College and Research Libraries BOOK REVIEWS Centralized Book Processing: A Feasi- bility Study Based on Colorado Aca- demic Libraries. By Lawrence E. Leon- ard; Joan M. Maier; and Richard M. Dougherty. Metuchen, N.J.: The Scare- crow Press, 1969. 401p. This report summarizes a fourteen- month study of nine Colorado academic libraries. Focused on technical service functions, the study examined existing pat- terns of operation for times and costs by using traditional industrial engineering techniques. A proposed Book Processing Center was then analyzed, with unit pro- cessing costs calculated for the center using minimum processing times obtained from the academic libraries. The Book Process- ing Center study was supported by math- ematical simulation of proposed operations. A variety of processing operations was fed into a computer, and the result is a generalized model that could be used by other libraries. Methodology used involved time observa- tions, diaries of work performed, and sam- ples for processing time lags and dupli- cation of titles. Some of the findings are most interesting and should be mentioned in summary. The study on time lag for processing showed a mean of }89 days for the period from "order requested" to "book cataloged," with a range of 123 to 37 4 days within eight libraries. This is an average of a six-month delay. Thus, a fac- ulty member who comes on campus June 15 has no assurance that books required for teaching on September 15 will be avail- able. In fact, it appears that there is only a 50 percent chance his books will be cataloged and on the shelf by December 15-just in time for Christmas vacation. Colorado libraries of the study are prob- ably not atypical in this respect, and quan- titative substantiation of this report should Recent Publications highlight why there is an increased inter- est in blanket order plans and machine- assisted cataloging. The per volume cost of processing ranged from $2.76 to $7.71, with an average cost of $4.50. The disparities in this range are considerable, but factors of staffing pat- terns, efficiencies, and types of materials handled are significant. The average cost per volume for the processing center was computed to be $3.10, with the greatest difference from the academic libraries oc- curring in the category of labor costs. These figures are only general guides since most of the costs would be sustained by the member libraries, yet increased discounts due to volume purchasing were considered as an additional savings factor. This factor of duplication of titles was given much attention; the mathematical model testing this aspect showed a poten- tial saving in ordering multiple copies. The cost of processing one volume per title is $2.96, whereas the cost of processing six volumes per title is $2.33. Coordinated or- dering is shown to be an advantage, but this objective of an academic book proc- essing center may be one of the most dif- ficult to achieve. These summary figures are interesting, but of greater significance is the method- ology used in their derivation; the method- ology should mark this as a landmark study for subsequent investigations. It would seem that, with this and the earlier stud:.. ies cited in the literature, a handbook of standard times and study methods for li- brmy technical processing functions could be compiled. Studies might be expected to modify and cause adjustment of the stan- dards, but at least the method of conduct- ing such a study would not have to be re- established ab avo, and a foundation for comparison would then exist in one work. With the Colorado study perhaps the point has been reached at which such a synthesis is now feasible, for this research I 119 120 I College & Research Libraries • March 1970 contains statistically accurate formulas by which the results of time or diary observa- tions can be tested. Inclusion in the report of the formulas used by the researchers is good, although it is likely that librarians using this book as a manual will have to seek the assist- ance of a statistician in application and interpretation of symbols. Specialists are available, however, and one should not feel reluctant to request help; the· point is that librarians should do more of this kind of analytical inspection of their routines. A condition not explored in the study, perhaps because it is too subjective, is the impact that specialization of activity might have in a centralized processing center. The study points out how individual spe- ciality improves production-would not group speciality have an efficiency factor? A separate processing center, established according to the concepts of industrial engineering as used in the study itself, should be more effective than a regular technical service department operating as one function of a library. The concentra- tion and specialization of such a center based, perhaps, on assembly line techniques , should-in theory-develop an unknown factor of greater efficiency. Elimination of such negative factors as catalog mainte- nance, interruptions by faculty seeking in- formation and/ or books, the coming and going of student assistants , all should strengthen the "speciality of function" con- cept and increase production. In addition to the main findings of this study, several valuable tangential inquir- ies are also explored: the blanket order plan, the user attitude survey, and the problem caused by delayed receipt of LC copy. The "Library User Attitude Survey" seemed alien in this report. The survey was undertaken to determine the impact of various services proposed as part of a potential bibliographic network. The re- sults were of interest and probably of great value to the participating libraries, but reporting on faculty attitudes toward existing library resources and services, on "insight as to the level of faculty aware- ness of library services" (p. 211) might have been better had it appeared separate- ly. The results showed how little faculty members know about existing services, but were rather vague concerning suggestions as to new services conceived as part of the proposed bibliographic network. This par- ticular section was weakly