College and Research Libraries Review Articles History of Libraries Handbuch der Bibliothekswissenschaft, V o l . I l l : Geschichte der Bibliotheken. Edited by F r i t z M i l k a u and G e o r g Leyh. O t t o H a r r a s s o w i t z , 1940. xxiii, 105 ip. A f t e r a delay of over seven years the third and final volume of the Handbuch der Bibliothekswissenschaft has been completed. T h e general editor, the late F r i t z M i l k a u , did not live to see its completion, and the final job of revision w a s done by G e o r g Leyh of Tubingen. H o w e v e r , as Leyh points out in the introduction, it was not only M i l k a u ' s inspiration that made the ultimate completion of the w o r k possible but also, above all, his own contributions to the field of library history. His history of the Breslau library w a s a model of its kind, and his essay in the Friedrich Schmidt-Ott homage volume on the last half century of library history w a s basic from the stand- point of both method and factual content. Leyh's introductory essay describing the genesis of the third volume of the Handbuch and setting forth a kind of affidavit of justi- fication for the study of library history is well worth careful study. I t is full of sug- gestions as to possible future directions in the investigation of library history, and, in a broader sense, it is a confession of faith in librarianship. T o emphasize the value of the study of library history he quotes M i l k a u , who was equally successful as a research w o r k e r in library science and as an administrator: " I f there is any learned profession in which the knowledge of its own history is indispensable, then it is that of the librarian. A s no other he lives in traditions, as no other he is fettered by tra- ditions." W h a t e v e r may be the shortcomings of the Handbuch, volume three, it fills a sorely needed place in library science. N o one since Edwards has attempted a general history of libraries on a large scale, and consequently many aspects of library history have been almost totally neglected. T h e present vol- ume, significant as it may be in itself, should be used as a steppingstone on which to build a new discipline of library history. T h e Germans have done much spadework in the field of library history, and the English have played with and at the subject, but here in America only one scholar (and, un- fortunately, he not a librarian), J . W . Thompson, has done serious w o r k in the field. Even the history of individual li- braries has been largely neglected except for a f e w brilliant studies such as those of Lydenberg on the N e w Y o r k public, Spencer on the Chicago public, and Salamanca on the Library of Congress. Several of the contributors are former pupils of M i l k a u . A l l are leading authori- ties in the fields on which they have written. T h e contributors, their subjects, and the amount of space devoted to each topic (vol- ume three is, of course, uniform in size with volumes one and t w o ) are as f o l l o w s : 1. C a r l W e n d e l , director of the U n i v e r s i t y of H a l l e L i b r a r y : G r a e c o - R o m a n A n t i q u i t y , p. 1-63. 2. V i k t o r B u r r , a l i b r a r i a n in the U n i v e r s i t y of T u b i n g e n L i b r a r y : B y z a n t i n e and A r a b L i - b r a r i e s , p. 64-89. 3. K a r l C h r i s t , director of the M a n u s c r i p t D i v i s i o n of the Staatsbibliothek in B e r l i n : T h e M i d d l e A g e s , p. 90-285. 4. A l o y s Bomer, director of the U n i v e r s i t y of Miinster L i b r a r y : F r o m the R e n a i s s a n c e to the B e g i n n i n g of the E n l i g h t e n m e n t , p. 286-462. 5. G e o r g e L e y h , director of the U n i v e r s i t y of T u b i n g e n L i b r a r y : G e r m a n L i b r a r i e s f r o m the E n l i g h t e n m e n t to the P r e s e n t D a y , p. 463-854. 6. A l b e r t P r e d e e k , director of the l i b r a r y of the T e c h n i s c h e Hochschule in B e r l i n - C h a r l o t - t e n b u r g : G r e a t B r i t a i n and the U n i t e d States of A m e r i c a , p. 855-975. 7. J o r i s Vorstius, counselor in the Staats- bibliothek in B e r l i n : O t h e r C i v i l i z e d Countries, p. 976-1051. Leyh states in the introduction that it was part of M i l k a u ' s original plan to include a v 368 COLL EGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES history of popular libraries (i.e., public li- braries in our- sense) and that Konstantin Norrenberg, one of the leaders in the be- lated German public library movement, w a s to have written it. T h e cryptic explana- tion for its omission, of which no transla- tion will be attempted, is stated thus: " D a s Volksbiichereiwesen isst aber nach dem nationalpolitischen Umbruch in eine so leb- hafte Bewegung eingetreten, dass die altere Arbeit als in den Massstaben iiberholt sich hier nicht mehr einfiigen wollte." (p. xvi). O n p. xvi Leyh explains the organization of the w o r k and the relative amount of space devoted to each subject. H e points out that the greatest emphasis was pur- posely laid on medieval, Renaissance, and modern German, British, and American li- braries. H o w e v e r much we might have wished to see a monumental treatment of libraries in classical Greece and Rome or a more extensive discussion of modern French and Italian libraries, it must be conceded that the emphasis is correctly distributed in order to keep the volume within