College and Research Libraries Review Articles Human Engineering Work and Effort: The Psychology of Produc- tion. By T h o m a s A r t h u r Ryan. N e w Y o r k , R o n a l d Press C o m p a n y , 1947. xii, 323P- Mensuring and Rating Employee Value. By John B. P r o b s t . N e w Y o r k , R o n a l d Press C o m p a n y , 1947. xi, i 6 6 p . Personnel Manual for Executives. By Ross Y o u n g . N e w Y o r k , M c G r a w - H i l l B o o k C o m p a n y , 1947. xi, 207p. H u m a n engineering has c o m e of age. P r o - fessor T h o m a s A . R y a n ' s Work and Effort is a systematic survey and evaluation of psy- chological investigations in the field of human productivity. It is the most important b o o k on this subject since Roethlisberger and D i c k - son's Management and the Worker, and should find a permanent place in every l i - brary which has any interest at all in the field of management. P r o f e s s o r Ryan evalu- ates all of the basic studies which have been made on various aspects of motivation, effort, efficiency, and muscular fatigue in active as w e l l as sedentary occupations, and reports the application of scientific method to these psy- chological and human-mechanical problems. T h e v o l u m e might w e l l bear as a subti- tle " W h a t W e D o n ' t K n o w A b o u t the P s y - c h o l o g y of P r o d u c t i o n , " because evaluation of scientific method f o r most of the research p r o j - ects analyzed indicates that they fall s o m e - w h a t short of the highest level of scientific methodology, and that the generalizations d r a w n f r o m them are not justified by the data presented. H o w e v e r , it is not in any sense a " d e b u n k i n g " b o o k . W h e r e objective data adequate to j u s t i f y a generalization are found to occur, they are reported and justified. Work and Effort is must reading f o r all managers and administrators. T h e approach to a large number of management factors is best illustrated f o r librarians on pages 138- 144 in which the author treats the investiga- tions on " L i g h t i n g and O t h e r F a c t o r s in O c u l a r W o r k . " A f t e r evaluating the various approaches to measurement of the effect of lighting in terms of visual acuity, speed and fatigue, the author reports the critical levels of illumination beyond which there is little change in output. M o s t librarians w i l l be amazed to find that there appears to be no benefit in speed of reading o r in reading p e r - f o r m a n c e above ten f o o t candles. W h i l e the method is systematic and the b o o k w a s designed as a textbook, with g o o d summaries at the end of most chapters, it is very readable. O n e of the most important contributions it makes is in the field of defini- tions. T h e author's differentiation between efficiency and output, f o r example, is f u n d a - mental to any sound approach to effective use of human energy. U n d e r the conventional T a y l o r approach, it is assumed that a change in methods which results in increase in output is an index to greater efficiency. T h a t as- sumption is questioned very cogently in this book. W h i l e recent trends in human engi- neering have been t o w a r d improvement of m o - tivation so as to obtain greater e f f o r t on the part of the w o r k e r , Ryan points out that in many cases greater effort may result in ap- parent efficiency over a short period, but may, in the long run, result in reduced efficiency. Studies of such cumulative fatigues w i l l be a f r u i t f u l field f o r psychological research in the future. T h i s approach should give pause to the pragmatists in the field of management w h o have relied almost w h o l l y on production data as indexes to efficiency, a g r o u p which includes most of us. T h e f o o t n o t e references to basic literature, in this section as in all others in the book, comprise one of the best bibliographies of the w h o l e field of human engineering that has been collected. T h i s book should serve as the f o u n d a t i o n f o r research in industrial psychol- ogy f o r many years. P r o b s t ' s rating f o r m s are so w e l l - k n o w n as to vouch f o r the authority of the author of Measuring and Rating Employee Value. It is a sound manual of efficiency ratings c o v e r - ing purpose of ratings, types of rating plans, and critical analysis of rating plans. T h e development of the P r o b s t system is described 268 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES and its development and application in p r a c - tice occupies the bulk of the book. T h i s is not a b o o k f o r the average reader, and even the specialist in personnel m a n a g e - ment and efficiency ratings w i l l have some difficulties f o l l o w i n g the statistical theory in- v o l v e d . Nevertheless, it is an important c o n - tribution. Its chief weakness lies in the gen- eralizations of personal experience and limited experiments. H e n c e the basis f o r c o m p a r i s o n in this, as in most employee rating schemes, is the j u d g m e n t of the supervisors., T h e e x - perimentation used to develop the rating scheme can hardly be said to meet all the r e - quirements of P r o f e s s o r R y a n ' s scientific method. Nevertheless, the P r o b s t scheme is one of the better rating schemes and the book should be of interest to specialists in the field of efficiency ratings. M r . Y o u n g ' s contribution is a peppy e x - pose of w h a t he calls " t h e newest p r o f e s s i o n . " Its style, choice of language, and presentation is intended to appeal to the busy businessman and w i l l . T h e " n e w e s t p r o f e s s i o n , " as the author terms human engineering, c o v e r s the relationship of human engineering to the q u a l - ity of supervision and profits, instructions, human relations, motivation, improved m e t h - ods and similar problems. C h a p t e r s such as " A M a g i c F o r m u l a , " " S o m e Soul Searching," and " H a p p i e r and H e a l t h i e r , " indicate that the general function of the b o o k is the p r o m o - tional side rather than the psychological r e - search side. Nevertheless, the b o o k should stimulate average business and supervisory personnel to a m o r e active approach to the principles enunciated by people like R o e t h l i s - berger, D i c k s o n , W h i t e h e a d , and n o w R y a n . W h i l e the intellectual content is probably considerably less than that of either of the other t w o books reviewed, the b o o k is much m o r e easily readable and w i l l probably be read by many m o r e people. Incidentally, the magic f o r m u l a is " H e w h o w o u l d be a leader of men must first master himself and serve o t h e r s . " T h e chart f o r self-examination on pages 94-95 indicates a rather subjective approach. T h i s doesn't p r o v e that either R y a n ' s objectivity o r Y o u n g ' s subject approaches is w h o l l y right or w r o n g . R a t h e r it does indicate the f u n d a - mental difference between this b o o k and the one by Ryan. T h e philosophy of J . M . T . and J . R . T . , and J . I . T . is covered in the chapter on improving methods. C h a p t e r 13 explains human nature in 24 pages. T h e b o o k has a very g o o d bibliography on pages 191-195, and wThat is m o r e unusual, an excellent list of visual aids on pages 197-202. T h o u g h of the D a l e C a r n e g i e school rather than the R y a n school, this b o o k should be stimulating reading f o r the nonspecialist in human relations o r p s y c h o l o g y . — R a l p h R. Shaw, librarian, U.S. Department of Agricul- ture. Buildings for Service Library Buildings for Library Service. Edited, with an introduction, by H e r m a n H . Fussier. C h i c a g o , A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association, 1947. xiv, 2 i 6 p . Library Buildings for Library Service is a p r o d u c t of the institute devoted to the plan- ning and construction of library buildings at the University of C h i c a g o in A u g u s t 1946. It deals systematically and topically with the issues met by librarians, governing bodies, and architects as they grapple with the task of providing n e w quarters f o r libraries. I t seeks to treat its subject in the light of currently available k n o w l e d g e and in w a y s helpful to libraries of various types. T h e v o l u m e embraces t w e l v e papers, which collectively undertake to set f o r t h the historic evolution of library buildings, the functions and contents they must a c c o m m o d a t e , the processes entailed in a building p r o j e c t , the roles of the parties concerned in such an enter- prise, the technical matters which relate to lighting and the treatment of air, and the possibilities opened by new building materials and changed methods of fabrication. Seven of them c o m e f r o m the pens of librarians w h o have enjoyed generous experience o r o b s e r v a - tion in matters relating to the administration a n d / o r the housing of libraries. T h e others w e r e written by architects and engineers, and contribute expert i n f o r m a t i o n of kinds which librarians ordinarily do not possess. T h e notes which are dominant in Library Buildings for Library Service are by no means new, but they deserve the emphases they r e - ceive in the b o o k because they so seldom gain JULY, 1948 •269