tied to the theme of centralized book processing. Research conducted on the blanket or- der plan in this report indicates that a re- duction in processing time of up to 20 per- cent can be anticipated by the proper use of an approval program. An incisive com- ment from the study deserves emphasis: In spite of all national efforts to accel- erate the flow of cataloging copy to re- search libraries, copy is still available for only about one-half of the titles at the time they arrive. This type of delay has already reduced the effectiveness of the approval plans now in operation. It must be recognized that until the Li- brary of Congress is able to shorten the lag time, the processing of a substantial number of books will be delayed. [p. 129] During the late 1960s the library profes- sion has been saturated with optimistic in- formation about the rapid dissemination of cataloging data. The fact remains , how- ever, that traditional cataloging must be done before entry onto tape is possible. The h·anslation from the regular to the tape format adds another step to tradition- al cataloging, even though it becomes a mechanical process. Patterns of funding the Library of Congress by the federal gov- ernment have not been outstanding, and MARC would appear to have been grossly oversold to the profession. Any responsible speculation upon the usefulness of the MARC tapes in a centralized processing center can only lead to pessimistic con- clusions at this time. It is always a temptation to fault the Scarecrow Press for its typographical er- rors and its lack of esthetically pleasing page design , but, nonetheless, they remain one of the few publishers to make such a work as this available to the profession. The tabular displays in this book are in- excusably awkward; column headings are not uniform, and the figures-perhaps the most important content of a work of this kind-are extremely difficult to use. Beyond this, however, the chief impor- tance of the book is its timeliness. As li- brary networks evolve beyond theory, the coordination of purchasing and processing may be one of the last tasks undertaken, but when it is tackled, the Colorado study will be invaluable in planning such opera- tion. It is a welcome relief to have a re- search report appear while the findings are still usefuL-Donald Hendricks, Sam Hous- ton State University. Scientific and Technical Communication: A Pressing National Problem and Rec- ommendations for Its Solution. Nation- al Academy of Sciences-National Acad- emy of Engineering. Washington, 1969. 322p. The SATCOM report, as this work has now become known, is basically the report of a committee made up of representa- tives from both the government and pri- vate enterprise. Its charter was to exam- ine the communication problems of both areas, in broad perspective, paying special attention to information activities, policies, relationships, etc., of private groups and organizations, and their interaction with federal agencies. Further, it was to make recommendations based on the present status and future needs of an effective na- tional and international information sys- tem. The result acquits itself quite well. Using the charter as a base, the report is divided into several parts: recommenda- tions, state-of-the-art background, and the extension or explanation of the recommen- dations. Placing the recommendations in the beginning is very effective. The only weakness in format is the lack of an index. The recommendations are presented in groups: those dealing with planning and coordination (establishment of a joint com- mittee, leadership at the national level, shared responsibility, copyright legislation, standards) ; those concerning services for the user; those on classical services ( ab- stracting, indexing, meetings) ; those on personal information communication; and finally, those involving research and ex- periments. In content the recommenda- tions do not propose anything radically new. They are relatively broad and as a result lack force. For the first time, how- Recent Publications I 121 ever, they do take into serious considera- tion both governmental and private in- formation activities and strive for closer coordination and in some cases integra- tion. Unlike some of its predecessors, this report also provides detail for each recom- mendation, resulting in cohesiveness. The greatest contributions of the report are the state-of-the-art background chap- ters: "primary communications, the basic access services, consolidation and repro- cessing, and new technologies and their impact." These chapters are well-written, imaginative compilations of both the ma- jor concepts and the literature. They are well documented and the selection ap- pears to be excellent. The report stresses the role of the pro- fessional societies, services to special user groups, coordination efforts in both gov- ernment and private areas, and the par- ticipation of the whole community. The recommendations are well stated and firm- ly based, and the reader can see from whence they came through the documen- tation. The international scene is included, but the orientation is definitely national. There is a certain weakness in the lack of recommendations for implementation. They do recommend a Joint Commission on Sci- entific and Technical Communication, but this appears more advisory than imple- mentative. Anyone working in the infor- mation communication field will find some- thing of interest in this report.-Ann F. Painter, Indiana University. De wetenschappelijke bibliotheken in Nederland; programma voor een beleid op lange termijn. Netherlands. Rijks- commissie van advies inzake het biblio- theekwezen. 's-Gravenhage, Staatsuitge- verij, 1969. 72p. $1.25. The important activities of the National Advisory Committee for Libraries in the Netherlands have now resulted in the pub- lication of a long-term plan for coordi- nation and development of academic and research libraries in that country. In an attractively produced publication, the committee reports in detail on some major issues facing academic libraries: problems of information retrieval and bib- liographic access, collection development,