College and Research Libraries


276 I College & Research Libraries • May 1976 

plague us now, as they plagued his country. 
In addition to a description of the solu-

tions to provision of scientific literature 
quickly to those who need it, the festschrift 
contains some chapters not directly related 
to his endeavors, but as tribute offerings in 
his honor. Particularly useful to this review-
er were those of Donald Urquhart's suc-
cessor, M. B. Line, on "Demystification in 
Librarianship and Information Science," 
and B. J. Enright's "Bibliochlothanasia: Li-
brary Hygiene and the Library." 

Since a festschrift is a very personal kind 
of work, a review of it may be excused for 
being personal also, if only because the re-
viewer had the opportunity in 1964 with 
other ARL Board members to meet with 
Dr. Urquhart, and to have a personally 
conducted tour of the young NLLST and 
an explanation of its origins, its workings, 
and a glance into the future. The only re-
gret remaining is that a continuing personal 
association could not have developed on 
that base. But Seattle is a transpolar flight 
from London and Boston Spa. A substitute 

~ in the form of reading, as they appeared, 
of most of Donald Urquhart's library and 
information journal articles, is only second 
best to continuous dialogue with him. 

One can only envy those individuals in 
the United Kingdom and his European col-
leagues who had the privilege of closer and 
more intimate professional association. 

Having once been ill served by the pub-
lication of a book in poor format, this re-
viewer can comment on the poor format of 
this festschrift in honor of Donald Urqu-
hart. The type face is so small that it takes 
some dedication to the task, or extreme in-
terest in Donald Urquhart, to read the fine 
print and to turn the stiff pages. Yet it was 
worth the effort to work through to the end 
because the subject is worth that effort.-
Marion A. Milczewski, Director of Li-
braries, University of Washington Libraries. 

Duckett, Kenneth W. Modem Manuscripts: 
A Practical Manual for Their Manage-
ment, Care and Use. Nashville, Tenn.: 
American Association for State and Local 
History, 1975. 375p. $16.00. (LC 75-
5717) (ISBN 0-910050-16-3) 

It is a pleasure to begin this review by 
saying that Ken Duckett has indeed written 

a very good book about manuscripts. As its 
title indicates, it is about modern manu-
scripts, and its "scope is limited to manu-
scripts of the seventeenth century to the 
present." The preface points out that the 
book is a manual "directed toward the 
novice curator" and that "it is intended to 
serve as a practical guide, not as an exposi-
tion of theory." The author is considerate 
in pointing out that his research terminated 
on January 1, 197 4, and that he was, there-
fore, unable to include information which 
appeared after that date. 

The book is organized so that after an in-
troduction by William T. Alderson, the ex-
ecutive secretary of the American Associa-
tion for State and Local History, and a 
preface by Duckett, the first chapter pre-
sents a "Survey of Manuscript Collecting." 
It is followed by chapters on administra-
tion; acquisitions: the mechanics and eth-
ics; physical care and conservation; estab-
lishing bibliographic control; information 
retrieval: automation, the computer, and 
microphotography; nonmanuscript material; 
use of collections; and public service. These 
nine chapters are followed by three ap-
pendixes, the first of which presents plans 
for a records center carton and for a flat-
storage manuscript box; the second is a ta-
ble of equivalents (cartons, Hollinger boxes 
and other containers, and their cubic-foot 
capacities; pages per box or per other con-
tainer; carton and contain~r weights; reduc-
tion ratios and reel/ cassette viewing 
times); and the third is a perpetual calen-
dar. These appendixes are followed by a 
"Directory," which is a guide to associa-
tions, publications, equipment, supplies, 
and service; by "Facsimilies-a list of items 
more commonly Jeproduced"; and then by 
the notes, which are quite excellent. Mter 
the notes comes a "Glossary of Selected 
Terms," then an extensive bibliography 
(twenty-five pages, with the items listed al-
phabetically by author). The volume con-
cludes with an index. 

