College and Research Libraries


rating scales, etc., which offer the reader 
systems that could be adapted to local situa-
tions. At the end of each chapter, the au-
thor has included a list of key organizations 
which develop or assess materials as well as 
pertinent literature reviews. 

Today, perhaps more than at any other 
period in time, selection of instructional 
materials has become more than a school 
system issue. Community groups and spe-
cial interest organizations are seriously 
questioning the inclusion of certain types of 
reading and instructional materials. The 
concerns of parents, educators, and em-
ployers about teacher preparation, instruc-
tional style, test scores, and basic compre-
hension ability directly affect the debate 
over the proper selection of materials for 
classroom or individual use. As Woodbury 
illustrates throughout, selection is a 
complex decision-making process involving 
many factors and criteria. 

This book is a comprehensive, readable, 
contemporary assessment of the issues and 
policies involved in materials selection (in-
cluding references to the effects of Proposi-
tion 13 in California). The author's practical 
experience in the field, coupled with the 
attempt to integrate research models with 
basic factual information and examples, 
makes this work most valuable as an intro-
duction to the field of materials selection.-
George Charles Newman, Findlay College, 
Findlay, Ohio. 

Robinson, A.M. Lewin. Systematic Bib-
liography: A Practical Guide to the Work 
of Compilation. 4th ed. rev. With an 
additional chapter by Margaret Lodder. 
London: Clive Bingley; New York: K. G. 
Saur, 1979. 135p. $10. LC 79-40542. 
ISBN 0-85157-289-8. 
This work is an introduction to the "main 

principles involved in the practical work of 
compiling bibliographies" and is intended 
for the nonlibrarian and student of librar-
ianship. Any work on bibliography must 
attempt to define the nebulous boundaries 
in that realm, and chapter one, in a very 
short space, does this quite well. The tech-
niques described in the next three chapters 
are limited to systematic, or enumerative, 
bibliography. 

The emphasis is on the practical decisions 

Recent Publications I 383 

to be made in compilation: how to collect 
material, how the field is to be limited, 
what form of entry to use, the place of 
annotations, and methods of arrangement 
and layout. The last chapter, by Margaret 
Lodder, briefly surveys the role of com-
puters in both compilation and retrieval. 
Twenty plates provide pages from as many 
preeminent bibliographies and are very use-
ful in illustrating points made in the text. 
There is a highly selective list of recom-
mended books and an index. 

First published in 1963 by the University 
of Capetown School of Librarianship, suc-
ceeding editions have seen very little 
change other than the added chapter on 
computer applications in 1971 (3d ed.). The 
major improvements have been in type size 
and legibility. 

This is not a style manual, nor a treat-
ment of bibliographic history or theory; but 
for the person faced with a task of compila-
tion, the book has immediate value. In one 
sitting the subject is introduced and the va-
rious alternatives outlined. The presentation 
is scholarly and the advice sound. Enough 
references are given to the work of analyti-
cal bibliographers to spark further investiga-
tion on the part of the reader. Although the 
few changes may not have warranted a new 
edition, this remains a useful, perhaps 
unique, discussion of the "preparation of 
lists of books. "-Douglas Birdsall, Idaho 
State University, Pocatello. 

Warren, G. Garry. The Handicapped Li-
brarian: A Study in Barriers. Metuchen, 
N.J.: Scarecrow, 1979. 147p. $7.50. LC 
79-21811. ISBN 0-8108-1259-2. 
The purpose of this book is to present in-

formation about the career structures, work-
fig conditions, personal characteristics, edu-
cational preparation, interests, attitudes, 
and motivations of handicapped librarians 
and to examine the psychological and 
physical barriers, including policies, affect-
ing their careers. The book is the outgrowth 
of the au thor's dissertation. Warren indi-
cates that the experiences of his own speech 
impediment gave special insight into the 
preparation of the eleven-page question-
naire used for the study. It is hoped that 
once the physical and psychological barriers 
are identified, the profession and the hand-