College and Research Libraries


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it is not necessary to summarize the con-
tents. The present reviewers seek only to 
emphasize significant features in the two 
sections of the book, the first on physical 
protection, and the second on insurance. 

The responsibility for the prevention and 
detection of fire rests with the chief library 
officer. He can delegate, of course, but he 
remains finally accountable. He can make 
recommendations to his governing board, 
seek its authorization, ~r otherwise pretend 
that it assumes final responsibility, but, when 
the fire is out, he will find himself still ac-
countable. Best, therefore, that he read this 
report carefully whether his building is old 
or new. He will then understand why he 
should secure expert advice on the preven-
tion of fire occasioned by mechanical or 
electrical failure; why he must maintain 
good housekeeping practices; and, why he 
must define staff responsibility and verify, 
by test or drill, that it is understood and ac-
cepted. He will learn that he should ac-
quaint his local firefighters with his building 
and its equipment. 

Librarians who are planning new build-
ings will be derelict if they fail to read and 
heed. The wide open, or modular, building 
presents a problem that requires the pro-
fessional attention . of a fire protection en-
gineer. The report gives practical advice on 
the fusing of ballasts in tube lighting, on 
the choice of acoustical ceiling tile, and 
other important, sometimes neglected, de-
tails. 

The extent of library loss by fire is con-
siderable, despite the relative infrequency 
of major disaster. In fifty years, fifty-seven 
college and university libraries had fires 
with reported losses of $2,700,000. If the 
average holds, some ACRL member ·will be 

· reporting a $50,000 loss in 1964. 
The purpose of the section on insurance 

is to make the librarian "aware of general 
insurance practices so that he may deal 
effectively with representatives of the in-
surance industry and . . . familiar with 
some of the unusual problems he might be 
required to face." Following a recapitula-
tion of day-to-day responsibilities for safe-
ty and the development of an accident pre-
vention checklist, risks and coverages are 
discussed and the new Model Policy pre-
sented. 

Traditionally, librarians have considered 

MAY1964 

that tax-supported liQraries, as local govern-
ment agencies, are self-insured, and that 
such libraries incur no liability as a result 
of accidents · unless the library administra-
tion has been negligent. A careful reading 
of the chapter "Liability Insurance" will 
not prove or disprove this theory, but it 
should cause the librarian to consult legal 
counsel for clarification of the applicable 
laws on public liability limits. With such 
counsel the librarian will be more able to 
understand the library's and his personal 
liability for such actions as violation of 
copyright by photocopying, accidents in-
volving staff members using personal auto-
mobiles to perform library duties, accidents 
involving minors employed in violation of 
workmen's compensation laws, etc. 

In order to understand the effects of co-
insurance, use of actual cash value rather 
than replacement cost value, improper eval-
uation of insurable risks, the librarian 
should consult an insurance counselor. An 
insurance counselor will require time to 
study and evaluate the Model Policy since 
he will be less familiar with its coverage 
than those of the Public and Institutional 
Property Policy and the Fine Arts and Val-
uable Papers Policy which have been pur-
chased by many of the more progressive 
libraries. 

The statement that library buildings are 
insurable on the same basis as other struc-
tures but that the content and liability cov-
erages are quite different is correct; how-
ever, the suggestion (p. 153) that most 
libraries can be categorized as charitable, 
nonprofit organizations is questionable. Tax-
supported libraries are usually agencies of 
local or state government. 

This book is recommended for all stu-
dents and teachers of library administra-
tion. It is the essential handbook for those 
who are responsible for the library's house-
keeping and insurance programs.-Robert 
A. Miller and N~vin W. Raber, Indiana 
University. 

The President, the Professor and the Col-
lege Library. By Guy Lyle. New .York: 
H. W. Wilson Co., 1963. 88pp. $2.50. 
(63-9749). . 

