College and Research Libraries


M u s e u m , but no American university 

library is treated so extensively as the 

Bodleian. T h e discussion of the A m e r i -

can public library is not so suggestive as 

D r . M u n t h e ' s brilliant essay on the pessi-

mist and the public l i b r a r y ; but it is a 

sober, informative description based on the 

best primary sources.  O n the other hand, 

he sometimes tends to misinterpret the 

w o r k of the liberal arts college library, 

especially in its relation to research.  H e 

gives f u l l credit to the role of philanthropy 

in the g r o w t h of American libraries, and 

there is a brief but sound account of the 

w o r k of the Carnegie Corporation. 

T w o peculiar aspects of American li-

brarianship are exceptionally w e l l treated. 

In dealing with the g r o w t h of the early 

research libraries D r . Predeek shows the 

importance of acquisition of the private 

libraries of great European scholars. 

T h i s subject which he has outlined so w e l l 

deserves greater attention than it has 

hitherto received from library surveyors. 

T h e material on education for librarian-

ship shows a deep-rooted understanding of 

our problems. D r . Predeek does not look 

down his nose in pious contempt for 

American colleagues simply because most 

of them could not qualify for the Prussian 

hoherer Dienst, but he discusses our prob-
lems intelligently and offers many helpful 

suggestions. 

D r . Predeek's treatise should be read 

by every American librarian w h o com-

mands the minimum essentials of G e r -

man.—Lawrence ThompsonIowa State 
College Library. 

Ancient Libraries. James W e s t f a l l 
T h o m p s o n . University of C a l i f o r n i a 

Press, Berkeley, 1940. vi, I20p. $2. 

T H I S little volume, although a later 
and separate publication, may seem at first 

glance to be merely an introduction to the 

author's Medieval Libraries ( 1 9 3 9 ) , 
which was reviewed by P r o f . C u r t i s 

H . W a l k e r in this journal, June, 1940. 

A c t u a l l y there is no formal connection 

between the t w o books. E v e n the identity 

of authorship is deceptive; as a medieval-

ist P r o f . T h o m p s o n is an expert, as an 

orientalist and a classicist he is an ama-

teur. M o r e o v e r , there is little historical 

connection between his t w o subjects; al-

though medieval librarians may have re-

assembled some volumes which had once 

been in G r e e k or Roman libraries, the 

medieval institutions, as institutions, were 

autochthonous. In the interim the very 

idea of a library had perished and it had 

to be reinvented. 

Y e t despite their independence some 

comparison is inevitable between these t w o 

books in the field of library history which 

bear the same name on their title pages. 

H e r e in many points Ancient Libraries 
has the advantage. It is lucid and logical, 

not only in sentence structure but also in 

organic composition. Its style is inter-

fused w i t h the enthusiasm and vitality 

of the author.  A s one reads one can 

almost see and hear P r o f . T h o m p s o n in 

person. Medical Libraries, on the con-
trary, is turgid and heavy, but that was 

the w o r k of many collaborators whose 

rhetorical infelicities were perhaps height-

ened rather than tempered by editorial 

attempts to bring them into unison. 

In the matter of content, however, the 

present w o r k is inferior. It is too brief 

for its theme. In fifty pages an attempt 

is made to summarize our knowledge con-

cerning Egyptian, Mesopotamian, G r e e k , 

and Roman libraries; in forty-eight pages 

there is a discussion of "various technical 

matters . . . such as the format of books, 

library architecture, cataloging and clas-

JUNE, 1941 257 



sification, administration, book production, 

and bookselling" throughout the whole an-

cient period; t w o pages contain a glossary 

of L a t i n w o r d s ; and twenty pages, in fine 

print, are devoted to notes and bibliogra-

phies. W i t h such a distribution of ma-

terials it is difficult to understand for w h a t 

kind of readers the book is intended; on 

the one side it is over-journalistic, on the 

other it is over-erudite. O n e must suspect 

that P r o f . T h o m p s o n has combined lec-

tures delivered to amateur book clubs 

w i t h selections from his o w n research 

notes. 

In neither respect is the book w h o l l y 

satisfactory as a contribution to the his-

torical literature of librarianship. F o r 

Egyptian and Mesopotamian libraries the 

treatment is inadequate and sometimes in-

accurate. In the discussion of G r e e k li-

braries the Hellenic and the Hellenistic 

civilizations are not clearly defined. T h e 

section on Roman libraries, like that on 

technical matters, is in large part a repe-

tition of corresponding sections in his 

Medieval Libraries. F i n a l l y and most un-
fortunately the bibliographies lack critical 

annotations. 

Y e t in spite of these imperfections this 

book should be acquired by every historical 

library. In this field, as always, P r o f . 

T h o m p s o n makes comparisons, throws off 

suggestions, and opens perspectives which 

w i l l illuminate more laborious and better 

documented treatises on the same subject, 

compiled by precise but less talented men. 

—Pierce Butler, Graduate Library School, 
University of Chicago. 

Wings for Words; The Story of Johann 
Gutenberg and His Invention of Print-
ing. D o u g l a s  C . M c M u r t r i e . Rand 
M c N a l l y , 1940. $2. 

PERHAPS none of the writers w h o have 

contributed to the literature of the past 

year on the invention of printing has set 

himself a more difficult task than M r . 

M c M u r t r i e in this book, which purports 

to be the story of Johann G u t e n b e r g and 

the conditions under which printing from 

moveable type was invented and developed 

in the W e s t e r n w o r l d . T h e format and 

treatment are evidently intended to inter-

est adolescent readers. 

M r . M c M u r t r i e has wisely seen that 

the scanty data available on the life of 

G u t e n b e r g and the progress of his inven-

tion are far from the kind of thrill one 

receives from a western or a mystery 

story. If he has ignored some of the pos-

sibilities for sensation afforded by the 

disturbed period of which the w o r k treats, 

he has added greatly to the value of his 

book by sticking closely to authentic 

sources and has confined the fictional addi-

tions to details which add interest but in 

no w a y affect the historical integrity of 

the story. 

T w o or three adults w h o have read it 

report it interesting and informative. T h e 

appendix on the mechanics of early print-

ing and the list of important dates in 

printing are intended for adults and give 

the book reference value in many adult 

departments. T h e illustrations are really 

an aid to a fuller understanding of the 

text. 

T h e book is not a substitute for M r . 

M c M u r t r i e ' s more technical researches, 

nor is it intended to be. T h e r e is a large 

number of persons, even among college 

students, w h o know little about the be-

ginnings of printing or the conditions 

under which the process was developed. 

F o r these the book w i l l be an accurate and 

interesting source of i n f o r m a t i o n . — F r a n k 
K. Walter, University of Minnesota Li-
brary. 

258 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES