College and Research Libraries 372 College & Research Libraries brary Practice series, which includes mon- ographs on serials, medical, unive!sity, and picture librarianships. Edited by A . Rennie McElroy, this collection of essays is distinctly British in content and perspec- tive. "The Educational Environment," ''Colleges and Their Libraries,'' and ''The Librarianship" are the major headings, which correspond to the three theses stated in the introduction: (1) to contribute to the management of the parent body, (2) to understand the parent body's needs, wishes, and problems, and (3) to sell the library to its users (p.xv). McElroy main- tains that this work is more philosophical than practical. He asserts that it is "about objectives and policies, rather than day- to-day practice of college librarianship" (p.xvi), yet the subtitle and the essays in the last half of the book contradict this in- tent. Within the first grouping one wanders amid a plethora of acronyms for the vari- ous educational councils, committees, and governing bodies in the United King- dom. Such dotted language necessitated a five-page glossary of abbreviations and ac- ronyms preceding the index. McElroy's own essay, "The Library in the College: Working in Education,'' reflects a clear sense of direction about college librarian- ship and a strong commitment to its en- hancement. He emphasizes the impor- tance of the teaching role for a librarian and the need to be seen and heard on fac- ulty boards and college committees. He contends that ''college librarianship tradi- tionally requires considerable flexibility of library management, a willingness to ex- periment with significant changes in ma- jor aspects of service, and the frequent ab- sence of the librarian from his library'' (p.3). As essayist, McElroy successfully touches upon the crucial issues outlined for discussion within this work. "Colleges and Their Libraries," the sec- ond division, covers an assortment of Brit- ish levels of higher education. Small li- braries (20,000 volumes or less), polytechnic colleges of further education (vocational), monotechnic (navigation, art), sixth form, tertiary, and the libraries in polytechnic library schools receive con- sideration within the context of the oper- July 1985 ating environment for college libraries. In "Polytechnics and Central Institutions" John Cowley observes that "library, com- puter, and educational technology ser- vices will grow closer together as disci- plines and systems converge into an integrated learning resource" (p.151). Such predictions fall close to home with the U.S. librarians' recommendations in Alliance For Excellence. In the final section, and by far the long- est, the essays drift from very specific, even practical, discussions of staffing pat- terns and duties, collection development (stock exploitation), finance, reader ser- vices, user education, and new technol- ogy to the status of libraries in North America (limited to community college learning resource centers), Australia, and Continental Europe. John Bate concludes the volume with his essay, "Some Trends in Further and Higher Education to 2000: The Libraries' Response." He expresses a realization that the future of Great Britain (and that of us all) bespeaks an increas- ingly leisure-oriented society with empha- sis on technical, specialized training, and continuing education. If one strips away the British slant and searches for the philosophical enlighten- ment of forces pressuring and motivating college librarians and if one reflects upon McElroy's proposed theses, then one can digest some worthwhile information scat- tered among the separate essays. The apologies of the editor for whatever faults exist in his not tampering with the selec- tions do not alleviate the redundacy and incohesiveness facing the reader. With the potential of assessing the value of college libraries to lifelong learning in a changing society, College Librarianship falls short of its objectives. The whole does not equal the sum of its parts nor the purchase price.-Constance L. Foster, Western Ken- tucky University, Bowling Green. Caputo, Janette~· The Assertive Librarian. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx, 1984. 254p. $19.50 LC 83-43252 ISBN 0-89774-085-8. Assertiveness training is based on the premise that people are free to choose how they will behave from one situation · to the next. The assertive option involves We've taken book ordering out of the Dark Ages. BaTaSYSTEMS™ is Baker &: Thy lor's newest generation of . electronic book ordering services. It's especially designed to work with existing computer hardware, with built in flexibility that allows you to match the level of service to your library's unique needs. Whichever service level you choose, you'll save time, reduce paperwork and speed book acquisitions-all at a lower cost. For example: ORDER allows you to order books through your per- sonal compute~; using a modem and regular telephone lines. just enter the lSBNs and the following day you'll receive electronic confirmation from which you can print order slips. All calls are toll free . You also save the cost and delay of postal delivery. Or you can choose SEARCH AND ORDER . In addi- tion to electronic ordering, this service gives you quick Eastern Division, 50 Ki rby Avenue , Somerville, ~ 08876 (201) 722-8000 Southern Division , Mt. 