College and Research Libraries Review Articles Study of Research Library Problems Problems and Prospects of the Research Li- brary. E d i t e d by E d w i n E. W i l l i a m s . Pub- lished f o r t h e Association of R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s . N e w B r u n s w i c k , N . J . , Scarecrow Press, 1955. 181p. $4.50. T h i s is a r e m a r k a b l e b o o k . I t is r e m a r k - a b l e n o t f o r its c o n t e n t , w h i c h is p r o b a b l y k n o w n to all e x p e r i e n c e d research l i b r a r i a n s , b u t because it r e p r e s e n t s a s t e p f o r w a r d i n t h e f u r t h e r a n c e of u n d e r s t a n d i n g b e t w e e n t h e t o p a d m i n i s t r a t i o n a n d f a c u l t y m e m b e r s of u n i v e r s i t i e s a n d t h e i r l i b r a r i a n s . I n m a n y ways it r e p r e s e n t s a h i s t o r i c e v e n t , since l i b r a r i a n s (39 of t h e m ) m e t w i t h 20 pro- fessors, t h r e e vice-presidents, two p r e s i d e n t s , a n d o n e c h a n c e l l o r to discuss t h e g r o w t h a n d financial p r o b l e m s of u n i v e r s i t y libraries. F o u r of t h e l i b r a r i a n s r e p r e s e n t e d n o n - university libraries: t h e J o h n C r e r a r L i b r a r y , t h e N e w b e r r y L i b r a r y , t h e N e w York P u b l i c L i b r a r y , a n d t h e L i b r a r y of Congress. M r . W i l l i a m s , w h o is t o b e c o n g r a t u l a t e d f o r w e a v i n g i n t o a single v o l u m e t h e miscel- l a n e o u s p a p e r s a n d s t a t e m e n t s p r e s e n t e d a t t h e c o n f e r e n c e , h e l d a t A l l e r t o n H o u s e , M o n t i c e l l o , Illinois, O c t o b e r 29-31, 1954, in- t r o d u c e s t h e v o l u m e w i t h t h e f o l l o w i n g basic q u e s t i o n s : " H o w m u c h of t h e w r i t t e n r e c o r d of civilization o u g h t t o b e p r e s e r v e d , a n d h o w m u c h of it can be? W h o s e is t h e r e s p o n - sibility? H o w s h o u l d all t h a t is p r e s e r v e d b e o r g a n i z e d f o r use?" T h e r e a d e r will n o t find answers to these q u e s t i o n s i n t h e v o l u m e . " T h e M o n t i c e l l o C o n f e r e n c e was n o t ex- p e c t e d to a n s w e r these q u e s t i o n s o r even m u c h less basic ones. R a t h e r , it was e x p e c t e d to ask q u e s t i o n s s u i t a b l e f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n by a commission t h a t t h e Association of A m e r i c a n U n i v e r s i t i e s h o p e s to s p o n s o r , " M r . W i l l i a m s observes. I t is u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t n o t m o r e t h a n six vice-presidents o r p r e s i d e n t s a t t e n d e d t h e c o n f e r e n c e . E a c h i n s t i t u t i o n b e l o n g i n g t o t h e Association of R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s o r t h e Association of A m e r i c a n U n i v e r s i t i e s was in- vited to s e n d n o t o n l y its l i b r a r i a n b u t also its p r e s i d e n t a n d o n e f a c u l t y m e m b e r . O n e p r o f e s s o r a n d o n e p r e s i d e n t w h o s u b m i t t e d p a p e r s f o r r e a d i n g w e r e n o t a b l e to a t t e n d . I t is u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t m o r e p r e s i d e n t s o r vice-presidents d i d n o t a t t e n d because t h e v o l u m e clearly suggests t h a t they m i g h t h a v e b e c o m e e d u c a t e d t o t h e p o n d e r o u s p r o b - lems of t h e m a j o r research libraries. I n a l e t t e r t o R o b e r t B. D o w n s , c h a i r m a n of t h e c o n f e r e n c e , D r . L o u i s R . W i l s o n , d e a n emer- itus of t h e G r a d u a t e L i b r a r y School