College and Research Libraries


instructions refining the search among stand-
ardized headings); (3) repeat the same com-
parison a n d checking procedures with the 
classification tables. It might be possible to 
do both the subject heading a n d classifica-
tion comparisons simultaneously. Present 
machines are capable of p e r f o r m i n g this 
kind of look-up and comparison operations. 

D u r i n g the symposium, the information 
needs of the scientific world, at least, were 
very clearly described, a n d a few of the 
imaginative methods which have been made 
by scientists a n d engineers to answer these 
needs were outlined. It is d o u b t f u l that the 
conference did much to end the Great 
Schism between the librarians, who under-
stand the m a g n i t u d e of the information 
storage a n d retrieval problem in its totality, 
a n d the p r o p o n e n t s of mechanization, who 
see only the failures of present systems in 
the highly specialized fields with which they 
are familiar. Dean Boaz a n d the library 
school of the University of Southern Cali-
fornia are to be commended on making a 
sincere effort to open channels of commu-
nication between the two viewpoints.— 
Phyllis A. Richmond, University of Roch-
ester Library. 

Audio-Visual T o o l 
They See What You Mean. By [Eric F. Bur-

tis a n d James E. LeMay] Ozalid Audio-
Visual D e p a r t m e n t . J o h n s o n City, N. Y.: 
Ozalid Division of General Aniline and 
Film Corporation, 1959. 88p., $3.75. 

T h e overhead projector is an audio-visual 
tool that has a p p e a r e d since 1950 a n d made 
its presence felt q u i t e markedly in industrial 
audio-visual departments. It is beginning to 
a p p e a r at technical a n d academic meetings 
as an extension to the services offered by 
the older projection methods. It combines 
the freedom a n d spontaneity of the black-
board with the precision a n d artistry of the 
slide projector, while a d d i n g a n u m b e r of 
facilities not f o u n d in these standard tech-
niques. 

Ozalid does not make overhead projectors, 
b u t it does produce e q u i p m e n t a n d supplies 
used in p r e p a r i n g transparencies for these 
projectors. T h e bulk of this superbly illus-
trated volume deals with the preparation of 
transparencies by the diazo process. T h i s is 

to be expected as Ozalid is the outstanding 
producer of diazo materials in this country. 
Sections of the book are given to homemade 
transparencies, T r a n s f e r o n (diffusion-trans-
fer), transparency m o u n t i n g techniques, 
transparency design, a n d overhead projec-
tion techniques. Much of this m a n u a l could 
be used to improve presentations based on 
the blackboard a n d slide projector, and it 
will certainly add to the versatility of the 
d e p a r t m e n t using an overhead projector. 

T h e r e is a short bibliography at the end 
of the book referring the reader to sixteen 
recent reports on overhead projection. T h e r e 
is also a two-page listing of Ozalid audio-
visual products, which serves as a glossary 
to the many terms savoring of jargon that 
appear in the book. T h e illustrations with 
which the book is filled serve to simplify the 
description of techniques a n d exemplify the 
visual method at its best. T h e profusion of 
trade-names in the text tends to minimize 
the effectiveness of this portion of the book. 
The volume can be recommended for all li-

braries engaged in or about to become in-
volved in audio-visual work.—Hubbard W. 
Ballou, Columbia University Libraries. 

Soviet Publishing 
Publishing in the U.S.S.R. By Boris I. Go-

rokhoff. (Indiana University Publications. 
Slavic and East E u r o p e a n Series, Vol. 19.) 
[Bloomington, Ind.: I n d i a n a University, 
cl959.] xvi, 307 p. $3.00; cloth, $6.00. 

I n spite of the recent burgeoning of arti-
cles about Soviet methods of disseminating 
scientific information there has been a need 
for full length studies in English which 
would give a balanced presentation of Soviet 
libraries, bibliography, a n d publishing in 
general. T h e Council on Library Resources, 
Inc., has acted to fill this need by s u p p o r t i n g 
Paul Horecky's Libraries and Bibliographic 
Centers in the Soviet Union, Volume 16 in 
the I n d i a n a series, a n d its companion vol-
ume on publishing. T o g e t h e r they form a 
valuable survey of the current scene. T h e 
competence in research on Soviet Russia, 
built u p in large measure since W o r l d W a r 
II by the area institutes in American uni-
versities, appears to have been joined hap-
pily with experienced librarianship i n the 
production of these studies. A volume on 

M A R C H 1 9 6 0 179 



American library resources in the Russian 
a n d East E u r o p e a n fields is forthcoming. 

