College and Research Libraries v e r y s a t i s f y i n g m e a s u r e . B e c a u s e of his p a s - sion f o r d e t a i l a n d his w e l l - k n o w n affection f o r e a r l y p r i n t i n g , M r . F a y e ' s list itself in- cludes n u m e r o u s h e l p f u l n o t e s to d i s t i n g u i s h t h e Illinois copy of v a r i a n t editions. T h e l a r g e r p a r t of this " N o t e , " h o w e v e r , is devoted to a t h o u g h t f u l c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e need f o r m o r e c o m p l e t e identification of t h e i n c u n a b - u l a and t h e place of t h e c a t a l o g e r in this process. I t is t h e conviction of M r . F a y e , a n d he d o c u m e n t s his case, t h a t insufficient w o r k h a s o f t e n r e s u l t e d in f a l s e or, a t best, inept l i s t - ings of e a r l y p r i n t e d w o r k s . H i s c o m p l a i n t s a r e g r o u p e d u n d e r t w o heads, " A u t h o r s h i p " and " I d e n t i f i c a t i o n of T e x t s . " T h e p r o b l e m of a u t h o r s h i p h a s l o n g been w i t h us, and M r . F a y e ' s c o m p l a i n t on this score is a c o m m o n one. H i s c o n t r i b u t i o n s h e r e lie chiefly in his indications of a possibly m o r e p r o d u c t i v e m e t h o d of a t t a c k and in r e f e r e n c e s to n e w s o u r c e s of i n f o r m a t i o n . H i s p r o p o s a l s f o r b e t t e r identification of t e x t s essentially r e p - r e s e n t t h e f u s i o n of some of t h e accepted m e t h o d s of p a l e o g r a p h y w i t h w h a t is f u n d a - m e n t a l l y t y p o g r a p h i c a l r e s e a r c h in a p r o d u c t a p p r o p r i a t e l y called p a l e o t y p o g r a p h y . U n d e r his system, an i n c u n a b u l u m should be con- f r o n t e d w i t h an accepted m o d e r n edition, and v e r i f i c a t i o n m a d e of content, if n o t page by page, a t l e a s t by c h a p t e r s o r p a r t s . T h e ac- ceptance of the m o d e r n established t e x t w o u l d r e q u i r e u n i v e r s a l a g r e e m e n t , b u t it is t h e f e e l i n g of M r . F a y e t h a t c o m p i l a t i o n s like t h e Thesaurus Linguae Latinae o r t h e Patrologia Latina h a v e a d e q u a t e acceptance f o r c o m p a r i s o n . A d m i t t e d l y , it w i l l be im- • possible to find c o n t e m p o r a r y m o d e l s f o r com- p a r i s o n of some i n c u n a b u l a , and in such cases, t h e i n t e r n a l evidence of t h e t e x t w i l l h a v e t o be accepted. T h e delicate point of t h e p r o p o s a l is t h e line of d e m a r c a t i o n (if one such e x i s t s ) b e t w e e n t h e p o t e n t i a l capabilities of a c a t a l o g e r and those of a l i t e r a r y r e s e a r c h e r in establishing t h e i d e n t i t y of a t e x t , o r possibly even t h e a u t h e n t i c i t y of a t e x t . M r . F a y e is emi- n e n t l y w e l l f i t t e d f o r r e s e a r c h w o r k in this field, and if all c a t a l o g e r s w e r e equally w e l l equipped w i t h l a n g u a g e s a n d his kind of ex- perience, t h e r e m i g h t w e l l be n o need to d r a w an a r t i f i c i a l line. U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e v a s t m a j o r i t y of o u r t r a i n e d c a t a l o g e r s a r e n o t a t all equipped in this f a s h i o n , and w e c a n n o t hope f o r a v e r y g r e a t c h a n g e in this field. T h e r e is c e r t a i n l y some possibility, h o w e v e r , of i m p r o v i n g t h e identification of i n c u n a b u l a by t h e m e t h o d s p r o p o s e d . I t w a s implicit in all p r e v i o u s checklists of i n c u n a b u l a , a n d it is implicit in this list t h a t t h e field is r e l a t i v e l y s m a l l and a m a j o r p r o j e c t c o v e r i n g the w h o l e field w o u l d still n o t be inconceivable. W h a t M r . F a y e w a n t s is t o h a v e all i n c u n a b u l a posi- tively identified and a d e q u a t e l y described. I am s u r e he w o u l d like to see a c r o w d of c a t a l o g e r s a n d l i t e r a r y r e s e a r c h e r s w o r k i n g h a n d in h a n d a t this p r o j e c t , a n d to see it c a r - ried to c o m p l e t i o n . H e h a s a n i m p o r t a n t point a t this time, because as t i m e goes on o u r f e w r e m a i n i n g s c h o l a r s of his kind a r e d i s a p p e a r i n g w i t h o u t r e p l a c e m e n t . O u r kind of t r a i n i n g f o r l i b r a r i a n s h i p does n o t t a k e this w o r k into a c c o u n t , and I f e a r , as he does, t h a t t h e idea w i l l die. P e r h a p s h e r e is a n o t h e r t e s t f o r t h e v e r s a t i l i t y of o u r r a p i d l y p r o l i f e r a t i n g l i b r a r y schools. P e r h a p s they will m e e t this need.