College and Research Libraries able body of knowledge needed for precise sorting. No single reform, however, would do more to enhance the attractiveness of the USBE than the elimination of these shipping charges. T o finance experiments in the three broad areas of his proposals, Williams recommends that the USBE seek a foundation grant which would cover a period of not less than three years. He sees some indication that local foundations may be interested in starting local clearinghouses. It seems to this reviewer that to become effective the clearinghouses will have to over- come two obstacles. One is the inherent trans- itoriness of interest in local bibliographic undertakings. A few enthusiastic individuals can carry an enterprise for a time, but often the base is too small to supply successors. Local union catalogs and bibliographic cen- ters have not always fulfilled early hopes, but the National Union Catalog goes from strength to strength. Linked with this, of course, is the problem of finances after foun- dation help is ended. Aside from the need for a minimum of business, there might be com- plexities in financial administration. Wil- liams is of course quite aware that, "clearing- houses will obviously have no chance without genuine and continued local support." On the positive side, he cites the interest of the Dallas Public Library when the idea was broached there; an interest so active that work was begun immediately setting up such an enterprise. The whole concept of course deserves the most serious consideration and the Dallas experiment and any others that get underway merit close attention. The eight useful appendixes include not only supporting information but also inter- esting lesser recommendations. Appendix C, for instance, answers questions many of us had concerning internal operations but one is not reassured to find twenty-two items under the heading "Files and Ledgers." These may be justified, but an office manage- ment analysis might be coupled with the cost analysis of each USBE operation which Wil- liams wisely recommends. The USBE's achievement has been remark- able. It is rather impressive to consider the heavy traffic in vast quantities of material of little or no commercial value. It is a li- brarians' achievement. We are indebted to Williams for showing beyond doubt that the USBE is fulfilling a necessary function per- formed by no other agency, and for showing ways in which that usefulness can be greatly expanded.—Ian W. Thorn, Princeton Uni- versity Library. Academic Procession Academic Procession; Reflections of a Col- lege President. By Henry M. Wriston. New York: Columbia University Press, 1959. 222p. $4.00. Academic Procession provides a more pene- trating insight into the college presidency than most books on that subject. It is au- thoritative and articulate, written in an en- gaging and readable style, and is based on the author's experiences and observations gleaned during more than thirty years as an extremely successful college teacher and administrator. The author's extensive knowl- edge of all things academic, his understand- ing of human nature, his dynamic personal- ity, his vision and forcefulness are evident throughout the book. His story is that of a high-principled man who has the courage of his convictions and who would resign rather than compromise on an issue which he knows to be right. In reading this volume one readily understands why the author was so successful as a college and university presi- dent. Dr. Wriston writes of his dealings with trustees, faculty, administrators, students, alumni, and the public. In working with these contacts he had many rewarding experi- ences and he also encountered many trying problems. The manner in which he met and solved these issues has meaning for all col- lege or university administrators. The li- brarian has to work closely with many of these same groups and, by learning how the author dealt with the various situations, he can obtain ideas which will aid in the solu- tion of some of his problems. For example, Dr. Wriston's experiences with the trustees provide points of view which may be of value in working with the library committee. Therefore, although this book was not writ- ten expressly for librarians they can learn much from it. 330 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 The author has long been known to li- brarians as a library-minded administrator. Among his many published articles are sev- eral on various aspects of college library op- eration, and in his books he often touches on the subject of libraries. His active interest in libraries goes back to his first teaching posi- tion at Wesleyan University, where he taught three courses and worked in the library to complete his instructional quota of five courses. Regarding this library experience he writes: "The library assignment proved a valuable experience, for it provided first- hand knowledge of how students prepared papers; it emphasized the time and effort wasted by crude procedures. As a result my teaching techniques were altered. I came to stress written work and the best methods of preparing it. In the long run it also proved valuable for administrative purposes; when a college president has had practical experi- ence in the daily operation of the library he has much more sympathy with the librarian's problem—fiscal, administrative, disciplinary, and instructional." At another place he states that "The knowledge acquired through my library experience profoundly influenced my administrative philosophy and course of action." He made the library a major concern of his at both Lawrence College and Brown University, working closely with the librarian at each institution to vitalize the library and to make it an active agent in the educa- tive process. For thirty years he waged war on the reserve system in an effort to reduce its ill effects upon the broader use of the library resources. He presents a telling in- dictment of the reserve-book type of instruc- tion in the section of the chapter on ad- ministration which deals with his library experiences (pp. 132-49). These pages are highly recommended reading for all faculty members and librarians. He says much about the library in a few pages. It is unusual to find a meaty book which is so palatable and easy to digest. This re- viewer recommends it highly as a valuable contribution to the literature of college ad- ministration. It is a book with wide appeal and its use should not be confined to the professional educator.—Porter Kellam, Uni- versity of Georgia. History of Printing Five Hundred Years of Printing. By S. H. Steinberg, with a foreword by Beatrice Warde. London: Faber and Faber [1959], 286p. 30s. This is a reprinting, with additions, dele- tions, and some (but not enough) corrections, of the Pelican edition issued at eighty-five cents by Penguin Books in 1955. The pres- ent edition has, for a greatly enhanced price ($6.00 in American stores), hard covers, a larger format, additional plates and figures, over seven hundred lines of new text—net gain, that is; some eight hundred new lines are partially offset by the deletion of nearly one hundred lines of the original text—and, unhappily, far too many of the errors that marred the earlier edition. There is a long-felt need, frequently voiced by instructors in the history of books and printing, and not satisfactorily met by McMurtrie, Wroth, Dahl, or Binns, for a moderately priced volume that can be rec- ommended as a general, up-to-date guide to the subject. Mr. Steinberg's work, when it first appeared in the Pelican format, seemed to meet the need to at least a tolerable de- gree; its modest cost outweighed the instruc- tor's obligation to warn his students not only of the author's insularity, which gives his book an imbalance in its later sections, but also of his downright carelessness with facts. Most of us chose to let the matter pass, as- suming that our more serious objections would be overcome in any later version of the text. It is regrettable that our assumption has not been fulfilled. The new edition has cor- rected some points and has added extensive discussions of certain matters that were passed over quickly or omitted altogether in the Pelican version, but in general it is no more reliable than its predecessor. And inas- much as the author has not taken advantage of a magnificent opportunity to correct his errors, we are left to conclude that he feels no responsibility to do so. It is difficult to understand on any other premise how a re- vised edition could be released which car- ries over such statements as the following: Page 34: "Tory crowned his work as a J U L Y 1 9 6 0 331