College and Research Libraries


some, the reader will want to go to more 
detailed material rather quickly or to a 
consultant. This is a good first book for 
anyone; and except for the most experi-
enced library manager working in this 
area, it is difficult to see how anyone 
would not gain useful practical advice 
from the more detailed chapters.-
Lawrence Miller, Florida International 
University- Tamiami Campus. 

A Reader on Choosing an Automated Li-
brary System. Ed. by Joseph R. Mat-
thews, Chicago: American Library 
Assn., 1983. 390p. $35. LC 83-11821. 
ISBN 0-8389-0383-5. 
Intended to complement the editor's 

earlier publication, Choosing an Automated 
Library System: A Planning Guide (ALA, 
1980}, this collection of forty articles ex-
tends considerably beyond the concept of . 
merely choosing an automated library sys-
tem. The book's seven sections encom-
pass topics ranging from needs analysis 
and the selection process and contracts, to 
installation, implementation, and the im-
pact of automation in libraries. The latter 
section comprises 40 percent of the book 
and contains subsections on acquisitions; 
cataloging, the catalog, circulation, and 
online search systems. 

Although badly dated in some respects 
and neglecting some applications of li-
brary automation, the selections are gen-
erally well chosen. Most derive from pa-
pers presented at conferences or are 
reprints from monographs or the standard 
library literature representing such au-
thors as John Kountz, Paul J. Fasana, Mi-
chael Gorman, Susan K. Martin, Richard 
Boss, S. Michael Malinconico, and 
D. Kaye Gaypen. In addition, there are a 
handful of articles written for this collec-
tion and selections from outside the li-
brary literature. The latter include useful 
essays on cost analysis and contracts re-
printed from Computing Surveys and Data-
mation. 

Of the new articles, those most welcome 
are Kevin Hegerty' s essays on contracts 
and vendor and/or system selection, Wil-
liam F. Adiletta's "primer" on data com-
munications (which suffers, however, 
from being written prior to the breakup of 

Recent Publications 93 

AT&T) and Nolan Pope's article on con-
tracts, which provides an excellent expla-
nation of the RFI/RPI process, good advice 
on writing RFPs, and clear explanations of 
such terms as benchmarks, performance 
bonds, escrowed software, and accep-
tance tests. 

The editor's introductions to each of the 
sections are generally helpful in stating 
the problems and setting the stage for the 
articles that follow. On p. 23-24, however, 
there is unfortunate confusion between 
"standard bibliographic records," 
''MARC records,'' and LC cataloging dis-
tributed by the MARC distribution ser-
vice. An index adds to the book's useful-
ness although at least one entry 
(Cataloging in Publication) contains only 
blind references. 

Considering that the earliest of the 
thirty-five reprinted articles dates from 
1967, and that half of the others stem from 
the years 1979-80, this useful collection 
can be utilized either for its historical 
viewpoint or as a rapidly aging but useful 
aid for library managers involved in the 
automation process.-Charles W. Simpson, 
University of Illinois at Chicago. 

Amy, Linda Ray. The Search for Data in the 
Physical and Chemical Sciences. New 
York: Special Libraries Assn., 1984. 
150p. $17. LC 83-20376 ISBN 0-87111-
308-2. 
The title of this work will pique the inter-

est of any scientific or technical reference 
librarian; we are daily challenged with re-
quests for reliable data on sometimes ob-
scure properties of often obscure sub-
stances. Linda Ray Amy is an obviously 
experienced reference librarian who used 
a sabbatical to "investigate the nature, 
generation, collection, and retrieval of 
physical and chemical data in general, and 
to analyze and index National Bureau of 
Standards' compilations in particular.'' 
The first part of her book begins by discus-
sing the nature of physical and chemical 
data, the difficulties involved in locating 
and critically evaluating data, and data 
centers that have been established to com-
pile reliable data. Amy presents a brief but 
thorough review of the problems in-
volved, and although she does not cite my