College and Research Libraries 96 College & Research Libraries broad topic. Nevertheless, it could have outlined the agenda the profession must follow to evaluate reference services in public and academic libraries. The profes- sion must define what it means by refer- ence services (including online services); it must establish standards for these ser- vices; it must devise techniques for mea- suring services against these standards. It must integrate into a cumulative judg- ment the individual judgments of the vari- ous factors F. W. Lancaster identifies in his article as things that can affect the qual- ity of reference service. These factors in- clude the conduciveness of the environ- ment for information seeking, library policies, the reference collection, library staff, question complexity, the abilities of the user, and the existence of referral agencies. Thus far attempts to evaluate reference service fall well short of this ambitious mark. The best hope is offered by efforts such as the one Marjorie Murfin and Charles Bunge describe in which both li- brarians and patrons in a number of li- braries complete questionnaires describ- ing and evaluating particular reference encounters. All of this data is then ana- lyzed by computer. Although they cau- tion that their results are preliminary and subject to revision after further analysis, one can conclude that good reference ser- vice is labor intensive in that it takes time and that it is more likely to be judged effec- tive if the librarian searches for the infor- mation requested rather than suggests a strategy through which it might be found. Work must continue on this and other techniques until collectively they reach a point at which someone can synthesize them into the best possible way to mea- sure and evaluate reference. Several articles explain how to evaluate databases and reference works and one ar- ticle discusses reference collection poli- cies. Because these articles fail to consider the impact on library patrons, they are pe- ripheral to the volume's central concern of evaluating reference service. Collectively these articles capture the state of the art of evaluating reference- not only the techniques but also the beliefs January 1986 the profession holds about evaluation. Thus far, belief in evaluation's value far outweighs the results derived from evalu- ation experiments. This volume states the problems; it does not offer solutions. However, because methods of evaluating reference service must be found and be- cause this overview comes at a time of re- newed interest in the evaluation issue, it ought to encourage both theoreticians and practitioners to work on the agenda out- lined above.-James R. Rettig, University Library, University of Illinois at Chicago. Campbell, Duncan D. The New Majority: Adult Learners in the University. Edmon- ton, Alberta, Can.: Univ. of Alberta Pr., 1984. 146p. $11.50. LC 84-091063-0 ISBN 0-88864-097-8. Although this book has a Canadian fo- cus, it deals with an important issue of higher education that should be of equal interest in the United States. Campbell, a professor of continuing education and higher education at the University of Al- berta, argues the importance of institu- tions coming to terms with the educa- tional needs of working adults beyond traditional college age. Programs serving this group have frequently been outside the mainstream of normal University pri- orities in both Canada and the United States; but with changing demographic and social patterns, a group once seen as peripheral to the central mission and goals of higher education is now an increasingly important segment of its population. Campbell believes that universities must face this fact and act upon it if they are to remain dominant in the education field. The points raised in this short book are good ones, but one wonders if this was the best means for transmitting them. There is a good deal of repetition between sections and maybe a long, well-written article in a prominent journal would have presented the message more concisely to a broader audience. The first section provides an historical retrospective on continuing education in Canada with reference to other countries, especially the U.S. and the United King- dom. Later sections deal with the rhetoric, types, design, and delivery of continuing education programs. Only in the next-to- last chapter does Campbell begin to present his ideas for change in the organi- zation and policies of continuing educa- tion. Since many readers will be relatively familiar with the current status of continu- ing education much of the material in this area could be condensed with greater at- tention then devoted to the future. Libraries are specifically mentioned only a few times in this book, but Camp- bell does note the tension between li- braries who want to keep holdings intact and the continuing education student's need for resources in locations remote from the central university campus. The issue of education, including ade- quate library services and collections for the older adult, is an important one; and academic librarians need to be especially conscious of activities and trends in their own states, provinces, or regions. Those wanting a broader overview will probably Recent Publications 97 find that this book does nicely, providing a readable, jargon-free approach with chapter summaries and a fairly extensive, if a little dated, international bibliography.-Elizabeth M. Salzer, Michel Orradre Library, Santa Clara University, Cal- ifornia. - Tedford, Thomas L. Freedom of Speech in the United States. Carbondale, Ill.: Southern illinois Univ. Pr., 1985. 473p. $29.95. ISBN 0-8093-1220-4. This is a textbook for an upper under- graduate or graduate course in communi- cation. As such it bears all the marks of the textbook and would be barred from col- lege libraries, which reduce theft by ex- cluding the textbooks from courses locally taught. For other libraries all the way from high school to research, the book has a definite use, but not as something to curl up with on a rainy evening. It is a textbook and suffers from the characteristics of all such works, while as a reference book it Midwest Library Service You won't find a wider selection .. . anywhere College and university librarians : Midwest Library Service has what you're looking for . With 24 years of experience in the field , Midwest can supply you with virtually any book you want-even one from the smallest, most obscure publisher. 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