of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of C h i c a g o a n d f o r m e r l i b r a r i a n of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of N o r t h C a r o l i n a , w r o t e : " U n f o r t u n a t e l y , t h e l i b r a r y is a n a r e a of u n i v e r s i t y l i f e a b o u t w h i c h t h e executives k n o w f a r too l i t t l e f o r t h e g o o d of t h e t o t a l work of t h e i n s t i t u t i o n . T h e y k n o w h o w to b u i l d b u i l d i n g s , to e m p l o y f a c u l t y m e m b e r s a n d work w i t h trustees a n d legislatures a n d o t h e r p r o b l e m s of i n c o m e , b u t they h a v e n o t k n o w n t h e e x t e n t to w h i c h every class a n d research p r o j e c t d e p e n d s u p o n t h e l i b r a r y f o r aid. T h e y also a r e u n a w a r e of t h e fact, to a d e g r e e t h a t is h a r d l y p a r d o n a b l e , t h a t t h e c o m p l e x i t y of m o d e r n u n i v e r s i t y librar- ies is such as t o r e q u i r e skilled a n d well- t r a i n e d p e r s o n n e l to d i r e c t a n d p e r f o r m all of t h e l i b r a r y ' s w o r k effectively." T h e first session of t h e c o n f e r e n c e con- sidered t h e g e n e r a l t o p i c of " O p p o r t u n i t i e s a n d P i t f a l l s , " a n d i n c l u d e d p a p e r s by Presi- d e n t L l o y d M o r e y of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Illi- nois, P r e s i d e n t J o h n D . M i l l e t t of M i a m i U n i v e r s i t y (he was u n a b l e to b e p r e s e n t ) , D r . R o b e r t A. Miller, d i r e c t o r of t h e I n d i - a n a U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y , a n d Professor H e n r y G i l m a n (Chemistry), I o w a State College. D r . M i l l e r discusses t h e reasons f o r t h e call- i n g of t h e c o n f e r e n c e a n d emphasizes values as well as costs. Professor G i l m a n e x p l a i n s why well-stocked a n d w e l l - a d m i n i s t e r e d li- b r a r i e s a r e n e e d e d by scientists. D r . M i l l e t t c o m m e n t s o n t h e m i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s of re- m a r k s m a d e a b o u t l i b r a r i e s a n d l i b r a r i a n s in his Financing Higher Education in the United States. D r . M i l l e t t w o u l d like to see l i b r a r i a n s get closer to t h e i r a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s . O n e m i g h t say t h a t m a n y l i b r a r i a n s w o u l d 182 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES like to get closer, if t h e i r a d m i n i s t r a t i o n s w o u l d allow it. P r e s i d e n t M o r e y ' s r e m a r k s suggest t h a t t h e p r e s i d e n t s , as well as t h e l i b r a r i a n s , h a v e s o m e t h i n g to l e a r n in this respect. T h e second session of t h e c o n f e r e n c e was c o n c e r n e d w i t h " L i b r a r y O p e r a t i o n . " D r . R a y n a r d C. Swank, d i r e c t o r of t h e Stan- f o r d U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r i e s , p r o v i d e s a "facts- o f - l i f e " s t a t e m e n t of w h a t goes i n t o " T h e Cost of K e e p i n g Books." A f t e r a considera- t i o n of t h e characteristics of research a n d scholarship w h i c h affect t h e l i b r a r y directly, D r . Swank reviews t h e e l e m e n t s of books a n d l i b r a r i e s w h i c h press u p o n costs. H e t h e n directs a t t e n t i o n t o eight areas f o r possible study by t h e p r o p o s e d commission: (1) f u n c t i o n s of t h e u n i v e r s i t y in r e l a t i o n to l i b r a r y needs, (2) c o n t r o l of acquisitions, (3) w e e d i n g , (4) cataloging, (5) accessibility of collections, (6) n a t u r e of r e f e r e n c e serv- ice, (7) l i b r