College and Research Libraries


244 I College & Research Libraries • May 1972 

information services. The now familiar 
characteristics of the information problem 
were all considered, including the in-
creasing rate of information production; 
the faculty dissemination practices; the in-
adequate libraries; and the linguistic bar-
riers. 

In addition, attention was directed to-
ward the less familiar elements of the in-
formation problem such as the shifting re-
quirements of the scientific community; for 
example, the interdisciplinary approaches 
to environmental problems necessitating in-
formation from not only the classical sci-
ences but also such subjects as sociology 
and economics. The lag in accommodating 
these requirements is demonstrated in the 
present services of journals, indexes, and 
abstracts. A search, therefore, for more 
flexible forms is herein attempted. 

Although these aspects of the informa-
tion problem have been recognized and 
under study intermittently for several years, 
the investigation tries to unify some of the 
existing fragmentation by resolving the is-
sues on an international scale. The utiliza-
tion of the most advanced communica-
tion technology is an obvious conclusion in 
view of the computer's capability to handle 
speedily large chunks of information as well 
as its flexible capacity to manipulate. Mech-
anized systems also create problems in the 
information arena vis-a-vis compatibility 
and fragmentation. The added problem of 
reliance emerges upon machines and their 
indigene to industrialization which many 
developing countries lack along with a 
paucity of infra structures of libraries. 

The subject of costs is dealt with know-
ingly and realistically. An information net-
work has to be more than a luxury for the 
wealthy, so says the UNISIST Committee. 
International communication and coopera-
tion are essential elements in a successfu] 
information system. Through such a uni-
fied effort, reduced costs and more effec-
tive information transfer may be expected, 
according to the investigators. New and 
emerging patterns of cooperation are also 
identified, which augurs well toward a 
feasible world network of scientific infor-
mation. The job to be done, nonetheless, 
exceeds the resources of any one or two 
countries, making cooperation and sharing 
imperative requirements. 

The investigators advanced twenty-two 
wide-ranging recommendations. They run 
from the development of basic philosophy 
of sharing the work and products of in-
formation transfer and the on-going ex-
periments aimed at increasing effectiveness, 
to the establishment of governmental agen-
cies at the national levels in consonance 
with the principles of UNISIST and the 
creation of interrelated managerial bodies, 
one of which would be a permanent ~ec­
retariat. 

It is notable that the study emphasizes 
that UNISIST is not a radical departure 
in science information transfer but rather 
a systematization of international coopera-
tion. Another way to describe the plan is 
to regard UNISIST as a type of worldwide 
movement more than an operating system 
in its own right. In essence then, the con-
cept of UNISIST appears not to be an in-
formation system superimposed upon exist-
ing services but a cooperative effort of 
governments and scientific organizations to-
ward approaching solutions in an evolu-
tionary and pragmatic fashion. 

As the document itself suggests this is in-
deed, "a report of major importance to all 
those concerned with the communication 
of scientific information."-Le Mayne W. 
Anderson, Colorado State University. 

Proceedings of the Second Conference on 
Federal Information Resources. Wash-
ington, D.C. March 30-31, 1971. 

This little volume is hardly an appro-
priate subject for review, since it is in itself 
a review of the announced subject by a 
large number of participants. As one of 
them, a few additional remarks may serve 
to elaborate the text usefully. 

The nearly verbatim record of presen-
tations and comments reveals no essen-
tial change in the divergent approaches 
of those on the donor (government) side 
or those on the receiver (public) side. The 
producers (?) of information are plagued 
by costs and funding problems and the 
users by f1ustrating reductions in available 
resources, while both sides are targets of 
steadily increasing demand. There are a 
few noteworthy statements, for the record, 
if for no other purpose. Milczewski's sum-
mary of progress since the first conference, 



Adkinson's. prognostications for the future, 
and Warren Haas' statement of common 
needs deserve reading. One new note was 
added to this conference by the insertion 
of one whole section on Negro Research 
Libraries. The picture of resources present-
ly found in black research libraries was 
cogently developed by Jean-Anne South 
and others. 

Although no earth-shaking effects have 
been achieved by this or its predecessor 
conference, a third is in planning and the 
cumulative effect may be important. These 
meetings do assure continued communica-
tion, and in our harried world this is an 
achievement not to be discounted.-]er-
rold Orne, University of North Carolina. 

Robert H. Muller, Theodore Jurgen Spahn, 
and Janet M. Spahn. From Radical Left 
to Extreme Right. 2d. v.l. Ann Arbor, 
Mich.: Campus Publishers, 1970. 

The present book is a revised and ex-
panded edition of Robert Muller's 1967 
book of the same title. It is a bibliographic 
guide to current periodicals of .. protest, 
controversy, advocacy, or dissent. . . ." 
(Title page) 

The authors classified about 400 fringe 
publications into nineteen groupings each 
of which constitutes a separate chapter. 
Some of the groupings fell along the usual 
two-dimensional continuum as being .. Rad-
ical Left," "Marxist-Socialist Left," "Conser-
vative," and "Anti-Communist." However 
minimal use was made of this device which, 
as the authors note, often does more to 
cloud issues than to clarify them. Other 
groupings were more precise and topic-
?.riente~; "E.g.=. "Ci~il Right~;" .. "Sex," 
Peace, ServiCemen s Papers, Under-

ground," "Race Supremacist," .. UFO's," 
and "Miscellaneous." Each chapter has a 
brief signed preface, usually written by 
Muller. 

For each periodical title included, in-
formation is given as to address, cost, pub-
lishing history, circulation, format, and an 
indication of which issues were examined 
by the reviewer. Following this information 
appears a one-half to several page signed 
review of the publication's content. 

Each review includes the reviewer's ob-
servations about the periodical's particular 

Recent Publications I 245 

area ( s) of concern, its basic editorial pol-
icies toward those issues, special features, 
typical advertising accepted, regular con-
tributors, columnists, cartoonists, etc. The 
name of the publisher is usually stated. A 
t;ypical review also includes a variety of 
quotations which are intended to be repre-
sentative of the editorial attitudes, quality 
of writing, types of issues covered, and the 
general flavor of the issues. The reviewers 
avoided making value judgments about 
the publications-no recommendations were 
made pro or con. The intention was to let 
the reviewers' observations and the selected 
quotations speak for themselves. 

Proofs of each review were sent to the 
editor of the respective periodical for com-
ment. The editor's comments are included 
in the "Feedback" section of each review. 
In the cases where changes were made in 
the original review at the request of an 
editor, the reviewer noted the change in 
the "Feedback." 

Most of the feedback was positive, al-
though a few editors availed themselves 
of this opportunity to further espouse their 
position while condemning the reviewer as 
being the victim of one or another con-
spiracies or indoctrinations. 

Two indexes are provided. The first is 
geographical by state and then by locality. 
The only information given in this index 
is the title of each periodical published in 
that location; no page numbers are given. 
The second index is by title, both present 
and former. An effort is made also to in-
dex the names of editors and publishers. 
The latter could be particularly helpful in 
answering reference questions about the 
publication activities of groups not listed 
in the standard directories. The authors also 
index each title by basic editorial attitudes 
such as male chauvinism, firearms control, 
minority rights, etc., thus providing a spe-
cific topical approach to what are basically 
topical publications. 

Most librarians considering this book for 
their collection will be asking themselves 
how subscribing to such publications would 
enrich their library collection, if at all. 
These librarians are referred to Muller's 
introductory essay in which he discusses 
the pro's and con's of investing part of a 
library's resources for polemic publications. 
Most of Muller's thoughts are pro as might