College and Research Libraries


70916-2. (Available from: Butterworths, 
19 Cummings Park, Woburn, MA 01801.) 
Human beings seem to be divided into 

two groups: those who recognize the need 
for something but do nothing about it (ex-
cept perhaps complain about its lack) and 
those who, realizing a need , set to work to 
fill that need. Leslie T. Morton, the editor 
of this work and formerly librarian of the 
National Institute for Medical Research , 
Mill Hill, London, is one of the latter 
group. (His tale of hiding the shoeboxes 
containing the cards for "Garrison-Morton" 
under the dining room table in World War 
II air raids is characteristic of the man.) Au-
thor of books on how to use a medical li-
brary and directories of medical libraries, as 
well as his famous " Garrison-Morton" (med-
ical bibliography) , without which no medical 
librarian could purchase rare books or 
mount a historical exhibit, he has now come 
out with a second edition of his Use of Med-
ical Literature, which first appeared in 
1974. 

The work is a series of articles by spe-
cialists in each subject field , written for 
other specialists or for beginners going into 
one field from another specialty. As such it 
has the admirable qualities of authority and 
pragmatism , but also the poor qualities of 
unevenness in coverage and style and in-
evitable gaps and duplication. Most of the 
chapters are lists of books and journals with 
a few words explaining the general subject 
and other descriptions about the individual 
titles. The second edition follows the 
lines-and often the texts-of the first edi-
tion , but adds historical sections to each of 
the subject chapters , offers an entirely new 
chapter on pediatrics , and revises exten-
sively the chapter on mechanization in 
literature indexes. Indeed, that chapter is 
perhaps the only one so thoroughly 
revised-due to the advent of both on-line 
capabilities in computerized data bases and 
the growth of the number of such data 
bases-that it makes a second edition rea-
sonable and logical. Without it , a small sup-
plement to the first edition would probably 
have sufficed for ·some time. 

American readers will note the British 
emphasis on works cited and institutions 
recommended , as is to be expected in such 
a work; but they will also note the great in-

Recent Publications I 61 

fluence of American efforts in this field. The 
National Library of Medicine and its publi-
cations and data bases are extensively de-
scribed, and the cost of many services is 
given in American dollars. Less frequent 
references to German, French, Italian, or 
Russian material-to say nothing of non-
European works-mirror the natural tend-
ency for English-speaking scientists to stay 
within their own linguistic capabilities as 
much as possible. This tendency has, of 
course, been reinforced by the fact that the 
overwhelming percentage of scientific litera-
ture today appears in the English language. 

Altogether this volume points to the 
much more common personal involvement 
by British scientists in literature searching 
and reading than by their American col-
leagues. The tradition of reading and study-
ing the publications of others is obviously 
still a British tradition, which might well be 
accepted more frequently in the United 
States. 

The book is well printed and the binding 
is what one expects from the Butterworth 
series Information Sources for Research and 
Development. The only question has to do 
with the price of the book. Even with infla-
tion and the sinking of the worth of the 
American dollar internationally , does this 
book really merit a price of $24 . 95? We 
doubt H. -Estelle Brodman , School of 
Medicine , Washington University , St. Louis, 
Missouri. 

Inter-Library Lending-The Challenge of 
Cooperation. [Fjernllm-samarbeid med 
utfordringer]. Lectures and Discussions 
Held at the Conference on Inter-Library 
Lending, Lysebu , Oslo, August 1977. 
Edited by Kirsten Engelstand and Jan 
Erik R~ed. (Scandiaplanen . Skriftserie 4.) 
Oslo: Hovedkomiteen for Scandiaplanen, 
1978. 154p. NCr 75. ISBN 82-7000-066-3. 
(Available from: The National Office for 
Research and Special Libraries , P. 0. 
2439 Solli, Oslo 2, Norway.) 
The Scandia Plan was organized in the 

1950s by Sweden, Norway, and Finland. Its 
initial purpose was to bring about a more 
efficient coordination of the acquisition of 
literature among the Nordic countries. In 
1972 a special committee was appointed to 
coordinate inter-Nordic lending, and the 



68 I College & Research Libraries • ] anuary 1979 

conference at Oslo in 1977 is one result of 
its work. 