a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n , a n d (8) m a n - a g e m e n t a n d e q u i p m e n t . R e s e a r c h l i b r a r i a n s will a p p r e c i a t e t h e e m p h a s i s t h a t is p l a c e d o n f u n c t i o n s . So l o n g as u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i a n s a r e r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e i n t e g r a t i o n of t h e facilities a n d services of t h e i r l i b r a r i e s i n t o t h e sensitive f a b r i c of e x p a n d i n g c u r r i c u l a a n d i n c r e a s i n g e n r o l l m e n t s , so l o n g will it be necessary f o r u n i v e r s i t y a d m i n i s t r a t i v e officers to s u p p o r t t h e l i b r a r y p r o g r a m s . Professor J a m e s D . H a r t (English) of t h e U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a , i n his discussion " W h a t a Scholar E x p e c t s of A c q u i s i t i o n s , " observes t h a t " t h e p r o f e s s o r accepts as axi- o m a t i c t h e necessity f o r g r o w t h of t h e l i b r a r y if his university is n o t to s t a g n a t e . " W i t h some r e a l i z a t i o n t h a t some c o r n e r s m u s t b e cut, however, h e p r o p o s e s increased use of m i c r o r e p r o d u c t i o n s , b o t h w i t h i n i n d i v i d u a l l i b r a r i e s a n d o n a c o o p e r a t i v e basis, t h e ex- t e n s i o n of t h e F a r m i n g t o n P l a n , a n d t h e systematic d e v e l o p m e n t of i n t e r l i b r a r y serv- ices ( n o t j u s t i n t e r l i b r a r y loans). Professors W i l l i a m B. H a m i l t o n (History) of D u k e U n i v e r s i t y a n d J o s e p h S. F r u t o n (Biochemistry) of Yale U n i v e r s i t y discuss t h e card catalog. Professor H a m i l t o n , de- s c r i b i n g himself as "a f i f t h c o l u m n i s t i n y o u r m i d s t , " i n t r o d u c e s his r e m a r k s w i t h t h e s t a t e m e n t , " I come n o t t o b u r y t h e cata- logue, b u t to praise it a n d to a d v o c a t e its g r o w t h . " T h e n e e d s of t h e h u m a n i s t a n d t h e social scientist cover w i d e areas a n d t h e i r r a m b l i n g a p p r o a c h e s r e q u i r e card cat- alogs a n d o t h e r sources as guides. H e asks f o r m o r e i n t e n s i v e s u b j e c t analysis, a n d calls a t t e n t i o n to i n a d e q u a c i e s of t h e L i b r a r y of Congress h e a d i n g s in specific s i t u a t i o n s . H e is also critical of "overcorrectness" in a u t h o r a n d s u b j e c t entries. H e w o u l d like to see well-developed d i c t i o n a r y ( r a t h e r t h a n di- v i d e d ) catalogs, t h e c a t a l o g i n g of d o c u m e n t s , a n d t h e analysis of serials. Classification is n o t r e g a r d e d as t o o significant, a n d l i m i t e d f u n d s s h o u l d b e p u t i n t o s u b j e c t cataloging. Professor F r u t o n observes t h a t "classification is a n essential o p e r a t i o n w h e r e a s t h e w o r t h of t h e s u b j e c t c a t a l o g u e is o p e n t o q u e s t i o n . " T h i s is especially t r u e , c o m m e n t s Professor F r u t o n , i n l i b r a r i e s w h e r e t h e users h a v e access to t h e shelves. A p p a r e n t l y , t h e n , t h e r e a r e two sides to t h e q u e s t i o n — a s most l i b r a r i a n s k n o w . G e t a n y g r o u p of professors — o r j u s t t w o of t h e m — t o g e t h e r a n d t h e r e is a conflict of o p i n i o n . D r . Swank's c o n c e r n f o r a study of t h e use of t h e catafog receives s u p p o r t f r o m these c o m m e n t s . Professor F r u - t o n also discusses t h e r e l a t i o n of card cata- logs to o t h e r b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l a p p a r a t u s , descriptive cataloging, t