College and Research Libraries 236 I College & Research Libraries • May 1978 more profitably on something else.- Cathleen Flanagan, University of Utah , Salt Lake City. Gebhardt, Walther, comp. Special Collec~ tions in German Libraries. Federal Re- public of Germany incl. Berlin (West). By Commission of Deutsche Forschungsge- meinschaft. Berlin and New York: Walter de Gruyter, 1977. 739p. $67.30. LC 77- 22288. ISBN 3-11-005839-1. (Title page also in German: Spezialst{mde in deutschen Bibliotheken. Bundesrepublik Deutschland einschl. Berlin (West). Im Auftrag der Deutschen Forschungs- gemeinschaft.) Following the destruction and dislocation of libraries during World War II, the need for a catalog to the special collections in East and West Germany has become im- perative. Hans Praesent' s Die Bibliotheken (Deutsches Reich) published in the Minerva Handbiicher series in 1929 is, of course, out of date. Richard C. Lewanski' s Subject Col- lections in European Libraries (1965) covers 6,000 libraries and does not adequately describe any one collection. Walther Gebhardt's work now fills the gap for the Federal Republic. The 877 collections are arranged alpha- betically by city. In addition to informing the reader about loan privileges and copying facilities, the compiler usually lists the ap- proximate size of the collections and their significant features. Gebhardt cites articles and bibliographies when they are available. More than 200 pages are devoted to a con- cordance and an· index. The concordance enables the researcher to scan subject head- ings, names, and , concepts and thus easily find a particular field. For example, ninety subject headings and names appear under "military science." Generous listings are available in other subject areas. In spite of the losses resulting from the war, German libraries still contain vast re- sources. To cite only a sampling: The municipal library of Baden-Baden has 400 volumes on hot springs and baths. In Berlin the researcher may consult more than 5, 000 concert programs from the Gewandhaus in Leipzig. One library lists an uncataloged collection dealing with the poet Wieland as weighing "3 Zentner" (i.e., 330.75 pounds). In Munich, a former Gestapo library con- tains 10,000 volumes on Judaism, and an archive in Koblenz has 2, 000 tape record- ings from the Nazi period. There are still a dozen Judaica collections in West Germany. Several libraries have more than 10,000 fu- neral sermons each. One museum has 4,000 volumes devoted to the history of bread; another specializes in Till Eulenspiegel books and memorabilia. And even German libraries are now beginning to collect comic books. One need hardly detail the superb collec- tions in philology, philosophy, and the natu- ral sciences, which made Germany the leader in Wissenschaft until 1933. Seminary and cloister libraries still contain numerous manuscripts and incunabula. Gebhardt has not slighted the German researcher looking for foreign collections. Listed are depository collections of the RAND Corporation, U.S. government pub- lications, and UN reports. Similarly, the compiler identifies libraries having mi- crofilms of early American imprints and those listed in the catalogs of Pollard and Redgrave and Wing. A few minor criticisms: the list of ab- breviations is inadequate. The price of the volume puts it beyond t~e reach of re- searchers on a grant. One wonders about the publisher's motive in issuing the volume with a German and an English title, when only the introduction is in EngJish. Never- theless, this volume is vital in any reference collection.-Kurt S. Maier, Leo Baeck Insti- tute, New York. Davis, Cullom; Back, Kathryn; and Mac- Lean, Kay. Oral History from Tape to Type. Chicago: American Library Assn., 1977. 141p. $8.95. LC 77-4403. ISBN 0-8389-0330-8. Baum, Willa K. Transcribing and Editing Oral History. Nashville, Tenn.: American Association for State and Local History, 1977. 127p. ( + 33 1/3. RPM record). $6.75 ($4.50 to AASLH members). LC 77-3340. ISBN 0-910050-26-0. Two recent additions to the literature of manuals on how to do oral history are tes- timonials to the growing professionalism of this relatively new technique, which pre- serves for the future the memories of .. .... J participant/observers of events of historical import. Oral History from Tape to Type is the more inclusive of the two books. It is de- signed to be three things: (1) a textbook on oral history, (2) an operating manual, and (3) a workbook. As a textbook on oral history, it may be a bit thin. For instance, the disad- vantages of doing a subject oriented rather than a biographical oral history are made clear, but advantages are left to the reader's imagination. Moreover, a textbook should have some discussion of what, in fact, has been contributed by oral history to his- toriography. But it is an excellent manual, and it could be recommended without any serious qualifications to anyone wishing to begin or to improve an already established oral history program. The discussion on interview technique is especially