College and Research Libraries 600 I College & Research Libraries • November 1981 ularly useful to anyone who operates or plans to operate a fee-based information service. It should also be read by public, academic, and special librarians, however, as it explains ex- actly why people are willing to pay for some kinds of information even though others are available without charge. Furthermore, the book is delightfully calm in tone: unlike some of the literature in this field, it predicts the demise of no institution of any kind.- Haynes McMullen, University of North Car- olina at Chapel Hill. Research on the Impact of a Computerized Cir- culation System on the Performance of a Large College Library. Part One: The Main Library. Report on National Science Foun- dation Grant no. 1ST 78-10821 for the pe- riod September 15, 1978-June 1, 1980. Prepared by Katherine A. Frohmberg and William A. Moffett. Order no. PB 81- 199549. Oberlin, OH; Oberlin College Li- brary, 1981. 89p. $9.50 paper; $3.50 mi- crofiche. This report, prepared to satisfy contrac- tual requirements of the £under, theN ational Science Foundation, should not have been published in its present form. In terms of meaningful content there is only enough ma- terial for a journal article. For eighty-nine pages printed only on one side, with large type, wide margins, and amateurishly drawn graphs, a price tag of $9.50 seems excessive. Oberlin College used "the occasion of the introduction of an automated circulation sys- tem in 1978 to study certain measures of li- brary performance." These measures include availability, building use, visits to the li- brary, number of checkouts, required time to charge a book, and patron attitudes. These are not new measures, nor are the methods new. Paul Kantor, who served as a consul- tant to the study' has already published much of this material. Treatment of the findings from the study is uneven. For example, chapter five includes a twenty-five-item questionnaire given to Oberlin students. The following chapter con- tains a very technical discussion of modeling variables including those from the question- naire. Yet the responses from the question- naire are not discussed until chapter eight, and then, only four of the questions are ana- lyzed. Basically the study found that availability and accessibility improved as a result of auto- mation. Student's favorable attitudes toward the library declined with the introduction of the system but improved as checkout time decreased.- Ellen Altman, University of Ar- izona, Tucson. Rink, Evald. Technical Americana: A Check- list of Technical Publications Printed Before 1831. Millwood, N.Y.: Kraus Interna- tional Pubs., 1981. $60. LC 81-4036. ISBN 0-527-75447-1. This is a pioneer treatment of the subject and as such is an important reference work for those concerned with the early history of technology and industrial development in the United States. The 6,065 titles and editions are grouped chronologically within seventy- five subheadings. The subheadings are in turn gathered under twelve main headings: general works, technology, agriculture, crafts and trade, medical technology, mili- tary technology, civil engineering, mechani- cal engineering, manufacturing, mining and mineral production, sea transportation and inland transportation. The scope is restricted to books published in this country prior to 1831, both original works and reprints of British or translations of continental writers. It is a record of the literature of technology produced by American publishers for the use of Americans. The largest portion (85 per- cent) are nineteenth-century publications. The largest main heading is "Inland Trans- portation," which occupies one third of the work. "Agriculture" is the next largest with 14 percent. The author explicitly states that this is not a bibliographical study of individual items, but an ~ffort to make the publications listed "available to the users". Descriptions are therefore "limited to essential features suffi- ciently complete for their identification." They consist of a main entry, the title short- ened where appropriate, and an imprint in a standardized form which gives place, printer or publisher, and date. The collation is in a library format. In some cases there is an addi- tional note when the title 'information is not complete. Although thirty-four bibliogra- phies are listed as references, each entry has only one bibliographical citation, preferably to an imprint bibliography such as Evans, Let us help lift