reasonable bounds. T h e omission of pre-Hellenic li- braries is condoned inasmuch as it is the purpose of the volume to show the direct continuity of the history of the care of books as it is practiced in the modern Occi- dent. H o w e v e r , it is most regrettable that there was a complete omission of any ref- erence to Jewish libraries, especially in medieval times. A f t e r S. K . Padover's dis- appointing essay on medieval Jewish libraries in The Medieval Library, it might have been expected that this subject, so worthy of adequate treatment, would have fared better at the hands of the editors of the Handbuch. But possibly if they had in- cluded it, then the Sicherheitsdienst would have allowed us to have none of the Hand- buch, volume three. Still, until some scholar equal to the task gives us a complete picture of Jewish libraries, the history of libraries will continue to suffer from one of its most troublesome lacunae. T h e task of the historian of G r e e k and Roman libraries has been made considerably easier by the excellent bibliography of T e g - g a r t (Library Journal 24 (1899), 5 - i 2 , 57- 59) and Gomoll's continuation covering the period 1899-1938 (Buck und Schrift N . F . I (1938), 96-105). However, neither W e n d e l l nor Thompson has said the last word on this subject. T h i s field is worthy of a volume comparable in scope to The Medieval Library. W h o e v e r undertakes the job will need a classical background at least equal to Wendel's, and preferably it should be undertaken by a commission of outstanding classical scholars. Wendel's work should give a good start toward the realization of this ambitious project, and in all fairness it must be admitted that one can hardly ask more of a Handbuch article. Wendel, like most German classicists, is at his best on the subject of Pergamon. His notes on the library founded by A t t a l o s I and his successors represent an important original contribution. Another highlight in his essay is his treatment of early Christian libraries. In one respect these libraries are even more important than ancient libraries, for those rare souls among the early fathers who saw the beauties of heathen literature and were willing to tolerate it in their libraries deserve our profound grati- tude for their part in its preservation. T h e problem of Byzantine library history is a more difficult one. Some thoroughly capable Byzantinists even question the wis- dom of attempting a history of Byzantine libraries on the grounds of the paucity of archaeological evidence and the destruction of so much valuable source material by fire and iconoclasm. V i k t o r B u r r has given us essentially the same type of thing that S. K . Padover and Isabella Stone con- tributed to The Medieval Library, and it appears to be the best foundation yet laid for anyone who w i l l make so bold as to attempt the definitive history of Byzantine libraries. B u t if Aeneas Sylvius called medieval Constantinople "fons musarum," no one can deny the importance of Byzantine libraries and the need for further investiga- tion. T h e six pages into which B u r r jams the history of A r a b libraries is unworthy of the scale on which the Handbuch is conceived. Y e t it is a good encyclopedia article, and the general reader in library history will do well to follow it rather than Padover's essay SEPTEMBER., 1944 369 in The Medieval Library. W h a t is really needed is a study which not only looks be- yond M u s l i m culture as a mere vehicle for the preservation of certain aspects of ancient G r e e k civilization but also recognizes the true greatness of the A r a b s as productive literary men, scholars, and preservers of the written word. Ruth Stellhorn M a c k e n - sen's brilliant series of articles on " A r a b i c Books and Libraries in the Umaiyad Period," published between 1936 and 1939 in The American Journal of Semitic Lan- guages and Literatures, is a good beginning for the systematic, exhaustive investigation of A r a b libraries and librarianship. The Medieval Library One of the best contributions to the third volume of the Handbuch is Christ's essay on the medieval library. H e r e for the first time w e have a complete, coherent picture of the medieval library, and not since J. W . C l a r k ' s The Care of Books has there been such a generally valid treatment of this subject. It is true that medieval western European libraries are far easier to investi- gate than classical, Muslim, Jewish, or Byzantine libraries, especially in view of the fact that many of them tie directly into the history of modern libraries. T h u s it is due to no paucity or inaccessibility of source ma- terial that there has hitherto been no ade- quate description of medieval libraries. T h e facts are merely that Christ has a broader acquaintance with his sources and a fuller comprehension of the significance of his subject than any of his predecessors. In getting at the basis of his problem Christ lays appropriate emphasis on the im- portance of the libraries of the monastic foundations, each of which he considers in- dividually in the various periods into which his essay is divided. His own studies of the Fulda library published over a decade ago give him a peculiar advantage in this respect. H e shows very clearly how the entire cultural history of western Europe prior to the founding of the universities cen- ters around the monastic foundations and how, in turn, their history is