College and Research Libraries


Letters 
To The Editor: 

Emma Bradford Perry's guest editorial, "Why Diversity Isn't So Plain" (College & 
Research Libraries 56 [Mar. 1995]: 97-98), is right on target. The big question to me 
pertains to whether or not progress will be impeded as the nation moves away from 
big government and a federal social agenda. While I believe that trend is desirable to 
some extent and inevitable in the short term, diversity is not a goal that is captive to 
public funding. It is in our hands; in the hands of our administrators, personnel 
directors, search committees, and line supervisors. I think we can all agree with Emma 
Bradford Perry's statement of the real purpose of diversity. The difficult task of working 
out the specifics supporting that purpose rests with each of us. 

To the Editor: 

DON LANIER 
University of Illinois at Chicago 
Rockford, Illinois 61107 
dlanier@uic.edu 

Dave Harmeyer ("Potential Collection Development Bias: Some Evidence on a Con-
troversial Topic in California," College & Research Libraries 56 [Mar. 1995]: 101-11) is 
somewhat disingenuous in claiming the first published use of OCLC holdings data as 
a basis for comparing library holdings of certain titles. 

OCLC itself has for years been publishing its holdings data as indicators of title 
popularity, frequency, etc.-as witness page 10 of the January /February 1995 issue of 
the OCLC Newsletter (No. 213). 

Hence it did not occur to me to claim novelty when using these data to compare 
public library holdings of certain series books ("Bad Books in Series: Nancy Drew in 
the Public Library," The Lion and the Unicorn 18 [1994]:92-102), nor again in the paper, 
"Bibliographic Mystery: Missing Books; Missing Author," in Rediscovering Nancy (Univ. 
of Iowa Pr., 1995). 

There is less new under the sun than we may wit. 

364 

ESTHER G. BIERBAUM 
Professor 
The University of Iowa 



Internet Resources: A Subiect 
Guide 
Reprinted from C&RL News 
Newly updated articles originally ap-
pearing in C&RL News that list informa-
tion sources on the Internet, including 
·gophers, WWW, listservs, bulletin boards, 
discussion groups, online bibliographies, 
newsletters, and more. Sixteen diverse 
subject areas ranging from architecture 
to womens' studies. 

$18 .00, ACRL member $15 .00, 95p. 
0-8389-7785-5, 1995 

Ubrary Services for Non-Af-
filiated Patrons, CLIP Note #21 
Eugene S. Mitchell, camp. 
Sample policies and procedures for deal-
ing with service to the non-affiliated 
library user. Collected from academic 
institutions nationally. Includes examples 
of information sheets, application and 
registration forms , ID cards, recourse 
letters, and reciprocal agreements. 
$32.95; ACRL member $27.95, 151 p. 
0-8389-7781-2,1995 

Managing Student Workers in 
College Libraries,CLIP Note #20 
Michael Kathman, jane McGurn 
Kathman, camps. 
Comprehensive guidance for managing 
student employees. Includes examples 
of policies and procedures for employ-
ment, dismissal, orientation, training, 

superv1s1on, and performance review. 
"Highly recommended for small and 
medium-sized libraries employing stu-
dent workers."-Library journal 

$29.95;ACRLmember$25.95, 140p. 
0-8389-7752-9, 1994 

Science and Engineering Con-
ference Proceedings: A Guide 
to Sources for Identification and Veri-
fication 
Overview of the coverage and indexing 
of conference proceedings and papers 
in subject-oriented abstracting and in-
dexing services. A valuable working tool 
for the practicing librarian involved with 
public services for the scientific and 
engineering community. 

$16 .50, ACRL member $14 .00, 84p. 
0-83 89-7790-1 ' 199 5 

Discovering Ubrarians: Pro-
files of a Profession 
Mary jane Scherdin, editor 
Results of national studies of vocational 
interests of library and information pro-
fessionals . The librarian profile is pre-
sented from the ACT, the Strong Interest 
Inventories, the Myers-Briggs Type Indi-
cator, and the SIGI PLUS computer-
aided career guidance tool, along with 
analysis of demographic data. 

$35.95; ACRL member $31 .95, 220p. 
0-8389-7753-7, 1994 

To 
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