your training burden. NEW FROM ABIIINFORM ABI/INFORM, the online source to bibliographic information for business and management deci- sion-makers, now introduces a sig- nificant advance in training. INFORM file. Learn INFORM's audiocassette dialogue, in a real life searcher and end user setting, brings the logically structured workbook vividly to life. Learn INFORM is current ... effective . .. inexpen- sive ... ready for use when and where you want it. An excellent aid for the trainee ... a quick file re- view for the experienced user. A NEW APPROACH ORDER TODAY Learn INFORM-professionally pro- duced for group or self-instruc- tion-is a new concept in training packages, providing a step-by-step exercise/workbook designed to help you get the most from the ABI/ Each audiocassette and workbook package, shipped in binder edition, is $25. Additional workbooks for group training are available. Just clip and return the coupon for im- mediate shipment. GD DATA COURIER 800/626-2823 502/582-411 I Telex 204235 A major advance from ABIIINFORM® ABI/INFORM- Dept. RC-64 Data Courier, Inc ., 620 South Fifth St., Louisville, KY 40202 U.S.A . YES. Ship ___ Learn INFORM training packages @ $25 each, surface mail included. (For airmail, add $12 per set.) Total enclosed $ ____ (U.S. funds , please.) Bill me. Name ____________________________________ __ Organization--------------------- Address ___________________________ _ City /State/Zip __________________ _ 602 I College & Research Libraries • November 1981 Shipton, and Bristol's work with imprints through 1800, Shaw and Shoemaker's work on 1801-19 imprints, Shoemaker's for 1820-29; and Gale Cooper's for the year 1830. These provide direct access to the mi- croform publications by the Readex Micro- print Corporation. The location of copies reflects the author's dependence on existing bibliographies and catalogs, particularly the National Union Catalogue of Pre 1956 Imprints. There is a single index in which names, titles of anony- mous works, and subjects are arranged in one alphabet. The latter are in italics and upper case, respectively, the reference is to the item number. Unfortunately this sometimes results in a long string of numbers which must be laboriously checked. A work of this kind presents the author with the difficult task of defining the scope of the work. Technical publications suggest a concept with blurred boundaries. Rink says, "The term 'technology' has been interpreted rather broadly, and the check list contains not only known works on various technolo- gies, but also those which indicate the advo- cacy and extent of the application of techno- logical improvements, as well as the availability of products created by such ap- plications." He then lists eleven "types of publications, frequently containing techno- . logical information," which he omits. Among them are: almanacs, city directories, and cookbooks, noting that bibliographies devoted to those subjects exist. It is inescapable in an endeavor such as this that the author's perception of the subject will be the determining factor in setting its limits, just as it is inescapable that not every- one will be satisfied with his decisions. Bear- ing this in mind, Rink has made an excellent beginning with a subject which presents a number of interesting anomalies. "Literature promoting industrial development and man- ufactures, unless such publications contain specific information on the state of the indus- try or manufacture" is specifically omitted. Yet when it comes to "Agriculture" appar- ently no such limitation is imposed. Mathew Carey's A View of the Ruinous Consequences of a Dependence on Foreign Markets for the Sale of the Great Staples of this Nation, 1820, Midwest Library Service Announces Its Newly Expanded CONTINUATION AND STANDING ORDER SERVICE We invite you to submit your Continuations List to us for prompt, efficient processing. Our publisher base includes approximately 500 selected publishers. We are thoroughly knowledgeable in all aspects of Standing Order procedures. For a copy of our new brochure on "CONTINUATION & STANDING ORDER SERVCE" please call us, using our TOLL-FREE W A TS Line: 1-800-325-8833, or else write: Mr. Howard Lesser President Midwest Library Service 11443 St. Charles Rock Road Bridgeton, Mo. 63044 Once your order is received, a Personal Customer Service Representative will be assigned to your library to assist you. New scholarly and professional titles in life sciences from I E~.,n~:,JunkA~~'~c~~~'~ers LT LAKES W.O. William s, University of Adelaide evelopments in Hydrobiology 5 espite the volume of inland sa lt lake s (.OOR% of the rth's water vs .. 