College and Research Libraries 546 I College & Research Libraries • November 1980 "Special Functions and Aspects of National Libraries," considers in more detail their wide variety, emphasizes in particular how national library responsibilities in many countries are divided among several librar- ies, how some libraries combine national and other functions, and how in some coun- tries there are subject-specialized national libraries or regional or state "subnational" libraries. In the third section, "National Libraries in Individual Countries and Areas of the World," particular national libraries at a particular time are described. Some of the articles are historical, some describe a national library at a critical period at its creation or reorganization, and others relate its operations to a set of functions. A con- cluding note to the work summarizes the key issues that have emerged in the papers collected here and also mentions issues not dealt with. The editors are well-known British librar- ians. Maurice B. Line, as director general of the British Library Lending Division, has a close and personal acquaintance with a national library. Since these essays, gathered from many sources not always readily available, are a good survey of problems currently faced by national libraries and present a perception of their actual and desirable functions, this volume is a valuable source of information, recommended for all larger libraries and li- brary schools.-Mathilde V. Rovelstad, Catholic University of America, Washing- ton, D.C. Downs, Robert B. Australian and New Zea- land Library Resources. London: Man- sell, 1979. 164p. $33.30. ISBN 0-7201- 0913-2. Yet another study has come from the pro- lific pen of Robert B. Downs, this one giv- ing us "information on special collections and specialized holdings in (Australian and New Zealand) libraries" (p. 7). Aside from the usual front matter, this consists of four parts: General Subjects and Types of Mate- rial (86p. ), Individual Biography, Bibliogra- phy and Criticism (6p. ), Bibliography (25p. ), and Index (14p.); all pages are set in double columns. Libraries are becoming increasingly automated and Faxon is your key to a wide range of specialized, automated subscription services. Faxon offers the latest in periodical control with TL-90, a biblio- graphic information service; SCOPE, a three- year price monitoring system; CS/PRC, serials records controls through listings in various sequences of all titles currently subscribed to through Faxon, sub-totaled as requested; and FACS (Faxon's Automated Claim System) to rapidly and conveniently process your claims. Information from the above, as well as all bibliographic elements on Faxon's annual invoice, is available on punch cards and/or data processing tape for direct use in your library's computer system. Write or call Faxon today for our LIBRARIANS' GUIDE and SERVICE BROCHURE. Faxon. . . first in automated library sub- scription services. (001 F. W. FAXOn COmPAnY, I DC. Library Magazine Subscription Agency 15 Southwest Park, Westwood, Massachusetts 02090 Tel: 800-225-6055 (toll-free) • 617-329-3350 (collect in Mass. and Canada only) In the first part there are 112 sections on such topics as Arabic history and literature, classics, engineering, fine arts, law and military history, and such forms as alma- nacs, bookplates, dissertations, manuscripts, and union catalogs. Occasionally a heading containing but slight information is sepa- rated from an inclusive subject with which it could have placed (e.g., Sri Lanka and South Asia). Sometimes there is coverage of a specific topic (physical education, political philosophy, Portuguese history and litera- ture, women), but no section on the broad- er field (education, philosophy, European history, sociology) to which it pertains. En- tries generally indicate the nature and ex- tent of holdings in those libraries with signif- icant amounts of material-the most exten- sive and/or important collection coming first and all Australian institutions before those in New Zealand. Naturally the guide con- centrates on the national, university, and other libraries with holdings important for research; there is little information on the institutes of technology and the colleges of advanced education (presumably an area for expanded coverage in a second edition). The descriptions vary from a brief note of existence (e.g., "the University of Sydney Library has a separate section of erotic liter- ature," p.57) to four to six pages for such broad fields as Australian history and periodicals and sets. Downs singles out for discussion in the second part a mere twenty-four persons- understandably including Captain James Cook, Katherine Mansfield, and William Shakespeare. One wonders, however, why Edmund Husser, Joan of Arb, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Rainer Maria Rilke appear here, when each receives less than seven lines of comment. Would it not have been wise to incorporate such brief mentions into the appropriate topical section? The extensive bibliography (565 items, consisting of guides, surveys, library cata- logs, periodical articles, etc.) constitutes one of the book's most valuable reference fea- tures. Although the alphabetical arrange- ment does not favor the person interested in specific subjects, many bibliographical references (some in abbreviated form) in the text itself help to overcome this limitation. The index leads the reader back to topics, Recent Publications I 54 7 to libraries, to individual organizations and institutions, and even to previous surveys of resources (e.g., Burmester, Osborn, and Tauber) but not always to names of collec- tors who assembled materials. Libraries of universities appear under their distinctive name or place (e.g., · La Trobe, Melbourne University), while national and state librar- ies appear in the N' s and S' s. This reader has mixed feelings toward the volume's layout. The basic text (p. 9-120) has generous space between headings and text and between sections, as well as ample white space surround_ing the text. In con- trast, the bibliography's listings are packed into twenty-five pages (an average of 11.3 entries per column); with no space between items and without "hanging indention" this entire section is harder on the eye than it ought to be. Some readers might question the value of six and one-half pages of travel information on the two countries (dubbed "Impressions" by the author), but there is no doubt that, with or without such comments, a map would have proven helpful. Most of the other shortcomings mentioned above prob- ably result from time limitations (apparently the field research was limited to a two- month tour; cf. p. 9) and/or hasty editing. The scholarly production of Robert B. Downs is legendary; once again the "dean of library resources" has given us a useful tooL-William Vernon jackson, University of Texas, Austin. Australian Official Publications. Edited by D. H. Borchardt. Melbourne: Longman Cheshire, 1979. 365p. A$10.50. ISBN 0- 582-71461-3 cloth; 0-582-71444-3 (paper). The title of this excellent book does not indicate its true scope. Rather than, as might be expected, a list of publications, it is an extensive series of essays on govern- ment in Australia and its written records. The contributors to this work are all experts in their field. Successful use of government publications depends on an understanding of the govern- ment(s) involved. Recognizing this, the con- tributors to the first two chapters describe in some detail the functioning of govern- ment in Australia at federal, state, and local levels. Such an explanation is necessary to