h e difficulty of find- i n g m a t e r i a l s issued by c o r p o r a t e bodies, t h e h i g h cost of cataloging, a n d t h e u s e f u l n e s s of classified accession lists. H e advocates p a r t i a l reclassification f o r collections w h i c h h a v e g l a r i n g deficiencies in a r r a n g e m e n t . F r o m t h e s t a n d p o i n t of a professor of physics, P h i l i p M. M o r s e of t h e Massachu- setts I n s t i t u t e of T e c h n o l o g y m a k e s signifi- c a n t o b s e r v a t i o n s o n " W h a t Scholars E x p e c t of Service t o R e a d e r s . " S p e a k i n g o n l y f o r t h e physicist, h e stresses t h e i m p o r t a n c e of re- cency of p u b l i c a t i o n in his field. W h a t t o d o w i t h o u t m o d e d books is t h e l i b r a r i a n ' s p r o b - lem. H e notes: " I can only emphasize t h e f a c t t h a t h e [ t h e physicist] does n o t w a n t t h e m o n t h e shelves h o l d i n g t h e books h e is u s i n g daily, t h a t h e does w a n t to get t h e n e w m a t e r i a l t h e r e as quickly as possible, a n d t h a t h e w a n t s to b e a b l e t o find it with- o u t s e a r c h i n g catalogues a n d classification systems." T o find o u t h o w this can b e d o n e practically w o u l d i n d e e d b e a f e a t h e r in t h e h a t of t h e p r o p o s e d commission. T h e sug- gestion of systematic d i s c a r d i n g m a y be dis- c o n c e r t i n g to some l i b r a r i a n s . T h e t h i r d session was d e v o t e d to " C o o p e r - a t i o n a n d Specialization." D a y t o n D. Mc- MARCH, 1956 1.183 K e a n , professor of p o l i t i c a l science a n d d e a n of t h e G r a d u a t e School a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of C o l o r a d o , c o m m e n t s o n "A Scholar's View of C o o p e r a t i o n . " A p p r o p r i a t e l y , h e takes e x c e p t i o n t o P r e s i d e n t H a r o l d D o d d s ' state- m e n t t h a t n e i t h e r l i b r a r i a n s n o r faculties can be e x p e c t e d to b e seriously i n t e r e s t e d in r a d i c a l changes o r e c o n o m i e s a n d t h a t " i t seems to b e g e n e r a l l y a g r e e d t h a t if a n y t h i n g s u b s t a n t i a l is to b e a c c o m p l i s h e d in t h e way of l i b r a r y e c o n o m i e s it will b e d o n e o n l y by t h e i n t e r v e n t i o n of p r e s i d e n t s a n d b o a r d s of trustees." Professor M c K e a n m a k e s p e r t i n e n t o b s e r v a t i o n s o n t h e g r o w t h of l i b r a r i e s ( a n d t h e prestige of size), t h e p r o l i f e r a t i o n of j o u r n a l s a n d t h e n e e d f o r p l a n n e d p a r e n t - h o o d in this a r e a , a n d t h e r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n t h e i n t r o d u c t i o n of p r o f e s s i o n a l schools a n d l i b r a r y b u d g e t s . H e is critical of t h e w o r k of associations in u r g i n g t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t of p r o f e s s i o n a l schools o n a basis of p u r e rivalry. R e g i o n a l c o o p e r a t i o n i n l i b r a r y p u r - chasing a n d i n e s t a b l i s h i n g schools a n d de- p a r t m e n t s is u r g e d . D r . R o b e r t B. D o w n s , d i r e c t o r of t h e l i b r a r y a n d l i b r a r y school a t t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Illinois, p r o v i d e s a n incisive review of " L i b r a r y C o o p e r a t i o n a n d S p e c i a l i z a t i o n . " D r . D o w n s also r e f u t e s t h e s t a t e m e n t t h a t " l i b r a r i a n s h a v e b e e n w a s t e f u l o r inefficient in t h e i r e x p e n d i t u r e of i n s t i t u t i o n a l f u n d s . " H e traces t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of c o