College and Research Libraries


research, discusses content analysis and the 

available literature in this field, and de-

scribes several research projects as next 

steps. 

T h e volume as a w h o l e is stimulating 

and thought-provoking. It is not easy 

reading, and, as the authors point out, 

familiarity w i t h the studies referred to 

is desirable. In v i e w of the tremendous 

amount of w o r k involved in surveying and 

s i f t i n g the literature it is regrettable that 

more definite conclusions could not be 

o f f e r e d ; but this clear indication of our 

ignorance of the influence of reading upon 

people should make us give serious thought 

to the possible methods for learning more 

about this fundamental aspect of our w o r k . 

Hypothesizing of the five effects of 

reading, which is one of the fundamental 

contributions of this study, may or may 

not offer a more objective or more prom-

ising approach to the problem than does 

M i s s P l u m m e r ' s " S e v e n joys of reading," 

or the cliche of librarianship to the effect 

that  w e supply books for "information, 

inspiration, and recreation." F u r t h e r -

more, it should be noted that this volume 

is limited to the direct effects of reading, 

even though the indirect effects of reading 

may in fact be much more important. 

T h e r e is some indication of generalizations 

on the basis of n a r r o w studies that do not 

claim general applicability; and the value 

and validity of some of the studies cited 

to prove points made in the text are open 

to question.  W e might note, also, that 

there do appear to be some inconsistencies: 

in the first chapter, for example, the au-

thors minimize the existent evidence on 

the values of reading by the use of a 

standard propaganda technique (imputing 

ulterior motives) as f o l l o w s : " C e r t a i n 

values have been imputed to reading by 

the scholars and writers w h o have made 

their fortunes and their reputations by 

w r i t i n g . . . . It is not remarkable that 

those for w h o m reading is thus a vested 

interest should declare that reading is a 

good thing. . . ." H o w e v e r , in the last 

chapter of the book, the authors quote 

testimony from the w r i t i n g s of F l o y d D e l l , 

E m i l L u d w i g , Jacques M a r i t a i n , M a r -

garet Sanger, A r t h u r  E . H e r t z l e r , Jack 

L o n d o n , L i n c o l n Steffens, and others to 

" p r o v e " from these so-called case studies 

that the five effects of reading set up in 

this volume do exist. 

In spite of these and other possible 

shortcomings, the authors have done a 

very good job of w h a t they set out to do, 

and this book merits careful study by 

librarians and by all others w h o are inter-

ested in reading and in readers from any 

point of v i e w . — R a l p h R. Shaw, United 

States Department of Agriculture Library, 

Washington, D.C. 

Dictionary of Occupational Titles. U . S . 

Employment Service, Division of Stand-

ards and Research, W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . , 

1939- 3 vols. 

T H E TITLE of this valuable w o r k is too 
modest. It scarcely suggests the w e a l t h 

of information for the librarian or any 

reader interested in modern industry, 

w h i c h is packed into the 1900 pages of its 

three volumes. Intended primarily for 

the use of workers in the federal Employ-

ment Service, the Dictionary summarizes 

the results of a great number of job analy-

ses and industrial field studies, w h i c h 

should find a far w i d e r field of usefulness 

than in public placement offices. 

P a r t I, " D e f i n i t i o n s of T i t l e s , " contains 

the main substance of the w o r k , and is 

complete in itself for library and general 

use. Parts  I I and I I I are more specifically 

for Employment Service offices. P a r t  I I 

160 ' COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



sets forth the detailed classification of oc-

cupations, w i t h their code numbers. F o r 

the librarian or layman its chief interest 

lies in the number and types of jobs con-

nected w i t h each industry. P a r t I I I is a 

set of conversion tables from the old to 

the new classification numbers. 

In the first volume, 29,744 names of 

jobs are defined in terms of the industries 

w i t h which they are associated and the 

actual processes performed. T i t l e s of 

operators, rather than occupations, are 

used; e.g.,. " l a b o r e r " rather than " l a b o r , " 

"machinery and tool designer" instead of 

"machine design." T h e material in the 

definitions w a s obtained by trained job 

analysts w h o studied and recorded indi-

vidual jobs in business establishments 

throughout the U n i t e d States. F r o m their 

schedules of t w o to t w e n t y pages, these 

summaries w e r e w r i t t e n , by a masterly 

process of "boiling d o w n , " and w e r e then 

submitted to labor unions, trade associa-

tions, schools, business firms, and other 

agencies and individuals, for comment and 

criticism. T h e editors emphasize the fact 

that the Dictionary is regarded as a first 

edition, w i t h no claim to completeness. 

T h e definitions vary from t w o or three 

lines to some 250 words. T h e print is 

small but clear, and careful choice of 

words, as w e l l as such mechanical devices 

as the use of abbreviations for the names 

of industries, and of upper-case for cross-

references, makes possible the compressing 

of remarkably exact, definite detail into 

very small space. 

T h e " D i r e c t i o n s for U s e , " immediately 

preceding the body of the dictionary, 

clearly explain the references, code num-

bers, etc. F o r the sake of the general 

user, the librarian may wish that a sepa-

rate list of abbreviations had been in-

serted in these preliminary pages, instead 

of a reference to the industrial classifica-

tion in one of the appendices; but since 

the abbreviated names of industries are 

fairly easy to interpret, the omission is not 

serious. 

T h e appendices comprise a glossary of 

technical terms, including business and 

trade expressions, and names of machines, 

tools, and materials; a list of commodities 

sold in retail and wholesale trade, w i t h 

the occupational titles of their vendors; 

and an alphabetical list of industries, w i t h 

their abbreviations, definitions, and the 

occupations connected w i t h each. 

Aside from its obvious importance for 

vocational guidance, the Dictionary should 

prove especially valuable to the general 

reference librarian faced w i t h the g r o w i n g 

interest in trade and technical subjects. 

W i t h an educational background chiefly 

literary and sociological, many of us feel 

the need of some handbook of technical 

terminology, and some means of making 

a rapid survey of the newly significant 

industries. F o r these purposes the Dic-

tionary is a mine of information. T h e 

job descriptions include many brief ex-

planations of technical terms, definite and 

clear despite the apparent casualness w i t h 

which they are interjected, in parentheses, 

into the main definition. T h e s e special 

terms are collected in alphabetical order 

in the glossary f o l l o w i n g the body of the 

Dictionary. T e r m s are by no means con-

fined to the formal ones of textbook usage; 

while actual slang is not included, popular 

synonyms are freely used. " C o w p u n c h e r " 

and " b u c k a r o o , " "donkey doctor," "print-

er's devil, " appear in their alphabetical 

place and are neatly assigned to their 

classification number, or given a reference 

to the more dignified w o r d . 

T h e appendix showing the industrial 

classification of occupations furnishes a 

MARCH, 1941 
18 7 



most helpful method of learning about an 

i n d u s t r y : ten minutes spent in looking up 

the thirty-odd titles listed under " a i r c r a f t 

m a n u f a c t u r i n g , " for instance, w i l l leave 

one w i t h a better knowledge of the prac-

tical processes involved than many a text-

book. 

It is, perhaps, to be expected from the 

nature and initial purpose of the Dic-

tionary that the professions should be less 

c a r e f u l l y treated. T h e definition of "li-

brarian," and the list of occupations under 

" l i b r a r y " are disappointing, and the same 

is true to some extent of " t e a c h e r , " " l a w -

y e r , " etc. H o w e v e r , it is in the very fields 

that have hitherto been most neglected, 

and where the need of exact knowledge is 

coming to be most urgent, that the Dic-

tionary is strongest. It should be of in-

terest to reference librarians, readers' 

advisers, and all librarians w h o wish to 

k n o w more about the trades represented 

by a large number of their borrowers and 

an increasing proportion of their b o o k s . — 

Ethel Blumann, Public Library, Oakland. 

Organization and Personnel Procedure. 

. . . A Suggested Plan. Subcommittee 

on Schemes of Service of the A . L . A . 

Board on Salaries, Staff, and T e n u r e . 

A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association, 1940. 

3 6 p . 

T H E M A N U A L  o n Organization and 

Personnel Procedure, w r i t t e n by the 

A . L . A . Board on Salaries, Staff, and 

T e n u r e , Subcommittee on Schemes of 

Service, summarizes the best current prac-

tices in these fields and proposes some fine 

new concepts. It should be especially help-

f u l to librarians w h o are trying to con-

vince their governing boards of the 

necessity of bettering the internal admin-

istration of their libraries. If its recom-

mendations are followed, libraries w i l l be 

run more democratically than most of 

them have been in the past. 

Especially commendable is the section 

on promotions. Such a statement as, 

"length of -service, unaccompanied by in-

creased efficiency and interest in the pro-

fession is a reason against rather than in 

favor of promotion. Seniority is a de-

termining factor only w h e n t w o or more 

candidates have equal qualifications," indi-

cates a point of v i e w that w i l l help pre-

vent libraries from becoming bureaucratic. 

T h e sections on tenure, separation from 

service, and opportunities for self-develop-

ment are all liberal in tone. 

T h e chapter on w o r k i n g conditions 

makes the mistake of going into too much 

detail in several places. For instance, 

" W h e n the schedule permits, the super-

visor w i l l allow the staff a f e w moments 

for smoking or rest in the middle of the 

morning and again in the middle of the 

a f t e r n o o n . " If librarianship is a profes-

sion, such minor regulations as this are 

u n n e c e s s a r y . — R . E. Ellsworth, Univer-

sity of Colorado Libraries, Boulder, Colo. 

162 ' COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES