College and Research Libraries 378 I College & Research Libraries • July 1976 Rath, Frederick L., Jr., and O'Connell, Merrilyn Rogers, eds. Historic Preserva- tion. A Bibliography on Historical Or- ganization Practices, vol. 1. Nashville, Tenn.: American Association for State and Local History, 1975. 14lp. $10.00. (LC 75-26770) (ISBN 0-910050-17-1, v. I) This volume provides an excellent ref- erence bibliography and research tool on the history and organization of historic preservation and preservation experiences from buildings to archaeological sites. Sup- ported by the National Museum Act of 1971, this publication was to serve as a third edition of an earlier reference guide to the subject. However, the proliferation of materials in the field has made this the first of a series with other aspects to be cov- ered in future volumes. The editors have done a thorough job and produced an ex- tremely useful handbook. They attempted to include "all the most significant refer- ences" rather than produce a definitive list- ing, though over 1,250 references and 90 periodicals are cited. The organization of the work directs the reader through the many aspects of historic preservation, and the many short descrip- tive annotations are helpful within the larg- er categories to define the exact focus. Chapters cover Historical Preservation in Perspective; Preservation Law; Urban De- velopment and Redevelopment; Preserva- tion Research and Planning; and Preserva- tion Action. Monographic titles and articles cover 1945 through 1973, with references to major titles planned for 197 4. The many addresses for subscriptions and noncom- mercial publications are a boon, and there is a comprehensive index to assist in easy identification of all sources. Library of Con- gress entries are used. The informational notes in each section are particularly helpful in gathering infor- mation on training programs, national and foreign organizations, surveys, and related sources. The Basic Reference Shelf list would form a good working core library for any interested organization. Especially good for local and state historical societies or any other group involved in attempts to save our historical heritage, this bibliogra- phy will also give invaluable direction to the student planning to enter this field. Concise orientation statements are included for each chapter heading which leads the reader through preservation research, sur- veys, planning, legalities, funding, actual restoration techniques, and state-by-state experiences. Overall, this is an excellent guide to the field.-Gay Walker, Head, Preservation Office, Yale University Li- brary, New Haven, Connecticut. Lewanski, Richard C., comp. Guide to Pol- ish Libraries and Archives. East Euro- pean Monographs, no. 6. Boulder, Colo.: East European Quarterly, 197 4. (Dis- tributed by Columbia Univ. Pr.) 209p. $11.00. (LC 73-91484) (ISBN 0-231- 03896-8) The newly published Guide to Polish Libraries and Archives, compiled by Rich- ard C. Lewanski, may be regarded as a necessity to those who are or will be en- gaged in research on Poland or, for that matter, eastern Europe. It gives, among other things, first-hand information about major Polish libraries, their location and re- sources. In the "scope and profile" notes, one may find information on a library's strength in particular subjects, helpful to the foreign reader. The easy alphabetical arrangement of place names, together with the index of specific subjects (which sup- plements the table of contents) is indis- pensable. Inclusion of the names of related institutions and their collections broadens the range of available research locations. Bibliographies for each individual library in the text supplement the information giv- en in concise form. An additional listing of "Archives and Libraries in 'Mueums'" rsic1, not included in the main work, and a "General Bibliography•• (although incom- plete) conclude this concise volume. Unfortunately, there are many lacunae which should be mentioned to English readers in order to prevent them from con- cluding that this is all that one may find in Poland. .Jn a country where every war changed political maps and which played a role as binding agent between Russia, Germany, and Austria, all archival Polish libraries should be carefully considered. It •• ) >'t is not clear what criteria guided the author to include such unimportant places as Plock, with its historical society, and omit other more important places like Oswiecim, where archives pertaining to the concentra- tion camps during the German occupation are preserved. Omitted, too, are libraries in Bytom, Drohyczyn, Miedzyrzec, Racibor, Oswie- cim, Tarnow, Zamosc, and some other cities where one may find archives on sub- jects related to the countries bordering Po- land. Since churches and monasteries in Poland played a great political and cultural role and collected and preserved much ar- chival material, it is also hard to explain why the compiler chose the Academy of Physical Education Library in Warsaw but failed to mention Chrzescjanska Akademia Teologiczna (Christian Theological Acade- my), also in Warsaw and which preserves the archives on all other religious denomi- nations besides Catholicism. The library in Czestochowa is also less important than the library in J asna Gora which is not men- tioned at all. In spite of such failures and omissions, this is the only tool available to foreign scholars and may serve its purpose well. One should not be distracted by the title but should consult this directory for infor- mation on bordering countries as well.- Peter Kudrik, Slavic Bibliographer, Univer- sity of Michigan Library, Ann Arbor. Lunati, Rinaldo. Book Selection: Principles and Procedures. Translated by Luciana Marulli, with a foreword by Guy A. Mar- co. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1975. 167p. $7.00. (LC 75-23498) (ISBN 0- 8108-0846-3) "What appears to be the first English rendering of a modem Italian writing on librarianship" (Marco's foreword) is a translation of chapters II, III, and IV of the author's longer work published in Florence, 1972. The book in hand is concerned with libraries in general, giving some attention to particular types, such as academic. In the main, it is a review of the literature on book selection published in Western Eu- rope and the United States, with the addi- tion of Ranganathan. · Recent Publications I 379 The author here and there adds his own evaluations, together with his constructive judgments and theory. There is difficulty in knowing exactly where Lunati is sum- marizing a work and where he begins to in- sert his own ideas. Furthermore, since he has cast the thought of writers of English and other languages into Italian, then had the material translated (back) into English, the final results are not always accurate. For instance, he apparently has Danton saying in his Book Selection and Collec- tions: "The fact is that professors are of all persons the least qualified to take part in the process of selection" (p.85). I wonder whether the translator has not missed some of the fine distinctions which may have been in the original. Lunati's overall view is that most trea- tises on book selection require far too much knowledge and concentration on the part of the selector, while his own theory, "cul- tural selection," is not only superior but within the capabilities of human librarians. This "cultural selection" -hinted at over and over, never made clear, but arousing great interest-is dealt with in the untrans- lated part of the original. However, Marco, reviewing the full Italian text (Library Quarterly 43:267-68 [July 1973]), was not satisfied with the development of the the- ory. Apparently it assumes a society less pluralistic than ours, and perhaps one changing at a slower rate. The book is worthwhile, though; there is no question of that. Its main value is for widening horizons, historically and geo- graphically. To know that for more than three centuries librarians have wrestled with the problems of selection is consoling. It is humbling to hear some of our widely accepted views, e.g., on the value of lists of "best books," dismissed as Anglo-Ameri- can peculiarities. We may well ask whether he is wiser than we in asserting that we have emphasized demand too much at the expense of value. In the part which applies more specifical- ly to academic libraries, the author deals at some length with Danton, usually agree- ing with his conclusions. For some odd rea- sons, though, Danton's tame and sensible remarks on building collections for the fu- ture as well as the present are called "ex-