College and Research Libraries the early n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y D a n i e l Macmil- lan ( " Y o u never surely thought you were merely working for b r e a d ! " ) to the brash B e n n e t t Cerf speaking b e f o r e the New Y o r k Society of Security Analysts in 1960 on pub- lishing as big business, c o m p l e t e with profit- able stock issues a n d mergers. T h i r t y - s i x U n i t e d States a n d E n g l i s h pub- lishers in an a p p r o x i m a t e chronological se- q u e n c e speak their m i n d s — s o m e w h a t repeti- tively—on how they got started (many in almost hereditary dynasties), how to deal with authors, printers, agents, critics, a n d why they publish the lists that represent their names. Most write a neat, w o r k m a n l i k e (if unin- spired and o f t e n pedestrian) prose, uni- formly disclaiming any pretensions to b e i n g authors, which speaks well for their editorial abilities. Some few, e x c e p t i n g the versatile M i c h a e l Sadleir, are authors manque a n d write with style, grace, a n d that incisive, witty rightness o f phrase that makes liter- a t u r e o f e x p o s i t i o n . C u r t i c e H i t c h c o c k , J o h n F a r r a r , a n d F r e d i c W a r b u r g , had they taken the o t h e r side of the c o u n t e r , should have f o u n d publishers, b u t I use a hesitant " s h o u l d " advisedly. T h e i r c o n t r i b u t i o n s , with n o v e l i s t - c r i t i c - b i b l i o g r a p h e r - p u b l i s h e r Sadleir's, l e n d a pleasantly critical a n d liter- ary flavor. T h e l a t t e r h a l f o f the volume, in- deed, shows a m a r k e d increase in p o l e m i c : what is good literature, what is worth pub- lishing, c o n c e r n with censorship, a n d edi- torial a n d social responsibility. I t is good to have in o n e place f o u r o f F r e d e r i c G . M e l c h e r ' s editorials from Publishers' Weekly on books, publishing, a n d r e a d i n g . Pervad- ing all c o n t r i b u t i o n s is the acknowledged fascination of books a n d r e a d i n g that makes publishers and l i b r a r i a n s amateurs o f the word. H e n c e this is a r e q u i r e d h a n d b o o k for all librarians, lest they neglect understand- ing why the books b e i n g published are pub- lished and that a publisher's list reflects a personality, o f t e n o f an individual, who should be k n o w n . T h e delights o f t h e b o o k are so m a n y and o n e ' s g r a t i t u d e to M r . Gross so great f o r his e d i t o r i a l interest a n d industry, t h a t the criti- cisms, e x c e p t i n g on the i n d e x , are somewhat fruitless y e a r n i n g f o r what, p r o b a b l y impos- sibly, m i g h t have b e e n . T h e i n d e x is la- m e n t a b l e . G r a n t e d , the excerpts are from works to which t h e r e a d e r c a n turn hope- fully f o r an a d e q u a t e i n d e x . F r o m a n o t h e r publisher, the l i b r a r i a n might be less indig- n a n t at the o n e page excuse offered as an in- d e x . R e p e t i t i v e n e s s in the e x c e r p t s — w e are as- sured by almost every p u b l i s h e r that manu- scripts are r e a d — u n w a r r a n t e d l y suggests to the i n n o c e n t reader that the matters of c o n c e r n to publishers are narrowly circum- scribed. T h e d e n i a l comes, b u t o f t e n em- b e d d e d in the e x p e c t e d a n d necessary con- cerns. T h i s repetitiveness a n d emphasis on detail is p r o b a b l y i n e l u c t a b l e in an histori- cally arranged anthology, giving space to each publisher's statement o f creed. I t sug- gests that a topical anthology, simply point- ing up a g r e e m e n t o r difference i f n o t o u t r i g h t conflict, might b e a v a l u a b l e produc- tion. W e might, however, e n d up with Sir Stanley U n w i n a g a i n ! T h e tantalizing pas- sages on the histories of several p u b l i s h i n g houses d e m a n d the p r e p a r a t i o n o f a compre- hensive history. I f this anthology should in- spire the needed scholarly and p o p u l a r books on publishers and publishing, it will have m o r e than justified the compiler's efforts. Li- brarians and students will be lastingly grate- ful for this c o n v e n i e n t anthology, despite carping at the i n d e x . — B e t t y Rosenberg, School of Library Service, University of Cali- fornia, Los Angeles. Slavic Collections Russian and East European Publications in the Libraries of the United States. B y Mel- ville J . R u g g l e s a n d Vaclav Mostecky. (No. 11, C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y Studies in Li- brary Service.) New Y o r k : C o l u m b i a Uni- versity Press, 1960. 