College and Research Libraries Book Reviews / 321 history buffs particularly—will long be in debt to Edward G. Holley for having re- kindled the historic coals of the conference out of which came the American Library Association. As for the book itself, it is beautifully printed, admirably illustrated, handsomely bound—a credit to the publish- er, the printer, and the designers. Raking the Historic Coals is a solid contribution to library history, to the literature of librarian- ship, and, what is more, it is a real charmer. —John David Marshall, Middle Tennessee State University. British Public Library Buildings. By S. G. Berriman and K. C. Harrison. New York: London House and Maxwell, 1966. 260p. $25. Public library architecture has long been debated, discussed (and cussed), and studied. Too often there has been more wind than logic; too often architectural whims or professional prejudices have dominated the scene, and the convenience of the user or aesthetic qualities have suf- fered. As the authors have rightly pointed out in their monumental record of postwar British public library construction, public libraries the world over were freed from the ornate institutionalism found in build- ings constructed prior to the 1940's. Un- doubtedly two important factors influenced this change: one a breath of fresh air created by architects, working with newer materials and under a different economy thus permitting materials hitherto too ex- pensive for public buildings; and the other, a completely new understanding on the part of librarians, not only for the functional operational needs of the staff, but also great- er consideration for the interrelationship of uses of a public library by the public. This in many buildings has produced a happy combination in a joint understanding and relationship between architect and librar- ian. A study of this volume will indicate the extent to which this has occurred in Britain. The book, containing an index, is divided into seven sections: Commentary; Municipal Main Libraries; County Library Headquar- ter Buildings; Municipal Branch Libraries; County Branch Libraries; Tabulated Data of other Municipal Library Buildings; and Tabulated Data of other County Library Buildings. The Commentary contains a good sum- mary of public library architectural trends and recommendations. It is all too short in proportion to the book as a whole. This reviewer would have appreciated more comments and thinking by the authors, for they are in a position to exert great influence on future public library buildings. Indeed it is a pity that the text was not available to architects and librarians before some of the structures illustrated were built. It is exciting to think that a team of architects in the Ministry of Education is producing prototype library plans for varying sizes of communities. These, however, should be subject to continual review for changes re- quired as new services or equipment is re- quired and there should be reasonable ac- ceptance of the prototype plans by all con- cerned—public, librarian, and architect. There is a danger also, of course, in that the prototype will be duplicated without thought as to local requirements for site and local services. Experimentation and logical evolution must not be squelched. The volume is well illustrated, giving in many instances a real dimension to the plans. It would have been helpful to have had the plans all drawn to the same scale and to have had tabulations of pertinent statistics. Some floor plans give neither the scale used nor the square footage. This, however, is a most welcome volume which will lead to further thinking on public library building problems.—Emerson Green- away, Free Library of Philadelphia. Formulation of Research Policies; Col- lected Papers from an International Symposium. By Lawrence W. Bass, and Bruce S. Olds, eds. [Washington, D.C.] American Association for the Advance- ment of Science, 1967. 210p. (Publica- tion No. 87). (67-29695). Research forty years ago, according to a colleague, was less than a respectable ac- tivity for a young PhD in chemistry. In recent decades research has taken on an entirely different character and is, in fact, in Formulation of Research Policies the sub- ject for attention of nineteen ranking offi- cials in government and industry. 322 / College b- Research Libraries • March 1968 Most of this volume (proceedings of a Gordon Research Conference held Janu- ary 30 to February 4, 1966, in Santa Bar- bara, California) is an inventory of organ- ized research activity in a number of western bloc countries, several internation- al communities, and selected industrial and governmental situations. The ecology of research varies widely. The pattern of research sponsorship so well known in the United States where govern- ment, industry, and universities all par- ticipate extensively, is not necessarily the pattern in other countries. Many countries have created since World War II some kind of a national research committee or council. Functions and responsibilities range from that of a loose advisory nature at one end of the spectrum to well-defined, highly respected policy and research agencies at the other. In Canada, for example, the National Re- search Council effectively advises the gov- ernment on scientific policy and promotes scientific research by others by underwrit- ing some 50 per cent of the cost of new research undertaken by industry. In the United Kingdom centralized planning at the government level gives strong research direction to industry, while in West Germa- ny research is largely university-based with support coming both from the federal and provincial governments as well as from industry. The Netherlands government ex- pends strong influence on research activity, as is true in Belgium where some eighty institutes are serving closely various indus- trial and agricultural interests. At the far end of the spectrum is the United States where the National Research Council serves as a coordinating body over a highly complex system including many kinds of private and governmental inter- ests. The government by dollar support, however, obviously exerts strong influence on research policy. In 1966 a total of $15.3 billion was spent on research and develop- ment with $10.1 billion going to industry (in 1965 this was 55 per cent of industry's R & D expenditure), $1.4 billion to uni- versities, $750 million to other nonprofit groups, with the remainder spent within government itself. Attention paid to research by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) and cooperative RA's (research organizations) in a number of European nations, as well as the increasing research activity in developing countries, and the development of research policy in two industrial complexes—Montecatini (chemistry) in Italy and Philips (electron- ics) in the Netherlands—are discussed. The situations described in different countries or in different types of agencies are not neces- sarily comparable nor is the presentation in these proceedings. One of the most useful items analyzes distribution of inputs and outputs relative to the research industry. A dozen factors are compared, among them population, pro- duction of crude steel, consumption of com- mercial energy, annual expenditures for re- search and development as a percentage of the gross national product, and several bibliographical items such as output of papers in nuclear structure theory and in chemistry and the paid circulation of Science. Four groups of countries are identi- fied—the U.S. and the USSR at the top, while 130 countries are described as being in the RD—"research desert." Although the dollars going into research are large, representing 2.5 per cent of the gross national product in the U.S. (3 per cent is advocated), much duplication of ef- fort is readily apparent. Frederick Seitz, U.S. National Academy of Sciences president, poses but does not answer, one particularly penetrating question—are the benefits to be expected from research and development near saturation? He concludes that regard- less of progress to date the problem of estab- lishing research policies at the national level will not become routine in our life- times. Few of the authors recognize the value of technical information activities as a means of getting more for the research dollar. It is obvious that librarians and others in information transfer must continue their efforts to increase the percentage of the research budget spent on information from the lows of 1.5 to a figure nearer 10 per cent as reported by some research- minded industries.—Bill M. Woods, Engi- neering Index. n •