College and Research Libraries


addition to its usual function, this extensive 
and well-done index also serves as an excel-
lent illustration of the principles introduced 
in the text. A check of one-sixth of the 
index revealed only four minor reference 
number errors (three incomplete references 
and one reference off by one number) and 
three linkages needed in the syndetic struc-
ture for consistency with the rest of the in-
dex. 

Technically, this volume is well designed 
and sturdily bound in what seems to be the 
standard binding of this publisher. The 
typeface is attractive and easy to read, and 
only seven typographical errors were noted, 
only one of which will cause confusion: on 
page 161 the fourth line of the example is 
misspaced so that the lineup of the KWIC 
keywords is not readily apparent. 

The authors' "slipper" fits ; their excellent 
and complete presentation is a highly rec-
ommended must for students of library and 
information science, indexers , index users, 
information specialists, and publishers.-
Eldon W. Tamblyn, Portland State Univer-
sity , Portland, Oregon. 

Christian, Roger. The. Electronic Library: 
Bibliographic Data Bases, 1978-79. 
White Plains, N.Y .: Knowledge Industry 
Publications, 1978. 105p. $24.50. LC 78-
18408. ISBN 0-914236-15-6. 
At $24 .50, this slim one-hundred-page 

monograph is simply priced too high for the 
amount of information it provides. A much 
more realistic price would be $5 .95 for a 
monograph in paperback format that is an 
introductory discussion of electronic biblio-
graphic data bases. Indeed, the BRS System 
Reference Manual costs only $15, and it 
supplies specialized, precise , and detailed 
information on all of the various data bases 
that can be accessed through BRS. 

Christian's work is also deficient because 
it does not list all of the various biblio-
graphic data bases available in 1978-79. The 
BRS System Reference Manual and 
Williams and Rouse's Computer Readable 
Bibliographic Data Bases: A Directory and 
Data Source Book do provide thi~ informa-
tion in considerable detail, and they should 
be readily available to most librarians. 

The lack of such a list in Christian's book 
is not critical, but when the author states 

Recent Publications I 285 

that bibliographic data bases have multi-
plied from 100 in 1975 to 360 by early 1978, 
it seems incumbent upon him to satisfy the 
reader's curiosity about what those data 
bases are. Christian does supply a bibli-
ography, footnotes to each chapter, and an 
index; so a list of electronic bibliographic 
data bases might easily have been included 
as well. 

These two deficiencies aside, Christian's 
book is an admirable introduction to biblio-
graphic data bases for library school stu-
dents and for librarians who would like to 
become more knowledgeable. Christian 
writes clearly, outlines his subject thor-
oughly, and eschews the use of jargon and 
confusing acronyms . He summarizes the 
background and development of biblio-
graphic data bases. He describes various 
data base producers, such as Engineering 
Index's COMPENDEX , and explains the 
role of such data base distributors as Lock-
heed Information Systems, SDC Search 
Service, and BRS . Christian concludes with 
a chapter on problems, progress, and pros-
pects. 

A.N.Z.AAS. 
CONGRESS 

Contributions in the sciences, social sciences 
and humanities. Between 400 and 900 indiv-
idual papers each year, most not pub I ished 
anywhere else! 

Now indexed in Chemical Abstracts and 
APAIS (Australian Public Affairs Information 
Service). 

Proceedings of Annual Congresses of the 
Australian and New Zealand Association for 
the Advancement of Science, now available: 

• from 1970 (42nd Congress) onwards, 
on diazo microfiche at 24x reduction 

• with author index ( 1970-76) 
ewith author, title and KWOC indexes 

(1977 . ) 
eby standing <?rder or singly 

Contact: Technical Services Librarian 
University of New South Wales 
P.O. Box 1, Kensington .N.S.W. 
Australia . 2033 



286 I College & Research Libraries • May 1979 

This last chapter is particularly interesting 
because Christian points out the security 
problems minicomputers create for elec-
tronic data bases. Apparently , it is techni-
cally feasible for anyone equipped with a 
minicomputer or a computer cassette to 
"simply take the data base vendor's search 
output in digital electronic form directl y to 
the cassette or mini instead of (or in addi-
tion to ) getting it as online alphanumeric 
printout ." In effect, an electronic library can 
be created to be used and manipulated 
without economic benefit to the original 
vendor-electronic theft. 