Since librarians are inclined often to seek 
facts from one another but seldom wisdom, 
the library essay-a brief disquisition on 

233 



something librarious written to please and 
instruct-has never comprised a large seg-
ment of the literature of the profession. The 
occasional volumes of essays such as W. W. 
Bishop's Backs of Books, that bear periodic 
reading, are quite rare, · yet in the opinion 
of this reviewer Guy Lyle has now produced 
one in a little book with a big rubric, The 
President, the Professor and the College Li-
brary. Every academic librarian will find it 
useful but pleasant reading. 

The book is disarmingly naive in struc-
ture. It contains such varia as a list of 
accredited library schools, a short discourse 
on the "image" of the librarian-written by 
a professor of foreign languages-the ACRL 
Standards for College Libraries, and four 
essays by Mr. Lyle, three of which had been 
read to library conferences during 1961 and 
1962, and one · which was written for the 
occasion. The resulting pot pourri, believe 
it or not, is indexed. There is no apparent 
reason for the book to succeed, yet most 
readers will no doubt agree that it does and 
that much of its charm is actually due to its 
unpretentiousness. 

Lyle's papers are entitled "The College 
Administration and the Library," "Develop-
ing the College Library Book Collection," 
"Use and Misuse of the College Library," 
and-the original one-"Blueprint · for a 
College Library." Hi~ _-lifelong experience in 
academic library administration makes his 
comments ·sage and his counsel prudent. In 
bibliothecal public relations the author is 
no crash-programer; he judiciously advo-
cates good service and the soft-sell. "Do 
well," he seems to urge, "and let people 
know it gently." 

Although addressed primarily to the col-
lege level complex of faculty, administra-
tion, and librarian, the book will be good 
reading as well for those involved in uni-
versity level work. The informed librarian, 
furthermore, will find little· in the volume 
that is new to him, although he may find 
much that he has not previously heard so 
well expressed, as well as some useful ideas 
that he has probably never previously at-
tempted to formulate in his mind. It would 
be a blessip.g, however, if all presidents and 
professors in the land could be got to read 
these essays since they define our basic posi-
tions articulately and well. 

It is appropriate that this little volume is 

neatly manufactured il). attractive format.-
D.K. 

Library Furniture and Equipment: Pro-
ceedings of a Three-Day Institute Con-
ducted at Coral Gables, Florida, June 
14-16, 1962. Sponsored by the Library 
Administration Division, American Li-
brary Association, in Cooperation with 
the University of Miami. Chicago: 
ALA, 1963. 68p. $1.75. 

In the Foreword to the publication, AI 
Trezza, executive secretary of LAD, states 
that ·the Miami Equipment Institute was so 
successful that the decision was made to 
hold separate equipment and buildings insti-
tutes in alternate years. And this is what is 
happening. Certainly the institute, devoted 
solely to furniture and equipment, rather 
than to buildings and equipment, was emi-
nently successful. It was intelligently and 
efficiently planned and executed. There were 
not only expert librarians in attendance, but 
also experts from the furniture and equip-
ment houses. The principal participants were 
not merely eminently qualified; they were 
actu~lly among the world authorities in their 
various fields. When Keyes Metcalf, for ex-
ample, delivers a full treatise on book stack 
selection, there is little more to be said on 
the subject. 

In the section dealing with furniture selec-
tion for the library, Martin Van Buren, Edna 

_ Voigt:, and Edward G. Stromberg bring to 
the discussion a tremendous amount of 
knowledge, experience, and wisdom. 

The panel discussion on specification writ-
ing and bidding procedures for furniture and 
shelving fills a gap in the existing literature 
of the subject, and the librarian faced with 
his own specification writing could probably 
do a good job after careful perusal of this 
section. Hoyt Galvin, Homer Lombard, and 
Hal Syren deserve credit for having brought 
enlightenment and even interest and excite-
ment to an otherwise extremely technical 
and mundane chore. 

William Hawken has two excellent short 
addresses on ( 1) equipment and methods 
of photocopying and (2) equipment and 
methods in the production of full-size copy 
from microtext. These are constantly chang-
ing, and we must have someone like Mr. 

234 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 

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