396p. $10.00. I n 1957 the J o i n t C o m m i t t e e on Slavic Studies o f the Social Science R e s e a r c h Coun- cil a n d the A m e r i c a n C o u n c i l o f L e a r n e d Societies asked the Association o f R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s to p a r t i c i p a t e in a review it was c o n d u c t i n g " o f the e n t i r e program o f Rus- sian-area studies." T h e c o m m i t t e e engaged the talents o f M e l v i l l e J . R u g g l e s a n d Vac- lav Mostecky f o r this assignment. T h e au- thors, in turn, have called on t h e i r own knowledge a n d that of o t h e r l i b r a r i a n s to as- semble in the present study a f o r m i d a b l e array o f fact and e x p e r i e n c e c o n n e c t e d with J U L Y 1 9 6 2 3 5 1 the collecting a n d h a n d l i n g of Slavic a n d East E u r o p e a n materials. T h e book is divided i n t o three parts: 1) b u i l d i n g a c o l l e c t i o n , which embraces selec- tion, acquisition, and finance; 2) organizing a n d e x p l o i t i n g the materials, which discusses the problems o f c a t a l o g i n g and b i b l i o g r a p h i - cal c o n t r o l ; a n d 3) an analysis of a n a t i o n a l survey of Slavic materials c o n d u c t e d by the authors, a n d a c h a p t e r e n t i t l e d " T h e Qual- ity of the R u s s i a n C o l l e c t i o n s . " East E u r o p e is defined as " t h o s e parts o f E u r o p e which are at present u n d e r Soviet d o m i n a t i o n . " T h e e x c e p t i o n is East G e r m a n y . T h e latter, a l o n g with Yugoslavia, is n o t considered to present the same acquisition problems as the Soviet U n i o n and o t h e r satellite areas. Yugo- slavia, however, is given r a t h e r full treat- m e n t . I n the first two sections there is m u c h ancillary i n f o r m a t i o n which gives this work the c h a r a c t e r o f a guide to the needs a n d responsibilities for setting u p a n d adminis- tering a Slavic c o l l e c t i o n . O n e p r o b l e m thoroughly discussed involves the use o f a variety o f b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l m a t e r i a l and the assignment o f responsibility f o r selection. T h e authors i n t r o d u c e us to, a n d evaluate, the coverage of c u r r e n t East E u r o p e a n na- t i o n a l b i b l i o g r a p h i e s . A m e r i c a n a n d W e s t E u r o p e a n dealers' catalogs are also described. I n each instance, the f a c t o r o f speed in or- dering is emphasized. B o t h here a n d a b r o a d the d e m a n d is high for almost everything published. T h e i n t e r e s t i n g p o i n t is made that " a great m a j o r i t y o f research libraries in the U n i t e d S t a t e s " have no p l a n n e d selec- tion policy. T o provide for a b a l a n c e d , long- range acquisition policy in those libraries a c q u i r i n g more than o n e t h o u s a n d titles an- nually in East E u r o p e a n languages, the pres- e n c e of a Slavic b i b l i o g r a p h e r is recom- m e n d e d . Ideally, his r o l e would serve as a bridge between the library a n d the faculty, assimilating the best o f each. T h e authors do n o t give more than a s e n t e n c e to his quali- fications, out o f a paragraph o u t l i n i n g his duties. T h e b o o k should provoke f u r t h e r dis- cussion o f this s u b j e c t . I n a n o t h e r area, there is u n a b a s h e d plug- ging for m o r e n a t i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n in the acquisition o f Slavic materials. A type o