College and Research Libraries ing an online search service, the future of online searching, and a glossary. -Susan Jurist, Research Libraries Group, Stanford. Dodd, Sue A. Cataloging Machine-Readable Data Files: An Interpretive Manual. Chi- cago: American Library Assn., 1982. 248p. $35 LC 82-11597 ISBN 0-8389- 0365-7. Machine-readable data files (MRDF) have existed for forty years, data archives and data libraries for almost thirty years, yet it was not until the 1970s that ALA's Resources and Technical Services Divi- sion appointed the Subcommittee to Rec- ommend Rules for Cataloging Machine- Readable Data Files. The inclusion in AACR2 of chapter 9-Machine-Readable Data Files-incorporates the recommen- dations made by the committee in its final report, and constitutes the library commu- nity's official recognition of MRDF as le- gitimate resource materials. The format of AACR2, however, pre- cluded the inclusion of appropriate back- ground material necessary for under- standing the fluid nature of MRDF and the difficulties associated with cataloging and controlling them; hence the necessity for this manual. In the preface, Dodd sets the objectives of the manual: "(1) to provide guidelines for establishing bibliographic conventions for MRDF ... ; (2) to suggest integrated levels of recordkeeping for MRDF; (3) to bring into sharper focus the AACR2 rules as they relate to cataloging computerized files; (4) to provide notes, examples, and interpretations of MRDF cataloging, which would otherwise not be available; and (5) to provide working tools for those cataloging MRDF for the first time." The manual is divided into three basic sections. Part 1 describes MRDF in basic terms to the uninitiated, and discusses the distinction between documentation and data files. Part 2 is a step-by-step interpre- tation of AACR2 chapter 9, and chapter 21 as it relates to MRDF. Each part begins with a summary quote from the specific rule followed by interpretation and exam- ples related to a variety of MRDF (text files, numeric files, program files). Part 3 includes sample catalog cards for all types Recent Publications 495 ". . . It helps [the] beginning researcher . .. by putting basic information at his or her fingertips, and it helps the mature scholar to be sure he or she hasn't missed anything. " Wilbur R. Jacobs Department of History University of California, Santa Barbara " .. . students love [it]. The indexing is so thorough they can tell what an article is about before they even look up the abstract . .. " Kristi Greenfield Reference/History Librarian University of Washington, Seattle " ... an incomparable way of viewing the results of publication by the experts. " Aubrey C. Land Department of History University of Georgia, Athens AMERICA: HISTORY AND LIFE is a basic resource that belongs on your library shelves. Write for a complimentary sample copy and price quotation. ABC [ /•I Information Services Box 4397 CLJQ lllll Santa Barbara, CA 93103 496 College & Research Libraries of MRDF, worksheets, MARC/MRDF rec- ords, ISBD(G) punctuation, and a chapter for data file producers and distributors with guidelines for bibliographic descrip- tions of their files. The text is followed by a 250-item glossary of MRDF related terms and an index. Although this manual re- lates in detail the descriptive cataloging of MRDF, it is not a manual on how to cata- log. It is assumed that those using it have an understanding of, or access to , AACR2. MRDF cataloging is in its infancy, and the rules have not been fully tested. The very nature of MRDF makes it impossible to foresee what technological advances await . Dodd describes her work as a first effort on the road to a new cataloging ven- ture. She succeeds admirably in illuminat- ing an area where AACR2 guidelines do not adequately define bibliographic ele- ments as they specifically apply to MRDF, and where there is no specific industry to control or standardize the bibliographic representation of MRDF. ~ MAGAz;~~.;, 8 0 « OII r>> 'f" --1. ~ Fift ieth Yea r Q ! c.o~ ~ ~ -I«. "t 0 MC~;;EGOR i!] ~ < \-- "' '1-)' 1933-1983 f2 'o 1toRRIS. 1\..\..\~0 DISCOVER McGregor Where Customers Are Names-Not Numbers "Personalized " Subscription Service-Since 1933 • All domestic and • Single billing foreign .titles • Automatic renewal • Title Research • Personal customer • Prepaid account subscriptions representatives Let on experienced McGregor "Home Office" representative simplify your complex problems of periodical procurement. Prompt and cou rteous service ha s been a tra dition with McGregor since 1933. Our customers like it- We think you would . too! Write for catalog or Phone 8151734-4183 November 1983 Judith Rowe, in her foreword to the manual, summarizes the value of this publication: "Dodd has provided the guidance which data producers, data ar- chivists, and data librarians need to sup- ply consistent bibliographic information about the MRDF which they service, has provided the instructions and examples which catalogers need for the production of catalog cards for MRDF, and has laid the groundwork for the development of the additional products and services which users require for improved access to the growing collections of MRDF now available to them . We are all in her debt." -Marianne I. Gaunt, Rutgers-The State University. Introduction to Serials .Management. Foundations of Library and Information Science, V.ll . Ed. by Robert D. Stueart. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI, 1983 324p. LC 81-81658. ISBN 0-89232-107-5 . It is an ambitious undertaking to try to cover in one work the range of library processes as they apply to the serials for- mat. Marcia Tuttle, in Introduction to Serials Management, presents a very detailed, practical discussion of that broad topic. In addition to serials acquisition, cataloging and public service, there are chapters on collection development, preservation, and data and resource sharing. The stated primary audience is library school stu- dents and librarians new to serials work, however, the secondary audience proba- bly expands to include the rest of the pro- fession. Although this work deals with basic the- ory as it applies to serials, the emphasis is clearly on practice. For example, in the chapter on serials acquisition there is a section entitled "What to Do with the Mail .'' In the serials cataloging chapter is a most helpful discussion: "What the Rules Do Not Tell You." In general a number of practical approaches to a process are pre- sented. Often, however, categorical state- ments regarding the "best" or "only" way to handle an issue provide a glimpse of the strong opinions that tend to surface whenever the topic is serials. All discus- sions and the bibliography are quite cur- rent, providing a snapshot of the current