College and Research Libraries 74 I College & Research Libraries • january 1981 Of particular interest to copyright aficionados , which should gain widespread approval and appreciation from all categories of users, is the disclaimer found on the ver- so of the title page: "Lomond Publications, Inc. will not enforce its copyright after January 1, 1985. Permission to copy the whole or part of the bibliography of this book is hereby granted to those who wish to use such copies for educational purposes , including use for such purposes in an in- formation storage and retrieval system. Per- mission to others is governed by fair use."-Nancy H. Marshall , University of Wisconsin-Madison . McCabe , James Patrick, 0. S. F. S. Critical Guide to Catholic Reference Books. 2d ed. Research Studies in Library Scie nce , no. 2 revised. Littleton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1980. 282p . $22.50 U.S .; $27 elsewhere . LC 80-16209. ISBN 0-87387- 2030-3. Those familiar with the first edition of Brother James McCabe's Critical Guide to Catholic Reference Books , publish e d in 1971 , might be surprised to learn that the second edition has been increased by 202 ti- tles . Even though more than forty of these were earlier works omitted in the first edi- tion , in this age of ecumenism the number of Catholic reference books is considerable. It should be kept in mind , though , that a rather broad definition of Catholic reference works is used. As Russell Bidlack pointed out in the introduction, the author has used reference books in the way Con- stance Winchell did in her Guide to Refer- ence Books (8th ed., American Library Assn. , 1976, p.xiv) to include those works "which, while intended primarily to be read through for either information or pleasure, are so comprehensive and accurate in their treatment and so well provided with index- es that they serve also as reference books. " The term Catholic is used in a broad sense also. In addition to dealing with topics spe- cifically relating to the Catholic church, the volume includes the social sciences , litera- ture , the arts, and similar subjects to which Catholics have traditionally contributed their own unique perspective . Many of the works are written or sponsored by non- Catholics , but only those that deal exclu- sively or in large part with the church are included. The work is divided into five chapters- "General Works," "Theology," "The Human- ities ," "Social Sciences," and " History"- with each of these divided into main sec- tions and then further subdivided by form or subject. Thus a glance at the table of contents , which shows chapters, sections, and subdivisions, would enable one to find all of the works on the Councils of the Church fairly easily since "Councils" is one of the sections in chapter V on history. The subheadings include each of the councils in addition to sections of sources, dictionaries , and handbooks. Each entry gives complete bibliographical information, with the LC and ISBN num- bers added when available and also an annotation ranging from two lines to four paragraphs. Some of the annotations are taken from reviews of the work and sources of these are included for those who wish to read the entire review. Although most of the works listed are in English, the author notes in his preface that no impor- tant foreign-language works have been omit- ted and that some of the most significant new titles are those produced in European countries. While no cutoff date for entries is specifically stated, a check of all new en- tries would seem to place it at 1978, and only six works , all published in the U.S. , had this date . One of the most valuable features of the guide is its thirty-page author/title/subject index. Since each entity in the book is num- bered, one can find a specific work fairly quickly by turning to the proper section and numbered item. Subject entries are all in capital letters and thus can be found quickly also. Although some names are listed as subjects, e. g., J'eilhard de Chardin, most of the subject entries are quite general. There is the general heading Saints, for example, but no entries for beatification or: canoniza- tion, terms mentioned in news articles re- cently. This would probably pose no prob- lem for those familiar with Catholic termi- nology but might present some difficulties for others . As a reference book, the general format, the careful selection and editing of the works cited, and the useful index make this (11£ BUSINESS IN:>EX) The Most Comprehensive Source For The Business Community There's Nothing Else Like It! The BUSINESS INDEX includes complete and thorough indexing of articles, reviews, news and other related material-more than five times the coverage of any other reference. Here's what we provide: • Cover to cover indexing of more than 325 business periodi- cals, with abstracts. • The Wall Street Journal (cover to cover) • Barrons (cover to cover) • The New York Times (Financial section and selected rele- vant articles) · • All business articles selected from more than 1,000 general and legal periodicals. • Business books and report cataloging from the Library of Congress MARC database. Up To Date, Easy To Use We send each new monthly issue on one reel of 16mm COM (Computer-Output-Microfilm) which you can lock in seconds into the COM terminal that is included with each annual subscription. Reference Tailored For Business The BUSINESS INDEX provides extensive special indexing. Names of corporations, their divisions, and operating elements are indexed; names of key individuals, executives and profes- sionals mentioned in business articles or stories, are also in- dexed. Greater detail is also provided for subject terms than is available in general reference publications. We also indicate graphs, statistical tables, etc. Call or Write for More Information , For complete details and subscription rates contact the BUSI- NESS INDEX at Information Access, 404 Sixth Avenue, Menlo Park, CA 94025. In California call collect: (415) 367-7171. Outside California call toll-free: (800) 227-8431. Information Access is the publisher of The National Newspaper Index, The Magazine Index, The Business Index, NEWSEARCH: The Daily Online Index, The Legal Resource Index and The Current. Law Index. 76 I College & Research Libraries • January 1981 work a pleasure to use. It will be especially valuable for all Catholic institutions, but it is recommended also for large academic and public libraries and for those having special collections in theology.-Lucille Whalen , State University of New York at Albany. Morse, Grant W. Guide to the Incompar- able New York Times Index. New York: Fleet , 1980. 72p . $11. 95 ; $6.95 paper. LC 79-87815. ISBN 0-8303-0159-3. Morse has somehow managed to convince himself (and a publisher) that the New York Times Index is so enigmatic and abstruse that his personal intervention was warranted in the form of this slim volume. " Incompar- able " qualities notwithstanding, he admon- ishes those who ". . . naively insist that any intelligent person is capable of compre- hending the Index without a guide. " The fact that the NYTI , like many other refer- ence sources , harbors a few unique ele- ments and approaches by no means justifies Morse's well-intentioned contribution. The Guide to the Incomparable New York Times Index seems to have been prepared under the assumption that the user is mild- ANY FOREIGN MICROFORM AT THE FOREIGN LIST PRICE • Firm dollar prices • No customs problems • Free searches Phone orders accepted International Microform Distribution Service Clearwater Publishing Company, Inc. 1995-L Broadway New York, NY 10023 (212) 873-2100 ly retarded yet simultaneously delivers page after page of extremely tedious information on subject headings , cross-references , and entries. One wonders who constitutes Morse's primary audience. He immodestly and ungrammatically announces that "Here- in one will find what you always wanted to know about the New York Times Index, but never dared ask." Though Morse does answer many questions that none would dream of posing, he does provide several practical observations, e. g., the NYTI serves as index and abstract, it can often be used as a fairly accurate guide to major stories in other newspapers, and that librarians should save the daily news summaries until the In- dex itself arrives. Certainly he seems hard- pressed to carry on for seventy-two pages; an appendix section, for example, contains full-page photographs of the Index, of an anonymous hand removing microfilm from a cabinet , of someone removing reel from box, and of someone consulting film on a reader. Furthermore, the book is strangely arranged ; there is no logical sequence or progression . Perhaps the most useful sec- tion is the one entitled " Miscellaneous In- formation. " Morse 's prose style is, to say the least, most unusual. Rarely has this reviewer seen anything like it committed to print. Two typical examples: The reputation of the Times shines perhaps the brightest in that within its pages are found a large number of source documents in full or in substan- tial excerpts, and thus it came to be regarded as "The newspaper of record. " Throughout the years The New York Times has maintained a status unequaled in the history of periodical publishing in the length of time of its continuous publication, the comprehensiveness of its coverage, and the quality of its authoritative- ness . It is beyond question the outstanding re- source for general reference and serials divisions of libraries worldwide. There is no need to belabor the obvious. The Guide to the Incomparable New York Times Index is simply not a worthwhile ref- erence acquisition. For the most part, Morse has made much ado about not much at all. In order to preserve the reputation of both author and publisher, the Guide, like a faulty automobile, should be recalled if in fact it has already been released.-Mark R .