College and Research Libraries duces one to the libraries of two different, yet related, nations. There is a short introductory chapter on the development of higher education in Great Britain. The volume then is divided into two principal parts. The first features individual chapters on such topics as fi- nances, collections, buildings, staff, tech- nical services, reader services, automation, and relations outside the university. Bryan has prepared a number of tables to sum- marize some of this data, including sever- al comparisons with Australian institutions. The second part discusses in several chapters individual libraries, according to basic type-Oxbridge, Scottish greystone, London, civic universities (divided among "the big four," "the lesser five," and "the second generation"), Wales, the "new foun- dations" (primarily those schools estab- lished since the time of Bryan's earlier visit), and the "translations" (universities which were formerly colleges of advanced technology or similar instilutions). Al- though this section may have a particular reference value, the reader unfamiliar with the territory will find it less rewarding as the many libraries, each too briefly dis- cussed, lose their individual identities. Maps and photographs would have proved a major asset. Although the volume is less than 200 pages in length, the author has assembled in it a wealth of information, and it is thus a valuable resource for all academic librari- ans wishing an introduction to English and Australian academic librarianship.-Rich- ard D. Johnson, State University of New Y01·k, College at Oneonta. Orr, J. M. Libraries as Communication Sys- tems. Contributions in Librarianship and Information Science, number 17. West- port, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1977. 220p. $14.95. LC 76-8739. ISBN 0- 8371-8936-5. This collection of interesting, well-writ- ten essays on library science is organized according to a pattmn suggested by "gen- eral systems theory," which, the author feels, makes it possible to construct a philosophy of libraries and librarianship. Orr's discovery of this theory has offered him "the opportunity of organizing many Recent Publications I 439 random ventures from previous work." Thus seventeen essays are grouped under such headings as "The Nature of the Store," "Feedback from the Memory," and "The Effect of the System." In the first chapter, "Systems Theory," he explains the seven laws of general sys- tems theory and then postulates a definition of a library based on these laws. Again in the "Resume" at the end of the book, the postulated definition, which the author feels the intervening chapters have supported, is rephrased as follows: A library is a communicatory tool cre- ated by man to complement his own deficient memory. It is a store for his graphically produced records no mat- ter what their format. Its relationship with man is cyclic; it feeds his mind with information, much of which is reprocessed and returned to the li- brary. The library system therefore exhibits growth. Its real effect on so- ciety is probabalistic, but over a length of time it undoubtedly helps it to change. In the long term, it is a com- plementary system to other communi- catory tools of man, but in the short term it is competitive with other com- munication media. Despite this somewhat forbidding theo- retical framework, the reader need not fear that it is necessary to be a systems analyst or a philosopher to benefit from this book. The chapters cover such familiar subjects as the history of the book; the history of li- braries; the growth of recorded informa- tion; problems of preservation, access, and classification; and the effects on the public of reading, pornography, and libraries themselves. Most chapters conform to a pattern pro- viding a brief explanation of how the topic fits into general systems theory, a historical survey of the subject, and contemporary ex- amples, where relevant, chosen mainly from British sources but including some others, particularly American. Citations in the notes are all to well-known texts mostly fa- miliar to library science collections. Head- ings can be somewhat misleading. The sec- tion called "The Nature of the Store" might be expected to discuss principally books, 440 I College & Research Libraries • September 1977 periodicals, microforms, and computer tapes. However, it consists instead of four essays, each on a different nonbook materi- al: printed ephemera, manuscript archives, and audiovisuals. The fourth, entitled "Non-Print Items," turns out to be con- cerned with the decorative aspects of librar- ies which are informative, such as murals, busts of writers, spheres, and globes! This book is an outgrowth of a thesis submitted to the University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, Scotland, by the author who is di- rector of the School of Librarianship at Robert Gordon's Institute of Technology, Aberdeen. Orr stresses that this compilation of his thoughts, lectures, and writings is a "contribution," implying informal prelim- inary studies. The usefulness of this book in American library schools would be main- ly as supplementary reading for general courses such as those dealing with the li- brary in society or the library's role in com- munications.-Budd L. Gambee, School of Library Science, University of North Caro- lina, Chapel Hill. Murphy, l\1arcy, and Johns, Claude J., Jr. Handbook of Library Regulations. Books in Library and Information Science, v.20. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1977. 162p. $19.75. LC 76-19994. ISBN 0-8247- 6498-6. Without rules and regulations librarians would be as shaky as Tevye's fiddler on the roof, yet these are things of necessity. Ne- cessity also might send one in search of a concise guide to general library rules and regulations, a handbook something akin to Asa Knowles' Handbook of College and University Administration. If the search leads to Murphy and Johns' Handbook of Library Regulations, there will be a degree of disappointment. This book asserts to be an updated and edited version of the authors' article on li- brary regulations in the new Encyclopedia of Library and Information Science. Except for a comparison section, a two-page appen- dix on. library laws and legislation, and the deletion of the school libraries section, the book is basically a repeat of the original ar- ticle. The new material does not add signifi- cantly to the information contained in the original article because the comparison sec- tion (Chapter two) merely makes several trivial observations (e.g., "There can be little doubt, after reviewing these data, that re- search and probably most academic librar- ies provide many more hours of access each week than does any other sector") , and the appendix on library laws and legislation is much too brief to be useful. As to the de- leted section on school libraries, it should have been deleted because it represented practices of only nineteen school libraries, scarcely a useful sample. Both the book and the encyclopedia ar- ticle are based on a questionnaire that the authors sent to 429 public, research, state, school, and special libraries in the United . States and Canada. From the 349 responses to the questionnaire, the authors compiled data on library regulations as they relate to users, circulation, resources, interlibrary loan, reprography, and administration. The results are arranged by chapters according to the type of library with the statistical information being preceded, by way of in- troduction, with a definition of the type of library, its objectives, history, users, and trends. This elementary introductory ma- terial js specious, at best, and out of place in a book directed to the professional li- brarian. The authors state in their introduction that they believe it would be helpful to have more information available about li- brary regulations. This reviewer agrees, but he could not find it is this book because it really doesn't provide much useful informa- tion. For example, on page 1 the authors ask the following question, "Do most librar- ies have regulations which typically limit the acquisition of certain subjects?" At- tempt to answer this question as it relates to public libraries, and what does one find in the book under review? Of the more than 12,000 public libraries in the United States the authors' data reveal that 102 public libraries do not limit acquisitions, 16 do, and 11 of these exclude law, medicine, and professional literature. The usefulness of this type of information is highly question- able and so would be the purchase of this book by any librarian with access to the original encyclopedia article.-B. Donald Grose, Director of Library Servi-ces, In- diana University-Purdue University at Fort Wayne.