College and Research Libraries


not really new; yet, the recommendations 
set in historical perspective make for pro-
vocative reading. 

What will prove most interesting is the 
implementation of these recommendations. 
One obvious result of the study was the 
opening of an office of planning and de-
velopment. This office has been given the 
task of establishing mechanisms for imple-
menting the recommendations approved by 
the Librarian. Some of them can be accom-
plished in this way. Other concerns, such as 
the question of LC' s national role, remain 
unanswered. 

This book is an excellent contemporary 
view of the Library of Congress. It offers 
descriptions of the multitude of programs 
and services and provides insights into what 
can be expected in the next few years. The 
most encouraging aspect of reading the 
work is learning that the Library of Con-
gress is approaching the future with logic 
and purpose. 

The price of the book seems exorbitant, 
but librarians will be pleased to have the in-
formation about the Library of Congress' 
plans for the future. Both for historical pur-
poses and a current view this book will 
prove usefuL-Deanna B. Marcum, Associ-
ation of Research Libraries, Washington, 
D.C. 

Butler, Brett; Aveney, Brian; and Scholz, 
William. "The Conversion of Manual 
Catalogs to Collection Data Bases," Li-
brary Technology Reports 14:109-206 
(March-April 1978). $40 for single issue. 
(Available from: American Library Associ-
ation, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 
60611.) 

Hewitt, Joe A. OCLC: Impact and Use-A 
Study of The Charter Members of the 
Ohio CoUege Library Center. Columbus, 
Ohio: The Ohio State University Librar-
ies, Office of Educational Services, 1977. 
188p. $8.95. LC 77-620000. ISBN 
0-88215-043-1. (Available from: O.S. U. 
Libraries Publications Committee, Room 
001, Main Library, 1858 Neil Ave. Mall, 
Columbus OH 43210. Prepaid orders sent 
postpaid.) 
During the past few years a number of li-

braries have departed from the traditional 
card catalog to provide access to their col-

Recent Publications I 503 

lections by means of an automated system. 
In the future a great many more libraries 
will make this change. To do so, the librar-
ies involved will require information on the 
techniques available for data base conver-
sion and understanding of the impact of au-
tomated systems on libraries. These two re-
ports provide much of the information 
needed by a library contemplating the de-
velopment of an automated access system. 

The intent of the Butler/Aveney/Scholz 
report is to provide a "summary of re-
sources available to local libraries, and a 
guide through the cumulative experience of 
a number of libraries which ha:ve converted 
their catalogs." This report is not so ambiti-
ous an undertaking that the reader is over-
whelmed. Neither is it so cursory that plan-
ning information needed to make a useful 
judgment is lacking. The authors have 
strived to develop a timely handbook for 
those beginning the process of converting 
from manual to machine data bases. They 
have structured the report into four parts 
that deal respectively with: (1) the nature 
and meaning of the concept of machine-
readable data bases; (2) the evaluation 
criteria required to examine data bases, 
vendor products, and conversion ap-
proaches; (3) the various conversion ap-
proaches available; and (4) the capabilities 
and limitations of the major vendors and 
their data base systems. 

As the authors point out, the most likely 
way to convert a catalog is to make use of a 
"resource data base" such as OCLC. They 
provide a concise definition of the concept 
involved and a description of the criteria 
and tools required to handle a conversion. 
Their thrust has been to concentrate on 
providing evaluation criteria and conversion 
approaches. However, they have also pro-
vided a section on vendor capabilities that 
contains a summary table of the various ser-
vices available from eight vendors, including 
OCLC. 

Although the Hewitt report is intended to 
provide an in-depth analysis of the impact of 
OCLC on library operations, it also pro-
vides some insights into the kinds of 
changes that will occur as libraries convert 
their data bases. OCLC will probably pro-
vide the major resource data base for con-
version projects, if it doesn't already. Many 



504 I College & Research Libraries • November 1978 

libraries have utilized archive tapes from 
OCLC to form the foundation of data bases 
which they manipulate into printed or COM 
catalogs. 

