College and Research Libraries with foreign science have received less at- tention but may be of equal or greater im- portance. Lack of copyright protection in the USSR permits a m a j o r program, begun in 1955, of photographic r e p r o d u c t i o n of foreign journals a n d books. O n e h u n d r e d thousand copies of a seventy-five page cata- log of such journals were p r i n t e d in 1958. T h e r e appears to be n o extensive (and ex- pensive) translation of journals cover-to- cover, as in the U n i t e d States, but there are n u m e r o u s series which provide full transla- tions of selected articles and varying degrees of a n n o t a t i o n a n d listing. T h e a u t h o r men- tions the Ekspress-informatsiia series, begun in 1955, as a particularly successful one. T h e a p p e n d i x of fifty-six supplements in- cludes many statistical tables. Although sta- tistics in the first forty-three supplements are derived f r o m one principal Soviet source a n d two annuals which continue it, as noted o n p. 198, u n f o r t u n a t e l y n o cross reference to the note appears with t h e tables them- selves. T h e problems of comparative statis- tics for American a n d Soviet publishing are discussed in the concluding chapter. Earlier in the book there is a statement about the acute shortage of p r i n t i n g facilities in the Soviet U n i o n , a fact which might have been reiterated in the otherwise valuable conclud- ing estimate of the publishing scene. It is gratifying to find m u c h well docu- m e n t e d material brought together u n d e r one cover a n d organized in such a way as to be particularly m e a n i n g f u l for the librarian, whether for purposes of comparison or as a vade mecum in dealing with Russian publi- cations.—Eleanor Buist, Reference Depart- ment, Columbia University Libraries. Reading for Life Reading for Life: Developing the College Student's Lifetime Reading Interest. Edited by Jacob M. Price. A n n Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Press, 1959. 2 7 l p . $6.00. It is exciting to have first-class minds probe such a n i m p o r t a n t problem as how to give the u n d e r g r a d u a t e working for his degree in science or economics a lifelong enthusiasm for reading books. T h i s collec- tion of suggestions from teachers, librarians, a n d bookmen is gathered from the proceed ings of a conference at the University of Michigan in February 1958. T h e occasion was auspicious (dedication of the three-million dollar undergraduate library). T h e participants were able a n d conscientious. T h e editing of their contribu- tions, which includes discussion f r o m the floor a n d even follow-up correspondence as well as the papers given, has accordingly produced a stimulating volume—and a dis- couraging one. Librarians are always shocked a n d dis- mayed w h e n c o n f r o n t e d with the statistics which indicate, as Lester Asheim reports in his survey of recent research, that only 21 per cent of a r a n d o m sampling of adults in the U n i t e d States in 1949 admitted to be actually engaged in reading a book; and by 1957 this percentage h a d d r o p p e d to 17. O t h e r studies show that 15 per cent of col- lege students withdraw n o books f r o m the library at all d u r i n g the academic year and that 31 per cent withdraw less than one book per m o n t h . If reading is not being d o n e by students, who still manage to gradu- ate, then the f u t u r e of book reading looks black indeed. Of course, as the conferees p o i n t out, there are e x t e n u a t i n g considerations: Sci- ence students may not need to d o so much book reading; students may read o t h e r than library books; r e p r i n t s in paperback form are a dramatic new source; " r e a d i n g " by way of other materials, such as audio-visual aids a n d non-book publications, may be equally effective in the learning process; a n d most of the teachers testified that today's u n d e r g r a d u a t e seemed better able t h a n his predecessors to extract i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m var- ious sources. Still, for those who are com- mitted to the value of the book, the picture looks dark, for all are agreed that the college years are crucial to continued book reading. W h a t are the causes of this defection from the book? O n e m e n t i o n e d by the conferees is the n a t u r e of the student. D e a n Charles E. Odegaard, now president of the University of Washington, states that 25 per cent of college students today come f r o m families of unskilled workers where there are few books a n d little reading. Elementary a n d second- ary instruction o f t e n does little to empha- size the