wise and perceptive as well as full of practical hints. This book will be particu- larly useful to those teaching a course on oral history. The exercises are designed to give the prospective oral historian realistic practice. This work is different from previ- ous manuals in that it concentrates on re- trieving, publishing, and publicizing oral history. For this reason, I think it will be particularly valued by librarians and those who are involved in the maintenance and preservation of oral history tapes and tran- scripts. Transcribing and Editing is not intended as a complete manual. Rather it is a com- panion volume to the author's first work Oral History for the Local Historical Soci- ety, an effort that has become recognized as the most valuable, if not essential, aid to the small oral history project. Transcribing and Editing begins at the moment the tape recorder has been turned off at the conclu- sion of a successful interview and covers every step from the form in which notes taken during the interview can be most use- ful to the transcriber to the ceremonial pre- sentation of !he finished product to the nar- rator. Willa Baum has not chosen, however, to present a rigid explication of the one right way to process oral history tapes. Instead, she has set out various alternatives and rationales for deciding among these alterna- tives. Who would imagine that instructions Recent Publications I 237 to a transcriber could be a warm, sensitive human document, which evidences great respect for the interviewer, the interviewee, and indeed for the integrity of the project itself? But Willa Baum' s directions are, in fact, exactly that. Perhaps the major weakness of this man- ual is that it suggests far more editing than would appear to be wise, either in terms of an accurate rendition of the interview or in terms of making funds stretch as far as pos- sible. A great deal of editing is costly and time consuming and, finally and most im- portantly, presents the researcher with a document that is a far cry from the original. Before deciding on a program of editing, one could profitably consult the discussion by Davis, Back, and MacLean, which pro- vides the rationale for editing merely in the interests of intelligibility and argues against massive rearrangements and structural changes. Both of these books provide an excellent guide to any oral history project large or small and will make instructive reading for Operating Budget Cuts? Less staff for equal work? Save time and trouble, get the most for your money with service designed to meet your needs. Reduce staff time in claim work and direct or- dering - let us do the work. Any book in print (U.S. and Canada) can be supplied with custom invoic- ing and prompt, accurate reporting of back ordered titles. Give us a trial order and see what our "Con- cerned Service" can do for you! Call 517-849-2117 Collect - the BOOK HOlJSE SINCE 1962 JOBBERS SERVING LIBRARIES WITH ANY BOOK IN PRINT 208 WEST CHICAGO STREET JONESVILLE . MICHIGAN 49250 238 I College & Research Libraries • May 1978 all who either contemplate or are already heavily engaged in the stimulating but sometimes frustrating venture of attempting to preserve "history warm." -Alice M. Hoffman, Pennsylvania State University, King of Prussia Graduate Center. Prospects for Change in Bibliographic Con- trol. Proceedings of the Thirty-eighth Annual Conference of the Graduate Li- brary School, November 8-9, 1976. Edited by Abraham Bookstein, Herman H. Fussier, and Helen F. Schmierer. The University of Chicago Studies in Library Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977. 138p. $7.50. LC 77-23767. ISBN 0-226-06365-8. As usual, the annual conference of the University of Chicago Graduate Library School results in a high-powered overview of the chosen topic. The title of the thirty- eighth conference should serve as a caution- ary note: these proceedings should be read without delay, since the pace of change threatens to make much of the content passe in short order. Three of the seven papers are largely fac- tual, informative, and nonprovocative state-of-the-art presentations. "Technological Foundations for Bibliographic Control Sys- tems," by Ronald L. Wigington and Charles N. Costakos, serves an important function for planners of bibliographic systems gener- ally. The paper's scope-computer technol- ogy, communications technology, reprog- raphy, and software-along with its lucid exposition and predictions of future trends makes it one of the most relevant and valu- able pieces this reviewer has read for some time. (Another reason to read it: most of the news is good!) Elaine Svenonius and Helen F. Schmier- er write perceptively on recent work in the area of subject control within a neatly or- ganized framework encompassing univer- sal schemes (LC and Dewey classification and LC subject headings), natural language indexing, indexing vocabulary convertibility, Subscriptions ... the professional way. [[N] F.W. FAXOn comPAnY, 1nc. 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