College and Research Libraries 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 Since the data were collected in 1974, it would seem to make the report out of date.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- portunity" (p. 64). He believes his library not only survived the lean years of the early 1970s but actually prospered. Determining the accuracy of that claim has a special interest and importance for the profession at this particular time. Thanks to the now in- famous Proposition 13, or one of its many offspring presently in utero, academic librar- ians at a number of publicly supported in- stitutions now face the prospect of having to cope with the same dismal conditions that earlier challenged Daniel Gore. A dispassionate analysis of the annual re- ports argues convincingly that the Macal- ester Library did indeed survive some ex- tremely rough years, perhaps in even better condition than might have been anticipated. For this, no small achievement, Daniel Gore can rightfully claim credit. However, Gore's confident assertion that his is "a li- brary that has prospered through years of heavy weather" remains very much a matter of opinion. This reviewer remains uncon- vinced of the superiority of Gore's innova- tions or their usefulness as a model for other libraries.-Robert L. Burr, Gonzaga University, Spokane , Washington. Collection Building: Studies in the De- velopment & Effective Use of Library Resources. Syracuse, N.Y.: Gaylord Professional Publications, in association with Neal-Schuman Publishers, Inc. 1978- . $55 per vol. Issued three times a year. ISSN 0160-4953. Collection Management: A Quarterly Jour- nal Devoted to the Management of Li- brary Collections. New York: Haworth Pr., 1976- . $25 per vol. Issued quar- terly. (V.1, nos.1 and 2, published under the title De-Acquisitions Librarian.) ISSN 0146-2679. Library Acquisitions: Practice and Theory. Elmsford, N.Y.: Pergamon, 1977- $25 per vol. Issued quarterly. ISSN 0364-6408. The Serials Librarian. New York: Haworth Pr., 1976- . $25 per vol. Issued quar- terly. ISSN 0361-526X. In these days of tight money and wildly escalating serial costs, new periodicals in any field must justify their existence by providing more and better information on key topics than the existing journals. Enter- Recent Publications I 505 pnsmg editors must offer potential sub- scribers fresh insights and objective, evalua- tive studies that will attract and hold their interest. These four new, or relatively recent, journals cover various aspects of the plan- ning, development, and management of re- sources in large and small libraries of all types. Their aim is to acquaint library per- sonnel from paraprofessionals to specialist bibliographers with the latest trends, issues, and policies in this relatively neglected field. In relation to the existing periodical literature each of them attempts to fill a perceived long-standing need for more analytical and practical information on the complexity of acquisitions work. The audience for which these four spe- cialized journals are primarily intended ap- pears to be library workers who are already heavily involved in collection building. As one might expect, the journals differ con- siderably in their aims, policy, content, and even in their definition of the field they cover. Predictably, the articles range from tech- nical papers and research reports to inter- pretive essays and how-to-do-it pieces. A few reading lists on special topics are also included. The varying quality of these jour- nals can to some extent be attributed to each editor's ability, or lack of it, to recruit contributors ranging from well-known names in library literature writing on famil- iar topics to neophyte scholars just out of graduate school. As its title indicates, Collection Building deals with this important range of profes- sional activities "in libraries of every cate- gory and size." Its editors and publishers point out that relatively little attention has been given in the past to collection de- velopment in small and medium-size librar- ies. They further charge that "only in the large university-research library is excel- lence in resources development [regarded as] a necessary or realizable goal." In his in- troductory editorial Walter Curley, associate director of the Detroit Public Library, promises not only to publish regularly bib- liographic essays and developmental profiles of noteworthy collections but also to sponsor "specific studies on diverse aspects of collec- tion development." An editorial board com-