College and Research Libraries


184 I College & Research Libraries • March 1976 

other college libraries. However, the com-
munity college library is diHerent in that 
it must support the goals and programs of 
the unique institution of which it is a part. 

A discussion of the historical develop-
ment of community colleges in the United 
States precedes chapters on personnel;· ad-
ministrative organization; technical ser-
vices; learning materials and equipment; 
microforms; user services ; cooperation and 
extension of service; standards and guide-
lines; planning the building; and "Move-
ments and Developments with Strong Im-
pact." Details abound, including everything 
from comments on on-approval order plans 
to a discussion of examples of television 
operations. 

Statistical tables, library floor plans, and 
organization charts illustrate the text. Bib-
liographies are included at the end of each 
chapter. Frequent references to the prac-
tices in community college libraries across 
the country are interspersed in the text. 
The chapter on standards and guidelines 
deals specifically with e·fforts of the Associa-
tion of College and Research Libraries to 
formulate national standards for community 
college libraries~ and there is frequent ref-
erence to the 1972 Guidelines throughout 
the text. Reference is also made to state 
standards such as those in Washington, 
California, and lllinois. 

Although the text is factual for the most 
part, Dr. Veit interjects his own opinions 
or recommendations from time to time. In 
the chapter on technical services, the fol-
lowing statement appears (p.93): "It is 
more difficult to maintain a multi-media 
catalog than separate catalogs for book and 
non-book media." Similarly, in the chapter 
on learning materials and equipment, the 
following is stated (p.103): "A community 
college should very closely consider the 
implications of becoming a government 
publications depository, especially a federal 
depository." 

Some information in the text is unavoid-
ably dated. It is hoped that the reader will 
consult library literature to learn recent de-
velopments in the operation of the Ohio 
College Library Center, for example, or to 
secure current evaluations of dial-access 
systems. 

Dr. Veit has painstakingly assembled a 

wealth of information which should admir-
ably serve the needs of the uninitiated.-
Alice B. Griffith, Library Director, Mohawk 
Valley Community College, Utica, New 
York. 

Ingram, K. E., and Jefferson, Albertina A., 
eds. Libraries and the Challenge of 
Change. Papers of the International Li-
brary Conference held in Kingston, Ja-
maica, 24-29 April 1972. Published for 
the Jamaica Library Association and the 
Jamaica Library Service. London: Man-
sell, 1975. 265p. $20.00. (ISBN 0-7201-
0523-4) Distributed in North America by 
International Scholarly Book Services, 
Inc., P.O. Box 4347, Portland, OR 97208. 
I should admit to begin with that the 

papers of a conference are not my favorite 
literature, but since I was prevented by cir-
cumstances from attending this conference 
and had heard good things about it, I 
agreed to review the publication. rm glad 
I did. 

Held under the sponsorship of the Ja-
maica Library Association, with the govern-
ment of Jamaica and the Jamaica Library 
Service as cosponsors, the conference was 
designed to "focus the attention of the 
public, of government and of other agencies 
upon the role and value of libraries and 
upon the nature of the profession of librari-
anship ... " with the hope of "winning for 
them a greater measure of moral and finan-
cial support in these tasks"-a noble pur-
pose for the Caribbean area where such 
support is certainly needed~ Each of the 
ten sessions was devoted to a different 
topic: public, national, university, and spe-
cial libraries; libraries for youth; library ed-
ucation; technology; UNESCO; coopera-
tion; national plans; and professional asso-
ciations. Typically, an internationally rec-
ognized representative of the specialty was 
invited to speak on the topic in general, 
followed by a Jamaican representative who 
discussed the local and/ or Caribbean situa-
tion. The discussion which ensued in each 
session was synopsized by the editors from 

. tape recordings. 
Without exception, the papers are well 

constructed and informative. It may, there-
fore, be misleading to single out any for 

...,, 

l 



comment, but this reviewer found particu-
larly interesting the contribution by Dr. 
Margareet Wijnstroom, General Secretary 
of IFLA, on library developments in North 
West Europe; the survey of public libraries 
in the Commonwealth Caribbean by Joyce 
Robinson, Director of the Jamaica Library 
Service; the clear and incisive analysis of 
academic library problems in developing 
areas such as the Caribbean, by Kenneth 
Ingram, Librarian, University of the West 
Indies, Jamaica; and the excellent update 
on library cooperation in the West Indies 
with its extensive bibliography, by Dr. 
Alma Jordan, Librarian, University of the 
West Indies, Trinidad. As is true typically 
of conference papers, ' one has a sense of 
reading a collection, since they are not 
chapters by a single author. But the variety 
here imparts a real and attractive sense of 
looking in at an international conference, 
where not only the facts but the attitudes 
differ. 

Finally it must be said, the whole event 
is a credit to Kenneth E. Ingram, then 
chairman of the program subcommittee, 
later chairman of the conference, president 
of the Jamaica Library Association, and 
editor, along with Mrs. Jefferson, his assist-
ant in Jamaica, of the papers. The outline 
of topics, the choice of speakers, the synop-
sis of the discussion periods, and the over-
all editing of the papers and of the publica-
tion itself have put together a happening 
that anyone would be proud of.-G. A. 
Harrer, Director of Libraries, University of 
Florida. 

Mount, Ellis. University Science and En-
gineering Libraries: Their Operation, 
Collections, and Facilities. Contributions 
in Librarianship and Information Sci-
ence, Number 15. Westport, Conn.: 
Greenwood Press, 1975. 214p. $15.00. 
(LC 74-34562) (ISBN 0-8371-7955-6) 
The author, who has been associated 

with the science and engineering libraries 
at Columbia University since 1964, covers 
most major topics of concern to those in-
volved in such libraries. The first half of the 
book deals wjth the nature of technical li-
braries at universities-organizational pat-
terns and location, administration, staffing 

Recent Publications I 185 

and personnel management, collections (in-
cluding weeding), facilities and equipment, 
and relationships with other groups (e.g., 
other university library units; other library 
systems; and industrial, governmental, and 
other organizations). He discusses basic 
principles and practical issues, with pros 
and cons, and frequently gives examples 
from a variety of institutions, supported by 
data and numerous bibliographic citations. 
The approach is practical, direct, and quite 
up to date. The style is primarily narrative, 
rather than categorized or outlined. Cost 
data are as of 1973 and need to be adjusted 
to 1976 inflated rates. 

There are some topics which are scarcely 
mentioned. For example, there is little 
about the selection, acquisition, storage, 
and servicing of microforms, especially 
technical reports, although there is a brief 
discussion of microform readers and print-
ers. 

Library personnel, from the subprofes-
sional working in such a library to the uni-
versity librarian, and even faculty library 
committee members, would benefit, from a 
reading of this book, through the insights 
it provides of the complexities involved in 
the administration and functioning of these 
units. Library school students expecting to 
work in such libraries can find out what to 
expect. 

In spite of the wide variety of organiza-
tional patterns of practices in such libraries 
throughout the United States, the author 
has managed to convey the essence of the 
common problems and suggests solutions 
and warns of pitfalls to avoid. 

The second half of the book consists pri-
marily of selected examples of basic titles 
representing various types of sci-tech litera-
ture. Each category is preceded by a dis-
cussion of its characteristics. All mono-
graphic titles are annotated to show scope. 
The first category is guides to the litera-
ture, of which there now are a number of 
excellent titles in most sci-tech disciplines. 
Other categories include annual reviews, 
technical reports, patents, directories, stan-
dards, translations, theses, tables, data 
banks, and audiovisual aids, as well as 
handbooks, periodicals, abstracting services, 
etc. The titles show care in selection, and