College and Research Libraries 192 College & Research Libraries is an introductory text on the purposes and procedures of retrospective conver- sion. The authors do not claim to have concentrated on all the details, but rather have compiled a "philosophical and theo- retical'' text on conversion. Many librari- ans may be thankful for having delayed their conversions to take advantage of this comprehensive guide. The first chapter discusses the products and purposes of data conversion, touch- ing briefly on most of the main points to be covered in later chapters. The "total sys- tems approach" is recommended "to help prevent the 1990s from being filled with reconversion.'' It is in this chapter that the MARC record is introduced in its many varieties and uses. Planning for the conversion and aware- ness of standard practices are emphasized in chapter 2. This planning is outlined to include the establishment of goals and ob- jectives, description of the present situa- tion, identification and analysis of alterna- tives, evaluation of available resources, and decisions on formats and standards. The evaluation of available resources for machine-readable records, staff, equip- ment, space, time, and money are exam- ined. Chapter 3 discusses proper design of the entire conversion project from how the machine-readable bibliographic infor- mation will be identified to who will docu- ment the bar code specifications. This chapter addresses the most detailed as- pects of conversion and includes discus- sions of some local systems and their in- terface with vendors. The authors conclude this chapter with the emphatic directive, "If you are not willing to ade- quately plan for a data conversion project, don't attempt one." Hear, hear. After the many aspects covered in chap- ter 3, chapter 4 launches into "Special Considerations." These include conver- sion of serial records, reclassification, treatment of pre-AACR2 records (author- ity control), and item control. These con- siderations bring to light additional stan- dards, for which planning must again be done prior to beginning a conversion. Chapter 5 compares some conversion methods in terms of time, cost, and per- March 1985 formance. Since each library's situation is unique, no be-ali and end-all method is given, only a method for comparing op- tions. Possible pitfalls are discussed in chapter 6. A project as large as a conversion is very open to error in planning and/or imple- mentation. Libraries attempting conver- sions after the first brave few have fallen or succeeded have the advantage of learn- ing from the mistakes of others. Things can go wrong in financial planning, orga- nization, contracting, standardizing, and purpose. A final summary is given before the comprehensive appendixes. Librarians who are conversion veterans are listed in appendix A. Appendix B lists consultants: here are people who have been through it or who are in the midst of it. Appendix C covers vendors of conversion services. Both of these current volumes, en- hanced by their extensive bibliographic entries and appendixes, are valuable addi- tions for library planners. The texts are easy to read and understand, and conform to the high Knowledge Industry standards.-Jill Sanders, Blackwell North America, Inc. Wright, Kieth C. and Judith F. Davie. Li- brary and Information Services for Handi- capped Individuals, 2d ed. Littleton, Colo: Libraries Unlimited, 1983. 184p. $20. LC 83-13560. ISBN 0-87287-391-9. Association of Specialized and Coopera- tive Library Agencies. Revised Standards and Guidelines of Service for the Library of Congress Network of Libraries for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, 1984. Chi- cago: American Library Assn., 1984. 55p. $6.50. LC 84-6356. ISBN 0-8389- 3306-8. The first edition of Library and Informa- tion Services for Handicapped Individuals by Kieth Wright (1979) was the first standard text aimed at assisting librari- ans in planning library services for peo- ple with various disabilities. This sec- ond edition, coauthored by Judith F. Davie, has the same objectives as the previous edition with udpated and ex- panded information. Subjects dis- cussed in this text include identification of major handicapped groups; outlines of problems facing handicapped indi- viduals and of resources and programs provided by the library community for solving these problems; sources of in- formation about handicapped individ- uals; reviews of legal decisions affecting the handicapped; and an enumeration of programs and services that librarians can modify to meet the special needs of the handicapped in different settings. Since this book is intended to assist in planning library programs for handi- capped individuals, librarians will find two new chapters particularly useful. The new chapter 5, "Speech Handi- capped Individuals,'' discusses services for speech-impaired individuals. Chap- ter 9, "Library Staff Development: Self- Assessment and Attitude Change,'' ad- dresses the need for librarians to examine their attitudes and confront their prejudices in order to serve these specialized library users effectively. The updated edition is concise and more oriented to librarians and profes- sional staff providing services to spe- cialized library users. The information, references, and sources in the second edition have been updated and ex- panded. The "Glossary and Acro- nyms'' in the first edition has been elim- inated, and the original list of sources of information on organizations, pro- grams and resources has been com- pletely annotated but condensed. This book is theoretical and lacks practical information regarding the evaluation of users, facilities, services, staffing and funding. It therefore would be more beneficial when used in con- junction with a library handbook writ- ten by librarians with