College and Research Libraries


In Miss Stewart's book, the summary and 
evaluation come at the beginning, and the 
review is broken into two parts. The first 
part, which is chronologically arranged, takes 
up ninety-four pages and is based on some 
284 references. The second part, a topical 
summary, takes sixty-seven pages to list some 
forty-two features by which the reading ma-
chines are classified. These range from cost 
of the equipment, through the various opti-
cal and mechanical features, to end with use 
costs. 

The chief value of these two volumes lies 
in their chapters of recommendations and 
their bibliographies. The former will be 
fertile fields for doctoral candidates looking 
for subjects for dissertations. They will also 
be used by industry to help lay out research 
projects on present and future equipment. 
The two bibliographies bring together just 
about all that one could find in this field up 
to 1957. I suspect that many students will be 
shuffling these lists into manifold arrange-
ments for some time to come. 

The outstanding shortcoming of both 
books lies in the lack of illustrations. The 
descriptions of equipment and techniques 
cry for pictures and diagrams. The evalua-
tion of equipment and processes in both 
books is somewhat undescriminating. There 
is little weight given as to who made what 
judgment when. There are surprisingly few 
errors when one considers what a wide range 
of time and subject matter is covered. One 
that will amuse those who know him is the 
appearance of Frank and Frederic Luther, 
both writing about Dagron. 

Library Trends, VIII (1960), no. 1 (Photo-
duplication in Libraries. Edited by James 
E. Skipper.) 

Photoduplication has been the subject of 
single articles appearing in four previous is-
sues of Library Trends. Now it has an issue 
of its own. Of the ten papers presented here, 
seven are on the administrative aspects and 
three on the technological phases of the field. 
Of an administrative nature are: Lester K. 
Born, "History of Microform Activity"; Law-
rence S. Thompson, "Microforms as Library 
Resources"; John A. Riggs, "The State of 
Microtext Publications"; George A. Schweg-
mann, Jr., "The Bibliographical Control of 
Microforms"; H . Gordon Bechanan, "The 

NOVEMBER 1960 

Organization of Microforms in the Library"; 
Robert E. Kingery, · "Copying Methods as 
Applied to Library Operations"; Miles 0. 
Price, "Photocopying by Libraries and Copy-
right: A Precis." 

Of greater interest to the technologists in 
the field are: Robert H. Muller, "Policy 
Questions Relating to Library Photoduplica-
tion Laboratories"; Charles G. La Hood, Jr. , 
"Microfilm as Used in Reproduction and 
Transmission Systems"; Peter Scott, "Ad-
vances and Goals in Microphotography." 

This issue is recommended reading for all 
who are interested in microfilming. Librari-
ans responsible for organizing microform 
reading rooms will benefit by Bechanan's 
report on Harvard's progress in this line. 
Heads of library photoduplication labora-
tories will be thankful to Muller for his sur-
vey of their problems. Commercial micro-
photographic agencies about to embark on 
projects aimed at libraries would do well to 
study the articles by Thompson, Riggs, and 
Schwegmann. This issue will be on library 
school reading lists for some time to come. 

Microt exts as Media for Publication: The 
Papers and Discussion of a Symposium 
Held at Hatfield Technical College on the 
lOth November 1959 ... Hatfield, Herts., 
England: Hertfordshire County Council, 
1960. 87p. 9s. 

Hatfield is located twenty miles north of 
London (about as far from its center as Scars-
dale is from Times Square) and is the source 
of an increasing number of important publi-
cations on photoduplication. In January 
1958 a Symposium on Microtexts and Micro-
recording was held, and its papers published. 
A Symposium on Modern Copying Tech-
niques followed in January 1959, resulting in 
another booklet. The third publication is 
perhaps of greatest interest to librarians. It 
consists of papers presented ·on microfilm, 
microfiche, and Microcard, and considers 
them from the standpoint of their sujtability 
for publication of scholarly material. 

