College and Research Libraries


s i x t e e n t h century b o o k s a n d p r i n t i n g t h a n 
the first v o l u m e . H e r e is a p i c t u r e of the in-
tellectual c l i m a t e of I t a l y at the t i m e of the 
R e f o r m a t i o n in the s h a r p e s t p o s s i b l e focus. 
C h a p t e r s such as those on the catechism (doc-
trina Christiana) d u r i n g this p e r i o d or o n the 
press in the service of I t a l i a n r e f o r m e r s tell 
a story that is the p a r t of every b o o k m a n ' s 
e d u c a t i o n . T h e c h a p t e r o n the new versions 
of the B i b l e is e q u a l l y essential t o a p r o p e r 
u n d e r s t a n d i n g of the b i b l i o g r a p h y of the a g e . 

T h e s e c o n d v o l u m e r e l a t e s m o r e specifical-
ly to the history of the c o m p a n y of J e s u s , 
b u t here t o o we get the b a c k g r o u n d f o r w h a t 
is the s t r o n g e s t s i n g l e e d u c a t i o n a l force of 
m o d e r n times. B u t f o r the efforts of the Jes-
u i t f a t h e r s w o r l d literacy w o u l d b e infinitely 
lower t h a n it is t o d a y . — L a i v r e n c e S. Thomp-
son, University of Kentucky Libraries. 

Humanities and the Library 
The Humanities and the Library: Problems 

in the Interpretation, Evaluation, and Use 
of Library Materials. By L e s t e r A s h e i m 
a n d Associates. C h i c a g o : A m e r i c a n Li-
brary A s s o c i a t i o n , 1957. 304p. $5.00. 

A l m o s t any l i b r a r i a n c o u l d r e a d with 
profit this s a m p l e " s y l l a b u s " of a c o u r s e in 
the l i t e r a t u r e of the h u m a n i t i e s (religion, 
p h i l o s o p h y , fine arts, m u s i c , a n d l i t e r a t u r e ) . 
Its succinct a c c o u n t of the c h a r a c t e r of the 
l i t e r a t u r e in the fields covered, its wise a n d 
t o l e r a n t discussion of the p r o b l e m s of the 
l i b r a r i a n in trying to p r o v i d e f r o m this lit-
e r a t u r e w h a t the users of his l i b r a r y n e e d , its 
c o n s t a n t e m p h a s i s o n the r o l e of the librar-
ian as a p r o f e s s i o n a l b u i l d e r of a collection 
of l i b r a r y m a t e r i a l s s h a p e d a c c o r d i n g to defi-
nite policy a n d p l a n f o r a d i s t i n c t i v e com-
m u n i t y o r g r o u p of p a t r o n s will p r o v i d e n o t 
o n l y the n e o p h y t e in l i b r a r i a n s h i p , b u t a l s o 
the e x p e r i e n c e d p r a c t i t i o n e r with m u c h new 
i n f o r m a t i o n a n d f o o d f o r t h o u g h t . H e r e is 
a p i e c e of p r o f e s s i o n a l l i t e r a t u r e the profes-
sion can b e p r o u d of, a n d h e r e is a t e x t b o o k 
f o r l i b r a r y school s t u d e n t s (how few of t h e m 
t h e r e a r e ! ) of which n e i t h e r teachers n o r 
s t u d e n t s n e e d b e a s h a m e d . 

T h e G r a d u a t e L i b r a r y S c h o o l of the U n i -
versity of C h i c a g o was a w a r d e d a g r a n t by 
the C a r n e g i e F o u n d a t i o n in 1948 f o r the 

p u r p o s e of p r e p a r i n g a series of three text-
b o o k s to b e u s e d in the " l i t e r a t u r e " o r 
" b o o k s " courses d e v e l o p e d a f t e r W o r l d W a r 
I I in A m e r i c a n l i b r a r y schools. T h e s e 
courses, as D e a n A s h e i m e x p l a i n s in the 
p r e f a c e to this b o o k , were " i n t e n d e d to pro-
v i d e s t u d e n t s with m o r e k n o w l e d g e a b o u t 
the contents of b o o k s a n d the criteria f o r 
e v a l u a t i n g t h e m " t h a n the s t a n d a r d ref-
erence, b o o k selection, a n d c a t a l o g i n g courses 
of the pre-war l i b r a r y schools h a d p r o v i d e d . 
D u e c r e d i t is g i v e n in this p r e f a c e to 
A s h e i m ' s p r e d e c e s s o r s as d i r e c t o r s of the p r o j -
ect, C l a r e n c e F a u s t a n d B e r n a r d B e r e l s o n , 
a n d to his associates, m e m b e r s of the U n i -
versity of C h i c a g o f a c u l t y o u t s i d e the G L S , 
f o r their work in the p r o j e c t i o n a n d p r e p a r a -
tion of this b o o k . T h e o t h e r two syllabi, f o r 
the social sciences a n d the sciences, h a v e n o t 
m a t e r i a l i z e d , b u t A s h e i m h o l d s f o r t h the 
h o p e that s o m e k i n d of s i m i l a r w o r k o n the 
social sciences will b e p u b l i s h e d . T h e sci-
e n c e s y l l a b u s w a s n e v e r c o m p l e t e d . T h i s 
state of a f f a i r s is e x t r e m e l y u n f o r t u n a t e . L i -
b r a r i a n s h i p n e e d s m o r e works of this k i n d , 
a n d f a i l u r e t o p r o v i d e c o m p a n i o n v o l u m e s 
to this f o r the o t h e r s u b j e c t fields is m o s t re-
g r e t t a b l e . O n e can only h o p e t h a t the re-
c e p t i o n this b o o k so richly m e r i t s will en-
c o u r a g e the G L S to r e c o n s i d e r its d e c i s i o n 
a n d f u l f i l l its i n t e n t i o n of p r o v i d i n g text-
b o o k s f o r all three courses. If they a r e l i k e 
the s y l l a b u s o n the h u m a n i t i e s , they will b e 
well w o r t h w a i t i n g f o r . 