Christian's book is a clear exposition of 
the current state of electronic bibliographic 
data bases. It seems best suited for library 
school librari es and academic libraries. De-
spite its high price, it is recommended.-
Henry M . Yaple, University of Wyoming, 
Laramie. 

Clinic on Library Applications of Data Pro-
cessing. University of Illinois , 1977. 
Negotiating for Computer Services. J. L. 
Divilbiss , editor. Urbana: Graduate 
School of Library Science , University of 
Illinois , 1978 . 117p. $8. LC 78-13692. 
ISBN 0-87845-048-3 . 
Negotiating for computer services, the 

topic: of the 1977 Clinic on Library Appli-
cations of Data Proc es sing, is an in-
creasingly important aspect of library man-
agement. Little in-library education and few 
on-the-job experiences prepare the librarian 
for the difficulties of making decisions on 
computer equipment and systems: selection 
of appropriate machinery , combinations of 
machinery , programs , support systems, 
maintenance, and improvement arrange-
ments. 

Too many of the arguments and justifica-
tions for computer systems naturally come 
from the experts in the field , who are also, 
incidentally , the vendors of the systems. 
The library may need automation, but how 
does the library staff " buy" automation in a 
considered, logical , and timely way? The 
papers in this collection , while uneven in 
clarity and depth of detail , will be helpful 
and edifying to those grappling with the 
mysteries of design, hardware, software, 
and contracts. 

Most of the presentations concern negoti-

ations between libraries and agencies out-
side their parent institutions-commercial 
vendors, network services, union lists. 
James Corey 's discussion of negotiation 
within an organization is the best written 
and very informative . He is frank and to the 
point in describing examples of problems 
and solutions and the roles of human error 
and institutional politics in systems. Charles 
Dyer presents an attorney's tutorial on con-
tracts for data processing, d e nse with infor-
mation and very useful. The role-playing 
practicum carried out at the clinic appar-
ently worked very well and can be re-
peated; all the materials and instructions are 
included. 

Richard Boss and G . E. Gurr talk about 
the ill-fat e d 3M system at Princeton 
University-from the points of view of the 
library and vendor respectiv e ly. Boss 's 
group did essentially what most well-
meaning libraries would do in consideration 
of systems and negotiation of a contract, and 
the experience was , as we hindsightedly 
see , a disaster. Gurr gives us a capsule de-
scription of the fre e enterprise system in 
the United State s and informs us that he 
does not believe in the Golde n Rule but 
operates under it b ecause " it is simply good 
sense from a self-serving viewpoint." 
(Would you buy a used car from this man , 
much less a circulation system?) 

Papers on negotiations for OCLC ser-
vices, MINITEX services, and the on-line 
bibliographic data bases offered by BRS are 
useful and still timely. I have lamented 
elsewhere in these reviewing pages about 
th e d elay in publishing proceedings of this 
annual clinic; in the case of the 1977 clinic 
the proceedings have a certain timelessness 
and value , at least as long as libraries con-
tinue to muddle through the decisions at-
tending automating their libraries . 

Ronald Brady, vice-president for adminis-
tration at the University of Illinois , assures 
us that librarians need not be the underdogs 
in negotiations. He gives perhaps the best 
advice when he urges thoroughness of 
thoughtful planning, a conceptual model for 
the system we want, and attacking the right 
problem-that of the future instead of that 
of the present. He also stresses that very 
few computer systems in the educational 
environment have reduced costs, although