College and Research Libraries


matters of more vital concern to librarians 
than most of us would admit. 

The diversity of Binkley's work was so 
great that only a little of his full impact upon 
librarianship is reflected in the present vol -
ume. This is no fault of the editor, for much 
of Binkley's impact grew out of his energy, 
his imagination and his interest in people and 
their ideas, rather than his writings. The 
brief biography discusses his contributions to 
librarianship, but the biography, quite prop-
erly, is devoted more to Binkley's work in the 
field of history, his major professional field , 
th an to his w ork in connection with libraries 
and their problems. 

Binkley's broad perspective, which was so 
helpful in his planning, may be illustrated by 
his introduction to the brief paper on the 
problem of perishable paper. 

"The invention of writing provided mankind at 
one stroke with two new instruments: a means 
of communication and a new device for re-
membering. This double function of writing 
erv es a purpo se which libraries are expected 

to fulfill. Our civilization expects our libraries 
to be at once institution s for the diffusion of con-
tempor a ry ideas and depositories of the records 
of the race ." 

From this theme he develops the divergency 
and conflict in the duties of librarians , with 
respect to these two t asks, and the rela-
tionship which each has to the physical 
deterioration of the re cords of modern civili-
z ation. 

His perspective is also reflected in the rela-
tive permanence of his articles. The editor , 
of course, has recognized this in his selecting 
process. Everything that Binkley wrote does 

not have quite the same degree of relevance 
today, for much of his writing was, by the na-
ture of his interests , devoted to critical and 
topical problems of the time. He wrote about 
topical items, however, in such a way that 
there is unusually important content and 
meaning still today in much of the material 
relating to procedures and economy. 

This aspect of Binkley's writing may be 
shown by quoting from his article on the re-
production of materials for research. 

" Micro-copying and near-print will force us to 
think anew the whole procedure of library work, 
from selection of acquisitions to lending. The 
mass of material that is 'accessible' is increased 
in astronomic proportions. This will mean that 
our traditional catalogues will no longer control 
the material that is accessible. They will control 
only a part of it. The greater the amount of 
material to be controlled, the greater is the need 
for inventions of all kinds." 

This statement appeared in 1937 and was, 
of course , directed to a very specific subject. 
In the 12 years since then we have made prog-
ress, but we still have some way to go before 
we will be up with Binkley-"We will have 
to think of library systems rather than sepa-
rate libraries .... Our problems will be far 
more intricate than theirs and also, I believe, 
far more interesting." 

This book is valuable, not only because it 
shows us clearly how serious our loss was in 
Binkley's untimely death , but because it re-
calls to our attention-if we have forgotten 
-the variety of unsolved problems relating to 
the provision of materials for contemporary 
and future research.-H erman H. Fussier, 
University of Chicago Library. 

A Helpful Guide for Building Planners 
Planning th e Unive rsity Library Building, a 

Summary of Dis cussions by Librarians, Ar-
chit ec ts and Engineers. Edited by John E. 
Burchard, Charles W. David and Julian P. 
Boyd , with the assistance of LeRoy C. Mer-
ritt. Princeton, N.J. , Princeton University 
Press , 1949. xvii, 145p. $2.50. 
To the many who have had no connection 

w ith the Cooperative Committee on Library 
Building Plans, but who have followed the 
proceedings of its conferences, this book will 
appear to be much more than a by-product 

OCTOBER, 1949 

of those meetings. It adds both system and 
substance to the discussions as previously re-
ported , and supplies a new compendium for 
college and university librarians who are con-
fronted with building projects , and who seek 
the fullest information bearing on the deci-
sions and recommendations they must make. 

As its activities have shown , the purpose of 
the committee was to pool efforts in meeting 
the questions pertinent to the construction of 
university library buildings , and thus to pre-
pare the way for solutions in particular cases 

483 



-this rather than to seek final and universal 
answers. That end was pursued over a pe-
riod extending from December 1944 to J anu-
ary 1948, and it dominates the book now pub-
lished. The reader is given a fund of facts 
and of such views as were found to be estab-
lished or commonly accepted. On points 
which are as yet undetermined, or which can 
be settled only in the light of specific situa-
tions , the text is carefully repeated to make 
clear that no formula can be stated, and that 
the only possible advice is to study the condi-
tions and to use to best advantage the knowl-
edge provided throughout the volume and 
otherwise available. This may be disappoint-
ing to some who are faced with dilemmas , but 
it preserves the atmosphere of exploration 
in which the group worked , and fosters the 
entertaining of all appropriate opinions and 
options , without premature commitment to 
any given idea or set of ideas. 

Planning the Univ ersity Library Building 
embraces some serviceable material on space 
a rrangements and stock construction, which is 
illustrated by floor plans of representative 
buildings, and which is staple rather than an 
addition to commonly held doctrine. Its sec-
tions on air conditioning, illumination and 
various technological topics fall in a some-
what similar category, except that they deal 
with matters which are more fluid and sub-
ject to change, and less widely understood by 
librarians. The aim in these parts is to fur-
nish the latest relevant data, and to help read-
ers to keep as closely as they can on the heels 
of that revolution which in the building indus-
try is said to be "always around the corner." 

The most widely applicable parts of the 
book are the first and second chapters , whose 
contents are basic to many of the decisions 
commonly called for from librarians, com-
mittees and architects. The first takes up, 
with fresh perspective and phrasing, the de -
termining relation of educational policy to the 
planning of a library building. The second 
presents anew the questions associated with 
the size and growth of collections, with the 
forms of materials, and with the possible 
varieties of over-all organization. True to 
the course laid down , the text reminds the 
reader that no building can be successful, 
however perfect in a constructional sense, un-
less it is shaped by the p_urposes of its institu-
tion, and then by clear judgments as· to what 

stock it is to hold , what services it is to ac-
commodate, and how the work and operations 
are to be disposed within it. All this may 
seem commonplace, yet the treatment implies 
that its interpretations may prove in particu-
lar cases to be as unique and vexing as the 
choices on technological aspects are bewilder-
ing. Esp.ecially as library buildings approach 
their limits of size and manageability such 
matters grow mo r e and more pressing, and 
appear with greater persistence upon the door-
steps of librarians. 