o p e r a t i v e e n t e r p r i s e s a n d efforts to specialize in col- lecting. H e p o i n t s o u t weaknesses i n t h e u n d e r t a k i n g s , a n d m a k e s t h e f o l l o w i n g per- t i n e n t o b s e r v a t i o n s : (1) c o o p e r a t i o n has dis- t i n c t l i m i t a t i o n s , (2) t h e best o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r c o o p e r a t i o n a r e i n specialized subjects a n d i n little-used k i n d s of m a t e r i a l s , (3) f e w e r obstacles to c o o p e r a t i o n exist i n loca- t i o n s w h e r e l i b r a r i e s a r e c o n c e n t r a t e d t h a n in r e g i o n s w h e r e distances a r e g r e a t a n d l i b r a r i e s a r e scattered, (4) possibilities f o r c o o p e r a t i o n exist in areas w i t h i n a d e q u a t e l i b r a r y resources, even t h o u g h distances m a y be wide, (5) positive c o o p e r a t i o n can b e e x p a n d e d in p r e s e r v a t i o n of such m a t e r i a l s as n e w s p a p e r s , local archives, a n d m a n u - scripts, a n d coverage i n f o r e i g n serial p u b l i - cations, m a p s , a n d research r e p o r t s , a n d (6) n o f o r m of c o o p e r a t i o n is a cure-all f o r all l i b r a r y p r o b l e m s . D r . Lewis C. B r a n s c o m b , d i r e c t o r of l i b r a r - ies of O h i o S t a t e U n i v e r s i t y , follows u p some of t h e p o i n t s m a d e by Professor Mc- K e a n a n d D r . D o w n s in his discussion of " L i b r a r y Specialization t h r o u g h I n s t i t u t i o n a l S p e c i a l i z a t i o n . " I n a d d i t i o n to c o o p e r a t i v e l i b r a r y p r o j e c t s , t h e r e is a n e e d f o r u n i v e r - sities g e t t i n g t o g e t h e r a n d c o o p e r a t i n g o n n a t i o n a l a n d r e g i o n a l bases i n r e g a r d t o c u r r i c u l a . Activities in t h e S o u t h a n d W e s t in this c o n n e c t i o n a r e cited. T o this re- viewer, such p l a n s a r e likely t o d e v e l o p too slowly to a i d l i b r a r i e s unless t h e r e is a na- t i o n a l p r o g r a m s u p p o r t e d by t h e A A U . Discussion of these p a p e r s i n c l u d e s com- m e n t s o n t h e M i d w e s t I n t e r - L i b r a r y C e n t e r as a n e x a m p l e of t h e way o u t f o r libraries, t h e p r o p o s e d N o r t h e a s t e r n R e g i o n a l Li- brary, d e v e l o p m e n t s in t h e Southeast, micro- p h o t o g r a p h i c r e p r o d u c t i o n a n d i n t e r l i b r a r y loans, a n d h o w to get m o r e o u t of coopera- tive cataloging. As V e r n e r C l a p p of t h e L i b r a r y of Congress p o i n t s o u t , m u c h m o r e can b e d o n e i n t h e field of c a t a l o g i n g . If Professors H a m i l t o n a n d F r u t o n a r e r i g h t a b o u t cataloging, p e r h a p s D r . R a l p h E. Ells- w o r t h ' s c o m m e n t s o n f u l l s u p p o r t f o r m o r e effective c e n t r a l i z e d c a t a l o g i n g is m o r e t h a n a b l i n d s t a b i n t h e d a r k . T h e f o u r t h session was d e v o t e d to t h e " F i n a n c i a l S i t u a t i o n . " T h i s , of course, was t h e r e a l r e a s o n f o r calling t h e c o n f e r e n c e , a n d will b e t h e focus of a t t e n t i o n of t h e pro- p o s e d commission. H a r v a r d ' s g r o w t h i n its l i b r a r y b u d g e t f r o m $600,000 in 1937 t o $2,340,000 i n 1954 is d e s c r i b e d by D r . Keyes D . Metcalf in " F a c i n g t h e C o n s e q u e n c e s of G r o w t h . " T h e p r o b l e m of g r o w t h is n o t new, as D r . Metcalf p o i n t s o u t , b u t t h e pro- fession will n e e d to d o s o m e t h i n g a b o u t it in t h e n e a r f u t u r e . H e is c o n v i n c e d t h a t p r e s i d e n t s a n d