College and Research Libraries


398 I College & Research Libraries • September 1971 

ward and logical in sequence. The first 
three chapters present an overview of the 
field, the skills required of persons, and the 
role of the administrator. A full third of the 
book deals with technical processing and 
direct readers' services. New techniques 
(automation), new materials (audiovisu-
als) , and building planning are discussed 
and their interlocking relationships to the 
earlier chapters drawn. The final chapters 
treat of the interface with the National Li-
brary of Medicine, with the public at large, 
and with professional associations. Medical 
Reference W01·ks, 1679-1966: a selected 
bibliography, 1967, and Supplement I, 
1970, Chicago, Medical Library Associa-
tion, complement the Handbook and will 
be essential at least for institutional pur-
chasers. In earlier editions, this material ap-
peared as a chapter in the Handbook. 

The editors and sponsors of this major 
contribution to the library literature are to 
be congratulated on a job well done.-
]ames W. Barry, Rutgers-The State Uni-
versity. 

Management Personnel in Libraries: A 
Theoretical Model for Analysis. Ken-
neth H. Plate. Rockaway, N.J.: American 
Faculty Press, 1970. lOOp. 
This study is based upon a carefully con-

structed, written questionnaire follow ed by 
structured interviews with eighty-nine per-
sons holding middle management positions 
in fifteen libraries. All libraries were Asso-
ciation of Research Libraries members and 
located in the N ortheastem part of the 
country. Middle managers, as defined by 
Professor Plate's study, occupy "positions in-
volving direct supervision of four or more 
professional librarians, excluding directors, 
associate directors, and assistant directors." 
Aside from the direct results of the project, 
a collateral purpose of the project was to 
develop techniques for other studies which 
might involve other kinds of persom1el ex-
plorations and/ or larger samplings of li-
brary personnel. 

The purpose of the study was to define 
a composite professional personality profile 
of librarians in supervisory positions, not 
only to determine their own characteristics, 
but their attitudes toward library directors 
and their influence in affecting professional 
attitudes of personnel under their supervi-

sian. The profiles include such factors as in-
stitutional loyalty as contrasted to larger 
professional loyalty, attitudes toward "con-
troversial" questions within the library, at-
titudes toward the library director as well 
as supervisees, job satisfaction, and profes-
sional development of the staff supervised. 

Plate's book derives from his doctoral 
dissertation and was supported by a grant 
from the U.S. Office of Education. It car-
ries an introduction by Dr. Robert Presthus. 
While the composite profiles of the eighty-
nine middle managers are interesting, they 
are not in any way surprising. Like too 
many doctoral dissertations in library sci-
ence Plate's study perhaps only proves the 
obvious. The scope and size of this slender 
volume raise a question as to whether or 
not it deserved publication as a monograph. 
-Kenneth R. Shaffer, Simmons College. 

The Joseph Jacobs Directory of the Jew-
ish Press in America. New York: The 
Joseph Jacobs Organization, 1970. 140p. 
$10.00. 
A typical entry in this directory of the 

Jewish press includes address, frequ ency, 
circulation figures , date of establishment, 
and names of staff. It also describ es the 
readership, the editorial emphasis, dead-
lines, the "size and mechanical require-
ments," advertising rates, and special issues . 
In short, the directory is commercially ori-
ented, aimed at those who might want to 
reach the "prime" Jewish market: "a mar-
ket of above average income, above average 
education, a market that is brand and qual-
ity conscious." Indeed, two introductory 
sections are "Top Jewish Markets," a tabu-
lation of major cities and their Jewish pop-
ulation, and "Reaching the Jewish Market," 
an essay in "ethnic marketing." 

How good is the coverage? Seventy-two 
"metropolitan and regional" publications 
are listed in an arrangement by state, twen-
ty-nine "national" publications are in an 
alphabetical sequence, and ten Canadian 
titles are arranged by province. There are 
separate title indexes for the United States 
and Canada. By comparison, the list of 
Jewish periodicals in Volume 71 of the 
American I ewish Year book, 1970 ( AJYB) 
has over 190 titles for the United States 
and twenty titles for Canada, not counting 
the many smaller publications listed under