College and Research Libraries + Reference Work and Its Tools. By A. K. Mukherjee. Calcutta: World Press Private Ltd., 1964. 335p. Rs 20.00; 30s. 6d. The chief librarian of Jadavpur Univer- sity has endorsed the liberal or maximum theory of reference work in an introduction which combines a discussion of its philoso- phy, concepts and principles, nature and techniques, and organization, with a guide to a selected list of useful reference tools. !his t~eory, according to Mr. Mukherjee, takes Its stand on the delectable doctrine of direct provision of information and un- a;oidable obligation of the library, and ob- VIOusly develops as a corollary of the orig- inal concept." The proliferation of the literature of sci- ence, social sciences, and the humanities, and the increased amount of research re- quires more extensive reference service made more difficult because of the inade~ quacy of abstracting journals, indexes and bibliographies, the varied forms of publica- tion, and the increase in interdisciplinary approaches in modern research. Within this setting the author outlines fourteen cata- gories of work which include not only an- sw~ri~g inquiries, preparing bibliographies, assist.mg r~aders in the use of the library and .mte.rhbra.ry loan, but also maintaining special mdexmg and abstracting services .providin? a translation service, collecting mformahon regarding library resources, and cooperating with bibliographical centers and union catalogs. Documentation work and documentation service are further dis- cus~ed and their processes briefly outlined. The nature of reference service in different types of libraries-public, college, univer- sity, school and special-is summarized. One chapter on library organization gives instruction on building the reference collec- tion, evaluation of reference tools, qualifi- cations of the reference librarian inter- library loan, and organization of ~aterial. The latter visualizes a centralized reference department, "which is in a more favorable position to offer reference service than a decentralized and scattered network of sec- tional or departmental ones." Mr. Mukher- jee recommends that the reference books be shelved according to the categories under Book Reviews which he has treated them in his chapter on reference tools: "Dictionary, Encyclopedia, Geographical Reference, Year Book & Alma- nacs, Biographical Dictionary, Educational Reference, Directory, Handbook and Man- ual, Bibliography, Serials' Reference, and Government Documents." With this ar- rangement there may be some disagree- ment, especially among American librarians whose reference collections are classified according to the scheme used for the rest of their collections. Nor will American librarians find the chapter on 643 reference tools particularly ~seful,. since it is unfortunately marred by mcons.Istencies in bibliographic form, typo- graphiCal errors in names of authors and publishers, failure to note the most recent editions, and in a few cases, questionable assignment of a title to a particular form. General characteristics and uses are given for each category, but descriptions of indi- vidual titles must be sought in a separate chapter which gives descriptive annotations of 265 titles, most but not all of which are included in the classified section. . It is difficult to defend the alphabetical title arrangement of the annotated list of Western reference books, and equally diffi- cult to defend the two alphabetically ar- ranged appended lists, one entitled Indian Reference Tools (Conventional), the other, Indological Source Materials. All three would be more useful if prefaced by a clear statement of the criteria for their selection which are not readily apparent- from a~ examination of the lists. A short bibliography lists twenty stan- dard guides to reference materials and ref- erence work, which may be used by the stu- dent to augment the highly condensed text. The author is to be commended for cover- ing such a wide range of topics in such a small volume.-Frances Neel Cheney, George Peabody College. Libraries and Universities; Addresses and Reports. By Paul Buck. Edited by Edwin E. Williams. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Press, 1964. 172p. $3.95. Paul Buck has had a distinguished career I 335 336 I College & Research Libraries • July, 1965 as scholar, teacher, author, university ad- ministrator, and librarian. He began teach- ing history at Harvard in 1926. In 1938 he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in History for his The Road to Reunion. Drafted into administrative service in 1942 as dean of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences, he was made provost of the university in 1945. Ten years later he became director of the university library, continuing in this po- sition until 1964 when he gave up his ad- ministrative duties to devote himself to research and writing. This small volume consists of addresses, articles, and excerpts from reports written by Professor Buck during his tenure as di- rector of the library. The sixteen selections fall into three categories. The first is a state- ment of Professor Buck's personal credo with respect to the research library in a uni- versity. These chapters are forthright and eloquent expressions of his conviction of the importance of libraries. A second category deals with general matters-"Are Libraries Here to Stay?" "Prospects of the American University," and "The Historian, the Li- brarian and the Businessman." The remain- ing chapters concern the library situation at Harvard. They discuss such topics as the importance of the library to the university, the organizational policy known as "co- ordinated decentralization," the library's personnel program, and the new circulation system. Together they constitute a useful body of information about the administra- tive problems of the country's largest aca- demic library and what has been done to- ward solving them. Beyond its factual content the book is significant for several reasons. Harvard's de- cision to appoint Paul Buck to the library directorship came as a surprise to many academic librarians. By this appointment the university acknowledged both the im- portance of the job and the urgent need to strengthen the library, to increase its finan- cial support, and to relate it more closely to the academic program. Presumably only a person of unusual stature in the university, one who already enjoyed the confidence of Harvard trustees, faculty, and administra- tion could achieve these ends. That this assumption is now generally accepted at Harvard is shown by. the recent appoint- ment as director of another distinguished scholar-administrator, Professor Merle Fain- sod, director of the Russian Research