College and Research Libraries assistant for a year, an experience that was well worth a year's delay in the library school. The following January he returned to complete the first year with a new class and was appointed chief of book stacks while completing the second year. Except for another year at Oberlin in 191~17 as acting librarian while Root sub- stituted as director of the library school for the ailing Mary Wright Plummer, the re- maining years covered in this volume were spent in the New York Public Library as ex- ecutive assistant to the director and later, chief of the Reference Department. These years were important ones in Metcalf's career; the problems the library faced were sometimes overwhelming, occasionally bizarre, always told with detachment and candor and in unexpected detail. Staff selec- tion, inventory, microphotography, trouble- some readers, selection of books in special- ized subjects, dealing with prospective donors, limiting the clientele of the library, book thefts, and streamlining the technical processes are among the many problems that Metcalf comments on. But his recollec- tions of the people he worked with are the most interesting part of the New York Pub- lic Library years. The brief career of Whit- taker Chambers in the library has not, to my knowledge, been told before. Metcalf s account of the brilliant but sometimes abra- sive -Adelaide Hasse differs from the sketch in the Dictionary of American Library Biography. The work of G. William Ber- quist as library detective is reported in greater detail than in previous accounts. Metcalf s admiration of H. M. Lyden berger adds considerably to the information avail- able on a man who should have written his own autobiography. Surprisingly, Metcalfs important work in the American Library Associatic,m begins late in these years. For an account of these activities and the years at Harvard we will have to wait for the second volume. It will be well worth the wait.-]oe W. Kraus, Illi- nois State University, Normal. Fussier, Herman H., and Bryan, Harrison. Reflections on the Future of Research Libraries: Two Essays. Clayton, Victoria: Graduate School of Librarianship, Monash University, 1978. 36p. A$6. Recent Publications I 451 ISBN 0-86862-002-5. (Distributed by: James Bennett Group, 4 Collaroy St., Collaroy, N. S. W. 2097, Australia.) This first monographic publication of the Graduate School of Librarianship at Monash University contains two essays on the . future of research libraries. One, "Current Re- search Library Issues," was written by Her- man H. Fussier, Martin A. Rrerson Dis- tinguished Service Professor at the Gradu- ate Library School of the University of Chi- cago. Professor Fussier was a visiting pro- fessor at Monash during the 1977 fall term. The second essay, "The Future of the Re- search Library," was written by Harrison Bryan, librarian of the University of Syd- ney, who is considered Australia's foremost writer on academic and research librar- ianship. Fussier's essay is a revised text of a pub- lic lecture given at Monash University on 19 October 1977. In this lecture Fussier points out that the problems facing research libraries are largely due to the growth in the literature and rising costs brought about by severe inflation, coupled with the ever- expanding informational needs of library patrons. Among possible general responses, he suggests the development of a national system for sharing currently published and future research resources on a rather large scale from a national center, as well as the development of a national capability for storing and providing access to bibliographi- cal data in machine-readable form. Citing specific proposals for change, Fussier ex- pands the following topical headings: re- source sharing, sharing monographs, sharing retrospective resources, preservation, photocopying and copyright, bibliographical control, and technology. Bryan's paper was written for a seminar he shared with Professor Fussier at Monash in October 1977. In his paper, Bryan begins by defending the book and stating that it "will survive on its own merits or not at all." He reviews the changes in the research library in Australia in recent years: upgrad- ing of physical plants, astonishing growth in resources, minimal concern for nonbook materials except for recent emphasis on microform, improvement in both sophistica- tion and effectiveness in library administra- tion, important but cautious degree of tech- 458 I College & Research Libraries • September 1980 nological change, and a shift in balance of research library resources as seen by grow- ing concern for cooperative activity ex- pressed in terms of resource sharing and networks. He calls these changes "far short of being revolutionary." Unlike Fussier's convincing statement, Bryan believes that "in Australia there has been little serious consideration of possible alternatives to the research library and little concern for any fundamental restructuring of its tools of use." He gives reasons for this apparent uncon- cern and concludes that he sees an assured future for the research library in Australia. This little publication deserves the atten- tion of the library community. Both of the essays contain a thoughtful and interesting insight on the future of research libraries throughout the world. Admittedly, research libraries face difficult problems, and even though the ultimate solutions are unknown, Fussier and Bryan give us hope and courage to confront the difficult years ahead. The authors should be commended for their efforts and Monash University Graduate School of Librarianship congratulated for making these papers a part of the literature of librarianship.-Dale M. Bentz, University of Iowa, Iowa City. Nora, Simon, and Mine, Alain. The Com- puterization of Society: A Report to the President of .France. Cambridge: MIT Press, 1980. 186p. $12.50. LC 79-25472. ISBN 0-262-14031-4. This book is an excellent English transla- tion of a report to France's President, Val- ery Giscard d'Estaing, and was first issued in 1978. The topic is the interconnection of computers and telecommunications and its probable effect on society. This· effect is essentially described as another revolu- tion-much along the lines of the Industrial Revolution, which previously had trans- formed the economic and social structure of nations throughout the world. The authors have meticulously annotated and referenced the sources for material included in this work. The original French text had volumi- nous appendix volumes filled with sup- plementary material. These have not been included in this translated form. This is a sound decision from this reviewer's view- point. To describe this interconnection of two pervasive technologies, the authors have coined the term telematique, or telematics in its Anglicized form. The authors have managed virtually to create a work of art in their written expression of the ideas here, which proves the adage of "Don't judge a book by its cover or size." In a petite volume they show their deep grasp of their own French milieu and the social, eco- nomic, and technical aspects of computing and telecommunications. An introduction to this work is provided by Daniel Bell, who points out that France is a societe bloquee, or a society that has been increasingly rigidified in its bureau- cracy. and politics through a very centralized political structure, at the core of which is an elite administrative class of professional civil servants (the Enarchs, graduates of the Ecole Nationale d' Administration). Conse- quently, it is difficult for France to move rapidly and with flexibility when dealing with a rapidly developing and changing technological force. Nora and Mine are issuing a powerful warning to France, both to its bureaucracy and its people, that both will have to change and adapt if telematique is to be har- nessed in the interests of France as a nation among world leaders. They warn that some erosion in the centralized nature of the bureaucracy and employment in the service areas of banking, insurance, social security, and postal and office work are bound to occur. Sometimes they are brutally frank in their pronouncements. For example, on page 79 they say: The appearance of network systems has given rise to the development of data banks, which are mul- tiplying, especially in Canada and the United States. Meanwhile France is beginning to fall be- hind in this field. The public authorities need to undertake vigorous action; failure to do so can create a dependence that may have heavy con- sequences. The volume concludes with a chapter addressing the question "Will a comput- erized society be a society of cultural con- flicts?'' and another called "Planning for an Uncertain Future: Socializing Information." These point out the obvious-that stability in a computerized society is difficult to achieve. It also points out that knowledge