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Momence, IL 60954 (8 15) 4 72- 2444 Western Division, 380 Edison Way, Reno, NV 89564 (702) 786-6700 374 College & Research Libraries standing up for one's own rights without violating the rights of others. Non- assertiveness is not standing up for one's rights; aggressiveness (including passive- aggressiveness) is infringing on others' rights. This book, written for librarians by a li- brarian who is also an assertiveness trainer, is practical in its focus and profes- sional in its scope.lt is intended to serve as a textbook for assertion training work- shops for librarians, but should be equally useful as a self-help book. The author seems interested in assisting he_r col- leagues in their individual professional development, and also in helping to coun- teract the stereotype of the nonassertive li- brarian. Topics include: personal rights and re- sponsibilities; goal setting; self-esteem and self-confidence; verbal assertion; nonverbal assertion; irrational beliefs; coping with defense mechanisms, and- by way of summary and integration-a chapter on the assertive library supervi- sor. The most basic assumption of the author is the aforementioned assumption of the assertiveness training field: "behavioral responses are learned rather than instinc- tual and . . . we therefore have control over the responses we wish to learn, un- learn, and select for use" (p.ix). The au- thor does acknowledge some limits to this control, as in her discussion of defense mechanisms. Assertiveness is defined in relation to basic human rights (standing up for one's own rights) and corresponding responsi- bilities (respecting others' rights). The au- thor enumerates five such basic rights: to be respected; to have and express feel- ings; to make mistakes; to say "no"; and to ask questions. She also considers some specific situational rights and responsibili- ties of librarians, library users, and the governing bodies over libraries. The Librarian's Discomfort Inventory is included to help the interested reader es- tablish a baseline before setting assertive- ness goals. The inventory helps one iden- tify what nonassertive or aggressive be- haviors are characteristic of oneself; with July 1985 whom and under what circumstances as- sertive behavior is difficult, and what top- ics are personally unpleasant to discuss. The chapter on self-esteem and self- confidence includes exercises for measur- ing the former and enhancing the latter. The chapters on verbal and nonverbal assertion are at the heart of the how-to fea- tures of the book. Drawing widely on the relevant literature, the author here presents substantial material for self-help. The treatment of irrational beliefs, a la Albert Ellis, reinforces the basic premise of conscious rational choice of one's behav- iors. The chapter on coping with defense mechanisms includes useful material re- lated to general stress management. Finally, the chapter devoted to the as- sertive library supervisor applies all of the foregoing principles to conduct in the managerial role. The book is researched and written well. Although it is practical, rather than theo- retical, it is nonetheless scholarly, with numerous, meticulously documented ref- erences and a good index (the latter com- piled by Linda Webster). It is admirably suited to its purpose . -M. f. La Plante, Uni- versity of Illinois at Chicago. Intner, Sheila S. Access to Media: A Guide to Integrating and Computerizing Catalogs. New York: Neal Schuman, 1984. 309p. $35. LC 84-1035. ISBN 0-918212-88-X. An expansion and revision of the au- thor's doctoral thesis of similar title (Access to Media: An Investigation of Public Librari- ans' Practices and Attitudes Toward Access to Nonprint Materials, Columbia Univ., 1982), the current Access to Media "is intended to be used as a handbook for change from manual, nonintegrated bibliographic sys- tems to integrated and automated systems as an ultimate goal." Leaving largely intact the basic chapters of the original thesis, reworked from the language of the graduate school to the practicality of " 'Can I understand this even if I'm not a librarian?' test," it is the author's intent that "Reading this book should provide an overview of the current state-of-the-art as well as the components necessary for changing a library's proce-