Cen- ter. Paul Buck's nine-year administration of the Harvard libraries was, as this volume attests, a successful one. He quickly . fa- miliarized himself with the library and won the confidence of the staff. With the assist- ance of his colleagues and with the support of the faculty and the administration he obtained increased funds for the library, de- veloped a new personnel program, im- proved coordination of the ninety decen- tralized units, and made the library more responsive to faculty and student needs. These are substantial accomplishments for which Professor Buck deserves a large mea- sure of credit. Throughout his administration Professor Buck devoted considerable attention to in- terpreting the library to users, administra- tors, trustees, and staff. He realized that the library's development depended upon wide spread understanding of its importance and needs and that he was in a strategic posi- tion to further this understanding. In his annual reports, in talks to the Board of Overseers, and in his appeal for the fund- raising campaign known as "A Program for Harvard College" he explained why a great library is essential to a university and why such a library must have adequate support. Through his affirmation of the value of the research library Professor Buck performed a useful service for all academic librarians. Any library director faced with the need to justify an enlarged budget request will find encouragement and ammunition in Paul Buck's writings. Professor Buck nowhere implies that the administrative arrangements which work well at Harvard should necessarily be cop- ied by other institutions. Harvard's library is unusual in its size, its complexity, its his- torical development, and its relationship to the academic divisions of the university. Harvard administrators have been resource- ful in discovering new devices and proce- dures (and in rationalizing existing ones) which fit local circumstances, e.g., "co- ordinated decentralization" for departmen- tal libraries, separate professional status for the library staff, and the distinguished scholar-administrator as director of the li- brary. But while other librarians may adopt different administrative practices, they would agree wholeheartedly with the goals j j which Professor Buck set for the Harvard library: adequate financing, · a capable staff, well-selected and accessible collections, re- sponsiveness to the needs of users, and an informed constituency. In working effective- ly toward these goals and in helping those both inside and outside the library to un- derstand them Professor Buck has served Harvard well and has earned the respect of all academic librarians-Andrew ]. Eaton, Washington University. Technical Libraries: Users and Their De- mands. By Margaret Slater. Aslib, 1964. 126p. 26s. This report gives the chief results of a pilot study on the use made of a selected number of technical libraries located in Greater London during 1962 and 1963. The study was carried out by the Aslib research department of which Miss Slater is a staff member. Since a subsequent larger-scale study is to be undertaken the author cau- tions the reader that this is an interim re- port and that the findings are preliminary. The three prime aims of this study are: 1. "to discover what items of information or documents customers seek, why they seek them and how they obtain them." 2. "to test a hypothesis; that it is possible to classify customers into user groups possessing recognisable common features and characteristic behaviour patterns, and to classify group needs." 3. "to measure the demand on librarians and libraries, in terms of expenditure of their time and skill, and use of stock made by different user groups." Responses were obtained from the users of libraries of thirteen industrial firms ( 212 users), six academic institutions ( 223 us- ers) , four ·learned societies ( 79 users) , and two government laboratories (75 users). Broad subject coverage was achieved as practically all types of scientific and tech- nical backgrounds were represented in the 583 persons conb·ibuting directly to the study. The questionnaire sought to deter- mine: ( 1) background information about the respondent; ( 2) information about the particular demand on the library service described in the questionnaire (purpose, re- lationship to user's normal work, degree of success, category of document used, search Book Reviews I 337 time taken, etc.) ; and ( 3) information about the extent of participation of librarian arid user in the search. Analysis of the data gathered was carried out by discipline, by type of employer, and by type and level of job. The results reveal nothing particularly different from those produced by previous use studies of tech- nical libraries. Periodicals remain the chief vehicle for the transfer of scientific and technical information. Most data sought is directly related to the immediate work of the individual involved. Needed data first is sought in personal files, by questioning col- leagues, or in handbooks, before the search is carried to the library. Many users do not use the services and skills of the librarian efficiently. The scientist relies less on the librarian for help than does his engineer counterpart. Most users seldom go beyond their own library in the search. Eighty-three per cent report success in their searches and, in general, the user feels that the li- brary service rendered is excellent. An ac- cessible location is a tremendous incentive to frequent library use. These are some of the findings. None are really new or startling. Little real evidence is offered to support the hypothesis that customers of technical libraries can be clas- sified into meaningful user groups. Never- theless, administrators of technical libraries will find this to be an interesting and, per- haps, useful report. It brings together in one cover information on the habits of the users of several kinds of technical libraries. While it may not provide sufficient evidence for the general application of its finding to a particular technical library it does by rais- ing many questions provide library admin- istrators with a checklist of pertinent points which should be considered for efficient and flexible service. It is hoped that the project- ed larger study will provide more answers to many of the questions raised in this pilot report.-E. G. Roberts, Georgia Tech. Libraries and Automation. Proceedings of the Conference on Libraries and Auto- mation Held at Airlie Foundation, War- renton, Virginia, May 26-30, 1963. The Airlie Conference on Libraries and Automation was held in the summer of 1963 under the sponsorship of the Library of Congress, the National Science Founda- tion, and the Council on Library Resources.