College and Research Libraries 184 College & Research Libraries Over half the book is devoted to pro- viding examples of real online catalogs. Contributions were sought from all possible systems; guidelines were pro- vided for the content and format of the submissions. The thirty-two responses re- ceived cover systems from integrated li- brary system vendors such as DRA, Innovative Interfaces, and Dynix; locally developed systems such as those at Univer- sity of California, Dartmouth, and Univer- sity of Texas; and smaller CD-ROM-based systems such as Marcive, Follett Software, and Winnebago. Libraries whose catalogs are featured include academic, public, school, and special. Each contribution is twelve to fourteen pages in length, usu- ally containing three to five pages of text, and twenty to thirty screens. The focus is on the user interface in conducting several sample searches or alternatives prescribed by Crawford. There is real value in being able to view and understand how users of all these different catalogs interact with the catalog. The range of catalogs repre- sented exceeds what would be possible by sampling catalogs available on the Internet. The collection, in conjunction with the essays, makes it easy to com- pare and contrast approaches to catalog design. The text adds to the understand- ing of how, and sometimes why, the cat- alog works. Every library will have to give thought in the future to a new on- line catalog, whether it be its first, a re- placement for or a rethinking of an existing one, or an enhanced catalog with a broader scope. The Online Catalog Book makes it possible to sample broadly the efforts of many libraries and vendors and to put into context the wide-ranging design questions that must be ad- dressed.-Flo Wilson, Vanderbilt Univer- sity, Nashville, Tennessee. Russian Libraries in Transition: An An- thology of Glasnost Literature. Ed. by Dennis Kimmage. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1992. 214p. $32.50 (ISBN 0-89950-718-2). For decades, the Soviet library world was under the ironclad control of the Communist Party. Through a highly cen- tralized network extending to the local library, the Party exercised complete con- trol over collection policies, processing, and reader services. Even books published under a previous Soviet re-gime were often ordered removed from the shelves because a later ruler's method and ideo- logical stance were different from his pred- ecessor's. The well-known example of the mandatory excision of the article on Lavrenti Beria and its replacement by one on the Bering Sea in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia epitomizes the type of complete control the party exercised over libraries and librarians. Ironically, although the library was abstractly regarded as an important part of Communist propaganda and ideology, librarians and library facilities were not. Library buildings were not well main- tained, inadequate space and working conditions were a common complaint, li- brary education was heavy on ideology and light on other content, and librarians were poorly paid and poorly treated. With the ad vent of Gorbachev' s policy of glasnost, or openness, previously muted voices in the library world have been raised against the corrosive effects of party control over libraries and librarians. As more people have spoken and written without repression about the terrible con- ditions, inadequate support, and mind- less censorship and as more deficiencies in library policies and facilities have been uncovered, dissident opinions have begun to be published in mainstream library pe- riodicals and non-Party library associa- tions have been formed. It is the excitement of this period of change that Dennis Kimmage has cap- tured so well in this anthology of library glasnost literature. As he writes, "The selections in this anthology reflect an im- portant part of a spiritual rebirth that we can all share, that presents not only librarians but Americans from all walks of life with an extraordinary opportunity for meaningful interaction and cross- cultural influence." The anthology consists of Soviet news- paper and journal articles arranged in three parts. Each is preceded by a brief essay, written by Kimmage, that serves to place the subsequent material in con- text. Part 1, "Glasnost Exposes the Prob- lem: A System in Decline," concerns the fire at the Library of the Academy of Sciences in February 1988, as well as re- lated problems of preservation and collec- tion maintenance. Part 2, "Information Politics, Partiinost, and the Spetskhran," in- cludes impassioned articles about the "cult of secrecy," obfuscation of the truth, and several articles on the special collec- tions that hid "dangerous" books from the public's eyes. Several articles discuss the role of ideology in information politics. Part 3, "Soviet Libraries and Democracy: Directions for the Future," focuses on ini- tiatives and actions by librarians outside the traditional bounds of party control, including formation of library associa- tions, participatory management in librar- ies, and library education. The selections are all well translated and read smoothly. The choice of articles is sound and the authors are well-known leaders in the Moscow and St. Peters- burg library worlds, as well as an estab- lished Russian literary scholar and a literary journalist. The book leaves the reader with a feeling of exhilaration and near despair. The exhilaration comes from the tremendous energies and spirit that have been unleashed among librar- ians in Russia; the despair results from knowledge of the tremendous obstacles that have yet to be overcome.-Robert H. Burger, University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign. SHORT NOTICES E. ]. Josey: An Activist Librarian. Ed. Ismail Abdullahi. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1992, 268p. $32.50. alk. paper (ISBN 0-8108-2584-8). This is a Festschrift for one of the out- standing African American librarians of our time, E. J. Josey. It consists of twenty- two short essays, a poem, and a compre- hensive bibliography of his writings. The contributors make good use of the occasion to describe their own ex- periences working with him, and, thereby, to recount a large portion of the history of the civil rights and antiracist struggles within the American library Book Reviews 185 While other publications gather dust, ours gather readers ... Publications that gather dust on a library shelf are the stuff that canceled subscriptions are made of. But then librarians tell us time and time again that the CQ Weekly Report is the one- stop resource for all their questions about Congress and national affairs. The Weekly Report is an essential part of any reference collection or government documents department. It crystallizes the key issues bef9re Congress, gives patrons readable bill summaries and Supreme Court decisions, offers the texts of presidential speeches and news conferences, and out- lines the results of key votes. Your library subscription also includes useful wall posters, special reports, and that sought -after reference- the CQ Almanac. By now you should be getting the picture. The CQ Weekly Report is more than a magazine. It's the publication of record. Your patrons' ticket to following Congress. Find out how you can subscribe and leave others in the dust. Call Gigi Perkinson toll-free at 1 (800) 432- 2250ext.279. ~~ In Washington, ~~ D.C. call cW~ii_w ss1 -6279. ' W #""" \\0~ ~\)(9-~ ~e ~~ .... ,:~~ "'~~