College and Research Libraries previous. What was it dear Miss B. had iterated?-that since all libraries have books, and since all people read books, therefore all libraries are at bottom the same. Quondam P. Thotwon for a moment experienced the sinking feeling that the "continuum curve" of the library cunicu- lum was rather the center of a motionless arc, going nowhere and signifying nothing. But only for a moment. Thotwon returned from his reverie to the book. He was warmly glad that somebody had at last blown the whistle upon all those librarians who behave like perfectly pom- pous asses. Which proves, smugged Q.P.T. , that they are people. Thotwon was glad he wasn't one of them, as he gazed out the window and noted the Moon, peering over his shoulder. If you missed this book, go right your mistake right now. Dunkin hits hard at the soft underbellies of the human (and inhu- man) foibles, fallacies, and frumperies of our profession. Even if you recall reading some of these pieces in Library I ournal, go get this collectanea and be shriven once again. The message is too important to be left in the medium.-William Henry Webb, University of Colorado. Perreault, Jean M. Toward a Theory for UDC: Essays Aimed at Structural Un- derstanding and Operational Improve- ment. Hamden, Conn.: Archon Books and Clive Bingley, 1969. 214p. $9.00. Anthologies, collected works, and readers which bring together a number of articles and papers on a narrow, specific topic are a common form of publication in many fields but are relatively new to librarian- ship. This book by Jean Perreault can be categorized as that type of publication. Per- reault has long been known for his writings on classification theory and for his efforts in promoting the use of the Universal Deci- mal Classification system. This volume brings together seventeen of his essays on UDC. Eleven of these have been published previously and six are found for the first time in this volume. Perreault is quick to point out in his in- troduction that the book is not a treatise on the UDC. One would have to agree. The essays are arranged under four headings: Recent Publications I 59 General theoretical background, Structure of UDC, Problems of display (notation), and UDC and reclassification. The essays in the latter category are of a more practi- cal nature and are more lucid than those in the first three. Although a brief introduc- tion of one page or less is found at the be- ginning of each group of essays, it is the ar- rangement which relates them to each oth- er. The introductions consist of short sum- maries or statements about each individual essay in the group. No attempt is made to discuss each group as a whole or to draw any conclusions. The title, Toward a Theory for UDC, is appropriate for the book, if one agrees that a body of theory for the UDC is lacking and that this book presents new principles on which to base theory. However, after reading this collection of essays, one does not find that the author has added any new principles. Therefore, it is necessary to question whether or not he has made any steps toward a theory for UDC. It should be remembered that the book is a collection of essays of which two-thirds have been published earlier. There is no indication in the volume as to which essays have been formerly published and which have not. Neither is there any indication as to how extensively the previously published essays have been revised. The author states in his introduction that "all of them which have been published before-have been strenu- ously revised." (p.lO) At the same time, he fails to give the extent or purpose of the revision. Since the source of original publi- cation is now given, the reader cannot make comparisons between the original and the revised essays without extensive research. Perreault defends this practice by stating "part of my intention is to make it possible to refer to this volume as a compilation of previously published papers in perfected form, at the same time making reference to the original periodical sources unneces- sary." (p.lO) Also, there is no indication of why the six remaining essays had not been previously published. One only can assume that they were written for this col- lection. The combination of poor writing, poor editing, and extremely bad typography makes this a very difficult book to read. The reader has the feeling that some of the 60 I College & Research Libraries • January 1972 material was hastily written and not re- vised. The sentence structure is often long, involved, and at times so awkward and dis- jointed that the meaning is obscure. As a result of omissions and misspellings of words, some sentences actually defy inter- pretation. The misspelling of words, com- bined with what Geoffrey Lloyd generously refers to in the preface as "philosophical phraseology and classificationist jargon," of- ten lead to confusion. Perreault is fond of words such as: analysable, orderedness, stratigisation, foundational, nontrivially, computerisable, automatisation, profession- ality, etc. When one adds misspellings such as: froundworks, thoughoroughly, and Or- bana, Illinois, the interpretation becomes difficult. In addition to these problems, letters, words, lines, and paragraphs are curiously spaced throughout the book. The reader has no way of knowing in which instances this is for emphasis or is just poor typogra- phy. The reader is never certain of Perreault's purpose in collecting the essays together in this volume. If it is (as Lloyd suggests in the preface) to improve the UDC so that it will be recognized and used throughout the world, such a poorly written book will not help Perreault accomplish his purpose. One only can hope that before Perreault publishes more of his work, he invests in a copy of The Art of Readable Writing and a good editor. Both the UDC and future students of classification deserve better ma- terial than this.-Lucille M. Wert, Univer- sity of Illinois. Donald D. Hendricks. Centralized Proc- essing and Regional Library Develop- ment: The Midwestern Regional Library System, Kitchener, Ontario. Kitchener, The System, 1970. 85p. This report describes the evaluative sur- vey conducted by the author in June 1970. The purpose of the survey was "a general evaluation of the processing center, with special emphasis on the attitudes of the participating libraries on the product of the center, and the feasibility of using this co- operative endeavor as a springboard for the other inter-library efforts (in the region)." Chapter I includes a brief general dis- cussion of library cooperation related to "larger units of service." Hendricks then comments on centralized processing as a particular type of library cooperation, out- lining the advantages and disadvantages of centralization. He cites the authority for co- operative library programs in Ontario (The Public Libraries Act of 1966), mentions factors which may encourage or impede co- operation, and describes the activities of the Midwestern Regional Library System with regard to the regional situation. The bulk of the report discusses the sys- tem's processing center. Evaluative mea- sures used include: processing time lags, quality of the product, "enterability" or compatibility of the processing center prod- uct to previous processing, staffing patterns of member libraries, production considera- tions, and costs of processing. Narrative de- scriptions and charts of the center's order- ing, cataloging, and processing routines are included. Hendricks makes recommenda- tions regarding the space, work layout, and staffing patterns of the center. He concludes that "the development of one aspect of li- brary cooperation (the center) has laid a strong foundation for additional kinds of li- brary interaction." The reviewer was particularly pleased to see the following comment regarding processing time lags and member library complaints: "In order to gain a true pic- ture of the additional delay incurred by dealing with a processing center, a library should first have a documented concept of the time it takes a book to clear its own technical processing depa1tment. Then a comparison with the times for delivery from the processing center would reveal whether the library has a legitimate complaint." Technical processing personnel everywhere -take note! Member and nonmember library reac- tions to the center were elicited through use of an interview schedule during on-site visits. On the basis of the replies and other comments recorded during the course of the study, Hendricks made qualified recommen- dations for regional library activity in areas of: union lists, an expanded telephone net- work, rotating collections of popular ma- terial, delivery service, a central reference service, photocopy of periodicals, selective acquisitions, and a common borrower's card.