A chapter headed "The Librarian and the 
Architect" should help to dispel whatever un-
certainties still becloud the relations of these 
officers, as well as to make wholly clear to 
librarians what their role and responsibilities 
on building projects are. After treating 
broadly various considerations which bear 
upon the relation of an architect, it stresses 
"skill, imagination, cooperativeness and in-
tegrity" as the all-important qualifications in 
an individual or firm , thus rating them above 
experience and expertness in the construction 
of library buildings. It advises librarians to 
be punctilious in preparing their programs , yet 
reasonable and considerate in presenting their 
recommendations and in listening to the view-
points of architects. It also urges that ordi-
narily they will be wise to limit themselves 
to written statements, illustrated by flow-
charts for the library's work and including 
indications as to how the spaces should be re-
lated , rather than to attempt the drafting of 
floor sketches. On their decisions about the 
operating parts of their structures, however, 
the committee counsels librarians to be defi -
nite and immovable. 

A "Bibliographical Essay," constituting a 
final chapter of the book, provides reference 
to valuable sources as well as some of the 
substance to be derived from those sources. 
This directs the reader and the student to 
much matter in relevant technical fields which 
easily might escape the attention of librarians, 
and whose application to libraries might not 
always be grasped fully even by architects. 

Perhaps the most heavily stressed theme 
in the volume is flexibility, and the chief 
novelty the full discussion of the windowless 
building. The text gives unusual emphasis 
also to noise control, with speculation regard-
ing such tolerances as seem unlikely at any 
early date to be expressible in terms of stand-

484 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



ards. Such treatments aid in giving modern 
and specific meanings to some of the gener-
alitie~ contained in C. C. Soule's early " Points 
of Agreement among Librarians as to Library 
Architecture," which the editors of the pres-
ent book quote in part on page 3· 

In recent years it has been gratifying to 
many to realize that the difficulties surround-
ing the adequacy of library buildings were 
being dealt wi th on a broad scale. The con-
stituting of the cooperative committee is evi-
dence that the problems involved have gained 
the attention of the institutional officers who 

can do most about them. The manner and 
scope of its conferences reveal recognition of 
the importance of proper provision for schol-
arly libraries. The joint deliberations of edu-
cators, architects, engineers and librarians 
which the committee brought about, hardly 
can have failed to promote grasp of the issues 
entailed in library construction and collabora-
tion in meeting them. The book now pro-
duced by the committee's editors reflects all 
this, while making available to a wide circle 
another helpful guide for building planners.-
Ernest ]. Reece, White Plains, N.Y. 

The Books of the Ancients 
Illustrations in Roll and Codex: A Study of 

the Origin and Method of Text Illustra-
tion. By Kurt Weitzmann. Princeton, 
Princeton University Press, 1947, viii, 219p. 
56p. of plates. (Studies in Manuscript Il-
lumination.) $12.00. 

The World of Books in Classical Antiquity. 
By H. L. Pinner. Leiden, A. W. Sijthoff, 
1948, 64p., 14 plates. 
On first sight the reason for this review 

may not be fully apparent to all readers of 
this journal. 

These volumes are highly specialized studies 
of a body of material that seemingly lies more 
in the province of the classical scholar, arche-
ologist and the student of the fine arts than 
in the sphere of interest of the librarian. 
Very few members of the library profession in 
America are likely to come into professional 
contact with any of the original material 
treated in these books. Nevertheless there 
are good reasons why the scholarly librarian 
has every right and some obligation to know 
these studies. 

Illustrations in Roll and Codex, by Dr. 
Weitzmann, is a major contribution to our 
knowledge of the physical form of the book 
at the turning point from classical antiquity 
~o the Christian Middle Ages. It clarifies 
and greatly broadens our understanding of the 
role of book illustration as a significant ve-
hicle of literature. It presents challenging, 
even radical pew views on the roots and the 
evolution of the illuminated codex. It re-
writes an important chapter in the history of 
the book arts . 

After nearly 20 years of experience as a 

OCTOBER, 1949 

teacher of book arts in a graduate library 
school, your reviewer still believes that this 
field is an integral part of library science. 
The term "book arts" is perhaps somewhat 
limited, since we have come to include under 
that heading a rather broad approach to the 
study of the book. We mean by this term 
today the study of the social needs, the 
materials and processes, the artistic skills and 
schools, the personalities and organizations 
which have formed and are forming the book 
as the physical vehicle of a particular kind 
of long-range communication. 

The concept of "book arts" as an integral 
part of library science is originally European. 
The presence of an important body of ancient 
books and manuscripts in every major 
European library is the natural reason for 
the concern of the academically trained librar-
ian with this type of material. The fact that 
the first volume of Milkau's Handbook of 
Library Science (H andbuch der Bibliothek-
swissenschaft) is entirely devoted to the his-
tory of writing and the book is tangible mani-
festation of this situation. 

Your reviewer has had a chance to become 
acquainted with German postwar plans for 
library education. They show every sign of 
adherence to the old scholarly ideals. They 
also show a sad lack of understanding of the 
librarian's social function. The serious obli-
gations and the splendid opportunities of the li-
brary in a democratic community are literally 
unknown in postwar Germany. In these re-
spects the professional librarian there has 
everything to learn from his American col-
league. Some beginning has been made by our 

485