College and Research Libraries 472 I College & Research Libraries • September 1976 been used in organizing black literature, as found in . the Dictionary Catalog uf Negro Life and Literature, New York Public Li- brary. When Clack studied LC's treatment of black subject headings, she concluded that its subject analysis "is not adequate to accommodate black literature in a systemat- ic array as a unique body of literature," that there were inconsistencies between headings listed in the index and those list- ed in the outline, and that use of the sys- tem often fails to lead to the retrieval of relevant documents. After page-by-page re- view of the LC subject analysis system, Clack pulled all subjects together in a sin- gle listing that the librarian may see the picture as a whole. The nonrelevant list is designed' to complement the relevant ma- terials within a public catalog and to show the array of specific subjects on which pub- lished documents exist. Those who know black literature well will conclude that this book is incomplete. What is lacking most is a list of headings useful to the comprehensive collection which extends the LC list and the nonrele- vant list. Even then, headings which Clack terms nonrelevant may well be relevant in a comprehensive collfiction. Part I is a mixture of short, but vital topics that might well have been expanded into separate volumes. It might have been better. to omit this section altogether and expan.d Part II, which appears to be the main · thrust of the volume. More critical subject analysis ·of headings, showing pat- terns in their establishment, might also have been given. Although the volume is ar- ranged in two parts, ·the overall plan and progression of the work is confusing. So is the language used in the text. More than it does, the volume should stress that. the LC subject headings list and · classification schedules were designed to fit materials which are in the Library of Con- gress . . Because LC does not collect all ma- terials published, it has a built-in system for eliminating subject classifications which might b.e usefql in more specialized collec- tions. It is unfortunate that this book was pub- lished just at the time that LC was revising its subject headings · list for black themes, substituting the ·word "Mro-American" for "Negro" when relating to bllicks in the U.S., the word ''blacks" for ,"Negro" when referring to blacks in other countries. Nu- merous changes also appear within the new list. The strength of the work is that it pulls together in a handy volume lists of relevant and nonrelevant headings on black subjects which may be found in library catalogs. Li- brarians and library school students who are less familiar with black history and cul- ture and its literature m.ay also find Part I of some value.-]essie Gamey Smith, Uni- versity Librarian, Fisk University, Nash- ville, Tennessee. Borko, Harold, and Bernier,. Charles L. Ab- stracting Concepts and Methods. Library and Information Science~ New York: Academic Press, 1975. 250p. $14.95. (LC 75-13069) .(ISBN 0-12-118650-4) The authors have filled the long-standing need for a good text on abstracting with a well-organized, readable work. While the stated audience is library school students, it should also be more · broadly useful for self-teaching and as a supplementary tool for training in abstracting services. Fur- thermore, this is not the kind of text the reader trudges through because it is good for him; it is actually readable and interest- ing. This judgment was confirmed by use of the book with a course in abstracting and indexing. There are three sections: background on the nature of abstracts and abstracting ser- vices, with criteria, instructions, and stan- dards; abstracting procedures; a miscellany on management, automation, and personnel; the purposes of journal literature; a good projection of future trends; automatic ab- stracting; and career opportunities. The section on evaluation of abstracts in the chapter . on automatic abstracting could well have been placed elsewhere; it is a sad commentary on the field : that most of the formal work on evaluation of abstracts has been done in research on automatic ab- stracting . . Abstracts are placed in their. context as a .major type of document surrogate, and ·the · historical review of abstracts and ab- stracting services shows the · use of this form over the ·millennia from the earliest written ,f ~- .. documents. Organization and procedures in abstracting services today are described with a variety of well-chosen examples. The sections on preparation of abstracts cover the numerous variations in style and content, always emphasizing standards where these exist, with many illustrations and examples. The major emphasis is on ab- stracting of journal literature, using the con- ventional complete sentence form; the ex- tremely terse form of abstract exemplified by the New York Times Index and its In- formation Bank, where articles, capitaliza- tion, etc., are minimized, is not covered. The section on organization, manage- ment, and publication of abstracting ser- vices carries the reader through the stages from document selection and assignment to layout and final printing. While some at- tention is given to definition of the scope of a publication, such a vexing subject could have been covered more thoroughly. A wealth of examples is given, of ab- stracting instructions used by a variety of services, of types of abstracts and of differ- ent types of indexes to abstracts. As a re- sult, the book could be used as a "how-to" manual, but the reader would almost un- avoidably learn "why" at the same time. Exercises, some with possible answers, provide further guidance in editing, selec- tion of clear, unambiguous terminology, and reduction of verbosity. They seem well chosen and useful, and an informal test with volunteers led to positive results. Two general features of the work de- serve special comment. First, it is readable . and interesting. Second, the balance be- tween emphasis on present procedures and future developments is excellent. The au- thors describe both research in abstracting and innovations in journal and secondary service production which influences the way abstracting is done. The picture would have been more current if it had included a description of the system now used by the American Institute of Physics, where the front matter for journal articles is prepared in machine-readable form, and copy for both the journal and later abstracting and indexing coverage is produced from the same keying. The index is well prepared to serve its purpose, and there are a current bibliogra- Recent Publications I 473 phy and a useful glossary of terms. Tech- nically, the book is well produced, with a minimum of typographical errors and qual- ity reproductions of example pages of ab- stracting services.-]essica L. Harris, Divi- sion of Library & Information Science, St. ]ohn·s University, New York. Harvey, Joan M. Specialised Information Centres. London: Clive Bingley; Ham- den, Conn.: Linnet Books, 1976. 112p. $7.50. (LC 75-22152) (ISBN 0-208- 01521-3 Linnet) (ISBN 0-85157-202-2 Bingley) Campbell, Malcolm J., ed. Manual of Busi- ness Library Practice. London: Clive Bingley; Hamden, Conn.: Linnet Books, 1975. 186p. $10.00. (LC 75-20223) (ISBN 0-85157-178-8 Bingley; 0-208- 01359-8 Linnet) Although these two books cover some- what divergent fields, they do in a way sup- plement each other in supplying informa- tion of value to readers in the U.S. and will be reviewed together. YOU WILL HAVE- "CONFIDENCE" In Our Complete Periodicals Se"ice- AII American and Foreign Titles Premptneu is • Tr•cUtien•l p•rt ef McGreter Service • , . •• well ••: • EXPERIENCE • TRAINED PERSONNEL • FINANCIAL STABILITY • AMPLE FACILITIES • RESPONSIBLE MANAGEMENT A11 •Hr•ctiYe •rKIIure i• •nil•"'• fer tile •Miltf. OUR 43rd YEAR MOUNT MORRIS, ILLINOIS 61014