College and Research Libraries


Grosch, University of Minnesota, Min-
neapolis. 

Townley, Helen M. Systems Analysis for 
Information Retrieval. Institute of Infor-
mation Scientists Monograph Series. A 
Grafton Book Boulder, Colo.: Westview 
P,ress; London: Andre Deutsch, 1978. 
121p. $13.50. ISBN 0-233-96920-9. 
Exactly how does one go about designing 

and implementing an information retrieval 
system for a particular organization? What 
are the various options that the designers 
and programmers must choose among? How 
does it all work? One can get a pretty good 
feeling for the answers to these questions 
from this very readable little book of about 
ninety pages (plus a few appendixes). 

The author has almost twenty years of ex-
perience designing and implementing in-
formation retrieval systems. In her book she 
has interspersed little gems of wisdom only 
that experience can give. These range from 
the seemingly trivial "never make a note of 
anything without dating it" to the key ob-
servation that the system is likely to veer off 
course, or flounder entirely. Hence the 
statement of project goals "is to be the most 
important single document . . . for obtain-
ing (and keeping!) backing for the project 
and for keeping control of the evolving sys-
tem as it comes into being." 

It is refreshing to read someone who 
realizes that systems analysis is very subjec-
tive, "partly technique and partly flair." 
Townley realizes that there are numerous 
designs that can result from analysis and 
that we will create and destroy dozens of 
such seemingly clear-cut things as record 
specifications before we settle on one to 
actually implement. 

In this book we are once again reminded 
that the job of the analyst is only possible if 
he or she can get people to talk-and it is 
important to talk to all levels of workers and 
to more than one at each level. 

Townley takes great pains to demonstrate 
to us exactly how dumb the computer is 
(without going through the boring details of 
binary number systems!). By providing clear 
and concise descriptions of the concepts of 
files, records, and fields, as well as several 
major file and field addressing techniques, 
we can begin to get a picture of how sophis-

Recent Publications I 89 

ticated systems are built out of simple ele-
ments. The illustrations of computer search-
ing techniques (such as Boolean logic) bring 
out the work that computers do in informa-
tion retrieval systems in order to perform 
their amazing feats. 

The author's final word of warning is 
something that we are only now beginning 
to appreciate: "It must not be forgotten that 
the computer based service will not save 
labour: it will only permit more work to re-
sult from the same effort. Management 
must never underestimate the manpower 
and time that will be required to keep the 
new system working." 

In short, this is a very down-to-earth and 
practical book on systems analysis for infor-
mation retrieval, filled with good advice to 
those who are about to embark on projects 
in this field.-Stephen M. Silberstein, Uni-
versity of California, Berkeley. 

Smith, Lynn S. A Practical Approach to Se-
rials Cataloging. Foundations in Library 
and Information Science, volume 2. 
Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press, 1978. 

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