largely the his- tory of their libraries. Again, such great figures as Columba, Lupus, and G e r b e r t are given full credit for their contributions to the preservation of literature, and w e see that the history of medieval libraries is not merely institutional history. In addition to his discussion of the universities and their role in the care of books in the later Middle Ages, Christ gives a useful outline of the activities of private collectors, chiefly princes. Renaissance and Reformation Libraries Aloys Bomer has handled his section on Renaissance and Reformation libraries fully as well as Christ and Leyh handled their respective sections. Although the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries mark the begin- nings of the institutional history of modern libraries, it is a difficult period to discuss because the issues are so frequently clouded by confiscation, suppression, and unstable administration. In addition, it should be re- membered that perhaps more than in any other period the libraries of the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries were in- fluenced by the great political, intellectual, and religious movements of the day. Bomer has given an exact interpretation to the significance of Renaissance, Reformation, Humanism, Counter-Reformation, and A b - solutism for the history of libraries. H e is well versed in the history of science and scholarship in general, without which knowl- edge it is difficult to understand fully the background of the Hartmann Schedel or Willibald Pirckheimer collections or the beginnings of the C r a c o w University L i - brary. Bomer considers the library history of each country separately under the three headings of Renaissance and Humanism, Reformation, and Counter-Reformation to Enlightenment. N o account of England and America is given here, inasmuch as that was left f o r Predeek. His bibliographical foot- notes are somewhat scantier than are those in other sections of the book, but this may well be attributed to a careful choice made from the great wealth of material which is available. In general he has illustrated his text with enough citations to the key works, which w i l l usually offer an introduction to an entire subject. W h a t is now needed is v 370 COLL EGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES the source book of library history once pro- posed by Ferdinand Eichler. German Libraries Leyh's essay on German libraries from the Enlightenment to modern times occupies more space than any other section of the book. T h e same careful, exact scholarship that has characterized Leyh's other work lends a maximum value to this essay. A l - though the German university library of the nineteenth century was the workshop for the founders of modern science, this is the first detailed treatment of the subject. Leyh's long years of experience as an administrator of a great German research library give his work added authority, inasmuch as he him- self has played a leading role in many of the movements he describes. Unfortunately, he shows undue (and unjustified) enthusiasm in welcoming the libraries of Posen and Reichenberg into the V . D . B . in his treat- ment of the most recent events in German library history. T h e section on German libraries from 1870 to the present is a valuable model for American librarians who are interested in trends in research libraries. T h e r e are literally hundreds of problems which the German university and research libraries have met and solved or outgrown but which are still burning issues of the day in the United States. If our research library ad- ministrators will take the trouble to read this one relatively brief section, we will be able to save ourselves considerable grief and find many short cuts. For example, Leyh's comments on training for librarianship and his historical presentation of the problem can be of great value to American library schools, particularly the larger ones. Predeek's history of British and American libraries should be required reading for every librarian in the United States, as much as Munthe's much discussed book of a f e w years back. Predeek's w o r k is neither as comprehensive nor as fundamental as Leyh's corresponding treatment of German libra- ries, but it is sound and virtually unique. T h e three quarters of a century old w o r k of Edwards and the half century old w o r k of Savage (and very brief at that) are about the only general material which we have in English on the history of libraries in Anglo- Saxon countries. Predeek was well qualified for his work. A f t e r visiting America and working in some of our greatest libraries, he devoted several years to a study of the historical aspects of British and American libraries. His sources are all secondary, and yet he has done more with these sources than we in America have done with all of our rich archival material and, above all, the availability of many men still living who were the real founders of our great research libraries. T o be sure, there have been valuable contributions to limited aspects of the subject by Ditzion, Shera, Shores, Cole, W a l t e r , and a few others, as well as two or three good his- tories of individual libraries, but there has as yet been no concerted effort by one in- dividual or one institution to approach the subject systematically. Predeek has pointed the w a y for us, and, in justice to ourselves, we can hardly afford to neglect much longer