College and Research Libraries struction, has produced an excellent library guide for the undergraduate biology student.-Deanne Holzberlein, Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana. Rowley, J. E., and Turner, C. M. D. The Dissemination of Information. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1978. 356p. $17.75. LC 78-6138. ISBN 0-89158-830-2. This volume brings together much of the widely dispersed material relating to infor- mation handling by libraries and attempts to place it in a meaningful structure in order to provide, for the first time, a comprehen- sive textbook for courses in this developing area of librarianship. This attempt is, on the whole, successful. Other works have dealt with information handling problems but from a more specialized viewpoint . The au- thors have been especially successful in de- scribing modern library research techniques and their application to this information transfer process. The early development of information sys- tems and services occurred, for the most part, in special libraries in response to the highly practical, specialized, and urgent demands made upon them by their parent organizations. These libraries normally col- lected, organized, and dispensed the scien- tific and technical information needed by manufacturing organizations or research and development operations. The needs of users were clearly defined by the nature of the organization . The information services operating in this context reached a high level of efficiency through the development of extremely ef- fective information-handling techniques . Most of the existing literature discusses this kind of operation. Rowley and Turner are concerned with the expansion of this kind of service to all types of libraries. Such an ex- pansion raises new kinds of problems. The research techniques discussed are necessary for their solution. The authors begin by describing the cur- rent state of knowledge abo~ft information behavior. They deal concisely and clearly with theories of information growth, with bibliometrics, with Bradford, Zipf, and Lot- ka' s laws, and with citation analysis. They also deal with dissemination theories. Hav- ing laid this theoretical foundation, they Recent Publications I 283 proceed to a discussion of the problems in- volved in creating appropriate information services. The general library, unlike the special library, must satisfy hundreds or even thousands of specialized needs. The authors deal with methods for discovering what these needs are. In their discussion of the analysis of user data they provide a marvelously brief and clear description of basic statistical techniques that should make these matters clear, even to the willfully un- informed. However, they also make clear that we have not yet developed a really satisfactory way of finding out who needs what. The coverage of the various kinds of in- formation services is thorough, clear, and up to date. The DIALOG, DIALTECH, and MEDLINE computerized bibliographic search services are discussed . Curiously, substantive data bases such as those pro- vided by ICPSR are not mentioned. Foreign languages, copyright, and mi- croforms are discussed under the general heading of barriers to dissemination . The in- tractability of the language problem is noted by implication in discussing cui-rent meth- ods of dealing with it. Copyright is dis- cussed principally from the British viewpoint, but with a short note on the new United States law and the Williams and Wilkins case. Happily for the micrographics industry and for the librarians who have supported this medium, this section obvi- ously was placed in the barriers category by accident. There is a growing tendency in some li- brary circles to define the sole function of all libraries as the dispensing of information. New fads of this kind seem to arise to take the place of decaying ones, and, as in this case, they usually arise from the overem- phasis and glamorization of some new and useful development. The reaction to this overenthusiasm often discredits the de- velopment and restricts its usefulness. This volume might have performed an even greater service had it attempted to place in- formation services in a reasonable relation- ship to total library operations and services. Unfortunately, these highly competent and qualified authors did not address this prob- lem. This book will be of practical value to any 284 I College & Research Libraries • May 1979 librarian or student who reads it.-Ernest W. Toy, Jr. , California State University , Fullerton . Borko, Harold, and Bernier, Charles L. In- dexing Concepts and Methods. Library and Information Science. New York: Academic Press, 1978. 261p. $14. LC 77-77229. ISBN 0-12-118660-1. The Cinderella of the world of knowl- edge, the index, until recent years was, at best, allowed to ride to the ball in the car- riage trunk and, at worst , was not even con- sidered worthy enough for this lowly estate . In recent years, however, the more percep- tive have begun to catch glimmers of the true value (true beauty to loyal indexers) of the index and have begun to spread the word. The authors of this volume have pulled these glimmers together, added new material, and fashioned a "glass slipper" that is just the right size. The index, at last, has a setting to do justice to its long-neglected worth and beauty. The authors' setting, designed to "provide a basis for a well-balanced course of instruc- Two Summer Workshops on Statistical Methods for Professional Librarians Using SPSS July 25-28. 1979. Introduction to statistical methods in·clud ing z-tests. t-tests . Chi Square . simple anaiysis of variance and regression analysis. July 30-August 2. 1979 · Simple statistical tests. factor analysis and multiple regression with actual data using SPSS. Nolte Center. University of Minnesota. Minneapolis Faculty : George D' Eiia. M.S .. Ph .D. For information contact : John Vollum . University of Minnesota. 222 Nolte Center. 315 Pillsbury Drive S.E .. Minneapolis . MN 55455 (612) 373-3157 Continuing Education and Extension University of Minnesota l5i1 an e qu a l opportun i ty e d uca tor a nd e mploy e r tion in indexing," combines principles and practice in a comprehensive pulling to- gether of the many separate scenes of Cin- derella's "act. " The wide range of this volume can best be illustrated by a listing of its five sections comprising sixteen chapters: "I. Introduc- tion (1. The Nature of Indexes)"; " II. Struc- ture (2. Entries ; 3. Syndetic Systems ; 4. Format, Standar<;ls, and Alphabetization)"; "III. Indexing and Editing Procedures (5. Common Indexing Procedures; 6. Indexing Monographs and Serials ; 7. Editing, Typesetting, and Proofreading; 8. Thesauri; 9. Computer-Aided Indexing)"; "IV. Types of Indexes (10. Subject and Author Indexes; 11. Citation Indexes; 12. Word Indexes and Concordances ; 13 . Special Indexes)"; "V. Index Evaluation and Professionalism (14. Index Evaluation; 15. Indexer Qualifications and Training; 16. Indexing as a Profession)." Following standard textbook format, the authors give an overview of the material to be covered, present the material systemat- ically, and then tie it all together with a concluding summary. Throughout, when appropriate , definitions are used from, and references are made to , criteria for indexes of both the American National Standards In- stitute and the British Standards Institute. An outstanding feature of this volume , and one that was mentioned twice in the review of the authors' 1975 work Abstract- ing Concepts and Methods (C&RL 37:472- 73 ) is its readability . The authors' en- thusiasm for their subject is soon sensed , and it is infectious. This, coupled with their knowledgeable and helpful , but never aloof, tone encourages the reader to want to learn more about a subject that is being revealed as neither mysterious, unfathomable, bor- ing, nor dull. For the most part, the textual presentation is clear and the illustrations ample and well reproduced. There are, however, a few obscure passages whose meaning is not clear, eve~ after repeated readings. The use of examples would help in some of these cases. Following the text, there is an impressive list of references . These, in turn, are fol- lowed by a subject index prepared by au- thor Bernier, past president of the Ameri- can Society of Indexers, in accordance with the recommendations of that society. In