009 % for fre s h water lake s) very little erature is available in one place on th ei r limn o logy. his volume reflects current research on thi s area of owing economical and limnological interest. It repre se nt s e proceedings of an international sy mpo s ium held in ustralia in 1979 by the International A ssoc iation of mnology. Every continent and all aspects of limnological dy are represe nted. BN 90-6193-7 56-6 45R pp. COLOGYANDETHOLOGY F FISHES ited ·by D.L.G . Noakes and J.A. Ward evelopments in Environmental Biology of Fi s he s, $95 .00 ·ology and Eth ology of Fishes repre se nt s the edited and viewed papers pre se nted at the fir t North American eeting of the International Assoc iation of Fi s h Eth o log y hich was also the seco nd biennial sy mpo s ium o n the hology and Behavioral Ecology of Fi sh es) held at Jllinois ate University, Normal campus in October, 19 79. proaches range from detailed biochemical studie s t o e most wide-ranging theoretical considerations in the olution of reproductive strategi es and emphases range m the most recent innovative technolog y so ha ·ic to e study of fi s h schools to di sc u ss ion s of community lati ons hi ps. BN 90-6193-896-1 144 pp. THOPHYSIOLOGY OF HE VISUAL SYSTEM ited by L. Maffei , Director of the In stitute of urophysiology, Pisa Ital y. $34.00 cumenta Ophthalmologica Proceedings Serie 30 is volume represe nt s the res ult of the recen·t effort to I the gap between ba s ic a nd clinical re sea rch in the ld of vision. Out s tanding scientists from the United tes and Europe contributed papers on their re sea rch at orks hop sponsored by the Commi ssio n of the ropean Communitie s in Pi sa, Italy, December, 19RO. e papers dealt with the most recent advances in the atomy and phys iology of the visual pathway in rtebrates, physiological and pathological aspects of the ulomotor system, normal and abnormal visual develop· nt in man and animal s (including studies on vi~ual privation) , peripheral and central factors in amblyopia, w methodological developments for the early diagnos is n eurological and ophthalmological di seases, and chophysical method s for the study of normal and hological vi ion . It will he of interest to neurologi sts as II as ophthalmologists. N 90-61 93- 726·4 >Vemher 304 pp. $53 .00 COMPONENTS OF PRODUCTIVITY OF MEDITERRANEAN-CLIMATE REGIONS -BASIC AND APPLIED ASPECTS Proceedings of the International Symposium on Photosynthesis edited by N.S. Margari s, University of Thes sa loniki Greece. a nd H.A. Mooney, Sta nford University Tas ks for Vegetation Science 4 Thc~c papers were pre sente d at a sym posiu m held in Kassa ndra, Greece in September, 19RO. The purpose of the sy mposi um wa~ to present a complete cco~ystem management stu d y of plant s in Medit e rr a nean t y pe climate ~, their current prod uctivit y, their unique climatic and m o rph o log ical features, ami their relative pOtential for energy prod ucti o n. ISBN 90-6193-944-5 December viii + 2!10 pp. COASTAL RESEARCH IN THE GULF OF BOTHNIA edited by K. Muller Mon og raphiae Biologicae, 45 $49.50 Thi ~ is a study of a bi o logica ll y ~c n si tive coastal area influenced b y pulp mill, hea vy metal indu stry, and communal po lluti o n. The flora and fauna of thi s bracki s h water region an: di sc u sse d. Some unique aspects of the Bothnia Gulf add to the value of the re sea rch : the s urface water sa linit y doc s not exceed 6 %, there are no tidal movements, and the latitude and low sa linity cause a thick ice cover for 5-7 month s of the year. ISBN 90-61 93-09!1· 7 December 4!10 pp. THE BIOLOGY OF TURBELLARIA edited by Ernest R. Schockaert and Ian R. Ball Developments in H ydrobi o logy, n $!17.00 Thi s volume repre se nts the Third Internatio nal Symposium on th.: Biology of Turbcllaria held at the Limburg~ Univer~it y C..:nt<:r, Belgium in Augu~t, 19RO. Participant s repre se nt.:d 17 countries a nd the pr..:s.:ntation> ranged from critical review paper> to poster pre s.: ntations of specializnl res.:arch topic s. ISBN 90-nl 93·757-4 Decem her 316 pp. $n9.50 !'lease use ISRN when ordaing th ese LJr. W. Junk books -from yo ur !JOokseller. or direct fro m our North Americon distribution center: Kluwer Boston, Inc. Jl)00ld Derhy Street • Hin~ham . MA 02043 n i 7-74 9-52n2 604 I College & Research Libraries· November 1981 is a work which could be classified as eco- nomics. A particularly unsatisfactory sec- tion, to this reviewer, is "Description and Travel." One would like to have known more about the basis on which the selection was made. It would appear that their promo- tional character was a determining factor as in thecaseofJohnDrayton'sA View of South Carolina as Respects Her Natural and Civil Concerns, 1802. One wonders, then, at the omission of John Filson's The Discovery Set- tlement and Present State of Kentucke, 1784. The subject clearly needs further defini- tion. One of the functions of the collector and the bibliographer is to help define a field through assembling and organizing the liter- ature of a subject. In this respect, Rink has made a notable contribution. His extensive treatment of both federal and state laws bear- ing on technological matters is one of the most valuable parts of the work. The large number of subheadings, seventy-five, may at first glance seem excessive, particularly when one notes that "General Works on Civil Engi- neering" has 3 items while "Canals" has 816. What this reveals is the difficulty of combin- ing an ancient concept, canals, with a com- paratively modern one, civil engineering. By dividing the subject into so many different parts we are shown what a difficult one it is to manage. Drugs as they apply to medicine are omitted, yet fertilizer as it applies to agricul- ture is included. What we have in Rink's work is an important step forward in the defi- nition and organization of a body of litera- ture that has not been tackled on this scale before. That it has weaknesses is to be ex- pected, but it provides a point of departure which can be built upon with confidence.- Thomas R. Adams, John Carter Brown Li- brary, Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island. Tebbel, John. A History of Book Publishing in the United States. Volume IV: The Great Change, 1940-1980. New York & Lon- don: Bowker, 1981. 830p. $37.50. LC 71- 163903. ISBN 0-8352-0499-5. On page 113 of this massive compendium of miscellaneous information on book pub- lishing in the United States over the past forty years, the author tells a poignant story of Doubleday's valiant attempt to publish Eisenhower's Crusade in Europe with no mistakes, only to find on publication a glar- ing error in the very first sentence. Reading through the next 600 pages of Tebbel's his- tory, this story keeps coming to mind as facts familiar to the reader are misrepresented in the book. Few of the mistakes seem conse- quential, e. g., Hammond's Map Store is now located at 12 East 41st Street, not One East 43rd Street, New York (p.557); David Go- dine studied with Ray Nash while at Dart- mouth, not after graduation (p.421); the fa- mous Ulysses decision was in the thirties, not the sixties (p.695); the Peter Pauper Press (p.419) has yet to be reinstalled as a working laboratory press at SUNY Purchase, but they do undermine the user's confidence in the ac- curacy of Tebbel's accounts of the unfamil- iar. The vast bulk of the work (perhaps three- quarters) is devoted to capsule histories of hundreds of publishing firms in the United States with greatest length devoted to the great firms, the corporate giants, the people who molded their success~ and the internal corporate struggles which eventually deter- mined their ownership and direction. Em- phasis is given to the best-selling titles, if not the significant ones. The coverage is uneven, with little discrimination in choice of facts presented, but these histories often made di- verting reading with their personal slant on the academic pedigree and idiosyncrasies of the principals and even the names of restau- rants and clubs where significant publishing deals were consummated over lunch. While virtually all of the information pre- sented in the book is of interest to librarian and general reader alike, The Great Change is less a history than a collection of raw mate- rials toward a history of book publishing in mid-twentieth-century America, with a nat- ural emphasis on New York City. Tebbel has relied too heavily upon the ver- tical files of Bowker and the pages of Pub- lishers Weekly for this period to provide an adequate synthesis or to relate the course of publishing to the political, aesthetic, intellec- tual, or social trends of the period. The net has not been cast widely enough, many leads have not been pursued, and much should have been culled. In truth, the limited sources used could hardly have produced a synthesis-writing a history of book publish- ing from Publishers Weekly is rather like