professors will h a v e to work closely w i t h t h e l i b r a r i a n s i n t h e s o l u t i o n of t h e p r o b l e m . M r . D o n a l d C o n e y , w r i t i n g of "A L i b r a r - i a n ' s View of L i b r a r y F i n a n c e , " o p e n s his s t a t e m e n t w i t h t h e f o l l o w i n g c o m m e n t : " I wish to state my p o s i t i o n a t t h e o u t s e t can- d i d l y : I believe t h a t t h e u n i v e r s i t i e s of t h e U n i t e d States, p u b l i c a n d p r i v a t e , a r e col- lectively n o t s p e n d i n g e n o u g h m o n e y o n books a n d o n l i b r a r y services." M r . C o n e y calls a t t e n t i o n to savings w h i c h can b e m a d e in i m p r o v e m e n t of p r o c e d u r e s . H o w e v e r , h e c o n c e n t r a t e s his a t t e n t i o n o n well- p l a n n e d c o o p e r a t i v e e n t e r p r i s e s w h i c h will 184 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES get l i b r a r i e s away f r o m t h e " m e d i e v a l state of i n d i v i d u a l acquisitiveness." M r . C o n e y emphasizes also t h e n e e d of w o r k o r per- f o r m a n c e b u d g e t s to show t h e r e l a t i o n of - l i b r a r y services to a p p r o p r i a t e u n i v e r s i t y activities. Discussion of this session was d e v o t e d to such m a t t e r s as travel f u n d s f o r scholars a n d f o r books (scholars g o i n g t o w h e r e collec- tions are, a n d possibly a l l o w i n g collections to follow m o v i n g scholars), rivalry a n d spe- cialization in collecting, t h e r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n financial p r o b l e m s a n d p h i l o s o p h i c a l p r o b - lems of e d u c a t i o n , a n d t h e pressure f o r ex- p a n s i o n in t e r m s of f u t u r e needs. All of these a r e i m p o r t a n t p r o b l e m s f o r t h e con- s i d e r a t i o n of t h e p r o p o s e d commission. T h e fifth a n d final session was d e v o t e d to " T h e F u t u r e . " T h e s t a t e m e n t of t h e A A U by its Special C o m m i t t e e o n t h e P r o p o s e d S t u d y describes t h e n e e d f o r t h e study, its s p o n s o r s h i p , a n d scope. D r . P a u l Buck, newly a p p o i n t e d d i r e c t o r of t h e H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y , p r o v i d e s t h e basic p a p e r , " L o o k i n g A h e a d . " D r . Buck takes a calm a t t i t u d e t o w a r d t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e u n i - versity l i b r a r y . H e is critical of l i b r a r i a n s f o r h a v i n g t a k e n a n e g a t i v e a p p r o a c h t o t h e i r p r o b l e m s . H i s credo in e n c o u r a g i n g : (1) " t h e l i b r a r y is t h e h e a r t of e d u c a t i o n , " (2) " t h e l i b r a r y r e m a i n s t h e g r e a t conserva- t o r of l e a r n i n g , " (3) " q u a l i t y e d u c a t i o n is impossible w i t h o u t a q u a l i t y l i b r a r y , " (4) "you c a n n o t h a v e a q u a l i t y f a c u l t y w i t h o u t a q u a l i t y l i b r a r y , " (5) " a l i b r a r y is vital to p r o p e r e x p l o i t a t i o n of o u r i n t e l l e c t u a l re- sources," a n d (6) " t h e l i b r a r y is essential t o m a i n t e n a n c e of f r e e access t o ideas a n d to t h e f u n c t i o n i n g of t h e u n t r a m m e l e d m i n d . " T h e s e , t o D r . Buck, a r e o b v i o u s t r u t h s , a n d l i b r a r i a n s m i g h t well e x p l o i t t h e m positively. M r . W i l l i a m s has f o r e s t a l l e d criticism of t h e discussions by i n d i c a t i n g t h e e x p l o r a t o r y n a t u r e of t h e c o n f e r e n c e . Most of t h e topics, if n o t all of t h e m , h a v e b e e n o n t h e a g e n d a of t h e A R L a n d A C R L g r o u