College and Research Libraries


300 College & Research Libraries 

quires us to measure our performance. 
Will we ever be able to establish a cost/ 
benefit relationship between our new ser­
vices and such academic output measures 
as scholarly productivity, grant produc­
tion, or enhanced teaching?-Ed Neroda, 
Eastern Montana College Library, Billings. 

Nos Ressources Humaines: la Cle d'un Bon 
Service. Personnel: Key to Successful 
Public Service. Textes des communica­
tions de depart pour les ateliers au 16e 
CongresdelaC.B.P.Q., du23au26Mai 
1985 a 1'Auberge du Mont Gabriel. Ed. 
by Rejean Savard. Montreal: Corpora­
tion des Bibliothecaires Professionallels 
du Quebec, 1985. 168p. $20 (Canada). 
Reading this work conjures up images 

of a graduate school seminar course in 
which students distribute their term pa­
pers to one another for purposes of class 
discussion. The papers vary greatly in 
length, quality, readability (of both type­
face and style), and depth of thought. 
Writes editor Rejean Savard in his preface, 
''We have sacrificed aesthetics for effi­
ciency by printing the texts as they were 
submitted by contributors. We have done 
this to make the papers available before the 
conference" (p.xi). Such an arrangement 
makes sense for the conference attendees. 
And, given the notorious time lag associ­
ated with the publication of conference 
proceedings, it is a breath of fresh air to be 
able to read these contributions just a year 
after they were presented. Having said 
that, however, the lack of uniformity 
results in an inferior product, not only ty­
pographically but in other ways as well, 
evincing an acute lack of what one expects 
of careful editing. The lead article, for ex­
ample, one of six French-language pieces 

· (of fourteen contributions, not counting 
the preface, which appears in both En­
glish and French), is word processing with 
a justified right margin but printed on a 
low-resolution dot-matrix printer, off­
putting for English-language readers on at 
least two counts. 

Topics covered in the collection range 
from professional education to conflict 
resolution to team building and union­
ization. Of particular merit are contribu­
tions by Kathleen M. Heim, Les Pourciau, 

May 1986 

and Diane Mittermeyer. 
In a carefully written, upbeat article, 

Heim explores further one of her familiar 
research interests, gender stratification. 
Before tracing the historical context of 
women in libraries, she notes that'' on the 
whole the library profession offers a far 
greater opportunity for balance between 
the sexes than do other professional are­
nas" (p.32). In her historical overview one 
is struck by the relative recency of the 
movement to expose the lack of parity be­
tween men and women in administrative 
library positions. In conclusion, Heim 
suggests ways in which sex discrimination 
can be ameliorated, noting that a victory in 
the comparable-worth battle will benefit 
librarians of both genders. 

The application of one particular conflict 
resolution technique to resistance to 
change is the subject of Les Pourciau's pa­
per. Granting that resistance to change is a 
natural reaction, Pourciau focuses on the 
use of the integrative decision-making 
technique to mitigate conflict between 
persons initiating change and those resist­
ing it. Distinguishing among the various 
types of conflict, he reviews the traditional 
approaches of management to resolving 
conflict, rejecting separation, affiliation, 
annihilation, and regulation as inappro­
priate for the work milieu of libraries and 
settling on interaction as holding the most 
promise. 

Diane Mittermeyer' s interest is profes­
sionalism. She presents a number of 
models of professionalism, ranging from 
what she labels outmoded to all-inclusive. 
Mittermeyer notes that use of the trait 
model-in her view largely discredited-is 
still common among authors of library lit­
erature, though it is now used more criti­
cally. Other models, such as the field spe­
cific, are receiving more attention. 
Mittermeyer argues that whatever para­
digm of professionalism is considered, li­
brarians should pay increasing attention 
to their use of political .power strategies as 
an important element of social recogni­
tion. Whether this strategy should be used 
to enhance power, as she suggests, is a 
matter of some debate. 

Some of the other papers are marked by 
a lack of vibrancy and timeliness. The 



Do you and your book wholesaler speak the 
same language? 

Sometimes it takes one well-trained and skilled librar­ you get the most benefit from Baker &: Taylor's spe­
ian to fully understand the real needs of another cialized services. 