—J e r r o l d Orne, JVash- ington University Libraries, St. Louis. Foundations of the Pubfic Library Foundations of the Public Library; The Ori- gins of the Public Library Movement in New England 1629-1855. By J e s s e H . S h e r a . C h i c a g o , U n i v e r s i t y of C h i c a g o P r e s s , 1949, 3o8p. $5.00. W i t h t h e c o n t i n u e d c u l t u r a l and social de- v e l o p m e n t of t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , it h a s be- fitted t h e public l i b r a r y , as an i m p o r t a n t so- cial agency s e r v i n g t h e needs of i n d i v i d u a l c o m m u n i t i e s , to c o n t i n u a l l y develop and b r o a d e n its h o r i z o n s . T h e c u r r e n t t r e n d t o w a r d i n c r e a s i n g r e g i o n a l i z a t i o n of l i b r a r i e s calls f o r a b a c k w a r d look t o t h e e a r l i e s t p u b - lic l i b r a r i e s t o u n d e r s t a n d t h e i r d e v e l o p m e n t and g r o w t h in " e c o n o m i c and social t e r m s " in l e a d i n g to t h e p r e s e n t t r e n d . T h i s book by P r o f e s s o r S h e r a , of t h e G r a d - u a t e L i b r a r y School, t h e U n i v e r s i t y of C h i - cago, is a social h i s t o r y of t h e P u b l i c L i b r a r y M o v e m e n t in N e w E n g l a n d f r o m 1629 t o 1855. T h e a u t h o r h a s d o n e an intensive j o b of r e a c h i n g back t o t h e e a r l i e s t N e w E n g l a n d b a c k g r o u n d s of this c o u n t r y ' s d e v e l o p m e n t t o s h o w t h e economic a n d social milieu u p t o t h e JANUARY, 1950 91 p o i n t of d e f i n i t e u r b a n i z a t i o n , fitting i n t o t h e p a t t e r n t h e p r i v a t e a n d c o m p a n y l i b r a r i e s , t h e t o w n a n d p a r i s h l i b r a r i e s , t h e social l i b r a r i e s , a n d t h e d e s i r e f o r p u b l i c l y s p o n s o r e d e d u c a - t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s . T h e c o n t e n t s of t h e l i b r a r i e s of t h e t i m e a r e n o t d e a l t w i t h t o a n y g r e a t e x t e n t , b u t s h o r t t a b l e s o f f e r c o m p a r a t i v e b a s e s f o r n o t i n g t h e p e r c e n t i l e divisions of t h e s m a l l c o l l e c - t i o n s i n t o t h e v a r i o u s b o o k c a t e g o r i e s . A c o n - s i d e r a t i o n is a l s o m a d e of t h e e a r l y d e v e l o p - m e n t of a f o r m of special l i b r a r y a m o n g t h e social l i b r a r i e s w h i c h a t t e m p t e d t o c a t e r t o t h e p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t s of its c l i e n t e l e . T h e a v e r - sion t o fiction in t h e a b o v e m e n t i o n e d collec- t i o n s a l s o led t o t h e e a r l y i n s t i t u t i o n of t h e c i r c u l a t i n g l i b r a r y . T h e a u t h o r t h e n t r a c e s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e p u b l i c l i b r a r y t h r o u g h t h e s t e p s t o w a r d m u - n i c i p a l c o n t r o l , s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e B o s t o n P u b - lic L i b r a r y , t h e b e g i n n i n g s of s t a t e l e g i s l a t i o n t o t h e c a u s a l f a c t o r s in p u b l i c l i b r a r y d e v e l o p - m e n t . I n t h i s l a s t , t h e e f f e c t s of e c o n o m i c ability, d e s i r e of s c h o l a r s h i p , h i s t o r i c a l r e - s e a r c h , a n d t h e u r g e f o r c o n s e r v a t i o n , w o r k w i t h t h e f e e l i n g of l o c a l p r i d e a n d t h e i n c r e a s - ingly f e l t n e e d f o r u n i v e r s a l p u b l i c e d u c a t i o n , t h e L y c e u m m o v e m e n t a n d v o c a t i o n a l n e e d s , t o t h e end of s e t t i n g u p t h e first p u b l i c li- b r a r i e s . P r o f e s s o r S h e r a p r o v e s his t h e s i s of t h e l i b r a r y as a social a g e n c y w h o s e f u n c t i o n s a r e o n l y d e f i n i t e l y k n o w n w h e n t h e g o a l s of s o - ciety a r e c e r t a i n . W i t h its e x c e l l e n t i n d e x , s e l e c t i v e b i b l i o g r a p h y , d o c u m e n t s , p l a t e s , and c h a r t s t h i s w o r k is a w o r t h y c o n t r i b u t i o n t o t h e U n i v e r s i t y of C h i c a g o S t u d i e s in L i b r a r y Science, a n d o n e w h i c h w e c a n h o p e w i l l lead t o a n e x t e n d e d h i s t o r i c a l s t u d y of l i b r a r y d e - v e l o p m e n t in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e c o u n t r y ' s e x p a n s i o n . — H a r o l d L. Roth, Brooklyn Public Library. Business Information Sources of Business Information. B y E d w i n T . C o m a n , J r . N e w Y o r k , P r e n t i c e - H a l l , I n c . , 1949, ix, 4 o 6 p . $ 6 . 