College and Research Libraries


484 I College & Research Libraries • September 1980 

that are made "upon a shared misappre-
hension of reality." 

Published proceedings of conferences 
miss the spontaneity and personality of 
"live" speakers, but in these days of dwin-
dling travel budgets they are better than 
not knowing what is being discussed.-
Christine Bulson, State University of New 
York, College at Oneonta. 

Improving Library Instruction: How to 
Teach and How to Evaluate. Papers pre-
sented at the Eighth Annual Conference 
on Library Orientation for Academic Li-
braries held at Eastern Michigan U ni-
versity, May 4-5, 1978. Edited by 
Carolyn A. Kirkendall. Library Orienta-
tion Series, no.9, Ann Arbor, Mich.: 
Pierian Press, 1979. 142p. $8.50. LC 79-
87707. ISBN 0-87650-109-9. 
Over the years, and with few exceptions, 

the presentations from the annual confer-
ences on Library Orientation for Academic 
Libraries at Eastern Michigan University 
have provided academic librarianship with 
noteworthy and pertinent information and 
reportage. Beginning in 1971 with the first 
conference, entitled "Library Orientation," 
the succeeding sessions have extended a 
variety of focuses on library instruction. 

As noted by the editor, Carolyn Kirken-
dall, this latest volume in the series is still 
labeled "orientation" even though most 
librarians now prefer to utilize other termi-
nology, including the popular "bibliographic 
instruction" and "user education." 

The eighth annual conference provided 
attention for "how to" teach and evaluate. 
The perspectives given included learning 
and motivation, Project LOEX, instruction 
with slides, freshmen programs, and the 
British scene, to name a few. 

The chapter on LOEX and the national 
scene by project director Kirkendall in-
cludes information on current trends. 
LOEX now is listed as being in contact with 
some 1,600 academic libraries that are de-
veloping or giving some form of library in-
struction to collegians. Kirkendall correctly 
states that all of the areas she covers within 
these trends seem to emphasize the propen-
sity exhibited toward the continuing support 
for such services. Most programs that have 
shown promise now have administrative 

backing of some kind. Last , Kirkendall 
states that "Instruction itself is not just a 
frill . . . or a ploy . . . or a gimmick . . . or 
a convenient bandwagon onto which the 
ambitious reference librarian can jump to 
be seen. It is an essential service of the 
academic library." 

The reflections of Edward G. Holley in 
terms of the past and future are very aptly 
set forth. In summation he stipulates some 
queries that should be addressed, including 
one that refers to future patterns of at-
tempts to serve users in academic libraries. 
He does not sally forth with definitive 
answers but brings his positivism via a Jus-
tin Winsor dictum: "A collection of good 
books, with a soul to it in the shape of a 
good librarian, becomes a vitalized power 
among the impulses by which the world 
goes on to improvement." 

Some of the sections read slowly because 
they were initially intended to be heard. 
The annotated review of the literature by 
Hannelore B. Rader has extended, updated 
sources that will continue to prove useful to 
many instruction librarians. 

As expected, Carolyn A. Kirkendall has 
edited another outstanding compilation of 
succinct speeches (she notes that they are 
not papers) from the Eastern Michigan con-
ference. This volume is recommended for 
all those involved with some type of library 
instruction program.-Barbara Grippe, 
Edinboro State College , Edinboro, Pennsyl-
vania. 

Rogers , A. Robert . The Humanities: A 
Selective Guide to Information Sources. 
2d ed. Library Science Text Series. Lit-
tleton , Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1979. 
355p . $19.50 cloth , $13.50 paper V.S. 
and Canada; $23 cloth, $16 paper else-
where. LC 79-25335. ISBN 0-87287-206-8 
(cloth); 0-87287-222-X (paper). 
The first edition (1974) of The Humanities 

opens with the statement that the work "is 
planned as a text rather than a research 
treatise. " The present edition makes no 
such claim; in fact, it does not mentio~ its 
intended audience or purpose. Since , 
however, the approach, format, and content 
are so similar to those of the earlier edition 
and since the work is in the publisher's Li-
brary Science Text Series, one can surmise