College and Research Libraries Review Articles Social Function of Libraries Social Functions of Libraries. tByj Bcarthol- omeusi L a n d h e e r . N e w York: Scarecrow Press, 1957. 287p. $6. I n m a n y respects this is o n e of the most a m a z i n g b o o k s this reviewer has read. It is r e p e t i t i o u s a n d l o n g w i n d e d . It is f u l l of misprints. It has statistical tables w h i c h were n e v e r filled in. It has u n f o r t u n a t e , if n o t bad, grammer. It is a curious c o m b i n a t i o n of p h i l o s o p h i c a l m u s i n g , sociological e x a m i n a - tion, a n d statistical i n q u i r y i n t o cultures a n d libraries, w i t h o f t e n o n l y a m o d i c u m of organization. B u t p e r h a p s the m o s t unfor- t u n a t e t h i n g of all is that u n d e r n e a t h is a great deal of i n f o r m a t i o n , careful t h o u g h t , a n d c o m p e t e n t insight o n the h i g h e s t p l a n e c o n c e r n i n g the role p l a y e d by libraries, that is w o r t h w h i l e b u t that requires an excess of p a t i e n c e to u n c o v e r . Dr. L a n d h e e r a t t e m p t s to answer f r o m a sociological s t a n d p o i n t t h e q u e s t i o n " W h y libraries?" H e asks: w h o reads a n d why, i n different types of cultures, his thesis b e i n g that r e a d i n g is an answer to i n d i v i d u a l needs, felt differently by i n d i v i d u a l s as the density, c o m p l e x i t y , pressure, a n d d e v e l o p - m e n t of their society varies. W r i t i n g s to satisfy these n e e d s fall i n t o five categories: d e v o t i o n a l , cultural, a c h i e v e m e n t , c o m p e n - satory, a n d i n f o r m a t i o n a l . Writers, at least of the truly creative sort, are likewise answer- i n g a n e e d f e l t to c o m m u n i c a t e , to c o m m e n t o n a n d justify their p o s i t i o n a n d their so- ciety. T h e artistic writer lives i n a w o r l d apart, a n d the s t i m u l u s t o write p r e s u p p o s e s a certain m a l a d j u s t m e n t . W r i t i n g p u t s h i m in the d y n a m i c , as o p p o s e d to the static, e l e m e n t of society, a n d it is h o p e d that his products, a l t h o u g h essentially personal, are likewise of m e a n i n g to others. T h e discussion o f — i n d e e d almost attack u p o n — t h e a c c e p t e d c o n c e p t of "efficient readership" or "maturity in r e a d i n g " is well d o n e . N o o n e v a l u e standard can be set u p o n r e a d i n g or material u n t i l o n e investi- gates the i n d i v i d u a l r e a d i n g instance a n d analyses t h e reasons for it. G o o d r e a d i n g for o n e person b e c o m e s bad for another, a n d this is n o t in terms of p o l i t i c a l or religious d e n u n c i a t i o n but in terms of the sociological a n d psychological n e e d s of the i n d i v i d u a l . P r e d i c t i o n s o n the f u t u r e of libraries, as o n a n y t h i n g these days, are p e r h a p s ques- t i o n a b l e , b u t Dr. L a n d h e e r can see their be- c o m i n g ever m o r e necessary i n an increasing- ly d i f f e r e n t i a t e d a n d faster culture. " T h e f u n c t i o n of a library is n o t the s p r e a d i n g of k n o w l e d g e , but t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of h u m a n personality. . . . R e a d i n g to be e n j o y e d re- quires time a n d the ability to r e t h i n k the thought-processes of others. R e a d i n g does n o t m e a n 'to be t o l d s o m e t h i n g by s o m e o n e w h o k n o w s it better.' . . . R e a d i n g m e a n s to absorb w h a t is essential to one's m e n t a l structure, a n d this process has n o general rules of s p e e d or capability." G i v e n these needs, there can n e v e r be of m a k i n g m a n y books an e n d . — G . A. Harrer, Stanford Uni- versity Libraries. American Fiction American Fiction 1851-1875, A Contribution Toward a Bibliography. By L y l e H . W r i g h t . San M a r i n o , Calif., T h e H u n t i n g t o n Li- brary, 1957. x x , 413 p. $7.50. W i t h American Fiction, 1851-1875 Lyle H . W r i g h t brings his admirable b i b l i o g r a p h y of this field across the first full century of t h e n a t i o n a l l i f e of the U n i t