The book is well written, accurate, and 
useful. Duckett's suggestion that it is "di-
rected toward the novice curator" is far too 
modest an appraisal. There is much here 
that will be of value to all curators, from 
the most experienced to the beginner, for 
while the beginner will get his · start here, 



l· 

f 

• 

the experienced professional will find this 
both an excellent place to review or to 
"brush up" and to begin an extended study 
of a particular phase of his vocation. A 
minor annoyance to this . reviewer is the 
form in which the notes appear: only au-
thor, title, and the particular page or pages 
are listed. To get the full citation involves 
an unnecessary, separate trip to the bibliog-
raphy, where the author entry must be 
checked. 

This minor matter aside, Fred C. Cole 
and the Council on Library Resources (who 
supported the research); the Association 
for State and Local History, which pub-
lished the volume; and most of all Ken 
Duckett, are to be congratulated for pro-
ducing this very fine addition to library 
and archival literature.-Clyde C. Walton, 
North ern. Illinois University. 

Cowley, John, ed. Libraries in Higher Ed-
ucation: The User Approach to Service. 
Hamden, Conn.: Linnet Books, 1975. 
163p. $11.50. (ISBN 0-208-013710-7) 

Libraries in Higher Education is not, as 
the title implies, a study of libraries in all 
institutions of higher education, but is ac-
tually a series of essays by the staff of the 
North London Polytechnic reflecting the 
special concerns of polytechnic libraries. 
The British polytechnic institution as it 
stands today exists as a counterbalance to 
the university in the British system of high-
er education. First defined in a 1966 White 
Paper, entitled A Plan for Polytechnics and 
Other Colleges, which initiated their for-
mation ·through amalgamation of colleges 
of commerce, technology, design, and art, 
the polytechnics have swiftly evolved into 
institutions which satisfy the utilitarian 
needs of society, offer scheduling more 
flexible than that of the universities in or-
der to meet the needs of the mid-career 
student, and now are beginning to move to-
ward research and the liberal arts. 

The introductory essay in the volume by 
the editor gives a brief survey of the evolu-
tion of the polytechnic as an institution; 
but it is somewhat difficult for the non-
British librarian unfamiliar with the tradi-
tions of British higher education and its at-
tendant acronyms. 

Recent Publications I 277 

The volume proper is divided into two 
parts: "Promoting LiQ_rary Use" and "Sub-
ject Specialisation." Part one includes chap-
ters on "Organising for Reader Services," 
"Public Relations and Publicity," "Non-
print Media," and "Teaching Library· Use." 
While these essays are sincere descriptions 
of the working situations of librarians at-

, tempting to render quality service with in-
sufficient funding, they tend to be reitera-
tions of topics that have received more ex-
tensive and better treatment elsewhere in 
the professional literature. That is, they 
spring from the need for polytechnic librari-
ans to describe services they render, but 
they do not dwell on the polytechnic ex-
perience per se as much as on the problems 
that beset librarians everywhere. 

The last essay in part one, "Teaching Li-
brary Use," is of particular interest because 
it does attempt to delineate the British ex-
perience and the polytechnic approach to 
library instruction. In this article Nancy 
Hammond discusses the two distinct types 
of reader instruction that have developed 
in the polytechnic: that of the tutor-librari-
an responsible for all library instruction 
throughout the institution and that of the 
subject specialist who teaches in his or her 
area of expertise in addition to other duties. 

The second part of this book, "Subject 
Specialisation," outlines the activities of the 
subject specialist: provision, exploitation, 
teaching library use, and professional 
awareness. The specialist is a member of 
the library staff designated to develop one 
or more aspects of a library's collection and 
the array of services connected with it. 

While Libraries in Higher Education 
gives some insight into the polytechnic situ-
ation, its lack of focus on the specific ex-
perience and emphasis on general library 
problems undercut its usefulness. As source 
material for students it is of minimal value 
because of its scanty unclassified bibliogra-
phy and omission of bibliographical foot-
notes and index. Because very little litera-
ture exists on the polytechnic library, this 
volume will provide an elementary intro-
duction to the subject until a more compre-
hensive study is written.-Kathleen M. 
H eim, Director of Public Services, Rebecca 
Crown Library, Rosary College, River For-
est, Illinois. 

- -- - --- -------------- - -- ---- - --- - --- ----~