College and Research Libraries able debt to Lee Ash mounts.-Marc Git- telsohn, University of California, San Di- ego. Prentice, Ann E. Strategies for Survival: Library Financial Management Today. LJ Special Report #7. New York: Library Journal, 1978. 56p. $5; cash with order, $3.95 ISBN 0-8352-1144-4. ISSN 0362- 448X. A fairly current and well-balanced selec- tion of principles, techniques, and meth- odologies to aid the library administrator in financial decision making during times of fiscal stress, this concise "report" could serve as a handy outline of some major management issues facing library directors today. The Delphi technique, community analysis, program and performance budget- ing, ZBB, model building, and other cur- rently sexy economic analysis techniques are sketched. (For an antidote see De Gen- naro's masterful put-down of same in the December 15, 1978, Library Journal.) How budget cuts may affect various personnel management issues and what the library can do to maintain control in this area are the subject of Sheila Creth' s (University of Connecticut Library) chapter. A discussion of some library services that ma"y be contracted out or implemented through automation is nicely balanced by a chapter on ways to raise money within the library (fees, Ms. Blake). Further potential for easing the financial burden on libraries is seen in the chapters on resource sharing and "Architectural Con- siderations," the most useful of which are conducting an "energy audit" of the library and determining the cost of renovation ver- sus construction. Some general advice on the cost of automating services is only min- imally useful. Evaluation of services, the one area in which libraries traditionally have been weak, is the subject of the last chapter. (Un- fortunately, Lancaster's important work, The Measurement and Evaluation of Library Services, is not included in the bibliogra- phy.) Within such short chapters Prentice and others manage to balance their presen- tations with relevant con arguments and Recent Publications I 381 cautions. One strain that comes through all ten chapters is the suggested analytical and quantitative approach to economic decision making in libraries and the implication that seat-of-the-pants, intuitive management is inadequate to deal with complex library problems. Armed with a fleshed-out understanding of the ideas presented here in skeletal form (the bibliography items are c;gsP..ntial reading for anyone wishing to go beyond Prentice's treatment), the neophyte may gain a good understanding of the major issues and trends in library management today, whereas the seasoned administrator could use the "report" to fill in some gaps in his or her knowledge.-Albert F. Maag, Capi- tal University, Columbus, Ohio. COM Systems in Libraries: Current British Practice. Edited by S. J. Teague. Guildford, Surrey: Microfilm Association of Great Britain, 1978. 49p. £4 (£3 to MAGB members). ISBN 0-906542-00-6. (Available from: Microfilm Association of Great Britain, 8 High St., Guildford, Sur- rey GU2 5AJ.) This pamphlet contains seven articles dis- cussing computer output microfilm (COM) applications at seven British libraries. Ad- vantages and disadvantages of COM are dis- cussed within the specific setting outlined at each institution. Limited insight into the au- tomated library system behind each applica- tion can be gained by careful reading of each article. This reviewer is particularly impressed with the cooperation of British libraries, wh~ch several of these articles discuss·. Each library's operation is different, yet each has elements of commonality. The meeting, which was attended by most of the libraries represented in this publication, with COM vendors provides insight into the British li- brary scene. This type of activity produced excellent results in Britain. Advantages and disadvantages are dis- cussed from the viewpoint of each COM application. A general theme is evident in the change from film to fiche, either com- pleted or planned at each library. The rea- sons cited for this change to fiche are as valid in the U.S. as Britain. The reasons given for the change to fiche 382 I College & Research Libraries • July 1979 are: (1) cost of fiche equipment is lower, (2) fiche equipment has less mechanical prob- lems, (3) the cost of COM fiche is cheaper than COM film, and (4) the library's users found fiche easier to use. All but three of these articles are revised versions of papers published in Microdoc. This duplication of publishing seems a bit unnecessary. However, the collection of these articles in one publication may have some advantages to British readership. This publication would have been greatly en- hanced for the American library reader if a glossary of abbreviations had been included. Even with the limitations cited above and the additional one of the brevity of each ar- ticle, this publication has merit for the American librarian. The positive points are: ( 1) the diversity of applications of COM in British libraries, (2) the strong trend in Britain to COM fiche and reasons for this trend, and (3) the cooperative approach to library COM problems.-Helen R. Citron , Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. Morris, John. Managing the Library Fire Risk. 2d ed. Berkeley: University of California. 1979. 147p. $14. LC 78-22603. ISBN 0-9602278-1-4. (Available from: Office of Risk Management and Safety, 469 University Hall, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720.) This book may easily become the librar- ian's best friend by suggesting ways to les- sen the risk of fire in the library and by lightening the director's concern, if disaster strikes, about a decision made in a hurry to salvage the collection. Recently experienc- ing the impact of such a burden in directing an early Sunday morning rescue operation of a water-damaged collection of periodicals, I know how soothing it is to be able to confirm one's own decision in print. Managing the Library Fire Risk is written explicitly for library administrators. Its main goal is to convince librarians that books do burn, that they are very combustive, but also that they don't have to be vulnerable to fire igniting arson, malfunctioning equip- ment, or natural causes of damage. Half of the book's ten chapters dramatize the im- mense destructive power of library fires, well demonstrated by the Gondring Library fire in California that was started by a single paper match dropped into a bookdrop, and which ended in $200,000 damage (p.100). The two introductory chapters of the book sketch the extent of fire risk, further documented by a historical overview of the world's major library fires (chapter IX and appendix 6). A case study of Temple Uni- versity's Law Library fire in 1972 (chapter IV) examines in detail the lessons learned. A separate chapter on arson (chapter III) discusses one of the currently most prevail- ing causes of library fires. The other five chapters of the book deal with fire prevention. Fires can be avoided, and if started, can be localized. For exam- ple, 70 percent of all fires in libraries equipped with automatic sprinklers are put out by .the action of a single sprinkler head, minimizing the water damage of the vol- umes saved (p.29). In a seemingly mislabeled chapter, "Al- ternatives for Protecting the Library Fire Risk" (chapter V), Morris reviews available fire protection systems, each reducing (not protecting) the risk of fires, by improving the protection against them. "Disaster Pre- paredness and Fire Prevention" (chapter VI) lists some water emergency and fire preven- tion guidelines; while the "Automatic Fire Protection System" (chapter VIII) discusses different types of detection and fire- extinguishing systems. Additional data are also provided by inclusion of manufacturers' descriptions of their fire preventive hard- ware. The author's basic optimism is expressed in the chapter "Salvage of Wet Books" (chapter VII); the optimism is illustrated by his reference to a very successful restoration of a copy of Merchant's Almanac, recovered from a shipwreck sunk more than 100 years ago (p.47). The content of the book is brought up to date in the last chapter, "Li- brary Risk Management: Current Topics." The publication is richly illustrated with most of the same photographs used in both the first and the second editions. In fact, the present edition does not replace the one published in 1975; it merely expands its coverage by adding two chapters (chapters IX and X) and three appendixes to the prac- tically unchanged main body of the first edi- tion. Even the dust jacket of the second, bound edition is the same as the cover of