e d States. T h i s vol- u m e is a s u p p l e m e n t to Mr. Wright's Amer- ican Fiction, 1774-1850, first p u b l i s h e d i n 1939 a n d reissued in a revised e d i t i o n i n 1948. P u b l i c a t i o n of the s e c o n d v o l u m e marks the c o m p l e t i o n of a b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l project that can be verily described as m o n u m e n t a l . C o m b i n e d , the two v o l u m e s record a total of 5,604 titles, w i t h sixty m o r e titles listed for the last quarter century covered i n the s e c o n d v o l u m e t h a n for the w h o l e seventy- seven years treated in the earlier c o m p i l a - t i o n (2,832 titles against 2,772). E v e n this fig- ure de-emphasizes the increased literary activ- ity of the e x p a n d i n g country i n the mid- n i n e t e e n t h century as Mr. Wright's criteria for listings in the n e w p u b l i c a t i o n were some- what m o r e stringent than those for the earli- er v o l u m e . MAY 1958 255 " T h e m o m e n t o u s events," n o t e s Mr. W r i g h t i n his preface, "that occurred d u r i n g this quarter century are reflected i n the fic- t i o n of the period. T h e slavery q u e s t i o n , pro a n d con, was the t h e m e of scores of novels, a n d as m a n y m o r e covered the Civil War, a n a t i o n a l catastrophe that i n d u c e d authors to a t t e m p t to be m o r e realistic i n their w r i t i n g . T h e westward flow of t h e p o p u l a t i o n was n o t o v e r l o o k e d . . . . D u r i n g the 1850's the s e n t i m e n t a l n o v e l r e a c h e d its peak in pop- ularity, a i d e d a n d a b e t t e d by the large in- crease in w o m e n writers. A n d the w o m a n ' s rights m o v e m e n t g a i n e d i m p e t u s t h r o u g h the n u m e r o u s n o v e l s a n d short stories w h i c h pre- s e n t e d it i n a s y m p a t h e t i c v e i n . R e l i g i o n , in- c l u d i n g controversies b e t w e e n d e n o m i n a t i o n s , was also a favorite subject w i t h authors." Mr. Wright's preface is a d m i r a b l e as a straightforward, w o r k m a n l i k e p r e s e n t a t i o n of the scope of his b i b l i o g r a p h y a n d of the m e t h o d s used i n its p r e p a r a t i o n . T h e devo- tee of A m e r i c a n fiction can w e l l w i s h that he had seized the o p p o r t u n i t y to write an ex- t e n d e d critical i n t r o d u c t i o n . B u t he d i d n o t d o so, a n d it is u n f a i r — p a r t i c u l a r l y in rela- t i o n to such a n e x p e r t j o b — e v e n to wish that the i n t r o d u c t o r y material h a d b e e n different- ly c o n c e i v e d . Perhaps Mr. W r i g h t w i l l be per- s u a d e d to p u t the vast a c c u m u l a t i o n of k n o w l e d g e that has accrued to h i m d u r i n g the c o m p i l a t i o n of these b i b l i o g r a p h i e s to further use in an e v e n t u a l narrative history of A m e r i c a n fiction. In American Fiction, 1851-1875 are pack- a g e d b i b l i o g r a p h i e s of m a n y of the greats of American-literary history for their most pro- d u c t i v e years: J o h n Esten C o o k e , N a t h a n i e l H a w t h o r n e , H e r m a n M e l v i l l e , W i l l i a m Gil- m o r e Simms, H a r r i e t B e e c h e r Stowe. T h e r e are e q u a l l y u s e f u l b i b l i o g r a p h i e s for lesser authors a n d for literary figures w e l l k n o w n in their o w n time b u t n o w r e m e m b e r e d o n l y by academicians: C a r o l i n e L e e H e n t z , J o s e p h H o l t Ingraham, J o h n B e a u c h a m p J o n e s , Dav- id Ross L o c k e ( " P e t r o l e u m V. Nasby"), J a m e s A. M a i t l a n d , H e n r y M o r f o r d , R o b e r t H . N e w e l l ("Orpheus C. Kerr"), E. P. R o e , H e n - ry W . Shaw ("JOSH Billings"), A n n S o p h i a Stephens, Mary V i r g i n i a T e r h u n e , J o h n T . T r o w b r i d g e , a n d A u g u s t a J a n e Evans Wil- son. T h e r e are early p u b l i c a t i o n s w h i c h pre- sage the later f a m e of such i m p o r t a n t liter- ary lights as A m b r o s e Bierce, S a m u e l L. C l e m e n s , W i l l i a m D e a n H o w e l l s , a n d Sidney L a n i e r . American Fiction, 1851-1875 will be of im- m e n s e a n d long-term use