College and Research Libraries


270 College & Research Libraries 

tion, coeditor William Childs continues 
the theme of American books as '' ne-
glected ambassadors,'' explaining that the 
work at hand has its most immediate his-
torical basis in the commission given by 
the United States Information Agency 
(USIA) to the Reid Foundation to examine 
the U.S. "book gap" question and sug-
gest solutions. The results of the Reid 
Foundation Task Force findings are incor-
porated into the seventeen essays by 
eleven contributors that constitute Ameri-
can Books Abroad. Childs and Donald 
McNeil are major contributors to the col-
lection, which is divided into six parts. 

Part 1, '(The American Book World,'' 
records the recent history of the American 
publishing industry and describes current 
activities of that industry, both domestic 
and international. As a free-enterprise or 
market-driven system, the specific objec-
tives of American foreign policy are, of 
course, not being met. Cultural and legal 
(including copyrighl) complications 
abound for all concerned, with piracy tak-
ing a tremendous toll. Part 2, ''Economics 
and Finance,." describes the American 
agencies and organizations that have facil-
itated the export of books, cites such prob-
lems as currency barriers (specifically, the 
lack of dollars), and points out the need 
for low-priced books for Third World 
readers. Part 3, "Introducing Books to 
Their Markets," discusses the value of 
book reviewing tools, book fairs and ex- · 
hibits, and donations and gifts. Part 4, 
''International Education and Market In-
formation,'' underscores general Ameri-
can ignorance of overseas markets and 
proposes courses and seminars for pro-
spective traders to help overcome this ob-
stacle and to provide for meaningful mar-
ket research in the field. Part 5, 
''Institutional Responsibilities,'' weighs 
the relative merits of public versus private 
efforts in supplying American books 
abroad and reviews the preeminent role of 
the USIA in this endeavor. Questions per-
taining to suitability of content are raised, 
and procedures for selection of materials 
are examined, with the recognition that 
the USIAS understandably acts in accord 
with the dictates of "national purpose." 
Part 6, "A National Policy," details the 

May1987 

book publishing/ distribution activities of 
the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, 
France, and Spain and calls for appropri-
ate similar action by the U.S. government. 

Throughout the maze of programs, 
agencies, and commissions that have-
with greater or lesser success-served to 
facilitate the distribution of American 
books abroad, the points elaborated are 
very clear: (1) A multitude of obstacles and 
complications conspire to impede th~ dis-
tribution of American books overseas, es-
pecially in Third World countries; (2) The 
United States is consequently losing an in-
tellectual and ideological war with the So-
viet Union; and (3) Corrective action by 
the U.S. government is urgently needed. 

The arguments adduced are convincing, 
and one is left with the distinct impression 
that the "war of ideas" potentially waged 
via the export of American imprints has 
not been a high priority of American for-
eign policy. Given the massive economic, 
legal, and cultural obstacles described, it 
seems seriously debatable that the objec-
tives set down in the present study will 
ever be realized. And, indeed, the extent 
of the USIA's role in disseminating works 
deemed appropriate to American "na-
tional purpose'' will continue to be sus-
pect. The questions of intellectual free-
dom and censorship are close to the hearts 
of librarians and many others as well, and 
propaganda even in the national interest 
will not likely find much support in the li- , 
brary community, as a recent editorial 
(''Propaganda, the USIA, and ALA,'' Li-
brary Journal, Dec. 1986) suggests. 

This collecti<?n of essays is informative 
and readable, though at times repetitive. 
It is a well-documented and useful study 
of the problems facing the export of Amer-
ican imprints.-Charles E. Perry, Central 
College Library, Pella, Iowa. 

Toward Foundations of Information Sci-
ence. Ed. by Laurence B. Heilprin. 
White Plains, N.Y.: Knowledge Indus-
try for the American Society for Infor-
mation Science, 1985. 232p. $34.95 
(ISBN 0-86729-149-4). LC 85-12612. 
As described in its foreword, ''This vol-

ume is based on a series of papers deliv-
ered in four consecutive annual sessions , 



(1978 through 1981) of the Special Interest 
Group on the Foundations of Information 
Science . . . at Annual Meetings of the 
American Society for Information Sci-
ence.'' It is therefore a diffuse collection of 
chapters, despite the efforts by the editor 
to weave them into an integrated fabric. 
Each of the four sections of the book con-
sists of the papers presented at one annual 
session and thus focuses on the theme for 
that session. In each case, the issues dis-
cussed are concerned with the relation-
ship between the theme topic and infor-
mation science: 

1. The place of information theory 
2. The place of artificial intelligence 
3. The place of the recipient 
4. The place of interpretation in obser-

vation and communication 
The relation of the first theme topic, in-

formation theory (read communications the-
ory in the sense of Claude Shannon) to in-
formation science has been of continuing 
theoretical concern. Fundamentally, the 
Shannon theory is based on measurement 
of a single aspect of data-its statistical 

Recent Publications 271 

properties (i.e., signal probability)-and a 
single function-data transmission. Its 
most effective application has been to de-
sign coding systems for efficient and reli-
able data transmission in the context of 
noise and other sources of error. Efforts to 
apply it to other contexts, such as the psy-
chology of learning and interpersonal 
communications, have been purely de-
scriptive and ineffective. Does this theory 
apply to more complex functions, such as 
data retrieval or analysis? And can it be ex-
tended to deal with other then purely sta-
tistical properties? The papers by Suppe, 
Barnes, Zunde, and Heilprin-presented 
in this first theme area-attempt to deal 
with these questions. In particular, 
Heilprin draws the analogy between the 
Shannon measure and the physical en-
tropy that results from the similar forms of 
the respective equations. Suppe uses sci-
entific information as the frame of refer-
ence for concluding that functions of se-
lectivity and adaptation are critical but are 
unrepresented in Shannon's theory; in a 
later paper in this same volume, Suppe 

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272 College & Research Libraries 

further argues that the "noise" in more 
complex information systems is not statis-
tically independent of the signals but in-
stead is tightly bound to them; the result is 
that Shannon's methodology for treat-
ment of noise is not applicable either. In 
agreement with the view that Shannon's 
theory is adequate for information sci-
ence, Barnes proposes a generalization of 
Shannon's measure to accommodate un-
certainty in the signal probabilities. Zunde 
contrasts that measure with other theoret-
ical constructs-such as Zip£' slaw-based 
on the principle of least effort. 

Section 2 turns to artificial intelligence. 
Suppe continues his discussion from Sec-
tion 1 by examining adaptive systems as 
examples of artificial intelligence, espe-
cially as means for dealing with complex 
sources of noise and error. Rieger follows 
that by considering the adaptive mecha-
nisms involved in interpersonal commun-
ication, and Hayes-Roth examines the 
specific example of ''ambiguity'' in com-
munication and in pattern matching as the 
central tool in information retrieval. 
Heilprin concludes the section on artificial 
intelligence by proposing quasi-
mathematical models of domain mapping 
to describe those problems. 

Section 3 turns to the recipient of infor-
mation and examines different contexts, 
including formalized logic and aesthetics, 
in which user interpretation becomes the 
means for handling noise, ambiguity, and . 
pattern matching. Section 4 continues that 
theme, but considers it in the larger frame 
of reference-the methodologies for ob-
servation and interpretation, as means for 
formalizing both. 

Information science is a diffuse field, 
with a diversity of interpretations. This 
volume adds an additional set of perspec-
tives, so it has that value at the least. It also 
reiterates some of the more common inter-
pretations, such as that of Shannon's 
communication theory, but without add-
ing much to our knowledge of them. To 
that extent, therefore, it simply repeats 
what has been previously presented.-
Robert M. Hayes, Graduate School of Library 
and Information Science, University of Califor-
nia, Los Angeles. 

May 1987 

Garoogian, Rhoda, and Andrew Ga-
roogian. Careers in Other Fields for Librar-
ians: Successful Strategies for Finding the 
Job. Chicago: American Library Assn., 
1985. 171p. paper, $12.95 (ISBN 0-8389-
0431-9). LC 85-15800. 
Aside from the lucky few who received a 

calling at the age of six or seven, who can 
refrain from wondering at some point in 
their lives if they have selected the right 
career? Librarians are not unique in expe-
riencing that reflection nor are they 
unique in deciding to change careers as a 
consequence. 

The Garoogians' book is a guide for 
those who have decided to move out of li-
brary science and into another field. With 
general advice and specific practical de-
tails the authors confront the obvious 
problem of applying one's skills and train-
ing in librarianship to requisites and job 
descriptions in other fields. Their method 
is to consider numerous job descriptions 
and to identify and ''translate'' the skills 
in demand into the strengths -developed 
by librarians. 

The Garoogians frequently refer to simi-
lar manuals and include a three-page bibli-
ography of current books and articles on . 
the topic. Predictably, they place consid-
erable emphasis on the information needs 
of other sectors of society and the obvious 
information strengths of librarians. Unlike 
other manuals, such as Careers in Informa-
tion by Jane F. Spivack (White Plains, 
N.Y.: Knowledge Industry, 1982), Careers 
in Other Fields for Librarians recognizes and 
promotes the qualities that librarians pos-
sess in addition to information skills. The 
Garoogians adapt a seven-page table pub-
lished by the American Library Associa-
tion entitled ''List of Professional Library 
Tasks" to equate job responsibilities in 
nonlibrary fields with traditional library 
skills. They they apply the comparisons to 
specific job descriptions such as "Political 
Research Analyst for a State Legislator.'' 

A major portion of the book relates li-
brary skills and experience to the informa-
tion and management needs of four areas 
of opportunity: business, government, 
education, and entrepreneurship. Within 
each area the authors analyze dozens of 

(