f Slavic F a r m i n g t o n P l a n is envisaged, which would achieve coverage by s u b j e c t , and, in the smaller countries o f Eastern E u r o p e , by language. L i b r a r i a n s were r e p o r t e d as tak- ing " a very negative v i e w " of such a pro- gram. T h e y m a i n t a i n that so few libraries collect in the area the burdens on an indi- vidual library would be excessive. I n this post-Sputnik world, such an a r g u m e n t is b e c o m i n g less a n d less valid. I n s t i t u t i o n s across the U n i t e d States are c r e a t i n g new programs in Slavic studies, a n d the acquisi- tion efforts of their libraries can a n d should be c o o r d i n a t e d to this o b j e c t i v e . T h i s is the first survey o f existing collec- tions o f E a s t E u r o p e a n materials in Ameri- can libraries, and covers holdings r e p o r t e d in 1958. " T h e primary sources o f data for the present survey were . . . a q u e s t i o n n a i r e sent to 1,203 libraries, a series o f interviews with l i b r a r i a n s a n d l i b r a r y users, correspondence with East E u r o p e a n p u b l i s h i n g houses a n d li- braries, c o r r e s p o n d e n c e with i n t e r n a t i o n a l organizations, a n d i n f o r m a l discussions with individuals active in some aspect o f the East E u r o p e a n p u b l i c a t i o n s field, i n c l u d i n g pro- c u r e m e n t , d i s t r i b u t i o n , control, a n d use." J u d g i n g from the analysis o f the r e t u r n s to the q u e s t i o n n a i r e , n o large, significant Slavic c o l l e c t i o n in the U n i t e d States was missed. T h e o n l y possible e x c e p t i o n s might be sci- e n c e a n d technology collections " a t t a c h e d to classified research projects carried out by gov- e r n m e n t agencies directly o r c o n t r a c t e d to private industrial concerns, institutes, and universities." T h e authors do state, however, that t h e i r survey is focused primarily on the social sciences a n d h u m a n i t i e s . T h e last c h a p t e r estimates the q u a l i t y o f the R u s s i a n collections in the U n i t e d States by a check against a composite o f selections from p a r t i c u l a r T s a r i s t Russian, Soviet, and p r e - W o r l d W a r I I East E u r o p e a n bibliogra- phies. O n e interesting result shows that the Cyrillic u n i o n catalog reflects only a b o u t one third of the actual R u s s i a n holdings in eight o f the l e a d i n g libraries. Otherwise, the re- sults are m a i n l y a show o f strength a m o n g the large collections, with the conclusion that anywhere from two out of three, to f o u r out o f five titles o f research value are in American libraries. Over-all, t h e work is a distinct service to the Slavic c o m m u n i t y . T h e problems it raises are m a n y — m o r e than it solves. B u t it did not set out to solve them all. I n d i v i d u a l institu- tions o r their representatives will differ with p a r t i c u l a r conclusions, or with the methods 3 5 2 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 of arriving at them, because e x p e r i e n c e s will differ. B u t if the f u n c t i o n of this b o o k is to o u t l i n e the whole picture a n d to provide s t i m u l a t i o n to thought a n d action, then it should be the f u n c t i o n of its readers to eluci- date p a r t i c u l a r details as they u n d e r s t a n d t h e m . — R o b e r t A. Karlowich, University of Illinois Library. Great Books Molders of the Modern Mind. By R o b e r t B . Downs. New Y o r k : B a r n e s 8c N o b l e , 1961. 