College and Research Libraries 158 I College & Research Libraries • March 1978 miniscence. The author shows an easy famil- iarity with the bibliography of the presses he discusses, and he draws copiously on a long list of historical and critical writings ("Selective Bibliography, " p. 233-37). Although the emphasis of the book is on the most artistic products of various presses, the author recognizes the importance of in- novations, conscientious craftsmanship, and patterns of influence. Two of his longest sections treat Theodore Low De Vinne and Daniel Berkeley Updike, for example, con- cluding, however, that neither was a great typographic artist comparable to Bruce Rog- ers or Frederick W. Gowdy (also treated at length). On a different plane, he even pays unexpected tribute to Elbert Hubbard and the Roycroft Press. He includes and dis- cusses many examples that do not meet, in the author's judgment, the highest standards of typographic art. These increase the interpretive value of the presentation. The History of Printing in America be- longs on the shelves of most academic li- BEST BUYS tol IN PRINT-- "'--L.E your map to hidden treasure! I', s \ The treasure is chests full of recent books at discount prices -- I books that are hard to find AN-'-' because they are no longer ' ~ ' listed in Books In Print. Included are best sellers, award winners, out-, standing academic press \ titles and others in all , - - ' subject areas. This I &.:1.) treasure is remaindered ' \ X~\: books which can save you ' , dollars. And Best Buys In Print, can save you time in locating them. \ ' The first issue will be available in II March '78. Best Buys In Print will be published quarterly -- $25/yr. I / For information contact ~/' Lf... Pierian Press P .0. Box 1808 ( Ann Arbor, Michigan 48106 -.~ ~ braries. The devil that plagues reviewers will not let me pass without noticing two minor lapses that attracted my attention. On page 36 he seems to date Buffon's Natural History a hundred years before its publica- tion. His citation to Michael Koenig's article on De Vinne in his bibliography dates it in 1941 instead of 1971. These hardly detract from the importance of the book-Howard W. Winger, Graduate Library School, Uni- versity of Chicago . Coping with Cuts. A Conference to Exam- ine the Problems Facing Academic Li- braries in the Late 1970's at Holborn Li- brary on Wednesday 13th July 1977 . Sponsored by the National Book League Books and Students Committee. London: National Book League, 1977. 98p. £3.20. ISBN 0-85353-268-0. Academic libraries in England have fallen on hard times indeed : Norman Roberts, writing in the November 1977 C& RL, touched upon some of the dire fiscal realities now facing English college and uni- versity libraries and enumerated several steps they are taking to curtail spending; the controversial Atkinson Report (reviewed in the July 1977 C&RL) , recommended a self-renewing library of limited size (a Ia Daniel Gore) as the government-imposed model for future academic library develop- ment. If this flimsily bound typescript of five short speeches (by a librarian, lecturer, stu- dent, publisher, and bookseller) and two discussions represents the only palliative to the severe government cuts in book-buying money and to astronomical inflation that the 133 participants in the conference could suggest, then our / English colleagues are worse off than they realize, and we have very little to learn from them in our own ef- forts to cope with shrinking budgets. To an American librarian abreast of the professional literature, many of the sugges- tions for coping seem quaint, outdated, and simplistic; they center around where and what to cut rather than on such creative re- sponses as quantitative analysis of collection growth and use and subsequent redistribu- tion of available resources , the use of sophisticated management techniques to bring more rationality to the budgeting and allocation processes, institutional self- analysis and evaluation of strengths and weaknesses coupled with more formal plan- ning. Through all the collective hand wringing comes one speaker (neither a librarian nor a lecturer but a representative of the National Union of Students) with the most cogent and thoughtful-though undeveloped- suggestions for doing more with less: shar- ing of resources among libraries; fuller utili- zation of existing library resources; im- proved course planning and lecturer-library coordination; a more collective approach in learning methodologies and student library use; a more sharply defined distinction be- tween research institutions and undergradu- ate teaching institutions together with cor- responding differences in the library re- sources of each. For those interested in comparative li- brarianship there .are some revealing con- trasts to be seen between England and the United States in higher education financing and control, use of library materials by stu- dents, selection and types of library mate- rials, teaching methods, collection evalua- tion practices, etc., but not enough, how- ever, to compensate for the minor contribu- tion this work makes to the literature of re- trenchment and l'eanalysis. Some unintended humor worthy of a "Monty Python" script finds its way into the discussion report: "Dr. R.A. Wall: 'This is a very interesting idea. Perhaps Mr. Thompson could comment on it.' James Thompson: 'Well, I think it's a rotten idea myselfl' . . .. Martyn Goff: 'I'm going to call a halt at this point.' " (p. 83-84) American academic librarians, too, may call a halt at this point if they expect to find in this pub- lication many useful ideas for coping with cuts.-Albert F. Maag, University Librar- ian, Capital University, Columbus, Ohio. ABSTRACTS The following abstracts are based on those prepared by the ERIC Clearinghouse on Information Resources, School of Educa- tion, Syracuse University. Documents with an ED number here may be ordered in either microfiche (MF) or Recent Publications I 159 paper copy (HC) from the ERIC Document Reproduction Service, P.O. Box 190, Ar- lington, VA 22210. Orders should include ED number, specify format desired, and in- clude payment for document and postage. Further information on ordering docu- ments and current postage charges may be obtained from a recent issue of Resources in Education. Academic Library Development Program: A Self Study. North Carolina Univ., Char- lotte. 1976. 179p. ED 142 227. MF- $0.83; HC-$10.03. This report presents a 1975-76 comprehensive review of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte J. Murrey Atkins Library undertaken by staff members. Data and information were gathered from faculty, student, and library sur- veys, interviews, and by task forces in the areas of management and structural processes, human resources, library resources and services, and technology and facilities. The task forces studied the university and its library, the library's envi- ronment, the library's goals and objectives, and assessment of needs. Recommendations were made for five major areas studied: organization and management, planning, personnel, catalog- ing, and collection development. The task force reports are included in the text. The appendixes contain project chronology, library goals and ob- jectives and their analysis, library user inquiry and leadership questionnaires, opinion analysis, human resources survey, suggestions for staff de- velopment program, and library holdings tables. The Use of a University Library's Subject Catalogue: Report of a Research Project. By E. H. Wilkinson and others. Mac- quarie Univ., North Ryde, Australia. 1977. 99p. ED 142 231. MF-$0.83; HC-$4.67. This report outlines the development and evaluation of a library instruction program at Macquarie University in Australia, designed to help students use the subject catalog more quickly and effectively. Phase 1 of development established (1) objectives; (2) two methods of teaching-performance instruction and simulation of a real library situation; (3) two programs similar in sequence and content-audio-tutorial, with tape and mini-catalog for individuals and tape/ .slide for group instruction; and (4) three evalua- tion instruments--objective test on effective use of the subject catalog, performance test on search ability, and attitude survey. Trials revealed a weakness in failure to consider in detail the level