catherine Asher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480 Making Cooperation Work, reviewed by Leonard Grundt ..... . ............... . ... 481 Hunter, Eric J. AACR 2: An Introduction to the Second Edition of Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, reviewed by Eleanor R. Payne . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 481 Grosch, Audrey N. Minicomputers in Libraries, I979-80 , reviewed by Fay Zipkowitz . 482 Funding Alternatives for Libraries, reviewed by George W. Cornell ..... . . . ........ 484 Abstracts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 Other Publications of Interest to Academic Librarians . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 489 BOOK REVIEWS Little (Arthur D.) Inc. Into the Information Age: A Perspective for Federal Action on Information. Vincent Giuliano, project di- rector; Martin Ernst, project reviewer; Susan Crooks; James Dunlop; Arthur D. Little, Inc. Chicago: American Library Assn., 1978. 134p. $7.50. LC 78-26851. ISBN 0-8389-0283-9. Several features of this report urge its reading by knowledge professionals and pol- icy makers: its modish title, National Sci- ence Foundation sponsorship, the reputable contractor, a former library educator as project director, and, not least, publication by ALA . The study is yet another push for full recognition at national levels of the crit- ical value of information in our society. It is well organized for readers with even a minimum of time and of previous knowl- edge or concern with policy problems of in- formation transfer. The report adds several useful perspec- tives. Three modes of information transfer are considered in historical order: "discipline-based," "mission-based, " and "problem-based." Designated as eras I, II, and III, the modes are said to operate on I 465 466 I College & Research Libraries • September 1979 different values and with differing informa- tion systems. While chronological in terms of new emphases, all three "eras" actually operate concurrently, a factor somewhat obscured by choice of the term. A new springboard for national commitment "to make information work better for our soci- ety" is projected for era III, emphasizing the role of scientific, technical, and societal information (STSI) in addressing current problems of economic well-being, environ- mental protection, energy availability/use, public health/safety, etc. Implications for action are set forth for "readers who are in a position to make information-related policy decisions." No specific solutions are proposed (library re- source sharing is specifically discredited), but rather a "framework for understanding" for senior policy makers, agency executives, R & D managers, congressional staff, and senior scientists. Change is expected to stem primarily from congressional action rather than from the executive branch; however, support is expressed for the 1976 NCLIS call for a White House office of in- formation policy and a representative advi- sory committee. Running through the report is the information-as-commodity principle: In the future, change will depend on two "dynam- ics"-"a market-oriented dynamic, involving private sector ventures of both for-profit firms and not-for-profit organizations, like professional associations [, and] a central- planning dynamic, largely focused around the federal role in STSI transfer." Questionable to many in a democratic so- ciety will be the marketplace philosophy applied to information access, leading, as it will, to the rich getting richer and the poor poorer. Others will feel it misused unless a similar market dynamic is methodically applied in government decisions for support of the research itself (now more than $22 billion per year). Still others will hold that, government-generated STSI having already been paid for, support of its primary and secondary dissemination is also in order, thereby setting in place the infrastructure for the entire knowledge base essential to era III problem solving. The report concludes with a useful anno- tated bibliography of the principal govern- ment and quasi-government studies from Baker (1958) through NCLIS (1976). Doubt- less Giuliano/Little will now join them. An articulate, thoughtful, provocative discus- sion, this report deserves careful reading by all its intended recipients, including librar- ians. The issue is pressing: how the knowl- edge base, on which all our institutions de- pend, shall be managed, and for whom.- Irma Y. johnson, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. Adkinson, Burton W. Two Centuries of Federal Information. Publications in the Information Sciences. Stroudsburg, Pa.: Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, 1978 235p. $26. LC 78-7294. ISBN 0-87933-269-7. (Dist. by Academic Press). "Government and scientific and technical information" as an alternate title would bet- ter explain the scope and focus of Two Cen- turies of Federal Information, for if one is expecting a developmental history of the Government Printing Office and the deposi- tory library system or an overview of all federal information activities, this is not the book. With this caveat in mind, Burton W. Adkinson still set out to do a big job, namely to present the federal government's scientific and technical information (STI) policies and programs from 1790 to 1972, and he admirably accomplished his goal. The author successfully designates four periods within the two-century span and weaves four chapters around significant STI characteristics for each period, concentrat- ing especially on the intensity of the 1942- 72 years. Next, he interprets and assesses the general developments affecting this later period, reviewing the many recommen- datory studies of STI, the federal-private sectors' relations, international cooperation, and trends, people, and future directions. The result is a cogent text comprising the agencies, the activities, the policies as man- ifested for the various periods, the per- sonalities, and those events auguring cl:].ange and future directions. Here, then, is a book well suited to a course in STI that em- phasizes the official role, or one that could well ground the newly interested in federal policy for science information. Coverage of scientific and technical activi- ties is quite extensive. Adkinson at times l