College and Research Libraries and family purchasers, the publisher of course makes available its yearbook, but librarians will probably be more pleased to observe the sustained attempts being mani- fest to keep the basic work revised and up- dated. We wish Collier's all success in this effort.-D.K. The Cornell Library Conference: Papers Read at the Dedication of the Central Libraries, October, 1962. Ithaca, N.Y.: Cornell University Library, 1964. xiv, 148p. (64-13711). This slender volume contains the ten pa- pers read at the Cornell dedication in the autumn of 1962. There are contributions by six librarians: Sir Frank Francis, Stephen A. McCarthy, Ralph E. Ellsworth, William S. Dix, Raynard C. Swank, George H. Healy; two professors: Lionel Trilling, and Steven Muller; one academic administrator: W. R. Keast, and one architect: Charles H. War- ner, Jr. The papers vary in length, quality, and content but have a unifying theme which is libraries and graduate and under- graduate education, libraries and interna- tional affairs, and library development in the future-topics that are seasonable as well as perennial. The paper by Sir Frank Francis, "Let the Past and Future Fire Thy Brain," is long, circuitous, and tranquilizing. Director Mc- Carthy, in "The Cornell Library System," briefly described the development of the Cornell library system and revealed plans and hopes for the future. Mr. Warner con- cisely related the agony and ecstasy experi- enced in designing the 0 lin library and re- designing the Uris library. W. R. Keast, in "The True University of These Days Is a Collection of Books," explored the sweeping educational potential of the- undergraduate library if use went beyond study hall and reserved reading functions. Professor Trill- ing, in "The Scholar's Caution and the Scholar's Courage," was critically concerned with the current quality of graduate studies in the humanities. Ellis Worth's "Libraries, Students, and Faculty," rebuked librarians for some current practices, universities for wasteful duplication of curriculums, and en- dorsed the humanities. Muller, in "Shrunken Globe, Swollen Curriculum," reviewed the internationalization of the American uni- versity curriculum and described the bur- Book Reviews I 63 dens and responsibilities this revolution has brought to the libraries. Dix, in "The Re- search Library and International Affairs Programs," spoke of library methods used to meet the challenge of the internationalized university. Swank, in "International Values in American Librarianship," defined librar- ianship as an "international affair in its own right" and discussed those aspects of Amer- ican library practice which he considered valuable for export to developing nations. George Healey, in "Yes, But What Does a Curator Do?" gave answer to the question in a clever and delightful manner. It is a significant event in the world of higher education when a most pressing educational problem is solved by large-scale investment in library buildings. It becomes more so when a private university with a strong tradition for academic excellence elects to demonstrate this evidence of long- range planning and faith in the value of quality education in this tangible manner. This book may be considered a memento of two pleasant days, or a reminder of the courage and foresight of the Cornell U ni- versity administration.-CeciZ K. Byrd, Indi- ana University. Library Buildings of Britain and Europe -An International Study, with Ex- amples Mainly from Britain and Some from Europe and Overseas. By Anthony Thompson. London: Butterworths, 1963. xii, 326p. $21. This is a comprehensive work on library buildings. Since they are so richly docu- mented, Anthony Thompson has successful- ly coordinated a large portion of the mass of available information and has presented it in a systematic and readable form. This reviewer agrees with the author when he says that he has tried to do the almost im- possible-to illustrate with plans and photo- graphs selected good examples of the main types of libraries, chiefly British, with a number from Europe, plus some notes on several outstanding exemplary buildings in the United States and British Common- wealth. He has produced "a systematic study of the whole subject, to serve not only as a reference book for students of li- brarianship, but also as a guide for librar- ians intending to build, and as a book on libraries for architects" (p. xi). 64 I College & Research Libraries • january, 1965 Anthony Thompson writes as a librarian who, after varied experience in university and special libraries and after much pre- liminary study of the planning and design of library buildings, spent five years at in- tensive documentation at the library of the Royal Institute of British Architects. From his point of view, Wheeler and Githens pro- duced the only systematic, comprehensive, and well illustrated book on library build- ings, The American Public Library Build- ing, 1941. Mr. Thompson frequently refers to this volume and in his introduction he expresses regret that he did not have a full-time architect-collaborator. In a brief review of this monumental work attention can best be called to the original form of documentation adopted by the author by giving an outline of the con- tents of the volume. Part I is a summary of the problems and tasks of creating a library. It is a definite statement of nine subjects: ( 1) functions and services of libraries; ( 2) the planning process; ( 3) the site; ( 4) the plan; ( 5) ex- terior and construction; ( 6) interior finishes and decoration; ( 7) equipment and furni - ture; (8) accommodation and capacity; (9) cost. Selected general references are includ- ed. Part II is devoted to an analysis of exist- ing buildings. Section A contains a brief history of library buildings. It is introduced with summaries of libraries: in Classical An- tiquity, in the Dark Ages, and in the Mid- dle Ages. Then follow brief sketches of separate libraries in chronological order. Section B consists of examples of modern buildings since about 1920. These are de- scribed systematically using the outline shown as Part I above. Many of these de- scriptions are in detail, with photographs and plans on two uniform scales, 1: 300 or 1:600. They are divided into four types: (a) six national libraries and the Library of Congress Annex; (b) twenty-seven public libraries-seven branch, thirteen central, and seven county-including the Enoch Pratt free library and the public library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County; (c) twen- ty-six libraries of educational institutions- four · school, six college, and sixteen univer- sity libraries. The college group includes the libraries of Georgia Institute of Technology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Rice Institute. The group of university li- braries includes Harvard's Lamont library, the undergraduate library of the University of Michigan, and the libraries of the U ni- versity of Iowa, Wayne State, and Mary- land; (d) five storage libraries are described, one of which is the Midwest Inter-Library Center. Thus, Anthony Thompson has made an original contribution to knowledge in per- fecting a new form of documentation for li- braries. He has produced a truly systematic, comprehensive, and well illustrated work with international coverage. His work mer- its intensive study by every type of library building consultant, by librarians who are to plan a building, and by architects who are interested in qualifying as library archi- tects.-A. F. Kuhlman, ]oint University Li- braries. Microcopying Methods. By H. R. V€rry. London: Focal Press, 1964. 175p. $10.50. H. R. Verry is a well known British con- sultant on documentation and reproduction and the writer of a column on the subject in the Revue Internationale de Documen- tation, but his latest book is a disappointing- ly shoddy production. Billed (in Verry's own column) as "a comprehensive survey," it is incomprehensive, incomprehensible in spots, seriously out-of-date, and carelessly edited. The chapter called "The History of Microfilm," for example, is devoted almost exclusively to a retelling of the familiar story of Rene Dagron and the pigeons; the section on "Tests for Permanence" makes no mention of the widely used ASA stan- dard test; and the only consideration given to copyright problems is a reprinting (as Appendix II) of the Royal Society Decla- ration of 1949. The publication date is July 1964, but much of the material has not been updated since 1961 or 1962. No mention is made in the chapter on "Rapid Selector Devices" of systems developed since 1961, such as Walnut, CRIS or Miracode, and the chapter on "Microfiche" describes it as "a sheet of film generally 7.5 em. x 12.5 em. ( 3 x 5 inches) in size." The section on "Standards" lists ASA standard Z38. 7.17- 1946 (which was replaced in 1961 by PH5.6-1961), and PH5.2-1957 (which has been replaced by PH5.2-1963), and it omits entirely a number of other pertinent stan-