College and Research Libraries


68 I College & Research Libraries • January 1981 

this is more and more evident in recent 
volumes, are, like Stange on preservation in 
"From Rags to Riches," by nonlibrarians 
and appeared originally in non-library jour-
nals. It is interesting to see the aspects and 
ideas of librarianship that are capturing the 
imagination of the outside world. Perhaps 
we are seeing, to some degree, a return to 
the golden days of the early nineteenth cen-
tury when librarianship was of somewhat 
greater interest to the world in general. 

While, fortunately, this particular volume 
contains no examples of what Shaw casti-
gated as articles on "how-l-run-my-li-
brary-good," it is replete with the relatively 
new kind of speculative essay on "how-l-
should-run-my-libraries-good" that has be-
come popular in recent years. In one sense 
such essays continue the kind of innocuous 
"glad tidings" essay that Beals deplored 
some forty years ago, but, in another sense, 
they are somewhat more substantial and 
valuable because they build on an in-
creasingly solid base of literature and re-
search. They seem to represent the begin-
nings of a more analytical approach to li-
brarianship designed to synthesize ideas and 
information into a philosophical structure. 
For pointing up that trend this series, and 
its editor, deserves credit. 

All in all, this is a volume you may want 
to borrow from your library and dip into. 
Unless you are aiming to maintain a com-
plete series, it is not one that you are likely 
to want to buy for your own collection.-
Norman D. Stevens, University of Connecti-
cut, Storrs. 

Mason, Ellsworth. Mason on Library Build-
ings. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1980. 
348p. $25. LC 80-12029. ISBN 0-8108-
1291-6. 

Boll, John J. To Grow or Not to Grow: A 
Review of Alternatives to New Academic 
Library Buildings. LJ Special Report 
#15. New York: Bowker, 1980. 32p. $5; 
prepaid, $3.95 . ISBN 0-8352-1322-6. 
ISSN 0362-448X. 

New Academic Library Buildings. LJ Spe-
cial Report #16. New York: Bowker, 
1980. 71p. $7; prepaid, $5. 95. ISBN 0-
8352-1323-4. ISSN 0362-448X. 
How refreshing it is to read a lively and 

well-written book on an important aspect of 

librarianship! Mason presents five chapters 
on building problems, originally published 
from 1965 to 1969. The chapters on lighting 
and air handling are superb, and the chap-
ter on interiors remains very good indeed. 
There follow six chapters providing library 
building reviews, three of which were pub-
lished previously. The new critiques are of 
Harvard's Countway Library of Medicine, 
Dalhousie University, and the Robarts at 
Toronto. Stimulating and sometimes humor-
ous footnotes greatly add to the text. 

A typical note comments that removal of 
shields from light fixtures provides more 
footcandles "but at the same time anyone 
exposed to the fixture has constricted eye 
pupils, and he gets less light. In addition, 
the diffusing properties of the fixtures are 
greatly impaired and interreflection of light 
in the room drops enormously. Sic crescit 
stultitia! (Loose translation, 'Fools may take 
over the world')." 

Mason at times presents but one view of 
what should be done. For example, he 
mandates use of a building-planning com-
mittee, but states later, however, that he is 
grateful he had no committee of any kind at 
Hofstra "to muck-up affairs." And, as 
another highly questionable assertion, an in-
stitution should never use an architect who 
has not designed libraries. 

This volume is full of wisdom. Mason 
properly points out that seating was in the 
past generally projected at too high a per-
centage of enrollment. Construction penalty 
clauses in contracts are nearly impossible to 
invoke successfully. There has been a rather 
wide student reaction against carrels. Many 
interiors are left to the mercies of the pur-
chasing agent, and "in this direction mad-
ness lies. " And custom-designed furniture 
can be less expensive then ready-made 
furniture. 

Mason provides a great service with his 
candor. For example, he is frank to say that 
OSHA issues stupid regulations. He is good 
on details. (But false in repeating that "wa-
ter is more destructive to books than fire.") 
This is an attractive book, with a good 
selection of appropriate photographs; build-
ing floor plans and a demonstration model 
building program are appended. Anyone 
entering the task of planning an academic li-
brary addition or substantial renovation 



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70 I College & Research Libraries • january 1981 

would do well to peruse this compilation 
born of discriminating experience. S( 
jeunesse savait, si vieillesse pouvait! 

Two publications of Library Journal also 
treat of library buildings. The first, # 15, con-
stitutes a review article. Boll provides sixty-
nine references largely from the 1970s and 
adds a useful index. Boll's product is quite 
comprehensive and competently presented. 

The LJ Special Report # 16 superficially 
treats sixteen academic libraries of the early 
1970s-a couple of paragraphs by the librar-
ian , a few from the architect , a trivia of 
building statistics , and half of the publica-
tion pictures of no particular distinction. It 
is hoped the planned second issue of "new 
academic library buildings" will produce 
something more than totally inadequate 
floor plans with a bit of froth .-David C. 
Weber , Stanford Univ ersity , Stanford , Cali-
fornia. 

Networks for Networkers: Critical Issues in 
Cooperative Library Development. · 
Edited by Barbara Evans Markuson and 
Blanche Woolls. New York: Neal-
Schuman , 1980. 444p . $17.95. LC 79-
24054. ISBN 0-918212-22-7. 
This volume contains the proceedings of 

the Conference on Networks for N etworkers 
held in Indianapolis , Indiana, from May 30 
through June 1, 1979. The conference in-
cluded " 136 official delegates , observers , 
guests and speakers from the U.S . and the 
Virgin Islands ... their purpose was to lis-
ten , ponder, discuss , argue, and make sug-
gestions concerning the critical issues in li-
brary network development" (Introduction , 
p.xiii). 

These proceedings include eight major 
theme papers that were delivered at the 
conference, twelve background papers , two 
keynote speeches , supplementary reading 
material, and appendixes that include con-
ference participants' viewpoints, resolutions 
of Pre-White House Conferences on Li-
braries and Information Services, a glossary , 
and a list of acronyms. 

The conference topics were selected to 
address public-policy issues and were 
geared almost exclusively to computer-
based library networking. Part I is entitled 
"The Network Revolution" and presents a 
history and overview of networking. Part II, 

"National Policy and Network Develop-
ment," deals with national information poli-
cy development (or nondevelopment, in the 
view of several conference participants). 
Part III, entitled " Network Technology and 
Standards ," describes in considerable detail 
the state of existing technology and tele-
communications relevant to library network-
ing, and looks at some trends and innova-
tions. Part IV, " Network Governance and 
Funding," includes discussion of the legal 
apsects as well as the economics of network-
ing. Part V, "Network Users and Services," 
concentrates on the interaction of networks 
and their clients, with presentations on the 
role of several types of libraries in network-
ing. 

This conference was held almost ten years 
after one sponsored by the U.S. Office of 
Education with the American Library Asso-
ciation , which concentrated on the estab-
lishment of library networks . Networks for 
Networkers is at once a ten-year review of 
the development and progress of networks 
in this country and a presentation of some 
clear-sighted assessments of the impact net- · 
works have had on libraries and librarians. 
There is necessarily some repetition in 
these chapters ; from different points of view 
several of the papers refer to the same 
groups, projects, agencies , and technologies 
and discuss common problems in network 
progress. Although some libraries have re-
sisted the movement , many academic and 
research libraries are in some way con-
nected to a network , and the issues dis-
cussed in this volume are of critical impor-
tance to academic librarians. Of particular 
interest are the areas of national library and 
information policies , network governance, 
network economics , technology , and the 
crucial questions of user access to network 
services. The planners of the conference did 
not pretend to provide answers to all the 
networking question-s and dilemmas , but all 
the presentations are lucid and well pre-
pared. They range from theoretical (Don 
Swanson on trial-and-error evolution in li-
brary network development) to technically 
specific Games Barrentine on future compu-
ter technology) to pragmatic (debate be-
tween Swartz and Evans on whether state-
level networking should evolve from the 
state library agency or a member-governed