College and Research Libraries l ship.-Arthur P. Young, State University of New York, College at Cortland. Library Science. By John Farley and Stan- ley Lewis. New York: College Notes, Inc., 1969. 101p. $2.95. In a brief preface to Library Science, it is stated, "We would like to thank the nu- merous college faculty members through- out the country who have requested that this type of book be published to supple- ment the textbook in their classes." Ap- parently the purpose of this publication is to supplement instruction in the use of li- braries at various academic levels. It cannot be questioned that there is a need for good publications to accomplish this purpose. However, it is regretted that Library Sci- ence is the publication that has evolved to meet this need, for this publication pre- sents libraries and librarianship in a nega- tive and frequently erroneous manner. It could do nothing but discourage students from considering the field of librarianship as a career. Even though the copyright date of the publication is 1969, it is assumed that the manuscript was completed early in 1967. All statistics given are for 1966 or earlier and all bibliographies and suggested read- ing lists (with the exception of one entry) are dated 1966 or earlier. As a matter of fact the majority of the entries in the sug- gested reading lists are in the 1940s and 1950s. In discussing reference books and encyclopedias, generally no dates or edi- tions are given. However, it is unfortunate that when some editions are given the latest edition is not identified, as new editions have appeared since the preparation of the manuscript. It is also regretted that there is minimal discussion of standards for various types of libraries. Those referred to have frequently been superseded. In an attempt to cover the total field of librarianship in this publication, which un- fortunately is titled Library Science, the brevity of statements frequently causes mis- understanding or results in statements which are misleading or redundant. Brevity has not been a blessing in this publication. I quote one paragraph completely to illus- Recent Publications I 355 trate this point. "Environment, a combina- tion of many factors, affects reading. The availability of reading matter is an obvious environmental factor affecting reading." (p. 69). Many other examples of verbiage with little meaning could be given. Library Science is a typical "College Notes" publication. It is paperbound, with very cheap paper, frequent typographical errors, both in the text and in the suggested readings. If it were current and up-to-date, if all statements were correct, and if the challenge of contemporary librarianship and the excitement of the changing scene of li- brarianship due to the educational explo- sion and the related problems of informa- tion organization and control were con- veyed to the reader, this volume might have had merit.-]ohn T. Eastlick, Univ er- sity of Denver. Books for Junior College Libraries; a Selected List of Approximately 19,700 Titles. Camp. by James W. Pirie. Chi- cago: American Library Association, 1969. 452p. $35.00. Intended primarily for transfer, or liber- al arts programs, with emphasis on support of curriculum, Books for Junior College Li- braries (B]CL) " ... endeavors to present, as any good college library collection does, a microcosm of the world around us ... rbutJ does not attempt in any way to cover the vast area of terminal and vocational courses offered in junior and community colleges." (Preface.) Limited to books, it is a good selection of titles backed by sub- stantial authority. The method by which it was compiled is logical-start with the shelflists of three outstanding junior col- lege libraries, winnow the best from these, and add significant new titles. This proce- dure, plus extensive use of authorities from the various disciplines, points to a quality product. This is a quality product, but is it the product which is needed? A comparison of BJCL with Books for College Libraries (BCL) reveals that, if pre-1964 titles are discounted, there is an overlap between the two of more than 70 percent. It will be remembered that BCL purposely omitted 356 I College & Research Libraries • September 1970 pre-1964 imprints in order to avoid dupli- cation of Cho_ice. About 27 percent of the titles in B]CL were published after 1964; most of this group are doubtless also listed in Choice, or the Choice Opening Day Col- lection. Since B]CL " ... does not attempt in any way to cover the vast areas of termi- nal and vocational courses offered in junior and community colleges," we may then ask -why was this bibliography prepared? Why couldn't BCL and Choice serve as selec- tion guides for the liberal arts "core," and B]CL concentrate on just those terminal and vocational areas to which the junior and community colleges pay particular at- tention? Margaret Egan and Jesse Shera in their article, "Toward a Foundation of a Theory of Bibliography" (Library Quarter- ly 22:125-137, 1952) , cited two concepts of bibliography: the microscopic, in which each bibliography exists entire unto itself and is its own justification, and the macro- scopic, in which each bibliography is a func- tioning part of a whole system. B]CL is yet another bibliography conceived in micro- cosm which cites excellent titles, most of which however have been recorded in many other lists. What we need is a co- ordinated series of bibliographies represent- ing core strata and collection building phases (a la Elementary School Library Collection). These "core development bib- liographies" would change but slowly, and but little. Around them then would be ranged various secondary and peripheral bibliographies representing specialized areas of interest, dealing with the up-to- date, and the ephemeral, which could be used to develop the unique character of any collection. There are other problems too. For ex- ample, the New York Times Index , and New Serial Titles appear to have been omitted, and though the New Catholic En- cyclopedia, and the Shorter Encyclopedia of Islam are listed, none of the excellent Jewish encyclopedias could be found , nor ·any of a number of other similar works. These apparent omissions may be the re- sult of poor indexing. The index. in two parts: author, and subject, generally omits titles, lists a work only once, usually under the "official" entry, and omits cross-refer- ences. This may save space but not users' time or tempers (as in a last-ditch effort, Ayer's directory is found under N. W. Ayer . . .-and only there). Strict adherence to LC practice wavers, however, since the Encyclopedia of Philosophy is indexed only under Edwards, and the McGraw-Hill Dic- tionary of Modern Economics under Green- wald. Titles should be indexed, and there should be cross-references. Lastly, despite the claim that the " . . . system for arranging titles within this list was developed pragmatically to provide an arrangement more suited to book selection purposes than the usual li- brary classification schemes . . . " one wonders why? If there is a special benefit, it is not evident to this reviewer, though it is quite evident that the notation used is easily confused with that used by LC in its classification, and actually acts as an impediment to comparison with other lists arranged by more conventional schema. More highly selective than BCL, and more up-to-date in one volume, much ex- panded over its predecessor, Books for Junior Colleges, B]CL will be useful to some small junior and community colleges for which it is intended, and to some of the small four-year colleges whose collec- tions have not yet really begun to grow. It may be useful also to some larger high school libraries and possibly to some pub- lic libraries. One awaits the day, however, when standard titles will be listed only o:rice or twice in these kinds of lists, and our at- tention is focused on keeping the rest of it all up -to-date.-Edmund R. Arnold, Syra- cuse University. Tomorrow's Library: Direct Access and Delivery. By Robert Thayer Jordan. New York: Bowker, 1970. 212p. $10.00. While home delivery of books is not a new idea in librarianship, there is relative- ly little literature available. Robert Jordan has provided a service in bringing together a historical accounting of various projects dealing with direct delivery of books. He deals with past and present experiments, with particular emphasis upon mail deliv- ery, and suggests how to implement a re- gional direct access and delivery service.