The first paper is on "Microfilm-The 
Versatile Academic Tool" by Eugene Power 
of University Microfilms. It contains a wealth 
of information based on twenty-five years of 
experience with this medium. This is fol-
lowed by Dr. L. J. van der Wolk's report on 
"Publishing on Microfiche." This presents a 

495 



persuasive plea for sheet microfilm, which 
embodies some of the best features of ribbon 
microfilm and micropaper. Included in the 
paper is a "Survey of Microfiche Publishing 
Activity" listing the outstanding companies 
prepared to produce microfiche. The last 
paper is on "Microcard" by C. D. Gelatt of 
the Microcard Corporation. As far as this 
reviewer knows, this is the first time that we 
have been able to read something by the 
man who did so much to implement Fre-
mont Rider's basic ideas. Besides noting the 
Microcard Corporation's current program, 
he mentions some future developments: a 
facility for the production of Microcards by 
small units such as libraries, and a print-out 
device for Microcards. 

These papers are followed by a transcrip-
tion of the discussion period that is as in-
teresting and valuable as the previous sec-
tion. There are four appendixes. The first is 
a report of a meeting with Fremont Rider in 
May 1959 which gives some interesting foot-
notes on the early history of Microcards. In 
the course of this meeting Dr. Rider makes 
some statements that may be open to ques-
tion, especially by some of his competitors. 
Appendix II is a "Supplementary List of 
Micro-Opaque Cards and Microfilm Pub-
lishers." Appendix III is the "Statement of 
Views" formulated by the Council on 3 De-
cember 1959, reporting their opinion that 
"the 5" X 3" micro-opaque card should be 
regarded as the standard form for the publi-
cation of material to be issued in a microtext 
edition of a number of copies produced at 
one time." Appendix IV is a Microcard edi-
tion (two cards) of the proceedings prepared 
by Recordak Division of Kodak Ltd. 

Microtext in the Form of Opaque Cards and 
Transparent Microfilm/Review of Progress 
1959. By Geo. H. Davison. Moorgate, 
Rotherham, Yorkshire, England: Swinden 
Laboratories, The United Steel Companies, 
Ltd., [1960]. 82p. On request. 

In 19S4 Mr. Davison began his annual re-
view of progress on Microcards with a three-
page report. In 1958 he added microfiche, 
and his survey had grown to twenty-two 
pages. The current issue is still produced by 
mimeograph, but is a worthy addition to any 
library engaged in acquiring micropaper and 
microfiche editions. A file of this ~~.ries will 

be of utmost value to anyone writing the 
history of the development of these two 
processes. The 1959 review has a wealth of 
material-well indexed-that would require 
much painstaking digging to unearth from a 
long shelf of material that would most likely 
not be in most libraries. 

"The Literature of Document Reproduc-
tion." By Allen B. Veanor. In The Lit-
erature of Library Technical St;_rvices 
(University of Illinois Library School Oc-
casional Papers, No. 58), pp. 25-37. Urbana, 
Ill.: University of Illinois Library School, 
1960. On request. 

Mr. Veaner is specialist for documentary 
reproduction at the Harvard University Li-
brary. He notes two trends in photoduplica-
tion: "First is the significant role which 
office reproduction methods are beginning to 
play in the library. Second is the disappear-
ance of the sharp cleavage between micro-
reproduction and full size copying .... " 
This puts a greater burden on librarians in 
that it requires a wider knowledge of techni-
cal writings. 

Included in his bibliography are some 
seventy titles, covering a very wide spectrum 
of the literature on the subject of photo-
duplication and its tangential fields. Each 
item is given a brief and helpful annotation. 
This is a "must" item for all library schools, 
as well as recommended reading for those 
who have been out in working libraries for 
many years. 

john Benjamin Dancer . ... By L. L. Ardern. 
(Library Association Occasional Papers, 
No. 2) London: The Library Association, 
1960. 22p. illus. On request. 

This little booklet will be of interest to 
those who want to know more about Dancer, 
the originator of microphotography. Letters 
and other documents are quoted at length, 
and an outline of his many achievements 
and activities is given. There is a frontispiece 
portrait of Dancer in 1860 that is not as 
stiff as those usually published, and a tail-
piece illustration of the first microphoto-
graphic slide that he made for sale in 1853. 
An appendix lists the 106 microphotographs 
known to be extant out of some 485 listed in 
a contemporary catalogue of his productions. 

CQ~I.~GE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES