College and Research Libraries 534 I College & Research Libraries • November 1977 ment," by Velma Veneziano and James S. Aagaard; and "The Economics of Computer Output Media," by S. Michael Malinconico. All of the papers are well written and supported with details, both technical and cost related to the topics that the authors are addressing, with the exception of Kil- gour's, which is really an introductory or keynote paper meant to set the scene for the following presentations. In this re- viewer's opinion Ross' paper, based on the experiences at Cornell University, is one of the best specific case examples to be found in the literature addressing this topic. His statement that "bigger and better com- puters do not mean lower production costs" not only is presently true but increasingly will be the case as improved-performance, lower cost hardware/ software systems be- come more prevalent. Thorson's paper on costs and experiences at Ohio State Univer- sity shows that circulation automation, while an expensive undertaking in development, conversion, and operation, has considerable service benefits which offset these costs. People Serving People! Our greatest assets are the skilled and trained people giving you "Con- cerned Service" - the penonalized service that makes your problems ours. No computer gives you continu- ing errors; our people make sure that you get quick, accurate an- swers. You will find that we give fast service, designed to meet your needs every time. Try the Book House now and see what we mean! Call ·517-849-9361 Collect A The House of Superior JIM, Library Service BOOK HOUSE 208 West Chicago Jonesville, Mich. 49250 The papers by Freedman, Gorman, and Malinconico, all of whom address aspects of catalog production, give an excellent overview of the complexities of the decision process involved in this highly technical as- pect of library operation. With the current trend toward develop- ment of network services and their integra- tion into library operations in a cost effective manner, it is refreshing to have Veneziano and Aagaard chronicle their ex- periences developing the in-house online system at Northwestern University. Their work shows that with a properly managed effort and rather modest in-house funding sophisticated online systems can be oper- ated as well as developed by a large library. Editorial quality of the volume is excel- lent. If one deficiency could be noted, it is purely on the point of the appropriateness to the topic of the paper by Folk. Certain- ly, a paper on the impact of computers on the publishing enterprise is of interest to librarians and can serve as an example from a sister field but is not purely within the context of the economics of library automa- tion which deals with library internal op- erations largely. However, · Folk's paper is an excellent overview from the publisher's viewpoint, and as such it is a valuable addi- tion to the volume, aesthetic judgments being laid aside in favor of technical sub- stance. Those who have acquired past volumes in this series also should acquire this one. Libraries and individuals building collec- tions in the library automation or the cost/ benefits of information systems will derive more benefit from this slim, well-designed collection of papers than the modest price expended in its acquisition.-Audrey N. Grosch, University of Minnesota Libraries. Painter, George D. William Caxton: A Bi- ography. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1977. 227p. $14.95. LC 76-41134. ISBN 0-399-11888-8. As the assistant keeper of fifteenth-cen- tury printed books at the British Library for twenty years, the author of this book is well prepared to "assess and correct our existing knowledge of Caxton's life and work." In fact, Painter presents the most thorough published reassessment of the historical rec- ord since Blades' biography of exactly one century ago. In doing so, he unstintingly corrects not only Blades but also Duff, Crotch, and such recent authorities as N. F. Blake. For example, in an earlier review in this journal of Blake's Caxton, this reviewer mentioned that Blake maintained that Cax- ton was born at Strood. Painter, however, suggests that Tenterden, "a weaving town in the heart of the Kentish Weald, with a Causton Wood near by, [also] would fit his own statement perfectly, and it would not be surprising if the elder Thomas Caxton of Tenterden was his father, and the young- er one his brother." In similar fashion, Painter challenges traditional beliefs in light of new or previously ignored evidence re- garding the rest of Caxton's family, appren- ticeship, and early merchant years. In staying close to his sources, Painter's perspective necessarily presents Caxton as a political man of some savvy, first as a Yorkist and in his later years as a Tudor. Caxton's anti-Lancastrian views are well de- veloped in the chapters on Caxton as Gov- ernor, Diplomat, and in Exile. "The events, persons, and movements of contemporary history in which Caxton was so intimately involved" are the backdrop for Painter's drama. Painter sets the stage for Caxton' s print- ing career by cogently arguing that Cax- ton' s master during his stay in Cologne was The Printer of Flores sancti Augustini, who may have been Johann Veldener. Almost certainly Veldener was the long-time sup- plier of Caxton's type. With this scenario, Colard Mansion's role is relegated to the "interchange of ideas and ambitions." In later chapters, Caxton comes across as a humorous and witty human being and as a highly productive translator shaping our English language. Painter also suggests that Caxton's printer's device provides "a clue to the chronological labyrinth of his last years." For the first time, evidently, a bib- liographer examines the device not for what it means but for what it reveals as a bib- liographic signpost. Painter discerns six states of the device and thereby reorders the popularly received chronology of Cax- ton' s canon. Physically this book is similar to Blake's book-nearly a companion volume. In sev- eral ways, moreover, the Painter work is Recent Publications I 535 ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• WE TAKE PRIDE IN SAVING YOU RESEARCH TIMEI Must one be Voyante extralucide or be super clairvoyant to find a personal name in 'The New York Times Index?' Not any more! Bulletin des Bibliotheques de France ... a staggering project to be undertaken ... Choice Magazine Vol 1, 351 pp, $21.50 Vol 2, 602 pp, $38.00 Vol 3, 569 pp, $36.00 Vol 4, 494 pp, $28.75 • Vol 5, 436 pp, $26.7 5 available November 20 I Plus $1.50 postage and handling I Pre-pub price, 22 vols, $670 thru Nov, $690 after. I Roxbury Data Interface I ra· 1 110 SOUTH HILLSIDE AVENUE 1 • Succasunna, New Jersey 07876 201-584-4448 • • ..................................... 536 I College & Research Libraries • November 1977 both its compliment and its complement. Besides the scholarly apparatus of foot- notes, illustration notes, select bibliography, and references, there is a "chronological list of Caxton' s editions . . . in accordance with the evidence and arguments brought for- ward in this book." We have the organizers of the Caxton Quincentenary to thank for focusing schol- arly attention on Caxton and for stimulat- ing such a lively and scholarly interchange on "one of the most famous yet least known of great Englishmen. "-John V. Richard- son, ]r., Graduate Library School, Indiana University. Welch, Theodore F. Toshokan: Libraries in Japanese Society. London: Clive Bing- ley; Chicago: American Library Assn., 1976. 306p. $15.00. ISBN 0-85157-220- 0 Bingley; 0-8389-0172-7 ALA. Since the end of World War II there has been a steady growth of interest in Japan, and the Western scholars have written on virtually every aspect of the Japanese so- ciety. Yet until now, no one has attempted to take a comprehensive look at the Jap- anese libraries. Toshokan by Theodore F. Welch is an excellent and well-researched compendium of the library world in Japan. For every kind of library, the author traces its history and legal backgrou~d and describes the present activities, providing an impressive array of statistics and other documentations. In twelve chapters he manages to provide rather penetrating de- scriptions of various libraries and the status of their librarians. The modern library concepts were transplanted in Japan by the Americans who brought many changes to Japan during the postwar occupation. In the past thirty years many of the Western ideas imposed on Japan have taken deep roots in the cultural milieu of the Japanese people, but the library has not found a sig- nificant place in the mainstream of Japa- nese life. What emerges from Welch's descriptions Announcing our OPEN ORDER 20% DISCOUNT SAVING PlAN to enable you to fill in the G-A-P-S in your files of BACK ISSUE PERIODICALS ~:~gt~~g~~~Es • TECHNICAL • SCIENTIFIC • MEDICAL • LIBERAL ARTS • We have an extensive stock & new material is always coming in. We need space. Send in your WANT LISTS marked 'OPEN ORDER'-Get a 20% DISCOUNT. 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