College and Research Libraries


~· tional Nursing Index (v. 1, 1967) prepared 
by the National Library of Medicine and 
published by the American Journal of Nurs-
ing Company. When IN! is studied by the 
historians of the future, Dr. Pings' Plan 
will be often blessed for the information 
it contains on the personal and administra-

~'- tive interactions between the several nurs-
ing associations and the National Library 
of Medicine. 

To criticize Dr. Pings' prose as struc-
turally involved and barren of lightness is 
valid, but hardly fair; the papers were 

H written to be used as working tools by a 
committee, not for publication in mono-
graphic form.-]oan Titley, University of 
Louisville. 

Librarianship in the Developing Coun-
tries. By Lester Asheim. Urbana: Univer-
sity of Illinois Press, 1966. 95p. ( 66-
29774). 

Here are ninety-five pages of sage coun-
sel, born of great experience, for the Amer-
ican librarian who is called upon to advise 
the library industries in developing nations. 
Constituting the 1966 Windsor Lectures in 
Librarianship at the University of Illinois, 
these three brief essays are entitled "Some 

~ Parallels and Contrasts," "Some Overarch-
ing Problems," and "The Role of Librarian-
ship." They of course draw heavily upon 
the author's wisdom and the store of under-
standing of his subject which Dr. Asheim 
has built up during his five busy years as 
director of ALA's International Relations 

~ Office. 
In his first lecture Dr. Asheim warns of 

the Culture Shock often experienced by ex-
troverted, reader-oriented American librari-
ans when they meet their first case in an-
other society of "the philosophy of primacy 
of the book over the reader." Seek first 

~ within the setting where it is found the 
reasons for such a philosophy before con-
demning it out of hand, he urges. Must our 
rightness, he wonders, be assumed in all 
situations? Must the way we do things ap-
ply universally? Perhaps ; but he admonishes 
that we reply affirmatively only after much 

" searching contemplation of a complex of 
historical, social, physical, and cultural fac-
tors which are often overlooked. 

In his second essay, the author points 

Book Reviews I 281 

specifically to some such factors. These in-
clude the aristocratic tradition that exists 
in many developing lands; it often makes 
untenable such an ideal as universal edu-
cation. Another influence which is often 
more important elsewhere than it is in our 
own society is "deference to age, authority, 
and the past." Out of these two factors 
alone comes a range of special problems 
for library management which are related 
to colonialism and class privilege, civil 
service, red tape, and strong attachment 
to the status quo. There are, of course, eco-
nomic and psychological factors which must 
be pondered, including problems of illiter-
acy and neo-literacy, outmoded teaching 
method, manpower shortages, and the pres-
tige or the lack of prestige of librarianship, 
and there are such physical problems as 
climate, undernourishment, and geography. 
Again we must ask if our answers are valid 
in view of these problems? 

The concluding lecture asks how we can 
help, as well as such harder questions as 
whether or not anyone really wants the 
help we offer. What of the strings and im-
plications for the recipient that so often 
accompany our help? How can we help to 
educate without encouraging the great 
"brain drain" from developing countries? 
Also, he observes, the very existence of 
United States and other national informa-
tion libraries in developing countries rein-
forces "the suspicion that a public library 
... is a special-interest, brain-washing agen-
cy rather than an institution of disinterested 
education." The basic question to which 
Dr. Asheim's deliberations lead him, how-
ever, is "what exactly do we in America 
have to offer the developing nations that 
will help them to generate the kinds of 
libraries, librarians, and library services best 
suited to their needs and their aspirations?" 
This is a tough question, but he does well 
at approaching a whole congeries of pro-
vocative answers before he concludes, and 
his answers have far-reaching significance 
and implication. 

Every librarian heading for an overseas 
assignment should be denied his visa until 
he memorizes this little book verbatim ac 
litteratim; it is that important. It will also 
be darned good reading for those of us who 
stay home.-D.K.