College and Research Libraries


Review Articles 

College and University 
Business Administration 
College and Unive rsity Business Administra-

tion. Compiled by the National Commit-
tee on the Preparation of a Manual on 
College and University Business Adminis-
tration. Volume II. Washington, D.C.: 
American Council on Education, 1955. 
267p. $4.50. 

The first volume of this manual was con-
cerned with the principles of college and uni-
veristy accounting, budgets and budgetary 
accounting, financial reports, audits, and the 
allocation of indirect expenditures and de-
termination of costs. The current volume is 
devoted to discussions of purchasing, physical 
plant, property and liability insurance, in-
ventory of plant assets, man agement of auxil-
iary enterprises, organized activities and serv-
ice departments, student affairs, non-aca-
demic personnel, staff welfare, investment 
management, sponsored research administra-
tion, and legal problems. 

The discussion directly related to the li-
brary in this volume is concerned with in-
ventory of plant assets. The following state-
ment in the volume represents specific sug-
gestions regarding equipment: 

Books are included in the category of equip-
ment. New accessions, including microfilms, and 
the cost of binding periodicals, should be added 
to the inventory control records at cost and in-
cluded in the plant asset accounts, appropriate 
adjustments being made for books lost or dis-
posed of. 

The general library should maintain a record 
o£ all books acquired by the institution, regard-
less of the source of funds used. The records thus 
maintained will suffice as a detailed inventory 
record, and need not be duplicated in the details 
of the inventory of the physical plant property. 

Although this is the only statement re-
ferring directly to the library, there are many 
discussions of problems which are of concern 
to the college or university librarian. For 
example, the section dealing with "Ethics 
and Public Relations" under "Purchasing" 
contains basic suggestions for librarians in 

JANUARY~ 1957 

dealing with agents and others who supply 
materials. Under "Physical Plant" many of 
the problems of academic librarians are con-
sidered. These include building planning, 
space utilization, operation and mainte-
nance, heating, repairs and decoration , con-
trol of keys, fire protection, and similar mat-
ters. 

The section dealing with "Sponsored Re-
search Administration" describes various 
types of con tracts, and notes procedures in-
volved in the proposal, negotiation, and im-
plementation of agreements. By implication, 
the urgency for considering the library in any 
research project is suggested. This probably 
should have been made more specific, for 
experience has shown that contractual ar-
rangements should designate allotments for 
library services. In some institutions, special 
forms which are used in such agreements in-
clude specificati~:ms for funds for the library. 

An extensive bibliography includes a sec-
tion, which is not complete, dealing with "Li 
braries, Museums, and Audio-Visual Depart-
ments."-J\.:(aurice F. TauberJ Columbia Uni-
v ersity. 

The American Book 
Collector 
The American Book Collector. Published ten 

times a year at 1822 School St. , Chicago 13, 
Ill. $5. 

For six years The American Book Collector 
(formerly The Amateur Book CollectorJ vol. 
1-5) has been publishing interesting and use-
ful articles and bibliographical information 
for book collectors and students of literature. 
Edited and published by W. B. Thorsen of 
Chicago, the journal fills the needs of those 
librarians who never seem to have time to 
keep up with the many specialized periodi-
cals dealing with the varied events in the 
world of books. 

In an editorial of the Summer, 1956, issue, 
Editor Thorsen reported: 

We have at this writing, after completing six 
years, exactly 106 library subscribers in the 

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