in every c o l l e g e a n d research library. It is admirably arranged in a straight a l p h a b e t i c a l s e q u e n c e that facil- itates quick use. Cross r e f e r e n c e s w i t h i n the text take care of p s e u d o n y m s a n d n a m e var- iants. Its title i n d e x is a necessary a n d use- ful a d j u n c t . Librarians will be r i g h t f u l l y a n n o y e d that Mr. W r i g h t has c h o s e n to stick to an anti- q u a t e d code of l o c a t i o n symbols instead of u s i n g the n o w g e n e r a l l y a c c e p t e d symbols of the Library of Congress's National Union Catalog. H e has c h o s e n also to l i m i t his loca- tions largely to those libraries symbolized in his earlier v o l u m e . Consistency is hardly suf- ficient justification for such a l i m i t a t i o n . Se- rious c o l l e c t i n g has spread to a m u c h w i d e r n u m b e r of college a n d university libraries n o w t h a n it h a d a g e n e r a t i o n ago, a n d a w i d e r g e o g r a p h i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n i n the loca- t i o n of c o p i e s w o u l d be h i g h l y desirable. H e does, h o w e v e r , locate a f e w s u p p o s e d l y u n i q u e c o p i e s in libraries n o t a m o n g his c h a r m e d circle of old-timers, single titles at least at the A t l a n t a P u b l i c Library, D u k e , Emory, O b e r l i n , P r i n c e t o n , a n d the U n i v e r - sity of N o r t h Carolina. Such a b o o k as this is u s e f u l in m a n y ways b e y o n d its primary p u r p o s e . T h i s v o l u m e is almost as i n t e r e s t i n g as a record of o n e aspect of A m e r i c a n p u b l i s h i n g a n d p r i n t i n g history as it is as a b i b l i o g r a p h y of A m e r i c a n fiction. O n e can f o l l o w the i m p r i n t s a n d n o t e h o w the p u b l i s h i n g business prior to 1876 was n o t f u l l y c o n c e n t r a t e d in N e w York, Phil- a d e l p h i a , a n d B o s t o n . T h e r e were books of fiction p u b l i s h e d in m a n y of the smaller N e w E n g l a n d cities: Cambridge, H a r t f o r d , Spring- field, Mass.; Portland, Me.; P r o v i d e n c e , Cen- tral Falls, R . I.; in N e w York state at Al- bany, A u b u r n , B i n g h a m t o n , M a c e d o n , Mid- d l e t o w n , O g d e n s b u r g h , U t i c a . C o m p a r a b l e p r o d u c t i o n s c a m e from Carlisle a n d Pitts- burgh i n P e n n s y l v a n i a a n d f r o m m o r e west- ern presses i n C i n c i n n a t i , C l e v e l a n d , D e t r o i t , Chicago, St. Louis, M i l w a u k e e , St. Paul, D e s M o i n e s , T o p e k a , San Francisco, a n d Port- land, Ore. T h e r e were p u b l i s h e r s to the s o u t h at B a l t i m o r e , W a s h i n g t o n , R i c h m o n d , Ra- leigh, Charleston, S. C.; A t l a n t a , M a c o n , Mo- bile, M o n t g o m e r y , N a s h v i l l e , M e m p h i s , N e w 256 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Orleans, L i t t l e R o c k , a n d Galveston; a n d i n such smaller t o w n s as Orangeburg, S. G ; W a r r e n t o n , Va.; G r e e n v i l l e , Ga.; Milledge- ville, Ga.; G a l l a t i n , T e n n . ; a n d Jonesbor- o u g h , T e n n . T h e fact of a p u b l i s h i n g busi- ness in some of these S o u t h e r n towns is un- d o u b t e d l y e x p l a i n e d by C o n f e d e r a t e efforts to establish an i n d e p e n d e n t literature as w e l l as an i n d e p e n d e n t n a t i o n , b u t n o t all the p u b l i c a t i o n s were w i t h i n the war period, a n d the war certainly does n o t e x p l a i n p u b l i s h i n g efforts at Manchester, N . H . ; T i d i o u t e , P e n n a . ; Mansfield, O h i o ; R i c h m o n d , Ind.; or Galesburg, 111. B o o k catalogs have b e e n described as the most d u l c e t of reading. H o w m u c h m o r e can be said for a bibliography; w h a t vistas of the i m a g i n a t i o n it o p e n s w i t h o u t e v e n d e m a n d - i n g that its books be read! T h e r e is fascina- tion e n o u g h in just the title of such books as The Fiend's Delight, or The Chester Fam- ily; or, The Curse of the Drunkard's Ap- petite, The Physiology of New York Board- ing Houses, Kick Him Down Hill, Ten Old Maids, and Five of Them Were