Hewitt reports on a survey he conducted 
to measure the use of OCLC in the forty-
seven charter member libraries. Since the 
data were collected in 1974, it would seem to 
make the report out of date. However, as 
Hewitt points out, " a lag has developed 
between network technology and the 
capabilities of libraries to effectively exploit 
the possibilities offered by that technology." 
Therefore , the timeliness of the report is 
acceptable to libraries considering the im-
plementation of a link with OCLC. 

While this report is not crucial reading 
for a library interested in linking up with 
OCLC, it is useful. For someone very much 
concerned with the long-range impact of 
OCLC on operations , it is nearly the only 
place to go; it serves as a benc}:lmark. In 
addition, it makes up for a lack to some ex-
t e nt in the Butler report regarding the 
considerations involved with maintaining a 
data base once the conversion is completed. 
There are many changes in operating pro-
cedures that accrue from the conversion 
from a manual to an automated data base. A 
feeling for the scope and direction of these 
changes can be gained from Hewitt's 
analysis. 

For someone beginning the process of 
converting from a manual to an automated 
data base , the Butler report is a valuable 
tool and the Hewitt report useful. Neither, 
however , completes the information-
gathering process. For instance , there is a 
great deal of difference in the level of 
sophistication of software from vendor to 
vendor. No general written report can pro-
vide an exhaustive study of either the range 
of services available nor the capabilities of 
these services. Perhaps after starting with 
these reports, one might enlist the aid of a 
consultant?-Richard W. Meyer , Indiana 
State Univ ersity , Terre Haute. 

Gore, Daniel. To Know a Library: Essays 
and Annual Reports, 1970-1976. New 
Directions in Librarianship , number 1. 
Westport , Conn.: Greenwood, 1978. 
379p . $18.95. LC 77-84769. ISBN 
0-8371-9881-X. 

Daniel Gore has acquired a host of critics 
as well as admirers over the years, and this 
alone should guarantee a wide readership 
for this collection of his writings. A careful 
reading of the book may well change some 
opinions about Gore and his theories. 

The early 1970s were extremely difficult 
years for private higher education in the 
United States. It seems clear that the true 
severity of the situation facing many private 
academic libraries during those years was 
seldom fully appreciated , except by those 
who experienced at first hand the effects of 
what was popularly known as " retrench-
ment." Conditions at Gore's Macalester Col-
lege , described in the introduction to his 
book, were little worse than those confront-
ing many similar institutions. Between 1970 
and 1975, the total library budget declined 
by 33 percent, the materials budget was re-
duced by 25 percent, and library staffing 
was cut by more than 50 percent. 

Gore's response to these grim statistics is 
described at the beginning of the book in a 
series of ten essays . His strategies range 
from the use of compact shelving for ac-
tively used collections, to delaying the 
cataloging of new acquisitions for as much as 
a year after receipt, to the development of 
the no-growth library. Although nearly all of 
these essays have been published pre-
viously, their availability in a single volume 
where they can be read as a systematic 
statement of theory strengthens their impact 
considerably. 

Unlike many librarians who love to 
theorize but hesitate to act, Gore practices 
what he preaches. More than two-thirds of 
the text is devoted to the publication of the 
annual reports of the Macalester College 
Library. Despite the limitations of form, 
which even a writer of Gore's enviable tal-
ents cannot entirely overcome, the reports 
are well worth a careful reading . They 
explain, in detail, how Gore's theories have 
been applied to the operation of his library 
and how those innovations have affected 
library use and library users. 

Gore ' s attitude toward the sweeping 
changes made at Macalester under his di-
rection can be easily summarized. " Sweet 
are the uses of adversity. When 'lean-looked 
prophets whisper fearful change,' that is the 
time to turn bleak adversity into bright op-