p s f o r m a n y years. P r e s i d e n t M i l l e t t ' s o r i g i n a l observa- tions, w h e t h e r o r n o t they h a v e b e e n misin- t e r p r e t e d , h a v e h a d some v a l u e i n s t i r r i n g t h o u g h t s a n e w . D r . Buck's a l l a y i n g com- m e n t s s h o u l d b e t a k e n in t h e i r p r o p e r per- spective of t h e m a n y p r o b l e m s f a c i n g re- search l i b r a r i a n s . S p e c u l a t i o n a n d guesswork n e e d s u b s t a n t i a t i o n . — M a u r i c e F. Tauber. Serial Publications Serial Publications; Their Place and Treat- ment in Libraries. By A n d r e w D . O s b o r n . Chicago: A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Association, 1955. xiii, 309p. $6. W h a t e v e r else m a y b e said of this book, it m u s t be acclaimed as a l a n d m a r k i n t h e l i t e r a t u r e of p r o f e s s i o n a l l i b r a r i a n s h i p . T h e m e r e fact of its h a v i n g b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r t h e best t h i n k i n g i n t h e serials r e a l m — h e r e t o - f o r e scattered i n i n n u m e r a b l e small u n m a n - a g e a b l e p a r c e l s — w o u l d h a v e b e e n a sufficient g i f t f o r l i b r a r i a n s y o u n g a n d old. B u t D r . O s b o r n does n o t leave m a t t e r s floating h i t h e r a n d yon as does a l t o g e t h e r t o o m u c h of o u r " i m p a r t i a l " p r o f e s s i o n a l w r i t i n g . H e sets u p his p r o b l e m s , p r e s e n t s a l t e r n a t i v e p o i n t s of view, a n d in all b u t a f e w cases (where, ap- p a r e n t l y , t h e w e i g h t of e v i d e n c e is to h i m indecisive) h e m a k e s r e a s o n e d choices a m o n g a v a i l a b l e p r i n c i p l e s a n d practices. A w r i t e r c a n n o t be all t h i n g s to all read- ers. Some of us will c o m p l a i n t h a t t h e intro- d u c t o r y pages o n t h e history of serial p u b l i - c a t i o n s a r e skimpy a n d u n s a t i s f y i n g . T h e a u t h o r will r e p l y w i t h justification t h a t these pages w e r e d e s i g n e d o n l y to set t h e stage w i t h its m a g n i t u d e , c o m p l e x i t y a n d variety of p r o b l e m s . A f e w will say t h a t t h e a u t h o r ' s l e n g t h y q u o t a t i o n s f r o m source m a t e r i a l s a r e sometimes s u p e r f l u o u s f o r r e a d e r s w i t h back- g r o u n d a n d e x p e r i e n c e . M a n y will c o u n t e r w i t h t h e t h o u g h t t h a t such a c o m b i n a t i o n of a n t h o l o g y a n d t e x t is s u p e r b f o r t h e u n - i n i t i a t e d l i b r a r i a n s w h o m a k e u p a large p o p - u l a t i o n . O t h e r s will f i n d f a u l t w i t h t h e over- use of large research l i b r a r i e s f o r e x a m p l e a n d a u t h o r i t y . I n m i t i g a t i o n of this g e n r e of card-stacking, it m a y b e said t h a t o n l y in these libraries can o n e find t h e f u l l g a m u t of p r o b l e m s f r o m t h e simplest to t h e most c o m p l e x . Nevertheless, t h e e m p h a s i s o n large l i b r a r y p r a c t i c e is u n f o r t u n a t e because, in m a t t e r s r e l a t i n g to objectives, o r g a n i z a t i o n , division of l a b o r , a n d p e r s o n n e l t r a i n i n g , smaller i n s t i t u t i o n s a r e radically d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e i r larger a n d r i c h e r relatives. D r . O s b o r n was a w a r e of t h i s p r o b l e m , b u t l a b o r e d u n d e r t h e o b v i o u s difficulty of find- i n g e i t h e r a l i t e r a t u r e o r a well-advertised s o u n d e x p e r i e n c e u p o n w h i c h to d r a w to- w a r d a discussion of serial p u b l i c a t i o n s in MARCH, 1956 1.185