College and Research Libraries


Whitehall, T. Personal Current Awareness 
Service: A Handbook of Techniques for 
Manual SDI. British Library Research & 
Development Reports, No. 5502. Lon-
don: British Library, 1979. 119p . £7. 
ISBN 0-905984-43-9. ISSN 0308-2385. 
(Available from: Publications, British Li-
brary, Research and Development Dept., 
Sheraton House, Great Chapel St., Lon-
don W1V 4BH .) 
T. Whitehall has · presented a well-

organized and detailed guide to the person-
al current awareness service that depends 
on the scanning of the accessions of a li-
brary in a particular subject area. The 
methods employed in this study are litera-
ture search and interviews conducted in 
academic, special, and public libraries. 

The report begins with an introduction in 
which the value of current awareness ser-
vice in general and selective dissemination 
of information (SDI) and its application in 
particular are considered. Components of an 
SDI service are also discussed . After ex-
amining the place of SDI among other cur-
rent awareness techniques, promotion of an 
SDI service, and the setting up of an SDI 
service, the author analyzes a wide variety 
of approaches to manual SDI. The 
approaches to manual SDI were discovered, 
with librarians, subject specialists , and proj-
ect workers functioning as scanners. The au-
thor does not ignore other current aware-
ness techniques , including computerized 
SDI, which is discussed rather briefly. Pro-
filing, scanning, and notification techniques 
are described in detail. Production system 
for SDI, quality control of SDI , and man-
agement of _aJ;I SDI service are also consid-
ered. 

At the end of the report are a bibliogra-
phy and two appendixes , the first on the 
idea of a core literature and the second on 
the details of the investigation . The bib-
liography presented is not very extensive; 
however, by dividing the bibliography into 
five parts based on the subject matter the 
author has enhanced its utility. Researchers 
interested in manual SDI would find the 
second appendix of particular interest. The 
questionnaires presented in this appendix 
are pertinent as well as extensive. 

The only fault with the report is that it 
ignores the question of cost. The author 

Recent Publications I 389 

wants to give greater attention to the 
.. value" of a 'system than to its cost. Details 
on cost, however, would have enhanced the 
practical value of this guide. 

Notwithstanding this obvious shortcom-
ing, the report makes a significant contribu-
tion to the field of current awareness. While 
the report would be useful to the currently 
existing SDI systems, those contemplating 
to start manual SDI would find it especially 
useful.-Priya Rai, Central Connecticut 
State College, New Britain. 

Grogan, Denis . Practical Reference Work. 
Outlines of Modern Librarianship. Lon-
don: Clive Bingley; New York : K. G. 
Saur, 1979. 144p. $10. LC 79-41109. 
ISBN 0-85157-275-8. 
This slim volume is precisely what the ti-

tle indicates, a concise introduction to the 
practical aspects of "doing" reference. The 
author goes to great lengths in his preface 
to state the limitations of the work, and he 
does not pretend to offer the comprehen-
sive discourse in theory or bibliography that 
is done better elsewhere. Specifically aimed 
at the student of reference, the book con-
tains a tightly arranged and readable survey 
that includes references to many acknowl-
edged authorities and the results of specific 
studies on a wide range of subjects . The 
original sources are adequately represented 
in chapter bibliographies as well as a brief 
general bibliography. 

The author is liberal with examples. He 
illustrates the routine questions and cir-
cumstances a potential public service librar-
ian is bound to confront . He obviously 
views librarianship as a humane profession 
and says so often. He dwells on personal 
attributes and responses to the varied needs 
of questioners. He attempts to provoke con-
cern for the individual, and he reminds us 
of the things that should be obvious to ser-
vice-oriented professionals-things such as 
attitude, approachability, and if not a smile, 
at least not a frown-things which are often 
forgotten among loftier concerns. 

The author documents his materials well. 
He provides historical perspective in the 
development of service and integrates com-
puter capabilities into the reference en-
vironment easily and naturally. 

One basic argument is alluded to fre-