College and Research Libraries 302 I College & Research Libraries • July 1974 by multiplying staff members with ad- vanced subject knowledge and springing them loose from daily duties into greater contact with the faculty and into continu- ing staff development programs, all of which takes time and money. There is no cut-rate soluti'on via organization to the de- velopment of additional subject specializa- tion on library staffs. So, in addition to being conducted in the wrong library this study does not produce much of use to Columbia or anyone else. It does contain lots of charts and diagrams and lots of very detailed schedules, and two ideas that Columbia has used-that there be a planning department (long talked about in libraries but seldom tried) , and that the university librarian be elevated to vice-president, a post that Jim Haas as- sumed shortly after the study. Good head, that lad! Although he was responsible for instigating this study, he has not let it in- fect his library system to any great degree. -Ellsworth Mason, University of Colorado, Boulder. Harrison, Helen P. Film Library Tech- niques (Studies in Media Management [New York: Hastings House, 1973]). 277p. $16.50. Helen P. Harrison, media librarian at the Open University and a Fellow of the Brit- ish Library Association, has produced an exhaustive combination state-of-the-art sur- vey and practical technical manual dealing with film libraries. The material covered is extensive and well organized. Information on the function and purpose of film librari'es, their history and organization, and future developments is supported by highly detailed and prac- tical technical applications presented in a scholarly and informed manner. Cataloging and information retri'eval are discussed in depth, as are matters of copy- right and economics. The section on admin- istration and planning contains prescriptive guidelines which are flexible, and which can be generalized to apply to functions and conditions in varying situations. Film is a medium which poses a signifi- cant number of problems to the archivist, handler, and organizer. Storage and preser- vation, requirements for intermediary de- vices and utilization, copyright, and of course, cataloging procedures are examples of aspects which relate to library proce- dures, but which require specialized tech- niques for implementation. Development and applications of tech- niques are further complicated by the di- versity in film libraries. These can be iden- tified as di'stribution, documentary produc- tion, feature production, government, gov- ernment research, national archives, news- reel, and television, as well as the educa- tional film libraries. Aims, policy, and con- tents will vary among these libraries, af- fecting their procedures. Considerable attention is devoted to cata- loging and classification, particularly shot listing. A shot list is a record of the con- tents of the film, with the amount of de- tail determined by the type and function of the film library. Essential features to be recorded include title, credits, footage, type of shot, description of shot, and sound (commentary, speech, or natural sound ef- fects) . N ewsfilm and stockshots require de- tailed analysis in order to permit access to one short sequence among many hundreds of thousands of pieces. The analysis can ex- tend to notes on placement of the camera, its angle and movement, and the distance of the subject from the camera. For the li- brarian trained in handling analytics for print cataloging, this process may seem pro- hibitive in terms of time and cost, yet it is an essential procedure in working with film other than feature or educational films. Harrison's comparison of the cataloging codes of practice for use in film libraries is based on her intimate knowledge of oper- ational techniques. While she is highly sup- portive of the requirement for international standards, she has good reason to express doubt that rules being formulated for gen- eral libraries and resource centers will be entirely adaptable to the needs of special- i'zed institutions and single-medium collec- tions. Special libraries serve their clientele in an individualized manner, and film li- braries have intrinsic requirements peculiar to their function. A brief review can merely reference the extensive information contained in this work, which combines a high degree of scholarship and a wide practical expertise. The monograph is well indexed and well designed as a communication arts book should be. A glossary of terms would be useful, as would be an appendix of abbrevi- ations found throughout the book. For the American reader, the National Film Library, formed in 1935, now the Na- tional Film Archive, and the references to BBC programming will reinforce the aware- ness that British techniques of information storage and retrieval are indeed highly ad- vanced, given impetus and support by the well-supported public services aspect of British programming. Although the work is highly specialized in its major application, it contains much practical information and is recommended as a source book of information on film and information retrieval techniques in a signifi- cant format.-Gloria Terwilliger, Director of Learning Resources, Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria. OTHER BOOKS OF INTEREST TO ACADEMIC LIBRARIANS Atkinson, Frank. Librarianship. Hamden, Conn.: Linnet Books, Shoestring Press, 1974. 112p. (ISBN 0-208-01351-2). R. R. Bowker & Co. El-Hi Textbooks in Print 1974. New York: Bowker, 1974. 466p. $19.95. (70-105104). (ISBN 0- 8352-0697-1) . Carey, R. J. P. Library Guiding. Hamden, Conn.: Linnet Books, Shoestring Press, 1974. 186p. $10.00. (73-18477). (ISBN 0-208-01350-4). Downs, Robert B. British Library Re- Recent Publications I 303 sources. Chicago: American Library Assn., 1974. 332p. $25.00. (73-1598). (ISBN 0-8389-0150-6). Gale Research Co. Book Review Index: 1972 Cumulation. Detroit: Gale Re- search, 1973. 530p. $45.00. (ISBN 0- 8103-0557-7). Greene, Jon S., ed. Standard EducationAl- manac 1973!74. Orange, N.J.: Academic Media, 1973. 506p. $25.00. (68-3442). (ISBN 0-87876-039-3). London, Keith. Documentation Standards. New York: Mason & Lipscomb, 1974. 253p. $12.50. (73-12155). (ISBN 0- 88405-052-1 ) . Marc 2 Research. Index to All Books on the Physical Sciences in English, 1967 through January, 1974. Rockville, Md.: Marc 2 Research, 1974. 457p. $27.00. (74-75515). (ISBN 0-914358-01-4). Marshall, John David. Of, By, and For Li- brarians. Hamden, Conn.: Shoestring, 1974. 242p. $8.00. (73-16428). (ISBN 0-208-01333-4). Sugden, Virginia M. The Graduate Thesis. New York: Pitman, 1973. 157p. $6.95. (73-82105). Trzyna, Thaddeus C., ed. Directory of Con- sumer Protection and Environmental Agencies. Orange, N.J.: Academic Me- dia, 1973. 627p. $39.50. (72-75952). (ISBN 0-87876-032-6). U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare. Records, Computers and the Rights of Citizens. Washington, D.C.: GPO, 1973. 344p. $2.45. (73-13449). (ISBN 0-262-08070-2). Waters, Marie B. Worldwide Directory of Computer Companies, 1973-7 4. Orange, N.J.: Academic Media, 1973. 633p. $39.50. (77-114301). (ISBN 0-87876- 33-4).