Wise and Five of Them Were Foolish, a n d The Masked Lady of the White House. For years "not in W r i g h t " has b e e n an aimed-for n o t e of b o o k dealers. T h e publica- t i o n of American Fiction, 1851-1875 will m a k e such a n o t e m o r e desirable t h a n ever to them. I n truth, however, such a n o t e usually m e a n s that a title was l e g i t i m a t e l y rejected from Mr. Wright's list. Such is the q u a l i t y of his work that the n o t a t i o n of a book's W r i g h t n u m b e r is accolade e n o u g h . — R i c h a r d B. Har- well. Norwegian Librarianship United States Influence on Norwegian Li- brarianship, 1890-1940. By J. Periam D a n - ton. Berkeley a n d Los A n g e l e s , U n i v e r - sity of C a l i f o r n i a Press, 1957. x i i , 91 p. $2.00 ( U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a Publica- tions in Librarianship, vol. 2, n o . 1). D u r i n g the past o n e h u n d r e d years or m o r e the U n i t e d States a n d the S c a n d i n a v i a n countries have i n f l u e n c e d each o t h e r in m a n y different areas—political, religious, h u m a n i - tarian, scientific a n d technical, cultural, a n d e d u c a t i o n a l . Q u i t e properly scholarly atten- t i o n first t u r n e d to the o v e r w h e l m i n g fact of e m i g r a t i o n f r o m S c a n d i n a v i a to the U n i t e d States w h i c h i n v o l v e d t h e m o v e m e n t of a b o u t t w o a n d a half m i l l i o n p e o p l e f r o m these small countries to n e w h o m e s in N o r t h America. T h e classical A m e r i c a n works o n this subject by such scholars as T h e o d o r e B l e g e n a n d George M. S t e p h e n s o n b e g a n t o a p p e a r in the early 1930's. Since then scores of articles a n d books have b e e n p u b l i s h e d o n b o t h sides of the A t l a n t i c deal- i n g w i t h various aspects of the i n t e r a c t i o n b e t w e e n the S c a n d i n a v i a n N o r t h a n d Ameri- ca. For e x a m p l e , o n e m i g h t m e n t i o n Einar H a u g e n ' s work o n the N o r w e g i a n l a n g u a g e in America, Franklin D. Scott's survey of Swedish s t u d e n t reactions to the U n i t e d States, a n d most recently Carl A n d e r s o n ' s study o n the acceptance of A m e r i c a n litera- ture i n S w e d e n . T h e remarkable i n f l u e n c e of A m e r i c a n librarianship in N o r w a y has, u n t i l n o w , b e e n o n l y briefly n o t e d in A m e r i c a n library litera- ture. T h e work u n d e r review is a d e t a i l e d i n v e s t i g a t i o n of this i n f l u e n c e , s h o w i n g h o w seventy-one N o r w e g i a n librarians, w h o stud- ied i n the U n i t e d States at various times d u r i n g a p e r i o d of fifty years a n d w h o later b e c a m e leaders i n their profession, b r o u g h t a b o u t a r e v o l u t i o n i n library practice in their o w n c o u n t r y t h r o u g h the i n t r o d u c t i o n of A m e r i c a n b i b l i o t h e c a l m e t h o d s a n d ideas. As the a u t h o r indicates, this g r o u p , in ab- solute terms, seems to be small a n d insigni- ficant, but he a m p l y illustrates that its m e m - bers had a positive effect o n the cultural l i f e of N o r w a y w h i c h was far o u t of p r o p o r t i o n to their n u m b e r . T h e study b e g i n s w i t h a brief summary of N o r w e g i a n library history a n d is f o l l o w e d by an e x p o s i t i o n of the activities of the t w o pi- oneers of the N o r w e g i a n library r e v o l u t i o n : H a n s T a m b s Lyche, e d i t o r of the i n f l u e n t i a l N o r w e g i a n f o r t n i g h t l y r e v i e w Kringsjaa w h i c h carried m a n y articles familiarizing its readers w i t h A m e r i c a n libraries a n d librar- ianship, a n d H a a k o n N y h u u s w h o in 1898 b e c a m e director of Oslo's m u n i c i p a l Deich- m a n Library. Lyche came to the U n i t e d States i n 1880 a n d stayed several years. H e was first e m p l o y e d as a railroad e n g i n e e r a n d later served as a U n i t a r i a n minister. Al- t h o u g h n e v e r a librarian he was always an alert observer of cultural activities in general a n d libraries in particular. N y h u u s became a MAY 1958 257