College and Research Libraries ~- .. 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 474 I College & Research Libraries • September 1976 While there is little new in Harvey's Specialised Information Centres for readers in the U.S., the author does give sound di- rections for the selection, organization, and dissemination of specialized data which transcend national boundaries. She empha- sizes over and over again the reliance which must be placed on various specialists for the selection and evaluation of material. The omission of any reference to the part a librarian with a command of a subject can play seems to be an oversight to this re- viewer. The lack of communication be- tween British centers and those in the U.S. seems strange in this age of cooperation among scientists. The author has tried to remedy this lack in a small way by describing some of the more important centers in the United King- dom and the U.S. Since many of these British centers are not well known in the U.S., this is probably the most useful part of this book for readers in this country. The Campbell book gives many sound principles as to the organization, staffing, and operation of business libraries. In addi- tion, the authors supply much information on British business libraries and sources of information. The initial chapter describes a number of British business libraries and compares them to some of their U.S. counterparts. One point that is brought out is that Brit- ish business libraries stock directories very heavily. This is occasioned by the many overseali connections of British firms. With the rise of so many multinational companies in the U.S., there should be a similar de- mand for the information available in direc- tories in this country. The three chapters by Frank Cochrane on statistics and market research sources are especially useful. Cochrane has sup- plied a complete listing of British govern- ment b"lireaus with their publications deal- ing with marketing. In addition, he lists pertinent European publications. This book is obviously aimed at the li- brary school student or a junior librarian starting his career in a business library. The principles and methods put forth are sound and could apply to a business anywhere. U.S. librarians should find this a useful reference work for the location of British government publications and selected Euro- pean statistical reports. It is a pleasure to use a book with such an excellent index.- Edwin T. Coman, ]r., Retired University Librarian, University of California, River- side. Information Revolution: Proceedings of the 38th ASIS Annual Meeting, Boston, Mas- sachusetts, October 26- 30, 1975. Vol- ume 12. 'Vashington, D.C.: American Society for Information Science, 1975. 170p. +microfiche in pocket. $17.50. (LC 64-8303) (ISBN 0-87715-412-0) Information Roundup: Proceedings of the 4th ASIS Mid-Year Meeting, Portland, Oregon, May 15-17, 1975. Washington, D.C.: American Society for Information Science, 1975. 179p. $14.00. (LC 75- 29520) (ISBN 0-87715-112-1) These two sets of proceedings present, as one might expect, a panoramic view of developments in information science. In a brief review it is impossible to analyze such publications in a detailed way, but the im- pression they give is that the information science community is maturing. There is evidence of a greater sense of realism about what can be accomplished within the im- mediate context of economic constraints. In other words, the papers manifest a more pragmatic approach to information utiliza- tion and a clearer matching of potential to possibility than seemed to be present in earlier conferences. A reading of the Information Revolution still remains an exercise in serendipity, an opportunity for intellectually tasting the fa- miliar as well as the obscure. The effort, however, is tantalizing. The papers whet the appetite but are too short to satisfy the curiosity. To further their knowledge, 'read- ers must depend upon the citations at the end of each article which vary rather con- siderably in number per article, and conse- quently in their usefulness to the reader. But perhaps that's the function of proceed- ings: to encourage further exploration. The papers are organized into twelve sections whose subjects range from infor- mation transfer mechanisms and library net- works to library management and applica- tions in biology and chemistry. The format of each paper is well organized, complete t- \