practical experi- enc~ in the field, such as Serving Physically Disabled People by Ruth A. Vel- leman (Bowker, 1979) and Improving Li- brary Service to Physically Disabled Per- sons: A Self-Evaluation Checklist by William L. Needham and Gerald J ahoda (Libraries Unlimited, 1983). Wright's book is a valuable basic Recent Publications 193 source book and should be of particular interest to librarians in all types of li- braries providing services to people with various physical disabilities. Revised Standards and Guidelines of Ser- vice contains information useful not only for network libraries, but also for those providing services for the blind and other physically disabled persons. The content is similar to the earlier 1979 edition, with standards that mandate or recommend space, staffing, and service practices for network libraries. Areas discussed include a brief his- tory of the development of standards for network and member library re- quirements regarding space, collection size, and duplication facilities. The re- vised standards place greater emphasis on the planning and evaluation of ser- vices and on the application of new technology. The appendixes provide relevant laws, policies on patron eligi- bility for service, selection policies for reading materials, and lending-agency Heritage on · Microfilnt Rare and out-of-print titles and documents 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. ~~~~[M ~COV\P?NY 70 Coolidge Hill Road Watertown, MA 02172 (617) 926-5557 194 College & Research Libraries service agreements for sound reproduc- ers and other reading equipment. A glossary, an extensive bibliogra- phy, and a detailed index are included. This book will be useful to any library providing services for the blind and other physically disabled persons, to administering and funding agencies, to human service organizations, and to in- dividuals concerned with library ser- vices for people with disabilities. These standards and guidelines are indispens- able to any library.-Samuel T. Huang, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb. Reference Sources for Small and Medium- Sized Libraries. 4th ed. Comp. by the Ad Hoc Committee for the Fourth Edi- tion of Reference Sources for Small and Medium-sized Libraries, Reference and Adult Services Division, American Li- brary Association. Chicago: American Library Assn., 1984. 268p. $20. LC 84- 6513. ISBN 0-8389-3293-2. This book is the fruit of the labor of an ad hoc committee of the Reference and Adult Services Division of the American Library Association. First published under the ti- tle Reference Books for Small and Medium- sized Libraries in 1973, this new, updated version now includes "sources" in non- print formats, such as microforms and databases, in addition to traditional refer- ence books. The coeditor notes in the pref- ace that there has been an 80 percent in- crease in the number of entries in this edition, compared to the most recent 1979 edition (from 1,048 to 1,788). Not only have nonprint sources been added, but the scope of the work has also been ex- panded to include reference materials for children and young adults as well as out- of-print reference books considered to be essential to a basic reference collection. Public libraries, college libraries, and large secondary school libraries are expected to find this a useful source for collection de- velopment purposes. The cutoff date for publications included in this book was 1982, but some 1983 imprints are in- cluded. For each title, the standard biblio- graphic elements are there: author, title, publisher, date of publication, number of pages, price, ISBN, or ISSN. If the particu- March 1985 lar source is available online, that fact is also noted. Finally there is an author/title index. The twenty-two chapters are organized by Dewey Decimal Classification subject divisions, with both format and subject subdivisions. Each chapter has been com- piled separately by one of the six editors, and each chapter begins with a brief intro- duction describing the nature and scope of the listings. One of the appealing aspects of this work is that both the annotations and introductions go beyond description into the realm of helpful evaluation and judgment. For example, the annotation of The New Encyclopedia Britannica states that ''Articles are accurate and objective with the exception of those written by Eastern bloc contributors, who offer slanted ver- sions of culture, social conditions and in- tellectual accomplishment in Eastern Eu- rope and the U.S.S.R." Whether or not one agrees with this characterization of the Britannica, it is refreshing to read an annotation that has a critical bite to it. Or again, the chapter on education sources begins with this useful advice: "Librari- ans should be wary of investing large amounts in sources that will become quickly dated, and care should be taken to update sources regularly, especially direc- tories and catalogs. Since many sources have some overlap in coverage, perhaps a policy of selective purchase with a priority on updating the purchased titles would be the wisest course.'' The editors of this work have substan- tially updated this edition with both new sources and new topics of current interest. For example, chapter 12 includes a com- pletely revised list of sources relating to computer science. At the same time, the limited utility of this book for academic li- braries must be kept in mind. Of the twenty-seven bibliographies listed under the heading "Collection Development Sources," the vast majority relates to use by either public or school libraries to de- velop collections for children and young adult readers. Thus, for college libraries, this book may best be seen as a useful sup- plement to Sheehy's Guide to Reference Books. -Bart Harloe, University of the Pacific.