College and Research Libraries I953> there are thirty-one essays divided into three m a j o r sections, ( i ) bibliography and the theory of knowledge, ( 2 ) library administra- tion and techniques and ( 3 ) the history of books and libraries. T h e most prominent li- brarians in all the G e r m a n i e s have joined in giving homage to Vorstius, and the contribu- tors include such w e l l known names as G e o r g L e y h , D o n k e r D u y v i s , and Ilse Schunke. I t would be difficult to do f u l l justice to all the important essays that have been printed in this volume. T h e fact that the book w a s edited in East G e r m a n y f o r an East G e r m a n has brought such essays as one by T o d o r Borov, director of the Bulgarian Bibliographi- cal Institute, on the primary national bibli- ography of B u l g a r i a , Frantisek H o r a k , direc- tor of the Ceskoslovenska A k a d e m i e V e d . Zakladni Knihovna in P r a g u e , on the library of the C z e c h A c a d e m y of Sciences, and O t h - mar Feyl, librarian of the University of Jena, on the classification scheme f o r the bibliogra- phies of the book chambers of the U . S . S . R . L e y h ' s little essay entitled "Bibliographisches" is another useful contribution to library his- tory. F r i t z Redenbacher's study of the build- ing problems of the University of Erlangen L i b r a r y is instructive f o r any librarian w h o wrestles w i t h spatial issues. Ilse Schunke's notes on library history in Dresden are based on her study of bindings. W i l l i G o b e r , di- rector of the old University of Berlin L i b r a r y (to be distinguished f r o m the new F r e e U n i - versity L i b r a r y ) , reviews the old problems of centralization versus decentralization, show- ing a strong tendency to the former in the present day. H u g o A l k e r reviews the history of subject cataloging in the University of V i - enna L i b r a r y for the past t w o centuries. D o n - ker D u y v i s w r i t e s on the international signifi- cance of the Index Bibliographicus. F O L K W A Y S R E C O R D S World's leading producer of AUTHENTIC folk music on RECORDS, including THE ETHNIC FOLKWAYS LI- BRARY which contains an unusual selection of the music of over 200 peoples, recorded on location by native orches- tras and vocal groups; each Long Play Record is accom- panied by extensive notes by famous collectors and recog- nized authorities . . . And the famous SONGS TO GROW ON series for chil- dren. ANTHOLOGY OF JAZZ and AMERICAN FOLK MUSIC, INTERNATIONAL SCIENCE and LITERATURE series. Most of the issues are original recordings on HIGH F I - DELITY — 40-18,000 cycles. ALL FOLKWAYS RECORDS are guaranteed for quality of reproduction and content. For complete catalog write to: F O L K W A Y S R E C O R D S & S E R V I C E C O R P . 117 West 46th St.. New York 36, N. Y. T h e s e are but a f e w samples of a rich and instructive volume, w e l l w o r t h y of a librarian such as Vorstius, w h o himself has contributed so much to library literature. Unlike some homage volumes, this one is intelligently planned and executed, and its value is en- hanced by an index of names and places. In every sense the V o r s t i u s Festschrift is a sig- nificant contribution to librarianship.—Law- rence S. Thompson, University of Kentucky Library. Economical Cataloging: A Reply In the article " H o w L i t t l e C a t a l o g i n g C a n Be E f f e c t i v e " (c&RL, A p r i l , 1954), M r . W y l l i s W r i g h t states that author dates shall not be recorded except to distinguish between authors of the same name represented in the catalog. I t seems to me that it adds to the understanding of a book to know at w h a t period of an author's lifetime a particular book w a s written. O n l y author dates in re- lation to the date of publication can tell whether a book w a s an early w o r k , or w r i t t e n at the prime of the author's life, or shortly before his death. A f u r t h e r simplification suggested by M r . W r i g h t is to omit all translator notes, except on cards for those standard authors w h e r e a variety of translations may be expected. I feel as long as w e trace and give credit to editors, joint editors, compilers, etc., w e should trace f o r translators, too. In my opinion, translators make a greater contribu- tion to a book than editors. T o translate requires not only a strict conformity to the original text, it means also to recreate the original movement of thought, and in case of the translation of poetry, to recast the rhythm and rhyme inherent in the original line of the poem. A s to the omission of editor notes, one may be of the opinion that one person's use of the editor information (e.g. a candidate f o r a P h . D . degree using this item) may make up for its lack of use by other students. I t seems to be very difficult to establish a criterion of usefulness of the cataloged information, because the use of the items on the catalog card is a value difficult to estimate in terms of figures and percentages.—Lucy Selig, Cataloger, Dayton (O.J Public Library. 432 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES