College and Research Libraries n Recent Publications BOOK REVIEWS Oboler, Eli M. Defending Intellectual Free- dom. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood, 1980. 246p. $22.95. ISBN 0-313-21472-7. "Censorship in the Eighties," Drexel Li- brary Quarterly, Winter 1982. V.18. 108p. Philadelphia: Drexel Univ. $6. During the past several years, censor- ship of books, periodicals, films, library- initiated programs, and the restrictive use of library meeting rooms has resurfaced, plaguing not only our schools and li- braries but undermining First Amend- ment freedoms. The act of censorship is a complex issue. The creation of balanced collections, reflecting the cultural diver- sity and opinions within our society, is not an easy task for collection development li- brarians. Typical targets of censorship are materials dealing with violence, sex, non- traditional values, religious views, or moral issues, while others target what they perceive as racial or sexual stereotyp- ing. The two volumes reviewed represent fairly traditional compendiums as they ap- proach the problems and causes of censor- ship, although their styles vary consider- ably. With intellectual freedom and access to information ranking as two of ALA's top priorities for the 1980s, a careful re- view of Defending Intellectual Freedom and "Censorship in the Eighties" seems most appropriate. Eli Oboler, an academic librarian, and for many the "Dean" of intellectual free- dom, chose to reprint a number of his pre- viously published articles, speeches, book reviews, and letters to editors. Many of these are more than ten years old. This ap- proach, while allowing the reader to be- come familiar with Oboler's philosophy on intellectual freedom-that there "is no censorship fight that is someone else's" -lacks immediacy and tends to represent a rehashing of "Obolerisms" that are available in many other sources. Phrases such as ''a frustratingly sisy- phean progress," "enough of logoma- chy," and "pronuciamentos" are typical examples. His chapters on the "Etiology of Censorship'' and ''Public Relations and Fighting Censorship" represent good treatment of their subjects. His discussion ·of the word and his practical suggestions for creating viable library public relations programs defending intellectual freedom issues are well stated. However, other chapters, such as the one dealing with young adults, seem antiquated in view of the recent changes in the ALA Library Bill of Rights and · its several interpretations dealing with YA issues. Much has changed since 1967. His chapter "Recent Censorship Literature" is hardly recent, and the reader quickly loses interest in the following chapter as the author jumps from one letter to the editor to another, and never reprints the letters. Articles dealing with specific laws in Idaho, or an intellectual freedom conference held nearly twenty years ago, lose their rele- vance when considering today' s issues. Even though Oboler chooses this rather dogmatic format for his theories, his mes- sage remains important, if the reader can wade through the rest. To summarize his philosophy, I quote: "But somewhere, sometime, in each of our careers, we must come down from our ivory towers, out from behind the rows of stacks, perhaps blinking and befuddled by ·the shining light of immediacy, but ready to 'fight the unbeatable foe.' And we can have no bet- 75 76 College & Research Libraries ter fighting equipment than a thorough knowledge of the history and the reasons for the defense of freedom of the mind, and equally full knowledge of the dark purposes and deleterious activities which make up the history of censorship through the ages" (p.104). Purchase of this volume is recommended for library science collections and academic libraries wishing Oboler articles. "Censorship in the Eighties," Drexel Li- brary Quarterly, should be purchased by academic libraries. The articles address a variety of current issues that affect our freedom to read, even though they are fairly traditional in their approach. Busha's introduction paints a broad pic- ture of intellectual freedom issues (most of it said before) and successfully encapsu- lates the essence of the articles that follow. Busha blames the New Right for most of the recent problems, while overlooking a growing tendency by the Left to reject me- dia perceived as racially or sexually stereo- typed. Many of the articles focus on the Moral Majority's role in the suppression of our right to read. Murray and Wood's article discusses the New Christian Right and its relationship to what the authors feel is an inhibition that has been inflicted upon our freedom of expression. By sum- marizing agendas, methods, groups, and programs, the authors attempt to evaluate and relate the New Christian Right to cur- rent censorship activities. Schuman con- tinues by focusing on the Moral Majority and what he perceives as politically moti- vated censorship. His thesis is that Moral Majority tactics obstruct the ability of pub- lic institutions to facilitate the right of free inquiry and, more specifically, the right to read. Serebnick' s article looks at censor- ship surveys that have been used and comes to the conclusion that improve- ments need to be made and more atten- tion paid .to the conceptualization of the checklist survey and how it is constructed and used in censorship research. Berninghausen' s rather scholarly ap- proach to the history and theory behind intellectual freedom contrasts the policies and practices that have developed in our public libraries with library operations in authoritarian countries. He briefly January 1984 touches upon the censorship activities of groups such as the Council on Interracial Books for Children. However, his state- ments on ALA documents are traditional and outdated and can be found else- where. Eleanore Richardson lays some theoretical groundwork for the upsurge of textbook censorship and explains why many people feel that this is one of the few places they can exert local control over the lives of their children. She pinpoints ob- jectionable material found in recent text- books and mentions several states that .have applied pressure on textbook pub- lishers. Oboler briefly summarizes how intellectual freedom is viewed interna- tionally. The issue concludes with yet an- other bibliography that lists already well known sources, most of which were pub- lished in the 1970s.-Susan L. Heath, Nico- let College, Rhinelander, Wisconsin. Archival Forms Manual. Comp. by the Society of American Archivists. Chi- cago: Society of American Archivists, 1982. 145p. $7 to members, $10 to oth- ers. LC 82-61142. ISBN 0-931828-53-8. Archives & Manuscripts: Reprography. By Carolyn Hoover Sung. Chicago: Society of American Archivists, 1982. Basic Manual series. 68p. $5 members/$7 oth- ers. LC 82-50454. ISBN 0-931828-51-1. Evaluation of Archival Institutions. Comp. by Report of the Task Force on Institutional Evaluation. Chicago: Soci- ety of American Archivists. 1982. 43p . $4 members/$5 others. ISBN 0-931828- 55-4. Here are three publications from the So- ciety of American Archivists (SAA). The first was compiled by tDe SAA Forms Manual Task Force, with Patrick M. Quinn of Northwestern University as chair. In 1973 the SAA's College and Uni- versity Archives Committee compiled a Forms Manual designed to be used by col- lege and university archivists. Accord- ingly, this Manual reproduces forms deal- ing with (1) appraisal and disposition, (2) accessioning, (3) arrangement and de- scription, (4) use, and (5) specialized items such as loan agreements, oral history, so- licitation, and conservation. The forms come from many divergent institutions: