College and Research Libraries


ments in a major union list project and, as 
such, is a proper part of the literature. The 
self-examination is honest in pointing to 
errors and will be of considerable interest 
and value to other projects. The text is a 
classic exposition of what happens in the 
merger of differing machine-readable files. 

A few poorly produced charts and the soft 
paper format bound with plastic strips are 
all minor when compared with the intellec-
tual content and the 'contributions this 
analysis makes to union-listing in general. 
No one will want to curl up with this in 
front of a fire, but any union lister will learn 
from this document and should treat this 
analysis as a benchmark of what to avoid.-
Neal L. Edgar, Kent State University, Kent , 
Ohio. 

Gabriel, Michael R., and Ladd , Dorothy P. 
The Microform Revolution in Libraries. 
Foundations in Library and Information 
Science . V.3. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI 
Press, 1980. 176p. $24.50. LC 76-5646. 
ISBN 0-89232-008-7. 
This informative book starts with a histor-

ical sketch of microphotography and an 
overview of microformats. These first two 
chapters are very readable and form a con-
venient setting for what is to follow . 

The third chapter, on computer-output-
microform (COM), is limited in scope. 
Prime attention is placed on the role of 
COM in production of library catalogs and 
other library activities. The role of COM as 
a print medium for non-library-generated 
publications is not discussed. With the di-
versity of COM applications , the potential 
for library res_ources generated by others 
through COM should have been men-
tioned. 

Serials and monographs in microform 
compose the fourth and fifth chapters . The 
serials chapter provides some useful informa-
tion for libraries converting or considering 
converting from hard copy to microform. 
The monograph chapter gets bogged down 
in a listing of large monographic collections 
available on microform. The listings are 
brief and highly selective and probably 
would have been best if eliminated. 

The sixth chapter, "Micrographics and 
Government Publications," will be of great 
interest to document librarians. The num-

Recent Publications I 381 

her and diversity of government publica-
tions available in microform are discussed 
and examples cited. Again, this listing is· not 
meant to be all-inclusive but representative. 
This chapter does not address some of the 
problems with document microforms, such 
as lack of quality control, which has caused 
at least some nonacceptance of this format 
by documents librarians . 

Acquisition of microform and equipment 
for its use are the topic of Chapter 7. This 
chapter pulls together from several sources 
some guidelines for evaluation of micro-
forms and equipment. The variety of 
sources for reviews of microforms and 
equipment are of prime interest to li-
brarians and are well covered here. In addf-
tion, a select listing of micropublishers is in-
cluded. This section could have been im-
proved by the inclusion of some guidelines 
to use in considering the conversion from 
hard copy to microform or for selection of 
microform initially. 

The eighth chapter reports some research 
findings on the comparison of hard copy and 
microform. Unfortunately, this interesting 
chapter is buried in the book. The readabil-
ity of microforms has received so many de-
rogatory comments that it is encouraging to 
see quoted readability studies favorable to 
microforms. 

The last chapter deals with setting up a 
microform facility. This chapter would have 
been enhanced with a discussion of central-
ized versus decentralized facilities. Guide-
lines for either type of facilities and floor 
plans would also have been helpful. 

Overall, this book represents a consolida-
tion of material, possibly difficult to iden-
tify, and a helpful discussion of problems 
common to microforms. This book should 
be read by both practicing librarians and. 
library school students. A useful glossary is 
included. Because of the specifics included, 
this volume will become obsolete quickly 
although it provides a good statement of the 
current status of microforms in libraries.-
Helen R. Citron , Georgia Institute of Tech-
nology, Atlanta. 

