College and Research Libraries


Review Articles 

Bibliotheca Walleriana 

Bibliotheca Walleriana, the Books Illustrat-
ing the History of Medicine and Science 
Collected by Dr. Erik Waller and Be-
queathed to the Library of the Royal 
University of Uppsala. A catalogue com-
piled by Hans Sallander. Stockholm: Alm-
qvist and Wiksell, 1955. 2 v. (Acta Biblio-
thecae R. Universitatis Upsaliensis v. 
VIII-IX) Sw.Kr. 200. 

Now that the catalog of this remarkable 
collection of some 21,000 volumes has been 
published, it is not an exaggeration to say 
that this is a bibliographical event of a high 
order. The catalog presents a collection the 
possession of which has made Uppsala one of 
the world's centers for research in the history 
of medicine and science. 

The material has been classified systemati-
cally. The list of 150 incunabula is followed 
by the main section, medicine, subdivided 
into veterinary medicine and dentistry. This 
material forms volume 1 and includes some 
10,800 items. Volume 2, with some 10,000 
additional items, is arranged in the follow-
ing sections: natural sciences in general, 
chemistry (including alchemy), physics, bot-
any, zoology, astronomy, other natural sci-
ences; history of science in general, history 
of medicine, and history of natural sciences; 
biography (general) and biography (spe-
cial); bibliography, with a sub-section, litera-
ture on autographs; and finally, miscella-
neous. The largest sections in this second 
volume are those of history of medicine, 
with about 3,000 items; biography, about 
2,300 items; and bibliography, over 1,300 
items. 

The material has been arranged alpha-
betically, with the one exception that works 
of some of the most important authors 
whose production has been treated in mod-
ern bibliographies were classified in ac-
cordance with the bibliographical treatment 
concerned, and under the numbers there 
established. For instance, the comprehensive 
Hippocrates collection has been arranged in 

accordance with the catalog of the British 
Museum. 

The titles are given in full. Printers' and 
publishers' names are indicated for imprints 
prior to 1700. There are detailed data on 
number of pages, type pages unnumbered or 
paginated by a special method, illustrations, 
number of plates, and supplementary ma-
terial, if any. Information, when considered 
of interest, is given in a special type of print, 
e.g. references to bibliographies, data on 
provenience, etc. The volume ends with an 
extremely detailed general index to the en-
tire catalog. The catalog is written in Eng-
lish and contains 56 full-page plates, in-
cluding 8 color plates. The format is 
182x260 mm. 

The catalog of the Bibliotheca Walleriana 
will be welcomed as a valuable reference 
work by librarians, scholars, book collectors 
and booksellers. In addition to reliable bib-
liographic information, the comprehensive 
index with thousands of entries refers to the 
literature of a variety of fields in the area 
of medicine and historical research. No ref-
erence library attempting to cover these 
fields can afford to pass up these volumes.— 
T. P. Fleming, Columbia University. 

Future of the Book 
The Future of the Book: Implications of the 

Newer Developments in Communication. 
Papers Presented Before the Twentieth 
Annual Conference of the Graduate Li-
brary School of the University of Chicago, 
June 20-24, 1955. Edited by Lester Asheim. 
Chicago: University of Chicago, Gradu-
ate Library School [cl955]. 105 p. $3.75. 
Published originally in Library Quarter-
ly, October 1955. 

The subtitle of this collection gives a bet-
ter indication of its content than does the 
more provocative wording, "The Future of 
the Book," for in the main the ten authors do 
not indulge in prophecy but derive opinions 
from careful study of past and present re-
alities: they have used the microscope rather 

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