396p. $6.00; paper, $2.25. T e n years ago I read a library copy of C r a n e B r i n t o n ' s Ideas and Men a n d was de- lighted to find that it b r o u g h t i n t o some o r d e r scattered bits of i n f o r m a t i o n I h a d picked u p over the years. A t the end the "Suggestions f o r F u r t h e r S t u d y " giving refer- ences to o r i g i n a l sources in c o n n e c t i o n with each c h a p t e r inspired m e to buy my own copy of the book. I was too optimistic when I thought I could read those suggested sources; I never even got through T h u c y d i - des, the first for the c h a p t e r on the Greeks! W h e n I e x a m i n e d the table of c o n t e n t s of Molders of the Modern Mind I hastily f o u n d that deserted copy of Ideas and Men and began to compare the titles suggested for the chapters from V I I I on with the list of those reviewed in Molders of the Modern Mind. T h i r t y - t w o of them were on the B r i n t o n lists which i n c l u d e d only seventeen others for the m a t c h i n g chapters. B r i n t o n warned his read- ers: " A n i n t e l l e c t u a l history is inevitably in part a series of private judgments made by the m a n who writes it. Unless that m a n is sure that he knows the right i n t e r p r e t a t i o n al- ways—and this writer is n o t so s u r e — h e will do b e t t e r to afford his readers constant chances to go through the original stuff of in- tellectual history, and to m a k e u p their own m i n d s on m a n y m a t t e r s . " M r . Downs ends his i n t r o d u c t i o n : " A p p r o x i m a t e l y three hun- dred titles were r e c o m m e n d e d f o r considera- tion by various consultants. I t is p a t e n t that a u n a n i m o u s verdict is exceedingly difficult to o b t a i n on any given book. Selection is un- avoidably a subjective m a t t e r , a n d responsi- bility for the final list has been b o r n e en- tirely by the a u t h o r . " W i t h due respect to both these state- m e n t s I am grateful to have been brought closer to knowing 111 books that any li- b r a r i a n should want to include in his read- ing e x p e r i e n c e , even though in large part vicariously. M r . Downs gets i n t o the ap- p r o x i m a t e l y one-thousand-word q u o t a for each title a summary of its contents, a sig- nificant q u o t a t i o n o r so as a sample of the style o f writing, something a b o u t the a u t h o r a n d his contemporaries, as well as an estimate o f his affect on later thought. F o r instance, in his a c c o u n t of T h o r e a u ' s Resistance to Civil Government he includes the story of its moti- vation of G h a n d i h a l f a century later. T h e titles are grouped u n d e r f o u r head- ings: " R e n a i s s a n c e and R e f o r m a t i o n , " " E n - l i g h t m e n t , R e a s o n a n d R e v o l u t i o n , " " T h e Bourgeois C e n t u r y , " a n d " M a k i n g the M o d e r n W o r l d . " Each section is i n t r o d u c e d by a short essay that fills in the contempo- rary b a c k g r o u n d effectively, a n d i n c i d e n t a l l y makes the r e a d e r aware of the enormous scholarship of the man who has written Molders of the Modern Mind. T h i s book should certainly give a lift to those l i b r a r i a n s who cringe when they h e a r the accusation that there are too many administrators and too few b o o k m e n in m o d e r n libraries, for h e r e is o n e outstanding a d m i n i s t r a t o r who has obviously f o u n d time to read. M r . Down's 1956 volume, Books That Changed the World, i n c l u d e d sixteen of the same authors he discusses in Molders of the Modern Mind, though in two instances o t h e r titles are used: Das Kapital by M a r x instead of the Communist Manifesto by M a r x and Engels, and Freud's Interpretation of Dreams instead of Civilization and Its Discontents. T h e e a r l i e r book gives more m a t e r i a l on each title a n d uses m o r e q u o t a t i o n s , but the es- sentials are all included in the shorter sum- maries, and the flavor is m a i n t a i n e d . Several of the titles m e n t i o n e d in the i n t r o d u c t i o n to the first book as h a v i n g been considered for inclusion and r e j e c t e d " f o r o n e reason or a n o t h e r " are found in the second book, suggesting that the research d o n e f o r the first led i n t o the m o r e extensive coverage in the second. A n u m b e r of historians and critics are cited in the essays i n t r o d u c i n g the f o u r sections of Molders of the Modern Mind, a m o n g them B r i n t o n whose Ideas and Men is q u o t e d . J U L Y 1 9 6 2 3 5 3