Maltby, Arthur, and Gill, Lindy. The Case 
for Bliss: Modern Classification Practice 
and Principles in the Context of the Bib-
liographic Classification. London: Clive 



388 I College & Research Libraries • july 1980 

Bingley; New York: K.G. Saur, 1979. 
142p. $11. LC 79-40590. ISBN 0-85157-
290-1. 
The authors of this volume try "within 

some hundred pages, to look at all aspects 
of the case for Bliss" (p.8). They argue that 
they are not a "counsel for the defence," 
but instead strive to describe and assess ob-
jectively features of the Bliss Classification 
(BC). Yet they do love Bliss. The volume, 
actually 142 pages, is divided into two sec-
tions. The first, written by Maltby , is an 
appraisal of BC 1, the classification devised 
by Henry Evelyn Bliss (1940), and BC 2, 
the revision of this classification by J. Mills 
and V. Broughton that began emerging in 
1977. The second section, most of which is 
written by Gill, is a guide to the use of BC 2, 
complemented by two chapters on its 
practical applications in libraries. 

The presentation of BC 1, while objective 
and thorough (forty pages), adds little new 
to an already well-exposed literature. 
However, the twenty pages that introduce 
BC 2 are informative and good reading be-
sides, incorporating personal observations as 
well as observations culled from current 
writing. BC 2 is noteworthy for being a 
faceted general classification, the English 
edifice corresponding to Colon. It is per-
ceived as having an especially fine order of 
classes (gradation by speciality, built upon 
consensus), though the arguments used to 
establish this perception seem ambivalent as 
well as metaphysical. It has certain in-
teresting notational features, the most re-
markable (and academic?) of which is its ret-
roactivity. It is seen , though not demon-
strated, to be a classification that is at once 
suitable for shelf-ordering and for informa-
tion retrieval. In weighing the evidence 
against BC 2, Maltby uses a gloved hand. 
Acknowledging some problems in the devis-
ing of facets for mathematics (there was 
similar trouble in Colon) and in notational 
matters, he focuses for the most part on dif-
ficulties besetting the administration of the 
classification, e.g., the continual postpone-
ments that have occurred in its publishing, 
diminished demand for it, and funding dif-
ficulties. 

The first chapter in Section 2 is a prac-
tical guide, replete with exercises and 
answers, to the use of BC 2. What there is 

of this chapter (28p.) is good, but it might 
well have been longer. A measure of the 
amount of material to be mastered can be 
got by looking at the introduction to BC 2, 
which consists of 113 pages that are more 
than twice the area of those in this little 
volume; thirty of them are devoted exclu-
sively to "how-to-do-it." 

Two further chapters in this section deal 
with how one library, Tavistock, reclassified 
its books using BC 2 and with a survey of 
thirty supposed BC users. An interesting 
feature of the reclassification was that books 
were represented in the classed catalog not 
only by their (main) class numbers but also 
by permutations of them. It would have 
been useful to know what the reclassifica-
tion project cost. A surprising result of the 
survey was that not one of the libraries sur-
veyed used BC in a fully orthodox way, but 
introduced some modification. 

Although one of the stated objectives of 
this volume was to bring together the refer-
ences to BC literature (p. 7), this was done 
very inadequately; the bibliography contains 
only six items. The volume would have 
been further enhanced by the inclusion of a 
glossary. 

In sum, this little volume is lovingly 
although quickly put together. The authors, 
as do other classification theorists, seem 
convinced that Bliss is best, yet sadly they 
lament its sure and eventual demise. Why, 
if Bliss is so good, will it not survive? In 
commenting on this, another author, A. C. 
Foskett, in his Subject Approach to In-
formation (p.339), suggests that we live in a 
harsh world and success goes to the success-
ful and not to the deserving. 

What's in a point of view? It may be the 
world does not need an elaborately refined 
classification system . User appeal makes for 
the survival of one method of bibliographic 
organization over another, and if there is 
not much difference in the appeal made by 
different classifications (some research re-
sults suggest this), then is it not reasonable 
that the kudos should go to the classification 
that is most efficient, economically, to pro-
mulgate and maintain? Is it not specious to 
suggest that the laws of natural selection do 
not apply to classifications?-Elaine Sveno-
nius , University of Denver, Denver, 
Colorado. ·