0 0 ; t o schools, $ 4 - 5 0 . M a n y e f f o r t s h a v e b e e n m a d e t o solve t h e b i b l i o g r a p h i c p r o b l e m of o r g a n i z i n g a n d l i s t - i n g s o u r c e s of b u s i n e s s i n f o r m a t i o n , b u t t h i s is t h e first a t t e m p t t o o f f e r a c r i t i c a l , r u n n i n g c o m m e n t a r y on t h e w h o l e r a n g e of b u s i n e s s l i t e r a t u r e . I t is a c o u r a g e o u s u n d e r t a k i n g . A s a h a n d b o o k it s h o u l d be v e r y u s e f u l t o s t u - d e n t s in s c h o o l s of b u s i n e s s , a n d , in s o m e w a y s , t o b u s i n e s s m e n . I t is c e r t a i n l y a i m e d a t b o t h g r o u p s . W h e t h e r t h i s d o u b l e - b a r r e l l e d firing w i l l e x a c t l y h i t e i t h e r g r o u p 15 a q u e s - tion t h a t C o m a n a t s o m e t i m e m u s t h a v e a s k e d h i m s e l f . T h e field of b u s i n e s s i n f o r - m a t i o n is l a r g e , t h e s o u r c e s v a r i e d a n d o c c a - s i o n a l l y o b s c u r e , a n d t h e b i b l i o g r a p h i c c o n - t r o l i n a d e q u a t e . S p e c i a l l i b r a r i a n s a r e a c u t e l y c o n s c i o u s of t h e s e f a c t s a n d s p e n d m a n y h o u r s , a n d c o l l e c t i v e l y a g r e a t d e a l of m o n e y t o o r g a n i z e t h e i r r e s o u r c e s t o fit t h e p a r t i c u - l a r b u s i n e s s t h e y s e r v e . T h e y k n o w , too, t h a t p i l i n g u p r e f e r e n c e s , o r o t h e r w i s e e m b a r r a s s - i n g t h e i r e m p l o y e r s w i t h t h e w e a l t h of l i t - e r a t u r e i n g e n i o u s l y d i s c o v e r e d is s e l d o m a p - p r e c i a t e d . T w o of t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s t h e y h a v e f o u n d a r e t h a t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n s u p p l i e d m u s t e x a c t l y fit t h e p a r t i c u l a r n e e d , a n d t h a t it m u s t be t h e l a t e s t . T o o r g a n i z e a l l b u s i n e s s i n f o r m a t i o n f o r c o n v e n i e n t u s e is a h o p e l e s s t a s k . E i t h e r t h e c o v e r a g e is b r o a d , p e r h a p s b a s i c in s o m e a r e a s a n d s u p e r f i c i a l in o t h e r s , o r it is n a r r o w a n d a l w a y s s h i f t i n g in t i m e a n d b o u n d a r y . M o s t b i b l i o g r a p h i e s of b u s i n e s s l i t e r a t u r e a r e m e r e l y h a n d f u l s of t h e s w i r l i n g s a n d s of f a c t a n d o p i n i o n . N e w f a c t s o r o t h e r t h e o r i e s * m a k e t h e m v a n i s h in t h e d e s e r t of t h e s u p e r - s e d e d . C o m a n h a s c h o s e n t h e b r o a d c o v e r a g e . I n l i m i t i n g his choice of m a t e r i a l s t o t h e basic, h e h a s a v o i d e d t h e c r i t i c i s m of i n c o m p l e t e n e s s in t h e a r e a s h e c o v e r s . H e h a s h a n d l e d t h e s e c o m p e t e n t l y by c a r e f u l s e l e c t i o n a n d b r i e f , c r i t i c a l a n d d e s c r i p t i v e c o m m e n t . O n l y o n e w h o h a s s t r u g g l e d w i t h o r g a n i z i n g f o r u s e t h e v a s t a n d s o m e t i m e s e x a s p e r a t i n g t y p e s of b u s i n e s s m a t e r i a l s can a p p r e c i a t e t h e e x t r a o r - d i n a r y t a s k h e u n d e r t o o k . T h e r e a r e s o m e i m p o r t a n t a r e a s , h o w e v e r , a n d t y p e s of in- f o r m a t i o n a l s o u r c e s h e h a s n e g l e c t e d . F o r e x a m p l e , t h e g e o g r a p h i c f a c t o r is only s l i g h t l y t o u c h e d u p o n in t h e s e c t i o n o n f o r - eign t r a d e , a l t h o u g h it is as i m p o r t a n t f o r 92 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES