College and Research Libraries 162 I College & Research Libraries • March 1980 the nature of its intended audience. The author, communications librarian at the University of Illinois at Urbana- Champaign, is overly fond of lists. Much of her material is derived from a 1978 Ameri- can Film Institute Workshop on FilmtrV Documentation and smacks somewhat of handouts for workshop participants. There are lists of publishers, lists of film archives, lists of periodicals, lists of bookstores selling film memorabilia, even lists of monographic series dealing with film. This material cer- tainly has value, but it will date the book rather quickly and might have been better presented as a series of periodical articles. The collection development portion in- cludes short chapters on different formats: periodicals, nonprint materials, scripts, trade magazines, and so forth. Chapter 6 contains a handy checklist of ·criteria for evaluating various types of film reference materials plus examples of the application of these criteria to specific titles. An asset of this portion of the book is the author's stress on understanding the somewhat esoteric terminology of film study. She is careful to distinguish, for example, between a shoot- ing script and a continuity script and stress- es the unique value of each for cinema col- lections. The reference and public services portion seems intended for a beginner in the field. The discussions of interlibrary loan, the im- portance of networking, . and copyright , are cursory and excessively general. By con- trast, Michael Gorman's chapter on the cataloging and classification of film study material deals at length with such topics as the differences that would result if a script were cataloged under AACR 2 and under the rules promulgated by the Documenta- tion Commission of the Federation Inter- nationale des Archives du Film (FIAF). His presentation assumes a good deal more background on the part of the reader-an assumption that seems rather at odds with the rest of the book. Several portions of the book leave the dis- tinct impression that something has been started but not finished. The chapter on li- brary use instruction is a good example. It purports to provide a sample outline for a ·group presentation on the use of film library collections; yet only the portion dealing with the card catalog is included. The chap- ter is fine as far as it goes but would " have been much more helpful if the rest of the suggested outline had been included. The same comment-expand and amplify-could be made about the sections on interlibrary loan and networking mentioned above. Film Study Collections certainly has some assets. The author's crisp, no-nonsense style is a pleasure to read. She obviously knows her subject. Her material should prove use- ful to anyone charged with beginning a film study library. But the book could be made considerably better, both by clarifying the nature of the intended audience and by ex- panding the superficial portions. Perhaps a revised second edition will remedy these defects.-Cathleen Flanagan, University of Utah, Salt Lake City. Wiegand, Wayne A. The History of a Hoax: Edmund Lester Pearson, john Cotton Dana, and The Old Librarian's Al- manack. Beta Phi M u Chapbook. no.13. Pittsburgh, Pa.: Beta Phi Mu, 1979. 75p. $4. LC 78-23377. ISBN 0-910230-13-7. (Available from: Beta Phi Mu, Publica- tions Office, College of Library Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506.) Edmund Lester Pearson (188~1937)­ librarian, editor, free-lance writer-tweaked the library community and the general pub- lic for fourteen years through his weekly column in the Boston Evening Transcript (1906-20). Satire, hyperbole, and humor laced his prose assaults on the pomposities and · idiosyncracies of an emerging profes- sion. Pearson loved a good tale and con- cocted many for his readers. Once, he even perpetrated a literary hoax with the publica- tion of The Old Librarian's Almanack in 1909. The story of that deception is superbly reconstructed by Wayne Wiegand, Univer- sity of Kentucky, in the thirteenth number of the Beta Phi Mu chapbook series. A re- print of the Almanack follows the account of its genesis, reception, and denouement. The "Old Librarian" and his Almanack were first introduced in Pearson's news- paper column of July 24, 1907. Early the next year Pearson's fictitious character was resurrected, and the hoax was born. 164 I College & Research Libraries • March 1980 Maverick John Cotton Dana, prominent in library affairs and proprietor of the Elm Tree Press, Woodstock, Vermont, suggested to Pearson that the quotable Almanack should become a literary reality. Pearson shamelessly commingled his satirical com- mentary with the astrological and meteorological contents of an authentic al- manac written by Joseph Perry in 1773. Au- thorship of the newly discovered almanac was credited to one Jared Bean. Pearson pursued the hoax with abandon, but Dana became apprehensive that the deception was too transparent. Before Dana could temporize and send a warning to readers, the New York Sun received a copy for re- view. The eighteenth-century format and sage advice of the "Old Librarian" hood- winked the reviewer. The game was on. Pearson could not resist playful parries with reviewers and other librarians who cor- responded about the almanac's credibility. The New York Sun, initially fooled by the hoax, indulged Pearson after recognizing the deception. Other gullible reviews appeared in the New York Times, Dial, Outlook, and Publishers Weekly. Helen Haines, a former editor of Library journal, easily deciphered the · hoax and joined the merry conspiracy on the pages of that periodical. Only one publication, America, labeled the Almanack an unforgivable fabrication. Dana, it con- tended, was guilty of advertising a fake vol- ume. Wiegand has scoured the relevant archi- val sources and secondary literature to pro- duce the definitive account of Pearson's hoax. The historian's craft has been well served by this highly readable contribution. Unfortunately, the chapbook's narrow spine, grainy photographs, and jarring layout mar an otherwise fine example of quality print- ing. Pearson, who always enjoyed the last word, would no doubt be pleased that his seventy-year-old divertissement was once again in the news.-Arthur P. Young, Uni- versity of Alabama. Reese, Rosemary S., comp. Documentation of Collections. A Bibliography on Histori- cal Organization "Practices, V.4. Edited by Frederick L. Rath, Jr., and Merrilyn IF YOU'VE GOI A PROBLEM WE'RE JUSI A (FREE) PHONE CALL AWAY! Phyllis and Dana are just two of Midwest Library Service's Personal Customer Ser- vice Representatives who are specially trained to solve any book ordering problem your library may encounter. Phyllis and Dana are thoroughly knowledgeable in all facets of the library jobber business, and if ~~~~~-iiil you are ever in need of their services, you PHYLLIS HUTCHISON DANALINDSEY can reach them by using our TOLL-FREE W ATS Line, 1-800-325-8833 (Missouri customers please call COLLECT: 0-314-?39-3.100) for help in solving any problem. 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