So when you order from Baker &: Thylor you can beThat's why Baker&: Taylor has made a point of having 
assured that nothing will ever get lost in the transla­more trained librarians on .staff than any other book 
tion. EXPERIENCE YOU CAN DEPEND ON supplier 
eau or write us now BAKER & TAYLOR 

These professional librarians are dedicated to helping for more information. a GRACE company 

Eastern Division. 50 Kirb)' Aven ue. Somerville, NJ 08876 (20 1) 722-8000 Midwestern Division , 50 1 S Glad iolus Street. Mo mence. IL 60954 (8 15) 472-2444 
Southern Division , Mt Ohve Road. Com merce, GA 30599 (404 ) 335-5000 Western Division, 380 Ed ison Way. Reno. NV 89564 (702) 786-6700 



302 College & Research Libraries 

reader plows through the article on flex 
time (a topic whose vitality peaked some 
years ago) only to learn that empirical 
studies show flex time to have a generally 
positive effect on morale, though library­
specific studies result in inconclusive find­
ings. Such findings are hardly worth the 
time and energy expended. The piece re­
lating to the development of an internship 
program was long on news and institu­
tional boosterism, but left the reader little 
to ponder. And that's the disappoint­
ment. Fewer than half of the contributions 
in this collection give much to tuck away 
for further professional discussion; much 
less do they pique interest in additional 
research.-Jonathan D. Lauer, Aurora Uni­
versity Library, Aurora, Illinois. 

Issues in Academic Librarianship: Views 
and Case Studies for the 1980s and 
1990s. Ed. by Peter Spyers-Duran and 
Thomas W. Mann, Jr. Westport, Conn.: 
Greenwood, 1985. 206p. (New Direc­
tions in Librarianship, No. 7). LC 84­
15733. ISBN 0-313-24645-9. 
Addressing the conflicting issues and 

priorities raised through the impact of so­
cial and technological change upon aca­
demic and research libraries is always a 
difficult task. For the vast majority of the 
professional literature, one or two aspects 
of this process are emphasized or pre­
sented in detail. The editors of this volume 
have done all library personnel a signifi­
cant service by collecting fourteen papers 
given at the conference on "Contempo­
rary Issues in Academic and Research Li­
braries" held in Boulder, Colorado, Feb­
ruary 28-March 1, 1984. Taken together, 
they provide a clear picture of a tangled 
subject. The administrative viewpoint is 
visible throughout; as many of the authors 
are themselves in senior administrative 
positions, this is understandable and logi­
cal. 

The opening essay by David Adamany 
reviews the position of research libraries 
as seen from the perspective of a univer­
sity president. Due consideration is given 
to matters requiring presidential input, 
such as recruitment, budget planning, 
creation of a development plan, and per­
sonnel evaluation. In their respective pa-

May 1986 

pers, Runyon, Frank, and Dupuis further 
explore various types of strategic planning 
and their effects on situations as varied as 
Texas Tech University, Quebec coopera­
tive development, and general library 
management. McCabe notes with some 
regret that ''a preferred methodology of 
management ... has not yet appeared" 
(p.27). Faced with challenges stemming 
from an exploding technology in virtually 
every area of information production and 
storage, this is hardly surprising. 

It is this challenge dealt with by the re­
maining papers in the areas of electronic 
publishing, public sector/private sector in­
teraction (and competition), library archi­
tecture, optical disks as a medium of pres­
ervation (as contrasted with more 
traditional forms and techniques), and 
computer literacy. Robert Zich's paper on 
the Library of Congress optical disk proj­
ect and James Hart's case study of teach­
ing computer literacy at the University of 
Cincinnati are particularly useful for sum­
maries of current practical approaches to 
two frontier areas of preservation and in­
struction. Equally useful is the analysis of 
the public sector/private sector contro­
versy presented by Glyn Evans: an espe­
cially noteworthy feature is a brief back­
ground history of the federal and 
professional reports issued on this topic. 
Library schools and the type of librarian 
needed in the brave new library world of 
the 1980s and 1990s are examined by Boyd 
Rayward, with emphasis laid upon practi­
cal implementable research utilizing the 
very technologies that pose such opportu­
nities for the profession. Opposed to this 
is Edward Reid-Smith's call for increased 
user education so as to create a greater de­
gree of self -sufficiency or "informatacy," 
permitting professional personnel to be 
better used. Finally, the idea of profes­
sionals as faculty is summarily dealt with 
by Fred Batt, who advocates making such 
ranking an option for academic and re­
search library personnel, rather than sad­
dling them with duties potentially detri­
mental to their effective functioning. 

While some of the issues discussed in 
this collection have been more fully 
treated elsewhere in the literature, the pa­
pers here do serve one extremely impor­