the history of libraries in the United States. T h e present reviewer's forthcoming trans- lation of Predeek's essay is not intended to be a textbook or a reference book. It is intended merely to be a guide to further research in the field. Some errors in the bibliographical references in the original have been corrected in the translation, and it is hoped that Predeek himself will have the opportunity to add corrections from his own Handexemplar before the translation is printed at the conclusion of the w a r . T h e last section of the Handbuch, volume three, by Joris Vorstius, dealing with the last two centuries of library history in coun- tries other than Britain, America, and G e r - many, is readable and accurate, but actually it amounts to little more than the Library Association Survey or Esdaile's two volumes on the great libraries of the world. It is unfortunate that more space was not al- lowed for French libraries in particular. W e might have wished for more information on Soviet and Latin American libraries in view of possible interests in postwar years. Still, there is no doubt but that the puffing, un- reliable statistics on Russian libraries make the job of adequate description a difficult SEPTEMBER., 1944 371 one. Likewise the relative poverty and prim- itive administration of Latin American li- braries make the page and a half devoted to them about all they deserve. It might be noted, however, that some attention could be paid to the numerous excellent private collections in the various Latin American capitals. A student of Mexican history using Father M a r i a n o Cuevas' admirable private collection could accomplish slightly more than he could in the Biblioteca Nacional and slightly less than he could in the Ban- croft Library. H o w e v e r , Vorstius has done a good job within the limits of the space allotted to him, and, after all, it is the task of librarians in Finland, Portugal, or Japan to write the history of their own institutions. Documentation in this volume of the Handbuch is uniformly satisfactory, al- though no attempt is made to give complete bibliographies. H o w e v e r , enough is given on all topics to provide a good start to any- one interested in more detailed investiga- tions of any given subject. M o s t of the errors in the bibliographical notes are due to excessive brevity of citation rather than to any gross carelessness. Evidently the volume began going to press in late 1938 or early 1939, since virtually no references are made to research published at a later date. Like the other volumes of the Handbuch, the Geschichte der Bibliotheken suffers bad- ly f o r the lack of an index. W h i l e the excellent analytical tables of contents of all three volumes compensate in some small degree for this fault, it might be conserva- tively stated that the usefulness of the set would be increased 25 per cent by good indices. It would be a pious w o r k for some library school class in indexing to under- take this job as a term exercise. H a r r a s s o w i t z risked shipping only a f e w copies to the United States before P e a r l H a r b o r . T h e only copies located thus f a r are in the Brooklyn Public Library and the G r a d u a t e Library School of the University of Chicago.—Lawrence S. Thompson, Uni- versity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. Administration and Finance The Administration of the American Public Library. E. W . M c D i a r m i d and John M c D i a r m i d . American Library Associa- tion and University of Illinois Press, 1943. 250p. Public Library Finance and Accounting. Ed- w a r d Allen W i g h t . American Library A s - sociation, 1943. I37p. Judging from their titles it would seem at first glance that these two works are of no special interest to those concerned with col- lege and reference libraries. W i g h t ' s w o r k is a study chiefly of municipally controlled public libraries. T h e volume representing the joint w o r k of the brothers M c D i a r m i d is a study of 315 municipal libraries whose staffs range in size from ten persons to three hundred or more. Privatelv endowed libraries are excluded. Municipally con- trolled universities excepted, it would appear that the material in these two volumes would not directly apply to college and reference libraries. Further examination, however, brings out the fact that the works under review contain many useful statements and suggestions applicable to libraries of any type. T h e r e is no difficulty in finding quickly in the w o r k of the M c D i a r m i d s pertinent sug- gestions. A f t e r each subject discussed there are specific recommendations clearly set out in paragraph form. T h e place of the board and its committees in the library management and questions of w h a t duties should be left by the board to the librarian, are admirably treated. T h e r e is a discussion of lay groups, including Friends of the Library. Particu- larly useful are the chapters dealing with the duties of the librarian and his assistants and the pros and cons of departmentalization in larger and medium-sized libraries. Organi- zation charts are suggested for libraries of both types. Sensible broad principles of prac- tice are recommended, with which no one will quarrel, to be applied as circumstances dic- tate. Financial management, including practical suggestions f o r budget preparation, receives v 372 COLL EGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES