College and Research Libraries 374 College & Research Libraries standing up for one's own rights without violating the rights of others. Non- assertiveness is not standing up for one's rights; aggressiveness (including passive- aggressiveness) is infringing on others' rights. This book, written for librarians by a li- brarian who is also an assertiveness trainer, is practical in its focus and profes- sional in its scope.lt is intended to serve as a textbook for assertion training work- shops for librarians, but should be equally useful as a self-help book. The author seems interested in assisting he_r col- leagues in their individual professional development, and also in helping to coun- teract the stereotype of the nonassertive li- brarian. Topics include: personal rights and re- sponsibilities; goal setting; self-esteem and self-confidence; verbal assertion; nonverbal assertion; irrational beliefs; coping with defense mechanisms, and- by way of summary and integration-a chapter on the assertive library supervi- sor. The most basic assumption of the author is the aforementioned assumption of the assertiveness training field: "behavioral responses are learned rather than instinc- tual and . . . we therefore have control over the responses we wish to learn, un- learn, and select for use" (p.ix). The au- thor does acknowledge some limits to this control, as in her discussion of defense mechanisms. Assertiveness is defined in relation to basic human rights (standing up for one's own rights) and corresponding responsi- bilities (respecting others' rights). The au- thor enumerates five such basic rights: to be respected; to have and express feel- ings; to make mistakes; to say "no"; and to ask questions. She also considers some specific situational rights and responsibili- ties of librarians, library users, and the governing bodies over libraries. The Librarian's Discomfort Inventory is included to help the interested reader es- tablish a baseline before setting assertive- ness goals. The inventory helps one iden- tify what nonassertive or aggressive be- haviors are characteristic of oneself; with July 1985 whom and under what circumstances as- sertive behavior is difficult, and what top- ics are personally unpleasant to discuss. The chapter on self-esteem and self- confidence includes exercises for measur- ing the former and enhancing the latter. The chapters on verbal and nonverbal assertion are at the heart of the how-to fea- tures of the book. Drawing widely on the relevant literature, the author here presents substantial material for self-help. The treatment of irrational beliefs, a la Albert Ellis, reinforces the basic premise of conscious rational choice of one's behav- iors. The chapter on coping with defense mechanisms includes useful material re- lated to general stress management. Finally, the chapter devoted to the as- sertive library supervisor applies all of the foregoing principles to conduct in the managerial role. The book is researched and written well. Although it is practical, rather than theo- retical, it is nonetheless scholarly, with numerous, meticulously documented ref- erences and a good index (the latter com- piled by Linda Webster). It is admirably suited to its purpose . -M. f. La Plante, Uni- versity of Illinois at Chicago. Intner, Sheila S. Access to Media: A Guide to Integrating and Computerizing Catalogs. New York: Neal Schuman, 1984. 309p. $35. LC 84-1035. ISBN 0-918212-88-X. An expansion and revision of the au- thor's doctoral thesis of similar title (Access to Media: An Investigation of Public Librari- ans' Practices and Attitudes Toward Access to Nonprint Materials, Columbia Univ., 1982), the current Access to Media "is intended to be used as a handbook for change from manual, nonintegrated bibliographic sys- tems to integrated and automated systems as an ultimate goal." Leaving largely intact the basic chapters of the original thesis, reworked from the language of the graduate school to the practicality of " 'Can I understand this even if I'm not a librarian?' test," it is the author's intent that "Reading this book should provide an overview of the current state-of-the-art as well as the components necessary for changing a library's proce- dures and implementing more valuable ones capable of giving better service.'' In Intner' s straightforward, no- nonsense approach, the reader is seldom in any doubt as to what the text is con- cerned with. She tells at the outset what each chapter is about, reinforces her chap- ter objectives by reminding the reader at frequent intervals what the basic argu- ment and direction is, and concludes with summary statements and a list of selected readings. In its teaching approach, Access to Media would appear to be an ideal text for library science students and innovative librarians exploring the sometimes never- never lands of nonprint and computer technology. For many years, the library science stu- dent and the inquiring librarian found in the literature books and articles strongly espousing either the preeminence of books, on the one hand, or the communi- cation advantages of audiovisual or non- book materials, on the other. Dispassion- ate or ecumenical accounts were hard to come by. Access to Media is one of a grow- ing number of publications putting all kinds of media under the library's service umbrella, and Sheila Intner' s new book not only provides an excellent orientation to all kinds of media but to the field of li- brary computer technology as well. It may be that Access to Media will help academic librarians to look beyond the printed word to the benefits of including non print in the library's collections. In part one, ''A History of Media Collec- tions," the author provides an overview of the book in which she stresses that "This book is concerned with the contents of a library's main public catalog." Intner goes on to point out that "the purpose of access is the eventual use of collections, ... both cost-conscious administrative and service-oriented bibliographic goals have to be considered, (and) ... plans must be tailored to individual budgets and timetables." In the chapters that follow are described the current situation with regard to biblio- graphic access and how it developed in public and other libraries; and a study of attitudes of public librarians toward me- Recent Publications 375 dia, in terms of organization of materials and bibliographic access. In part two, "A Rationale for Change," are a summary of available computer pro- grams and the desirable characteristics of computerized catalogs; a discussion of the skills needed for the use of automated, in- tegrated catalogs in libraries; integrating manual, computer-assisted manual, and online catalogs; and the results of new ac- cess systems in providing improved pa- tron benefits and serving patrons more ef- fectively. Following the main body of the text are appendixes providing chronological "Highlights of Professional Media Activi- ties, 1940-1965" and publication dates of "Multimedia Cataloging Codes," and the survey questionnaire used in the author's study of public librarians. A list of acronyms, a glossary of terms, and a subject index complete this practical and readable work.-Robert E. Schreiber, Northern Illinois University . qi ~''= "PERSONALIZED" SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE McGregor can simplify complex and time consuming problems of periodi- cal procurement involving research , ordering, payments, renewals and record keeping. Prompt courteous service has been a tradition with McGregor since 1933. Call or write for catalog today 815/ 734-4183 MCGREGOR MAGAZINE AGENCY