I n the m e a n t i m e we h a v e the c o n s o l a t i o n 
of the p r e s e n t w o r k . R e g a r d l e s s of the m e r i t s 
or d e m e r i t s of the " b o o k s " courses, all teach-
ers a n d s t u d e n t s of l i b r a r i a n s h i p m u s t b e 
g r a t e f u l t h a t such a n i m p o r t a n t c o n t r i b u t i o n 
to l i b r a r y l i t e r a t u r e as The Humanities and 
the Library h a s b e e n m a d e . It is a u s e f u l 
t e x t in a n y k i n d of r e f e r e n c e c o u r s e d e a l i n g 
with the s u b j e c t fields it covers, a n d it pro-
v i d e s s o m e of the best m a t e r i a l in p r i n t o n 
the p r o b l e m s of b o o k selection. T h e ques-
tion of c e n s o r s h i p a n d its i m p l i c a t i o n s in 
b o o k selection, f o r e x a m p l e , a r e r e p e a t e d l y 
b r o u g h t to the r e a d e r ' s a t t e n t i o n , p a r t i c u -
larly w i t h r e s p e c t to b o o k s in the fields of 
l i t e r a t u r e a n d r e l i g i o n , a n d the c o n s i d e r a t i o n 
of this p r o b l e m is h a n d l e d in a m a n n e r that 
leaves n o r o o m f o r d o u b t a s t o the l i b r a r i a n ' s 
p r o f e s s i o n a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y in the a r e a of 

MARCH 1958 159-



i n t e l l e c t u a l f r e e d o m . T h e k n o t t y p r o b l e m of 
c e n s o r s h i p vs. selection is s o l v e d as the 
r e a d e r of A s h e i m ' s " N o t C e n s o r s h i p , b u t 
S e l e c t i o n " (a s p e e c h d e l i v e r e d a t the Whit-
tier C o n f e r e n c e o n I n t e l l e c t u a l F r e e d o m ) 
w o u l d e x p e c t ; i n d e e d , in m a n y respects, this 
b o o k is a n a m p l i f i c a t i o n a n d d e t a i l e d a p p l i -
c a t i o n of the g e n e r a l theories which the 
a u t h o r so c o g e n t l y e x p r e s s e d at W h i t t i e r . 
(See " P o l e m i c L i t e r a t u r e , " p p . 37-40, a n d 

" G i f t s , " p p . 43-44, in the c h a p t e r o n r e l i g i o n ; 
the d i s c u s s i o n of " p o p u l a r " a n d p s e u d o phi-
l o s o p h y , p p . 87-88; the a c c o u n t of censor-
s h i p in the a r t d e p a r t m e n t , p p . 141-43; a n d 
" T h e Q u e s t i o n of C e n s o r s h i p " in the chap-
ter o n l i t e r a t u r e , p p . 260-62.) 

