College and Research Libraries


mation policy," defined by Mason as a set 
of interrelated laws and policies con-
cerned with the creation, collection, man-
agement, distribution, and retrieval of in-
formation. Here the relationship between 
the government and the private sector is 
examined in an economic context, where 
information becomes a commodity. Ma-
son points out the balance that exists be-
tween subsidizing the creation of govern-
ment information and establishing 
property rights for information. 

Political, economic, and technological 
conditions in our society make the role of 
the federal government in library and in-
formation services of major importance 
not only to libraries and librarians, but to 
all citizens. Mason has drawn together in a 
single volume a review of the philosophi-
cal base, the historical development, and 
the policy issues. She then suggests ap-
propriate roles for federal involvement in 
the future. This is not an in-depth analysis 
of each area included but gives a perspec-
tive and basis for further discussion and 
future policy development.-Sandra K. Pe-
terson, Yale University. 

Rogers, A. Robert, and Kathryn McChes-
ney. The Library in Society . Littleton, 
Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1984. 285p. 
(Library Science Text Series) $28.50. LC 
84-15440. ISBN 0-87287-379-X. 
The authors and their six contributors, 

who intended this work as an introduc-
tory text for library science students, state 
that they seek to provide a theoretical and 
conceptual framework that would aid in 
developing a better understanding of the 
role of libraries in society. They set out to 
accomplish this by presenting a view of li-
brarianship in an international context. 

The book is divided into four main 
parts. Part 1 attempts to encourage stu-
dents to view libraries as integral parts of 
the societies in which they developed. 
Chapter 1 describes the role of the library 
in meeting societal needs. Philosophies of 
librarianship are presented in chapter 2 . 
Chapter 3 surveys the history of libraries 
and librarianship from antiquity to the sta-
tus of libraries at the end of World War II 
with an emphasis on the West. Part 2 de-
scribes the major types of libraries. There 

Recent Publications 371 

are separate brief chapters on national li-
braries, school and media centers, college 
and university libraries, public libraries, 
special libraries and information centers, 
and other governmental and quasi-
governmental libraries. Part 3 presents 
overviews of librarianship from various 
regions of the world. Basic concepts of in-
ternational and comparative librarianship 
are presented in the first chapter, setting 
the stage for the slightly more detailed de-
scriptions oflibrarianship in Europe, Asia, 
Australia and New Zealand, Africa, and 
Latin America that follow. Part 4 surveys 
the impact of professional associations on 
library development in the first chapter. 
Major professional issues in industrial and 
postindustrial societies as they affect li-
braries and librarianship are discussed in 
the next chapter. Problems and prospects 
of libraries in the Third World are pre-
sented in the last chapter. At the end of 
each chapter a bibliography of basic 
sources mentioned in the chapters for fur-
ther reading are given. This is often pro-
ceeded by a short list of questions for dis-
cussion and reflection-both appear to be 
useful to students. 

The authors state in their preface that 
they wished to view librarianship in an in-
ternational context while most "library in 
society'' books seemed to focus almost ex-
elusively on the United States. They have 
succeeded in their effort to present li-
braries in society in general terms in an in-
ternational context; however, so much 
ground is covered that it seems to lack ad-
equate depth and detail and often results 
in a superficial, less meaningful presenta-
tion as a whole. The textbook's tone and 
many generalities may be somewhat irri-
tating to a reader seeking more detailed 
knowledge; perhaps it is not possible to 
do more with an objective of presenting an 
introductory survey such as this.-Pat Kis-
singer, Northern Illinois University . 

College Librarianship: The Objectives and 
the Practice. Ed . by A. Rennie McElroy. 
London: The Library Assn., 1984. 447p. 
$50. ISBN 0-85365-785-8. (Dist. in the 
U.S. by Oryx). 
College Librarianship: The Objectives and 

the Practice belongs to the Handbook on Li-