College and Research Libraries braries: Multi-Media, Computers and Networks. 'Sponsored by Trans-Media Publishing Co., Inc., and University of Denver Law School. April 12-15, 1977, Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colorado. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Condyne/Trans- Media Distributing Corp., 1977. 124p. and five cassette tapes. $125. This work, the proceedings of a special law library conference, is itself in a mul· timedia format, part print and part audio. The principal papers are here to be heard, while the post-talk questions and the pro- grammed discussions are reproduced in print. Although one could read the papers in a shorter time than it takes to listen to the cassettes, in this fonnat you get a better "feel'' of the presentations. There are nine papers. Allen Veaner' s "Foundations of Library Micrographics" was read by Professor Roy M. Mersky, a confer- ence cochairperson, since the speaker was unable to be in Denver; but the paper is only available in the print media. Arthur Tannenbaum described the "Media User Environment," and Carl Spalding charac- terized "Micrographic Equipment." Robert Sullivan assisted with the "Acquisition of Microforms for Law Libraries," and Arthur Levine followed up with "The New Copyright Law and its Meaning for New Technology." The remaining four papers were: "C-0-M" by Don Bosseau, "Audio- Visual Materials" by Howard Hitchins, "Use of Video in Information Retrieval" by Jerry Bradshaw, and "Multi-Media, 2000 A.D ." by F. William Torrington. In his part of the theme setting, Professor Mersky acknowledged that all too often and for too long law .librarians have lagged be- hind others in adapting to newer approaches and newer techniques. His call was for catching up and moving ahead. If he is cor- rect in his assessment, then one could find little fault in offering the law librarians present a considerable dose of information that is already well known and widely avail- able in library literature, to say nothing about other general and special conference proceedings. The talks on foundations, envi- ronment, equipment, and acquisitions of microforms offered, to a large degree, "the same old truths," while the paper on copyright spent far too much time rehashing Recent Publications I 225 the several sections of the new law and too little time on how it applies specifically to micromedia and especially to educational television and instructional television. On the contrary, the next three were most helpful. Don Bosseau (whose name was misspelled and mispronounced throughout) offered a detailed and encourag- ing experience of a catalog in microfiche format (COM). Howard Hitchins, an expert in instructional development, stressed most effectively that the newer formats are not ends in themselves but serve as means of improving the educational process. I was particularly pleased to be able to hear his throwing down the gauntlet for the commu- nity of legal educators. Jerry Bradshaw gave a demonstration of the usage of videodiscs, but there was obviously no way for me to appreciate what the participants saw on a screen. The final talk was, to be as kind as possi- ble, unfortunate. Torrington, coming from a different and possibly limited experience in England, foretold and warned about the fu- ture. The printed discussion shows clearly that those present were in open disagree- ment with his prognostications. The audio reproductions are excellent; I don't believe I missed more than a word or two. The printed discussions and questions seem somehow abbreviated through editing, although there was no suggestion anywhere that this was done. I know for a fact that most often the law librarians use legal stenotypists to record their proceedings, and the total feedback from the participants should have been made available. The price is not unreasonable. I recom- mend the work to law libraries, library school libraries, and especially to those pro- grams training law librarians.-Leslie W. Sheridan, University of Toledo , Toledo , Ohio. Breivlk, Patricia Senn. Open Admissions and the Academic Library. Chicago: American Library Assn., 1977. 131p. $8.50. LC 77-5816. ISBN 0-8389-3195-2. Breivik has reported on an instance in which an academic librarian actively and creatively responded to a changing envi- ronment (open admissions at the City Uni- versity of New York) instead of passively 226 I College & Research Libraries • May 1978 and traditionally reacting. We can learn much from this volume based on her disser- tation at the Columbia University School of Library Service. In a brief first chapter on the failure of the American educational system, she es- pouses Toller's belief expressed in Future Shock that the only viable objective for schools in a time of ever more rapidly ex- panding and self-outdating information is to teach students how to learn on their own. She also laments how little "educated per- sons" know about libraries and biblio- graphical matters. Although California has guaranteed access to higher education for its high school grad- uates since 1960, Breivik pinpoints the City University of New York's switch from "elitism to egalitarianism in 1970" (p.6) as the most radical movement to a policy of open admissions. "Whatever the reasons- noble or expedient-open admissions had begun" (p. 7). She then summarizes six years of open admissions at CUNY, admitting that although she mentions the major criticisms, her description is positive because it reflects the hopes and determination of many stu- dents and educators, Including herself. There follows her description of a con- trolled experiment at Brooklyn College of CUNY in 1972, which was structured to measure the value of the library-based in- struction in the learning experiences of edu- cationally disadvantaged students. Because of space limitations here, details will not be given: suffice it to say that similar groups of educationally disadvantaged students, as part of their remedial writing course, re- ceived either: (1) an extra one-hour-per- week session of library and information re- trieval assistance emphasizing information collection skills; (2) a tour of the library, plus two sessions on how to locate books and evaluate their usefulness and how to lo- cate and evaluate nonbook information, with emphasis on the Readers' Guide; or (3) no tour and no bibliographical information for the control groups. Chapter 8 contains the "statistical" and the "people-related" results. They will not be repeated here, except to say that Breivik points out the very negative results of the traditional library approach (tour and two lectures) and warns that we can no longer ignore the fact that this may be turning stu- dents "off' the library. The findings of one experiment are not what is important; rather the significance is her pointing of the way to a new world for library activists. Breivik brilliantly analyzes the library-college movement (developed from the top by a "name" with a theory) and the more recent library instruction trend (operating from the bottom with on- the-job application, lacking one "name," and having no theoretical base nor any movement-wide goals). She challenges academic librarians to bring these movements together, since both are concerned with aligning library services and the educational goals of their institu- tions. She offers a third model, built on the strengths of both and using new terminol- ogy that will not alienate students, faculty, administrators, and other librarians. She perceptively traces library instruction pro- grams from Patricia Knapp's Monteith proj- ect at Wayne State to Swarthmore's "teach- ing library" and Sangamon State's staff of in- structional services librarians (where Breivik heads the library program). The last chapter is an exhortation for academic librarians to accept open admis- sions as an impetus for reassessing goals, priorities, and policies. She calls for much greater flexibility coupled with experimenta- tion. A hearty second! Breivik is to be commended for planning carefully and executing well her experiment to measure library instruction. But she has only taken a small step in comparison to what must be done. Her study needs immediate and mul- tiple replication, and other experiments should also be designed. After reading this small, well-written, and jargon-free volume (ten chapters, appen- dixes with questionnaire sent to CUNY chief librarians in 1970 and sample instruc- tional materials, and notes), there is only .· one recommendation: In 1978, the required reading for all academic librarians is to re- read Patricia Knapp, read Patricia Breivik, and then let's have hundreds of Monteith projects and Brooklyn experiments. They have shown the way with their strong dedi- cation to provide excellent library service for all in the academic community. They have shaped the academic environment in- .stead of merely reacting to it. Who is next?- Billy R. Wilkinson, University of Il- linois at Chicago Circle. Preservation of Paper and Textiks of His- toric and Artistic Value. A Symposium Sponsored by the Cellulose, Paper and Textile Division at the 172d Meeting of the American Chemical Society, San Francisco, Calif., Aug. 30--31, 1976. Ad- vances in Chemistry Series, 164. }'Jhn C. Williams, editor. Washington D. C.: American Chemical Society, 1977. 403p. $38. LC 77-13137. ISBN 0-8412-0360-1. This collection of symposium papers is a prompt publication, valuable for librarians, paper conservators, and paper scientists. Most of the information presented is the re- sult of recent research and is not printed elsewhere. In fact, many of the chapters in this volume contain footnotes citing one another. This interdependence of articles is not a weakness; it indicates the sudden surge . of researcher interest in the conserva- tion of celluiosic materials . The section on textile preservation occupies less than one- third of the book and gives evidence that textiles are both more complicated and less completely studied than paper. Librarians and archivists should be in- terested in, and informed by, this collection of studies, even though much of the ex- perimentation and data is couched in paper scientists' jargon. The first three articles in- clude short histories of paper manufacturing and permanent paper and a synopsis by Bernard Middleton on "Book Preservation for the Librarian." Beyond this introduc- tion, the librarian can make use of detailed reports dealing with five basic topics: the deacidification of paper, the salvage of water-damaged library materials, the man- ufacturing of permanent paper, the causes of paper deterioration, and the establishing of paper testing methods. Three new deacidification processes are presented-all nonaqueous and all being tested for practicality and economy. The most promising method is detailed by Ber- nard F. Walker of the W. J. Barrow Re- search Laboratory. During a six-month pilot project, the Virginia State Library was deacidifying 250 books a day at an approxi- mate cost of 52 cents per volume, using Recent Publications I 227 morpholine vapor in an automated system. The Library of Congress has developed the use of methylmagnesium carbonate, a man- ual method for use on fragile paper. The compound is carried in a liquid solvent and brushed or sprayed on single documents. Thorough studies on the salvage of water-damaged books were carried out after the Corning Museum of Glass library was flooded by tropical storm Agnes in 1972. The museum staff froze the soaked library books, as well as their card catalog and files. Since mold and other damage were re- tarded, there was time to research methods for thawing, drying, and sterilizing the col- lection. Types of drying procedures investi- gated were: interleave/air drying, dielectric drying, microwave drying, vacuum drying, freeze/thaw vacuum drying, and solvent ex- traction. In a series of three articles , David J. Fischer gives enough data for librarians to choose the best drying method in an emergency situation, based on extent of water damage, value of the collection, and type of paper in the text. More than a third of this volume is con- cerned with establishing criteria for perma- nent paper. Unfortunately, the scientists' work to improve the quality of book stock can be undermined by manufacturers. Richard A. Stuhrke, speaking to paper pro- ducers, states: "The higher strength of an alkaline sheet has allowed direct substitu- tion of weaker , lower cost fibers (p.29). Stuhrke tries to persuade paper companies to convert to alkaline paper products as a means of saving money; the stock he advocates would be more perma- nent than current papers but would not gain in durability. A number of the chapters in this volume should provide librarians an incentive for conservation . In the study of the causes of paper deterioration and the means to pre- dict paper stability, one conclusion is outstanding-the paper in books must be preserved rather than rescued. If library materials are not manufactured with permanent/durable characteristics, it is most important to prevent deterioration with deacidification and correct handling and en- vironment. Once paper degradation has be- gun, the best efforts of library adminis- trators cannot restore a book to useful