College and Research Libraries 242 j College & Research Libraries • May 1975 American counterparts, and of such cata- logs as Schwann and the Gramophone Long Playing Classical Record Catalogue can prove very enlightening to anyone con- cerned with the purchase of recordings.- Kenyon C. Rosenberg, Associate Professor, School of Library Science, Kent State Uni- versity, and Classical Recordings Editor, Previews Magazine. Dessauer, John P. Book Publishing: What It Is, What It Does. New York: Bowker, 1974. 231p. $11.95. (74-12162). (ISBN 0-8352-0758-7). Book publishing today is a complex ac- tivity, making use of diversified skills and expertise. It is now and always has been a curious blend of art and business, and the role of entrepreneur is one which publishers have assumed. John Dessauer has provided us with a broad survey of the subject, and he writes out of his experience as book- seller, book club executive, and member of a consulting firm serving publishers and the communications industry. Dessauer defines the publishing process as including the following areas of respon- sibility: editorial, production, marketing, fulfillment, administration. In no sense are these topics dealt with equitably in his book. The editorial aspect of publishing is touched upon very lightly, and the real em- phasis is on the processes of manufacturing and selling a commodity, which in this case happens to be books. This emphasis may be offensive to those who are preoccupied with the literary and cosmetic aspects of books and have little interest in the market- place. On the other hand, it is well known that publishing houses have foundered and died because of ineffectual business prac- tices. It is not easy to deal effectively with the processes of typesetting, printing, and bind- ing in a few pages; but in the chapter "How Books Are Manufactured" the au- thor has handled the subject with clarity and skill, providing the layman with a good introduction to the subject. The chapter on "How Books Are Marketed" describes the complex and often cumbersome methods by which books are distributed to readers in the United States, and should be of par- ticular interest to acquisitions librarians. He cites three major problems of the book in- dustry: "the need to curtail overproduction, the need for greater standardization in man- ufacturing, and the need for an effective distribution system." He also reminds us that publishing is in sore need of ongoing research into the desires and needs of the consumers of its product. Dessauer writes in a straightforward, no- nonsense manner; there is a total absence of footnotes. A "Bibliographic Note" lists eleven well-known books on publishing and related subjects. The book is well indexed, and there is a useful glossary of terms used in publishing and book manufacturing.- Dorothy Ethlyn Cole, Associate Professor, School of Library and Information Science, State University of New York at Albany. Benewick, Anne J. Asian and African Col- lecti0<718 in British Libraries: Problems and Prospects. ( Librarianship and In- formation Studies) Stevenage, Herts., England: Peter Peregrinus Ltd., 197 4. (Distributed in the U.S. and Canada by International Scholarly Book Services, P.O. Box 4347, Portland, OR 97208). 139p. $17.00. This book is the revised version of the author's M.A. thesis for the Postgraduate School of Librarianship and Information Science, Sheffield University, England. It is a "history of developments in the organi- zation of British Asian and Mrican collec- tions" and an attempt "to describe in detail many of the problems peculiar to area col- lections and their impact on British librar- ies." The former is presented in a straight- forward fashion giving much useful infor- mation on the historical background of these collections and their achievements, especially in the years following the widely acclaimed Scarbrough Report of 1947 and the Hayter Report of 1961-two national surveys which greatly contributed to the subsequent development of area studies and area libraries in Great Britain. The latter is discussed under headings such as regional library groups, acquisitions prob- lems and techniques, the role of the area specialist, etc. In addition to being the most up-to-date, informative, and candid account of the sub- ject in hand, this reviewer finds Ms. Bene- wick's book an excellent source of informa- tion for comparative purposes, for there are many similarities in the British and Amer- ican experience. In · both countries Asian and African collections developed from rather modest beginnings. A period of very rapid growth came in the 1950s and the 1960s as a result of substantial financial support from government and private sources. The number of Asian and African library collections multiplied, extending the scope of their coverage far beyond their original concern with materials in the hu- manities. With this expansion came also a number of organizational, technical, and management problems, many of which still await satisfactory solutions. For example, the question of whether area collections should be maintained separately or inte- gra ted with the main library collection re- mains a source of disagreement between users and library administrators. The prob- lem of bibliographical control is another challenge which has been only partially met. Dealing with countries with no de- veloped book trade where many desired items can be had only by personal visits and through diligent cultivation of personal contacts is still a problem that defies the solutions of an efficiency expert. (Ms. Bene- wick offers an excellent account of such difficulties which can be read with profit by those who are accustomed to dealing with American and Western European dealers with computerized operations.) Probably the most important question facing Asian and African libraries in our two countries today, when financial sup- port for higher education can no longer be taken for granted, is how to consolidate the gains of the past two decades in better ser- vice to scholarship. Ms. Benewick pleads for more coordination and planning on the national level for Great Britain. The same plea can and should be entered for the United States. Lately in the United States, there has been much discussion of coopera- tive schemes in library development in area studies. Both the positive and the negative aspects of the British experience can serve as a useful guide to our deliberations. Finally, this reviewer would recommend the inclusion of a few statistical tables giv- ing more quantitative information on British Asian and African collections, when and if Recent Publications / 243 Ms. Benewick updates her study.-Eugene W u, Librarian, H arvar~Y enching Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachu- setts. Woodburn, Henry M. Using the Chemwal Literature: A Practical Guide. (Books in Library and Information Science, v. 11) New York: Marcel Dekker, 1974. 302p. $14.50. (74-21883). (ISBN 0- 824 7-6260-6) . The literature of scientific bibliography has now become so immense with so many different information sources and data ser- vices offered to . technician and librarian alike that new guides to such literature should prove very welcome indeed. If the guide, as this one does, attempts to be con- cise, accurate, and fairly well up to date, professional reference attention will focus upon it. Woodburn, professor emeritus of chem- istry at SUNY Buffalo, has summarized in a very modestly sized book his experience of more than fifty years in the use of chem- ical literature. The editorial effort has been to discuss a limited number of periodicals and reference works but to include in those works the major ones found in well- equipped American libraries today. This is not a vast listing or bibliography of all sources available in the field. Instead the very readable text leads you into broad areas of discussion such as "col- lections of physical data," "abstracting ser- vices," "retrospective searching," and "mi- croform publication." There are, of course, sections on the basic works such as Chem- ical Abstracts, Beilstein, and Gmelin. It is quite obvious that here is an author with a feel for library methodology: classifica- tion systems are outlined and compared and government publications and their unique problems summarized. The double-spaced format of the entire text done in a typewriter face actually in- vites reading. It is an easy guide to use and manages to make several rather complicat- ed chemical literature systems interesting and clear. This is no mean achievement. Literature developments have been cov- ered through 1973. There are references appended to each chapter which permit the reader to consult the original sources if he chooses.