College and Research Libraries Schweizer, a possible new delivery sys- tem for government information is exam- ined. The concluding chapter, "CODOC in the 1980's: Keeping Pace with Modern Technology," by Virginia Gillham, de- scribes the development and evolution of the Guelph Documents System, which can be used to access documents at any level of government. The papers are all well written and will be easily understood even by those not fa- miliar with the technologies discussed. The volume is not indexed but, given the length of the text, this is not a major draw- back. Even if readers do not agree with every point made in the volume, it will at the very least provoke discussion and serve as an introduction to the literature for the topics it treats. However, this reader does have reserva- tions. Those familiar with the documents literature will probably experience deja vu when reading three of the papers pre- sented here (the McClure, Morton, and Gillham articles). In addition, it is my opinion that there are technologies not covered that might have been. For exam- ple, there is no mention of telefacsimile transmission or electronic mail in the chapter on videotext and teletext technol- ogies. In addition, one hundred pages of text (preface included) at the price asked seems rather expensive. Those on a budget may be better advised to invest their money in another book written by the editor and one contributor (McClure), Public Access to Government Information: Is- sues, Trends, and Strategies, which is avail- able in paper for considerably less and which covers essentially the same ground and more. Nevertheless, this collection is recom- mended to those interested in documents librarianship who are not familiar with the topics discussed and to libraries collecting extensively in the library science field.- William R. Kahles, University of Illinois at Chicago. Teaching Library Use Competence: Bridg- ing the Gap from High School to College. Ed. by Carolyn A. Kirkendall. Ann Ar- bor, Mich.: Pierian, 1982. 228p. $18.95. LC 82-62645. ISBN 0-87650-145-5. Recent Publications 97 This volume, edited by the director of the LOEX Clearinghouse, is a collection of speeches given at the Eleventh Annual Li- brary Instruction Conference, which was held at Eastern Michigan University on May 7 and 8, 1981. A major concern of the conference is noted in its title: to open lines of communication between second- ary school librarians and college and uni- versity librarians on the topic of library in- struction. Many of the talks offer practical suggestions for opening these lines of communication. Teaching Library Use Competence provides both practical and theoretical information vital to the librarian struggling with a new or existing library instruction program. In it, librarians and other educators describe library instruction programs with which they are now or have been involved. Be- cause each section within the volume is basically a transcript of a delivered speech, there is a greater air of informality than would appear in a volume of well- prepared essays. The conference reflects the concerns not only of secondary school and college and Heritage on Microfilnt Rare and out-of-print titles and doc·uments on 35mm silver halide microfilm. • French Books before 1601 • Scandinavian Culture • 18th Century English Literature • Victorian Fiction • Literature of Folklore • Hispanic Culture Send for catalog and title information today. ~2r~~~ ~COv\PfNY 70 Coolidge Hill Road Watertown, MA 02172 (617) 926-5557 98 College & Research Libraries university librarians, but of public-librari- ans and college teaching faculty as well. The speeches describe the objectives of in- dividuallibrarians and also what is actu- ally occurring in the field of library instruc- tion at the local level. A common theme of the papers is the tendency of training pro- grams repeatedly to provide instruction on the same topics without similarly pro- viding for putting what is learned about those topics to work. Joyce Merriam makes recommendations for changing library instruction programs that were also made by other speakers throughout the conference. Significant among these are ~he need for (1) develop- ing a sequential program of library in- struction in all school systems for grades K -12; (2) indicating the transfer value of li- brary skills to students and the purposes of academic and public libraries; (3) en- couraging teachers to develop curriculum that stresses use of the library; (4) visiting of college and university libraries by school librarians in order to gain a better understanding of the libraries their stu- dents ':Vill be using in the future or of the libraries they have used in the past and in order to become aware of the library in- struction programs in each type of library; and (S) developing programs to help stu- dents make the transition from high school to college libraries. A number of talks deal with testing stu- dents to determine how· much they know or don't know about using libraries. The Ohio School Library Media Test was de- veloped to measure library ability and to determine if instruction increases this abil- ity. The Library Skills Test from the lliinois Association of College and Research Li- braries was developed for the same pur- pose and can be used with college fresh- men as well as students in the secondary schools. Samples of these, as well as oth- ers, are included in this volume. Also included is an example of a lecture prepared for the bibliographic instruction program at Southeast Missouri State Uni- versity. This presentation tells a story, in this case about the criminal figure Al Ca- pone, and shows the logical progression of a research project. Interspersing biblio- graphic information throughout an inter- January 1985 esting talk on an exciting topic makes this approach a good change of pace for stu- dents and librarians alike. A detailed annotated bibliography of publications dealing with library orienta- tion and library instruction published in 1979 and 1980 is included at the end of the volume. I found this work to be not only thought provoking but extremely useful because of its many examples and well-prepared bib- liography. Because of its practical ap- proach, this volume is a welcome addition to the growing literature on library instruction.-Donna S. Bennett, Northern Kentucky University, Highland Heights. Plaister, Jean M. Computing in LASER*: Regional Library Co-operation (*London and South Eastern Library Region). Lon- don: The Library Association, 1982. SSp . (Case Studies in Library Automa- tion) $1S. LC 83-113421. ISBN 0-8S36S- 9S4-0. (Distributed in the U.S. by Oryx Press) This case study is a step-by-step report on automation activities undertaken by li- braries in London and South Eastern Li- brary Region (LASER) . From the produc- tion of ISBN location funding lists to the installation of a minicomputer with online access for member libraries, the pioneer- ing and developmental activities, includ- ing questions asked, are described. Li- braries affected initially were predomi- nantly public libraries. The criteria set forth for the system included these fac- tors: cheap, simple, and fast . Whether the database was used for interlending pur- poses or for complete cataloging service, LASER was a successful network. But did this endeavor end with the in- stallation of online services? Hardly, since automatic systems are not static. LASER moved from LASER on its own to LASER in cooperation. Some 2S organizations purchased space from LASER and shared resources. The movement in computer de- velopment and telecommunications en- abled greater economies and more effi- cient utilization of resources. At the time of writing, LASER's future, largely due to expertise gained, was looking toward an even greater role-nationwide coordina-