E a c h c h a p t e r in this b o o k b e g i n s with a 
d e f i n i t i o n of its field a n d a n a d m i r a b l e sum-
m a r y of its history a n d l i t e r a t u r e . T h e n , in 
v a r y i n g o r d e r f o r e a c h field, a r e d i s c u s s e d 
classification a n d c a t a l o g i n g of m a t e r i a l s , 
b o o k selection a n d its p r o b l e m s , the d i f f e r e n t 
k i n d s of l i b r a r i e s a n d l i b r a r y service, a n d 
r e f e r e n c e work ( i n c l u d i n g a n a c c o u n t of the 
d i f f e r e n t types of r e f e r e n c e works in e a c h 
field). A u d i o - v i s u a l e n t h u s i a s t s will b e h a p p y 
with the a m o u n t of s p a c e a n d a t t e n t i o n 
g i v e n to a c o n s i d e r a t i o n of the p l a c e of non-
b o o k m a t e r i a l s in l i b r a r i e s ( A s h e i m is f o r 
t h e m a n d f o r the i n c r e a s i n g p r o v i s i o n of 
n o n - b o o k m a t e r i a l s a n d services by p u b l i c 
l i b r a r i e s ) a n d f o r the a b l e d i s c u s s i o n s of the 
p r o b l e m s of p i c t u r e , r e c o r d , a n d film collec-
tions in art, m u s i c , a n d l i t e r a t u r e . A list of 
the r e p r e s e n t a t i v e r e f e r e n c e tools in the field 
c o n c l u d e s e a c h c h a p t e r . T h e s e lists of ref-
erence works a r e c a r e f u l l y selected, g e n e r a l l y 
up-to-date g u i d e s to the best r e f e r e n c e works 
in the h u m a n i t i e s a n d a r e a l o n e w o r t h the 
p r i c e of the b o o k to m o s t l i b r a r i e s . F o r ex-
a m p l e , the Bibliographie de la philosophie 
(now also b e a r i n g the E n g l i s h title, Bibli-
ography of Philosophy) h a s b e e n a n a b s t r a c t 
j o u r n a l f o r b o o k s o n l y since 1954. N o m e n -
tion is m a d e of this in the b o o k . Philosophic 
Abstracts is d e s c r i b e d in the t e x t as of lim-
i t e d u s e f u l n e s s b e c a u s e of its r e s t r i c t e d s c o p e ; 
in the list o n e finds that it was d i s c o n t i n u e d 
in 1954. R e l a t i v e l y few i n s t a n c e s of this k i n d 
occur, however, a n d , in g e n e r a l , the lists a r e 
up-to-date as of the m i d d l e of 1956. 

S o m e of u s w h o still b e l i e v e that history is 
o n e of the h u m a n i t i e s m i g h t q u a r r e l with the 

d e c i s i o n to o m i t that i m p o r t a n t field f r o m 
this b o o k . W e can o n l y s u p p o s e that history 
h a s b e e n p l a c e d w i t h the social sciences a n d 
m o u r n its loss f r o m the v o l u m e n o w avail-
a b l e . T h o u g h few h i s t o r i a n s t e n d to t h i n k of 
themselves as social scientists, l i b r a r i a n s seem 
g e n e r a l l y to h a v e c o m e to the c o n c l u s i o n that 
history is a social science. U n d o u b t e d l y g o o d 
r e a s o n s can b e a d v a n c e d o n e i t h e r s i d e of the 
a r g u m e n t , a n d in the p r e s e n t i n s t a n c e there 
can b e n o q u a r r e l if the t r e a t m e n t of history 
in the p r o m i s e d social science s y l l a b u s is as 
e x c e l l e n t a n d l i b r a r y - o r i e n t e d as the c h a p t e r 
o n r e l i g i o n o r p h i l o s o p h y in this. 

T h e b o o k is a g o o d e x a m p l e of offset re-
p r o d u c t i o n f r o m t y p e w r i t t e n m a n u s c r i p t , a 
m e t h o d of p r i n t i n g a d o p t e d by the A L A 
f o r p u b l i c a t i o n s it d o e s n o t e x p e c t t o sell 
well e n o u g h to p a y f o r the cost of letterpress. 
T h e p r e s e n t r e v i e w e r h o p e s that this prog-
n o s t i c a t i o n of the b o o k ' s success will n o t b e 
j u s t i f i e d . If every l i b r a r i a n w h o c o u l d u s e it 
to a d v a n t a g e or l e a r n f r o m it h o w b e t t e r to 
serve his p u b l i c w o u l d b u y it, The Humani-
ties and the Library w o u l d s p e e d i l y g o o u t 
of p r i n t . — F r e d r i c J . Mosher, School of Li-
brarianship, University of California, Berke-
ley. 

Library Cooperation 
The Hampshire Inter-Library Center: A Sur-

vey of Its Background and Its Problems, 
with Recommendations for the Future. By 
K e y e s D . M e t c a l f . S o u t h H a d l e y , M a s s . 
T h e H a m p s h i r e I n t e r - L i b r a r y C e n t e r , 
1957. 3 1 p . 

T h e first h a l f of this p u b l i c a t i o n is de-
v o t e d to p r i n c i p l e s a n d theory of c o l l e c t i n g 
of r e s o u r c e s in a c a d e m i c l i b r a r i e s . A x i o m s 
e x p r e s s e d or findings n o t e d by M e t c a l f will 
b e g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t a b l e , since they a p p e a r 
to reflect the e x p e r i e n c e of A m e r i c a n l i b r a r i e s 
as a whole. Incisively, the a u t h o r h a s (1) 
i n d i c a t e d the d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n the c o l l e g e 
a n d the u n i v e r s i t y (or r e s e a r c h ) l i b r a r y , (2) 
p o i n t e d o u t the p r o b l e m s of s e l e c t i n g b o o k s 
to m e e t the n e e d s of a p a r t i c u l a r i n s t i t u t i o n , 
a n d (3) s u g g e s t e d the a v e n u e s of c o o p e r a t i o n 
which a r e d i r e c t e d at s e r v i n g the n e e d s of 
the p a r t i c u l a r users, a n d , a t the s a m e time, 
a r e e c o n o m i c a l . T h e r e m a i n d e r of this val-
u a b l e b r o c h u r e is d e v o t e d to the s p e c i a l 

160 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES