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p o i n t of d e f i n i t e u r b a n i z a t i o n , fitting i n t o t h e 
p a t t e r n t h e p r i v a t e a n d c o m p a n y l i b r a r i e s , t h e 
t o w n a n d p a r i s h l i b r a r i e s , t h e social l i b r a r i e s , 
a n d t h e d e s i r e f o r p u b l i c l y s p o n s o r e d e d u c a -
t i o n a l f a c i l i t i e s . 

T h e c o n t e n t s of t h e l i b r a r i e s of t h e t i m e 
a r e n o t d e a l t w i t h t o a n y g r e a t e x t e n t , b u t 
s h o r t t a b l e s o f f e r c o m p a r a t i v e b a s e s f o r n o t i n g 
t h e p e r c e n t i l e divisions of t h e s m a l l c o l l e c -
t i o n s i n t o t h e v a r i o u s b o o k c a t e g o r i e s . A c o n -
s i d e r a t i o n is a l s o m a d e of t h e e a r l y d e v e l o p -
m e n t of a f o r m of special l i b r a r y a m o n g t h e 
social l i b r a r i e s w h i c h a t t e m p t e d t o c a t e r t o t h e 
p a r t i c u l a r i n t e r e s t s of its c l i e n t e l e . T h e a v e r -
sion t o fiction in t h e a b o v e m e n t i o n e d collec-
t i o n s a l s o led t o t h e e a r l y i n s t i t u t i o n of t h e 
c i r c u l a t i n g l i b r a r y . 

T h e a u t h o r t h e n t r a c e s t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of 
t h e p u b l i c l i b r a r y t h r o u g h t h e s t e p s t o w a r d m u -
n i c i p a l c o n t r o l , s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e B o s t o n P u b -
lic L i b r a r y , t h e b e g i n n i n g s of s t a t e l e g i s l a t i o n 

t o t h e c a u s a l f a c t o r s in p u b l i c l i b r a r y d e v e l o p -
m e n t . I n t h i s l a s t , t h e e f f e c t s of e c o n o m i c 
ability, d e s i r e of s c h o l a r s h i p , h i s t o r i c a l r e -
s e a r c h , a n d t h e u r g e f o r c o n s e r v a t i o n , w o r k 
w i t h t h e f e e l i n g of l o c a l p r i d e a n d t h e i n c r e a s -
ingly f e l t n e e d f o r u n i v e r s a l p u b l i c e d u c a t i o n , 
t h e L y c e u m m o v e m e n t a n d v o c a t i o n a l n e e d s , 
t o t h e end of s e t t i n g u p t h e first p u b l i c li-
b r a r i e s . 

P r o f e s s o r S h e r a p r o v e s his t h e s i s of t h e 
l i b r a r y as a social a g e n c y w h o s e f u n c t i o n s a r e 
o n l y d e f i n i t e l y k n o w n w h e n t h e g o a l s of s o -
ciety a r e c e r t a i n . W i t h its e x c e l l e n t i n d e x , 
s e l e c t i v e b i b l i o g r a p h y , d o c u m e n t s , p l a t e s , and 
c h a r t s t h i s w o r k is a w o r t h y c o n t r i b u t i o n t o 
t h e U n i v e r s i t y of C h i c a g o S t u d i e s in L i b r a r y 
Science, a n d o n e w h i c h w e c a n h o p e w i l l lead 
t o a n e x t e n d e d h i s t o r i c a l s t u d y of l i b r a r y d e -
v e l o p m e n t in c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h t h e c o u n t r y ' s 
e x p a n s i o n . — H a r o l d L. Roth, Brooklyn Public 
Library. 

Business Information 

Sources of Business Information. B y E d w i n 
T . C o m a n , J r . N e w Y o r k , P r e n t i c e - H a l l , 
I n c . , 1949, ix, 4 o 6 p . $ 6 . 0 0 ; t o schools, 
$ 4 - 5 0 . 
M a n y e f f o r t s h a v e b e e n m a d e t o solve t h e 

b i b l i o g r a p h i c p r o b l e m of o r g a n i z i n g a n d l i s t -
i n g s o u r c e s of b u s i n e s s i n f o r m a t i o n , b u t t h i s 
is t h e first a t t e m p t t o o f f e r a c r i t i c a l , r u n n i n g 
c o m m e n t a r y on t h e w h o l e r a n g e of b u s i n e s s 
l i t e r a t u r e . I t is a c o u r a g e o u s u n d e r t a k i n g . 
A s a h a n d b o o k it s h o u l d be v e r y u s e f u l t o s t u -
d e n t s in s c h o o l s of b u s i n e s s , a n d , in s o m e 
w a y s , t o b u s i n e s s m e n . I t is c e r t a i n l y a i m e d a t 
b o t h g r o u p s . W h e t h e r t h i s d o u b l e - b a r r e l l e d 
firing w i l l e x a c t l y h i t e i t h e r g r o u p 15 a q u e s -
tion t h a t C o m a n a t s o m e t i m e m u s t h a v e 
a s k e d h i m s e l f . T h e field of b u s i n e s s i n f o r -
m a t i o n is l a r g e , t h e s o u r c e s v a r i e d a n d o c c a -
s i o n a l l y o b s c u r e , a n d t h e b i b l i o g r a p h i c c o n -
t r o l i n a d e q u a t e . S p e c i a l l i b r a r i a n s a r e a c u t e l y 
c o n s c i o u s of t h e s e f a c t s a n d s p e n d m a n y 
h o u r s , a n d c o l l e c t i v e l y a g r e a t d e a l of m o n e y 
t o o r g a n i z e t h e i r r e s o u r c e s t o fit t h e p a r t i c u -
l a r b u s i n e s s t h e y s e r v e . T h e y k n o w , too, t h a t 
p i l i n g u p r e f e r e n c e s , o r o t h e r w i s e e m b a r r a s s -
i n g t h e i r e m p l o y e r s w i t h t h e w e a l t h of l i t -
e r a t u r e i n g e n i o u s l y d i s c o v e r e d is s e l d o m a p -
p r e c i a t e d . T w o of t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s t h e y 

h a v e f o u n d a r e t h a t t h e i n f o r m a t i o n s u p p l i e d 
m u s t e x a c t l y fit t h e p a r t i c u l a r n e e d , a n d t h a t 
it m u s t be t h e l a t e s t . 

T o o r g a n i z e a l l b u s i n e s s i n f o r m a t i o n f o r 
c o n v e n i e n t u s e is a h o p e l e s s t a s k . E i t h e r t h e 
c o v e r a g e is b r o a d , p e r h a p s b a s i c in s o m e a r e a s 
a n d s u p e r f i c i a l in o t h e r s , o r it is n a r r o w a n d 
a l w a y s s h i f t i n g in t i m e a n d b o u n d a r y . M o s t 
b i b l i o g r a p h i e s of b u s i n e s s l i t e r a t u r e a r e 
m e r e l y h a n d f u l s of t h e s w i r l i n g s a n d s of f a c t 
a n d o p i n i o n . N e w f a c t s o r o t h e r t h e o r i e s * 
m a k e t h e m v a n i s h in t h e d e s e r t of t h e s u p e r -
s e d e d . 

C o m a n h a s c h o s e n t h e b r o a d c o v e r a g e . I n 
l i m i t i n g his choice of m a t e r i a l s t o t h e basic, h e 
h a s a v o i d e d t h e c r i t i c i s m of i n c o m p l e t e n e s s in 
t h e a r e a s h e c o v e r s . H e h a s h a n d l e d t h e s e 
c o m p e t e n t l y by c a r e f u l s e l e c t i o n a n d b r i e f , 
c r i t i c a l a n d d e s c r i p t i v e c o m m e n t . O n l y o n e 
w h o h a s s t r u g g l e d w i t h o r g a n i z i n g f o r u s e 
t h e v a s t a n d s o m e t i m e s e x a s p e r a t i n g t y p e s of 
b u s i n e s s m a t e r i a l s can a p p r e c i a t e t h e e x t r a o r -
d i n a r y t a s k h e u n d e r t o o k . T h e r e a r e s o m e 
i m p o r t a n t a r e a s , h o w e v e r , a n d t y p e s of in-
f o r m a t i o n a l s o u r c e s h e h a s n e g l e c t e d . F o r 
e x a m p l e , t h e g e o g r a p h i c f a c t o r is only 
s l i g h t l y t o u c h e d u p o n in t h e s e c t i o n o n f o r -
eign t r a d e , a l t h o u g h it is as i m p o r t a n t f o r 

92 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



d o m e s t i c as it is f o r f o r e i g n b u s i n e s s . C o r -
p o r a t i o n m a t e r i a l s a r e s l i g h t e d in b o t h t h e 
s e c t i o n on f i n a n c i a l i n f o r m a t i o n a n d t h a t on 
a c c o u n t i n g . T h e S e c u r i t i e s a n d E x c h a n g e 
C o m m i s s i o n ' s u s e f u l p u b l i c a t i o n s a l s o a r e n o t 
m e n t i o n e d . A n o t h e r n e g l e c t e d s o u r c e , u s e d 
e x t e n s i v e l y in b u s i n e s s , is s u p p l e m e n t a r y c o n -
t a c t s , w h i c h c a l l f o r t h e c i t a t i o n of s u c h aids 
as Who Knows—and What, a n d f o r s t a t i s t i c s , 
t h e U . S. B u d g e t B u r e a u ' s Federal Statistical 
Directory. I n t h e s e c t i o n on a d v e r t i s i n g t h e 
d i r e c t o r i e s of a d v e r t i s e r s a n d a g e n c i e s a r e n o t 
m e n t i o n e d , t h o u g h q u i t e u s e f u l . 

I n spite of t h e c a r e w i t h w h i c h t h e biblio-
g r a p h i c i n f o r m a t i o n w a s c o m p i l e d , t h e r e a r e 
s o m e e r r o r s w h i c h a r e h a r d t o u n d e r s t a n d . 
Public Affairs Information Service b u l l e t i n s 
a r e r e p o r t e d as a p p e a r i n g m o n t h l y i n s t e a d of 
w e e k l y , a n d t h e D u n a n d B r a d s t r e e t is listed 
as a n a n n u a l . S u r p r i s i n g o m i s s i o n s a r e N y s -
t r o m ' s Marketing Handbook, L a s s e r ' s Hand-
book of Cost Accounting Methods, t h e m o r e 
t h a n l o c a l l y u s e f u l Directory of Directors 
for the City of New York, P e t e r s o n ' s Hand-
book of Labor Unions, t h e N a t i o n a l A s s o c i a -
t i o n of R e a l E s t a t e B o a r d s ' s u r v e y s , local r e a l 
e s t a t e a t l a s e s , a n d t h a t h a n d b o o k u s e f u l f o r 
policy a n a l y s i s , t h e Flitcraft Compend. A 
w o r k of s u c h p r o p o r t i o n s as t h i s b o o k m u s t 
h a v e b e e n l o n g in p r e p a r a t i o n , a n d f o r t h a t 
r e a s o n t h e c i t a t i o n of e a r l i e r e d i t i o n s w h e r e 
l a t e r o n e s h a v e b e e n p u b l i s h e d m u s t be d u e 
t o t h e e x t r e m e difficulty of b e i n g s u r e t h a t all 
e n t r i e s a r e u p t o d a t e w h e n t h e b o o k goes t o 
p r e s s . I n s t a n c e s of t h i s s o r t a r e t h e N a t i o n a l 
R e s e a r c h C o u n c i l ' s Handbook 1942 e d i t i o n 
c i t e d i n s t e a d of t h e 1948, Who's Who in Com-
merce and Industry is n o t e d in t h e 5 t h r a t h e r 
t h a n t h e 6 t h e d i t i o n ; t h e L e a g u e of N a t i o n s , 
G e n e v a , is given as p u b l i s h e r of t h e Monthly 
Bulletin of Statistics, i n s t e a d of t h e p r e s e n t 
agency, t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s ; t h e 1940 i n s t e a d 
of t h e 1945 C e n s u s of A g r i c u l t u r e is n o t e d on 
p a g e 2 7 5 ; A s p l e y ' s Handbook of Industrial 
Relations is cited in b o t h t h e 1943 a n d 1944 
e d i t i o n s b u t n o t in t h e 3 r d , 1948, e d i t i o n . If 
t h e t e r m i n a l d a t e of c o m p i l a t i o n w e r e m e n -
t i o n e d in t h e p r e f a c e , as it is n o t , t h e p u b l i c a -
t i o n d a t e of 1949 w o u l d n o t be so d e c e p t i v e . 
N o t as a m a t t e r of e d i t i o n b u t of b r i n g i n g t h e 
c o v e r a g e t o d a t e , s o m e r e f e r e n c e s h o u l d h a v e 
b e e n m a d e to s a m p l i n g , in s p i t e of r e c e n t dis-
c r e d i t of p o l l i n g , since t h e t e c h n i q u e w i l l c o n -

t i n u e t o be u s e d in m a n y a r e a s of b u s i n e s s . 
I t is n o t c l e a r f r o m t h e n a t u r e of s e l e c t i o n s 

w h a t a u d i e n c e t h e b o o k is t o r e a c h : f o r t h e 
b u s i n e s s m a n w i t h o u t f o r m a l b u s i n e s s e d u c a t i o n 
t h e s o u r c e s s e e m p r o f u s e a n d t h e r e a d i n g a t 
t i m e s d i s c o u r a g i n g l y d i f f i c u l t ; f o r t h e b u s i n e s s -
m a n p r o f e s s i o n a l l y e d u c a t e d m a n y of t h e b o o k s 
m a y s e e m t o o e l e m e n t a r y a n d t h e r e f e r e n c e to 
s o u r c e s t o o v a g u e . T h e r e is, h o w e v e r , a c o r e 
of u s e f u l r e f e r e n c e b o o k s f o r e i t h e r m a n , a n d , 
if o n e o r t h e o t h e r is n o t b e w i l d e r e d by t h e 
t o o g e n e r o u s o f f e r i n g , he w i l l u s e a n d a p p r e -
c i a t e t h a t p a r t of t h e b o o k . P e r h a p s t w o 
v o l u m e s w o u l d h a v e b e e n m o r e c o n v e n i e n t — 
one c o n t a i n i n g r e c o m m e n d e d r e a d i n g f o r t h e 
m y t h i c a l " a v e r a g e " b u s i n e s s m a n , a n d t h e 
o t h e r b e i n g a g u i d e t o b u s i n e s s r e f e r e n c e m a -
t e r i a l . S c h o o l of b u s i n e s s s t u d e n t s w i l l a p -
p r e c i a t e t h i s c o m b i n a t i o n of basic r e a d i n g a n d 
r e f e r e n c e m a t e r i a l . O n t h e w h o l e t h e book 
r e p r e s e n t s a g o o d step f o r w a r d in t r y i n g t o 
h e l p t h e u n i n i t i a t e d t o m a s t e r t h e v a r i o u s 
s o u r c e s of b u s i n e s s i n f o r m a t i o n . — W alter 
Hausdorfer, Temple University Libraries. 

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