College and Research Libraries 90 College & Research Libraries changes of the past century. Beniger ar- gues his control revolution theory con- vincingly. Specific parts of his relentless elaboration may be easily assailable, but overall he has given us a new way to view ourselves as a society and to consider our profession within it.-Charles B. Osburn, University Libraries, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa. Hyatt, James A., and Aurora A. Santiago. University Libraries in Transition. Wash- ington, D. C.: National Assn. of College and Univ. Business Officers, 1987. 112p. $15 (ISBN 0-915164-29-9). LC 98- 12819. In Martin M. Cummings' The Economics of Research Libraries (Council on Library Re- sources, 1986), mention was made of a NACUBO-sponsored survey examining management practices of four university libraries undergoing rapid technological change, that is, in transition toward auto- mation. The book under review is the offi- cial report of that survey. The primary objectives of the study are: 1. to examine the management and planning of university libraries within the context of overall institutional goals and objectives; and 2. to examine the impact of technologi- cal changes on library operations, with re- gard to both current and future activities. The design and methodology of the proj- ect include the collection and analysis of background information on the participat- ing institutions, site visits and interviews on a set of issues with key campus admin- istrators and library officials, the docu- mentation of the site visit findings, and concluding overview of the survey results. It is, as the report rightly claims, "a landmark study, in that it not only pro- vides a detailed analysis of library automa- tion, but also describes institutional ap- proaches to acquiring and maintaining automated systems." The four libraries, all members of the Association of Re- search Libraries, differ in governance and organizational structure but combined manifestly represent major characteristics of many American research libraries. Princeton and New York University li- January 1988 braries are private institutions, and Uni- versities of Illinois and Georgia libraries are public state institutions. All four par- ticipate in national utilities: Princeton and NYU are members of RLIN, and Georgia and Illinois are members of OCLC. Both locally developed systems (Georgia's MARVEL, NYU's BOBCAT, Illinois' LCS/FBR) and externally purchased sys- tems (GEAC and Carlyle) have been in use, 'and almost all aspects of library func- tions (circulation, reserve, acquisitions, serial control, online catalog) have been involved. The case studies offer the reader some fairly detailed analyses of four quite different approaches toward library auto- mation, each responding to its specific needs and operating with its special strength and constraints. Princeton, with its tradition of participatory decision mak- ing and emphasis on scholarly research, developed its automation strategy by consensus-building among faculty, stu- dents, university administration, and li- brary staff. Its experience with the 3M venture notwithstanding, or perhaps be- cause of that, Princeton opted to purchase systems with proven viability instead of developing its own. The University of Illi- nois, with the strong support of the state and proactive role of the university librar- ian, assumed the leadership of a state- wide automated library system that effec- tively links a number of academic libraries throughout Illinois and makes resource sharing a reality with an active and effi- cient statewide interlibrary delivery sys- tem. The New York University, described as a ''federated institution,'' functions on many levels of informal contacts and over- lapping relationships. The library itself has had a history of decentralized gover- nance. Automation, which perforce pro- pels toward some degree of centralization, provides the library an opportunity to play a central role in the technological transition of the university in its teaching and research programs. This the Bobst Li- brary of NYU has in good measure pro- ceeded to do. With the active personal in- volvement of the dean of the libraries and the pivotal role of library automation in the technological transformation of the university itself, NYU libraries have been RESOURCE AUTHORITIES. Pleueaeadae bafonutioa oa otlaer u prochlca lll4 11niot1 cUcJttd: 0 NBWSpaper Indexes 0 Television News Transcripts and Indexes 0 Journals in Microform 0 Research Collections in Microform 0 U.S. and Interna· tional Patent Documentation 0 Patent Search and Awareness Services 0 Reference Books 12 Lunar Drive/Drawer AB Woodbridge, CT 06525 Toll-free: 1·800-REACH·RP TWX: 71 ()..165.6345 FAX: 203·397 ·3893 Over 200 years of factual reporting ... dozens of acclaimed international newspapers like The Times, The Washington Post, Le Mende, Der Spiegel, Asa.hi Shimbun, The Age, Financial Times, Jewish Chronicle ... all of them available on microfilm from Research Publications. Imagine the research value of The Times alone: every issue since 1785- reporting events like the French Revolution, the first flight by the Wright Brothers, and the cultural revolution in China. Scholars, researchers, and the inquisitive public at large have invaluable access to every word. This is probably the most inexhaustible, high-quality collection of inter- national newspapers ever preserved in microform- spanning hundreds of years of news publishing, on most of the world's continents, and with editorial content that's limitless in subject matter and interpretation. For further inform~tion, utilize the form below. Or to order current subscriptions and backfiles, call Research Publications tocl.ey at 1-800-REACH-RP ( 1-800-732-2477). From Connecticut, Alaska and Canada, call collect 203-397-2600. International Newspapers 0 Please send me your brochures. 0 Have a representative ca.ll me. Name Institution Address City Phone Title State Zip Code For further information, or to place your order directly, ca111-800-REACH-RP (1-800-732-2477). CRL l:-800-BIACB-BP 92 College & Research Libraries able to respond to technological change despite budgetary constraints. The Uni- versity of Georgia experience differs from the other three in that the library has opted to maintain the university's own lo- cally developed system, MARVEL, with a batch mode to reduce cataloging cost, and to cooperate closely with the campus com- puter center to develop its programs. It re- sponded to its own institutional needs by being a partner with the computer center. To respond to and capitalize on one's own unique institutional environment with its specific and special needs and ca- pabilities is perhaps the key to the survey findings. As the report concludes in its overview, it is important to recognize that management processes and automated systems of these or- ganizations were developed within unique sets of environment factors . . . the benefits of these case studies lies in noting how each institution and its library responded to technological change within the context of its institutional goals, objectives, and priorities . The report has another cautionary note. Automation does not result in reduced op- erating costs. And perhaps more serious yet, the true costs are difficult to ascertain. The four case histories provide interest- ing, indeed illuminating, albeit brief, de- scriptions of four success stories of how these libraries responded to the challenge by meeting their respective institutional needs within their specific institutional environment. The cases illustrated admin- istrative savoir faire and professional vi- sion as well as expertise, but the cold facts of cost estimates and cost-benefit analysis remain elusive. If one may wish for more from this very useful study, perhaps it would be that not only success stories are studied. If only some libraries would in- struct us with their stories of thwarted hopes and failed experiments! So often we learn more from failures than from successes.-¥. T. Feng, Harvard College Li- brary, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Carpenter, Kenneth E. The First 350 Years of the Harvard University Library: Descrip- tion of an Exhibition . Cambridge: Har- vard Univ. Library, 1986. 216 p. $20. January 1988 Whatever one wishes to call it-a collec- tion of collections, a library of libraries, the world's largest privately supported li- brary, an international collection, or sim- ply many tubs sailing the bibliographical seas on their individual bottoms-the Har- vard University Library is a phenomenon that commands admiration and respect. After 350 years of existence it celebrated its many achievements with this catalog to an exhibition documenting its course into the contemporary world. The reader quickly perceives the library's evolution from a struggling provincial outpost to a period of unprecedented collection building be- ginning in the latter part of the nineteenth century. The story concludes with Har- vard's approach to the preservation of all that it has so assiduously gathered during its long history, and its need to control its collections with the use of automation and · its own library information system. Har- vard, in effect, has seen it all, as is made clear by this careful gathering of incidents and personalities from the copious rec- ords of the library's past. The message is clear. This mighty insti- tution has a past to be reckoned with. In its long life, it has participated in more than one kind of revolution and has instigated, on the bibliographical side, quite a few of its own. With its own rich historical experience-one might say lineage-the Harvard University Library can take on whatever comes its way. One of the vir- tues of this volume is that it gives a broad perspective of change and durability within a unique institution from which the thoughtful reader can draw the lessons of history, or at least the history of libraries. The presentation is simple and direct, enabling the reader to .become engaged at any point that attracts an interest. More than eighty years were selected to estab- lish the inevitability of Harvard's great- ness. Each chosen year signifies an event that melds into the ultimate character of the institution and presumably affects it forever. It is a persistent gathering of strength and diversity with only a trace, here and there, of puffery or unnecessary hyperbole. The Harvard library becomes, as one moves through the years, truly the