The published proceedings come at a 
propitious time for United States libraries 
when a great deal of thought and concern 
has been expended upon the development 
and implementation of a national library 
service policy. The papers are divided into 
two major sections: interlibrary lending in 
non-Nordic countries, and interlibrary lend-
ing in the Nordic countries. It is unfortu-
nate that the Nordic presentations could not 
have been translated-one must be content 
with English-language summaries-but the 
sections dealing with non-Nordic lending 
are presented in English and in their en-
tirety. 

Maurice Line's exposition of the British 
Library Lending Division (BLLD)' s stream-
lined document delivery pleads the case 
well for a highly centralized national lending 
system. In contrast, Jurgen Heydrich's de-
scription of West Germany's intricate and 
decentralized lending picture is emphati-
cally not a model to be emulated. User frus-
tration must be widespread in West Ger-
many, as a large percentage of requests are 
returned unfilled after many months, and 
bearing a great number of official stamps , 
mutely testifying to the bureaucratic hands 
through which they have unsuccessfully 
passed. 

Conversely, simplicity, extremely mini-
mal record-keeping, and speed are keynotes 
of the British system, and although the 
BLLD charges for its services, the number 
of requests handled has risen dramatically 
from 118,000 in 1962 to 2,540,000 in 1976, 
demonstrating users are not at all reluctant 
to pay for a reasonable turn-around time. 

While the avowed purpose of the confer-
ence was to set goals for interlibrary lending 
and planning among Nordic countries, two 
themes recur that transcend regional con-
cerns. First is the need for each country to 
develop a strong, centralized national bib-
liographic system, buttressed with adequate 
and reliable financial support. Second, the 
concept of universal availability of publica-
tions, already acknowledged by the Interna-
tional Federation of Library Associations 
and by UNESCO, must be recognized and 
understood. 

As Line points out, universal biblio-

graphic control made possible by computer 
technology will avail us little if the docu-
ments to which they refer are not readily 
accessible. When, and only when, the con-
cept of availability has been accepted and a 
concrete plan developed for its fulfillment at 
the national level, can a truly effective in-
ternational interlibrary lending structure be 
postulated. 

For librarians interested in expanding, 
promoting, and strengthening international 
interlibrary lending, careful study of the 
Oslo document is indispensable to an as-
sessment of the present state of the art, and 
the editors are to be commended for this 
contribution to the literature. -Alice 
Weaver, University of Toledo , Toledo , 
Ohio. 

Saffady, William. Computer-Output Mi-
crofilm: Its Library Applications. 
Chicago: American Library Assn., 1978. 
190p. $10.50. LC 78-18416. ISBN 
0-8389-3217-7. 
This readable description of computer-

output microfilm (COM) is a must for librar-
ies or other groups considering COM usage. 
The coverage of COM hardware and 
software · is outstanding. The considerations 
involved in output selection, COM display 
equipment, and retrieval coding and index-
ing are discussed in detail. 

This report includes a. description of the 
state-of-the-art through January 1978. Limi-
tations as listed by the author include (1) 
libraries as users not owners of COM 
recorders, (2) mention of representative 
equipment, and (3) an appendix that lists 
COM recorders available in the United 
States. These are not seen as limitations of 
this volume by this reviewer. Libraries cur-
rently need a broad introduction to COM 
hardware and software. Specifics in COM 
hardware will change with improvements in 
the technology. 

This volume includes an excellent glos-
sary of COM terms that librarians and 
others need to know and understand. There 
are pictures showing various types of 
hardware. The appendix includes a formula 
for determining monthly COM costs, a list 
of companies specializing in the production 
of COM catalogs for libraries, and a selected 
bibliography.