rewards as opposed to t h e duty of book reading. Many participants admitted that college teaching also left much to be M A R C H 1 9 6 0 181 desired: teaching f r o m texts; big and im- personal lecture courses; objective tests; dull teachers who, according to Professor William C. Steere, inspired one s t u d e n t at Michigan to write: "Every student has some small spark of genius. It is the d u t y of the pro- fessor to water this spark." August Heckscher speaks of how the break-up of Community a n d the disintegra- tion of Authority have affected book read- ing. T h e problem is then examined from the viewpoint of the teacher: Professor Reu- ben A. Brower of H a r v a r d in discussing the humanities arouses much discussion about his techniques of "reading in slow motion." T h e social sciences are covered by Professor R o b e r t C. Angell of Michigan, and the sci- ences by Dr. Steere. H a r o l d Guinzburg, pub- lisher, a n d R a l p h E. Ellsworth, librarian, p u t stress on the importance of the accessi- bility of books through a college bookstore a n d library. Many ways to encourage more book read- ing are suggested by the conferees. Several q u o t e approvingly the recommendation of the President's Committee on Education Be- yond the H i g h School: " T h e Committee par- ticularly urges increasing emphasis on the development of educational methods which place larger responsibility for learning on the s t u d e n t himself." T h i s should force the u n d e r g r a d u a t e to t u r n more to the library a n d i n d e p e n d e n t reading. Dr. Ellsworth em- phasizes that the library must have the sup- port of the college administration in order to have t h e p r o p e r staff and resources to meet such demands. All agree, however, that incentive must be supplied by devoted teachers a n d effective teaching methods. W h a t , then, is discouraging about this symposium? Briefly, it is the discrepancy be- tween the ideal solutions offered here a n d the harsh reality of the formidable obstacles blocking t h e way to any practicable accom- plishment. Previous studies by Dr. Patricia K n a p p a n d testimony bv teachers at this conference indicate that the laudable objec- tives of the institution with regard to pro- moting lifetime reading interests are often at variance with the aims of a particular in- structor who is concerned with inculcating a narrowly defined body of knowledge. Mrs. R o b e r t a Keniston, librarian of the Michi- gan u n d e r g r a d u a t e library, warns that the library h a d better not try to dictate to the faculty how courses should be taught. Fur- thermore, D e a n Roger Heyns of Michigan admits that "many of the most conscientious university teachers today are not fully con- vinced about t h e primary place of reading in the learning process." Finally, several conferees stress the great importance of motivation in reading: moti- vation which is d e p e n d e n t u p o n the status of the scholar, intellectual (egg-head), and bookworm in American society. Unless the library can be made to seem as i m p o r t a n t a n d acceptable to the u n d e r g r a d u a t e as the student union, football, fraternities, and other symbols of social standing, book read- ing will be a minority activity. Can librarians make reading glamorous? Can they persuade teachers to stress the book? Can they inspire lifelong enthusiasm for book reading? If not, who will? Dean Asheim concludes with the admoni- tion that for college teachers, administrators, a n d librarians to read this stimulating book is not enough. Book reading must lead to book use, and achievement of some of the challenges in this book "can come only through constructive action, action stimu- lated a n d given direction by the ideas re- corded here."—Henry James, Jr., Ferguson Library, Stamford, Conn. Mean What You Say Mean What You Say: Proceedings of a Con- ference on Written and Oral Library Re- porting at the University of California, Santa Barbara, July 20-23, 1958 Ed. by Betty Rosenberg. (UCLA Library Occa- sional Papers, N u m b e r 10.) Los Angeles: University of California Library, 1959. xii, 85p. "I think of this conference as a conspiracy, bent on overthrowing the dullness, ambigu- ousness, formlessness, verboseness, jargon, that keep librarians from effectiveness when they write a n d speak. . . . T h i s is no light task. W e are like X e n o p h o n ' s Greeks, deep in the desert, ringed by laziness, indiffer- ence, fear, even despair, a n d the blue water is far away." W i t h these eloquent words (p. 2) Law- rence Clark Powell o p e n e d this conference. Anyone who has ever plodded through that 182 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S