College and Research Libraries


152 I College & Research Libraries • March 1980 

lished form, however, the volume should 
have contained at least some background in-
formation for the uninitiated who wish to 
acquire a more complete knowledge of au-
tomated systems in archives. The table of 
contents also should be paginated in more 
detail. 

Such criticisms should not detract from 
the overall value of the work, especially 
since it helps to elucidate some of the appli-
cations, as well as some of the problems, of 
the SPINDEX system in archival 
repositories.-James W. Geary, Kent State 
University, Kent, Ohio. 

Tymn, Marshall B.; Zahorski, Kenneth J.; 
and Boyer, Robert H. Fantasy Literature: 
A Core C oUection and Reference Guide. 
New York: Bowker, 1979. 273p. $14.95 
plus shipping and handling. LC 79-1533. 
ISBN 0-8352-1153-3. 
This work "is intended to serve ... as an 

acquisitions tool for librarians building core 
fantasy collections; as a guide to the litera-
ture for teachers; as a reference handbook 
for fantasy scholars and researchers; and as a 
comprehensive introduction to the literature 
of fantasy and its related activities for in-
terested readers." Unfortunately, it falls 
short of the mark much of the time. 

The opening chapter, "On Fantasy," at-
. tempts to define fantasy literature and its 
subsections in fairly · rigid terms. The au-
thors admit to exceptions; but rather than 
admit that an academic attempt to bring 
order to a fairly chaotic literature is at best 
a tentative working model, they play word 
games that at times attempt to hammer the 
exceptions into line with the definitions. 

· The chapter "Fantasy Scholarship" is 
quite thorough in its listings, but when I am 
ego-gratifyingly but inaccurately described 
as "America's foremost map scholar and li-
brarian" one wonders at the correctness of 
the other brief annotations. 

One can't argue with the listings of peri-
odicals, fantasy societies, and literary awards 
(with winners over the years). The list of 
fantasy collections in the U.S. and Canada is 
useful but far from complete. The directory 
of publishers is thorough. The index is 
good. 

Fortunately, this book is saved from triv-
iality by the excellent "Core Collection" list, 

which represents most of the work. While 
one can argue with the selection of authors, 
titles, and even with the selection of collec-
tions and editiops cited, the annotations are 
extensive, detailed, thorough, and good-
most of the time. Plot, theme, and charac-
ter are discussed in detail, making this ex-
tremely useful to teachers who haven't read 
the stories. Based on British Books in Print 
1978, the listing of British editions of works 
cited in the "Core Collection" enhances the 
utility to U.K. libraries. 

Though this is far from the comprehen-
sive and definitive work claimed by the au-
thors and publisher, it is a very useful list-
ing of works in the genre of fantasy and 
should be in all large libraries. When used 
with a book like Diana Waggoner's Hills of 
Faraway (Atheneum, 1978), Fantasy Litera-
ture can provide a solid basic collection list. 
When taken with a healthy disrespect for its 
definitions of the parts of fantasy, it can 
even provide some meaningful insights into 
an increasingly important literary genre. 
Whatever the faults of this work, any final 
evaluation must be positive if for no other 
reason than the thoroughness of the exten-
sive annotations.-]. B. Post, Free Library 
of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Libraries in Society: A Reader. Edited by 
David Gerard. London: Clive Bingley; 
New York: K. G. Saur, 1979. 163p. 
$13.25 ISBN 0-85157-260-X Bingley. 
This collection of fifteen essays, written 

between 1881 and the present, is brought 
together in an effort to reevaluate the role 
of the library in society. While there is a 
definite British emphasis in the chosen arti-
cles, there are also contributions by Ameri-
cans, a South African, and an Australian. 
The last article, written especially for this 
publication by two Russian scholars, at-
tempts to define the role of the library in 
modern Russian society. In addition, there 
is an introductory article by the editor and a 
brief preface to each article that provides a 
general philosophical statement and iden-
tifies the author. 

The spotlight is mainly on the public li-
brary, but one of the longer essays deals 
with the function of the university library 
and its role in the university community. 
About half the selections are by librarians