Mr. Gorokhoff bases his description on 
Soviet sources, surveying a n d analyzing the 
system of publishing books, periodicals, a n d 
newspapers. T h e special a t t e n t i o n given to 
the fields of science a n d technology is not 
accomplished at the expense of t h e total pic-
ture. His criticism of Soviet practices, although 
not always clearly set off f r o m description 
a n d data, anticipates many questions which 
normally arise. T h e all-important back-
g r o u n d of government structure a n d histori-
cal developments is provided in sufficient 
detail to clarify the complex publishing 
network. 

It is p e r h a p s not generally known that 
Soviet book trade organizations buy u p the 
entire publishing o u t p u t , with a few excep-
tions, a n d are required to absorb the loss 
for unsold copies; in 1957 the largest of 
these organizations p u l p e d unsold copies in 
the a m o u n t of two billion rubles. But for 
the publishing industry as a whole, total 
profit exceeds total loss. T h e larger central 
publishing houses operate at a profit of 
a b o u t 24 per cent, whereas the smaller 
houses in the provinces, with old e q u i p m e n t 
a n d smaller editions, show losses of from 
10 to 12 per cent. Local newspapers show 
approximately the same p a t t e r n of profit 
a n d loss in relation to t h e large central 
newspapers, with deficits made u p by sub-
sidy. 

T h e a u t h o r designates the types of litera-
ture rarely published in the USSR as detec-
tive stories, comic books, cook books, eti-
q u e t t e guides, works on astrology, and, most 
prominently, works on religion with the ex-
ception of some Bibles a n d church calendars. 
T h e chapter on censorship includes a sketch 
of its prewar history, as well as information 
on the censorship of inventions. In connec-
tion with import-export restrictions on 
p r i n t e d materials, it is stated that about 98 
per cent of Soviet newspapers are not avail-
able for subscription abroad, a fact which 
is connected with the less rigorous censor-
ship exercised over provincial newspapers. 
T o librarians faced with the custodial prob-
lems of newspapers, the figure of 98 per cent 
may come as a surprise. 

Copyright a n d author's royalties are de-
scribed in t h e chapter on the economics of 
publishing. Some pages are devoted to the 

illusive matters of dissertations, patents, and 
standards. In most cases the notes a n d bibli-
ography can be counted on to provide clues 
for the research worker or librarian seeking 
m o r e d e t a i l e d i n f o r m a t i o n i n R u s s i a n 
sources. 

T h o s e who regard abstract journals a n d re-
lated materials as an i m p o r t a n t c o m p o n e n t 
of the bibliographic system may question 
where the the section entitled "Documenta-
t i o n " belongs in the volume on publishing. 
A case could be made for discussing them in 
close relation to the n a t i o n a l bibliography 
a n d problems of biblographic control. Be 
that as it may, Mr. Gorokhoff succeeds 
well i n his description of this i m p o r t a n t 
sector a n d summarizes some of the American 
evaluations. T h e Rejerativnyi Zhurnal, now 
a p p e a r i n g in thirteen main series, was be-
g u n in 1953 with the ambitious aim of 
abstracting the world's literature in science 
a n d technology. T h e m a j o r criticism within 
a n d without the Soviet U n i o n has been 
that subject indexes have lagged consider-
ably or failed to a p p e a r . I m p o r t a n t a n d 
familiar as this is, it should not be allowed 
to obscure the fact that in 1958 70-80 per 
cent of the scientific literature of all coun-
tries was being covered, according to esti-
mates of the Ail-Union Institute of Scien-
tific a n d T e c h n i c a l I n f o r m a t i o n . T h e r e 
seems to be general agreement a m o n g West-
e r n scientists that the quality of t h e abstract-
ing is high. T h e citation for each book, 
article, dissertation, or p a t e n t appears in the 
original language as well as in Russian. Mr. 
Gorokhoff rightly points out that "research 
workers who do not know Russian can now 
use the abstract j o u r n a l s as a bibliography 
of the world literature in their field a n d in 
the languages they know." A breakthrough 
in the m a t t e r of i n d e x i n g seems within the 
realm of possibility. 

It is not surprising that the bulk a n d price 
of the series has become a m a j o r drawback. 
I n 1958, however, the publishing of smaller 
sections or subseries was begun with good 
results, a n d several dozen smaller periodicals 
may replace the thirteen. W h e t h e r the social 
sciences a n d humanities will be included 
eventually is an interesting question. A se-
ries for construction a n d architecture was 
a n n o u n c e d in subscription lists for 1960. 

O t h e r ways in which the Soviet research 
worker is given the o p p o r t u n i t y to keep u p 

180 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S 



with foreign science have received less at-
tention but may be of equal or greater im-
portance. Lack of copyright protection in 
the USSR permits a m a j o r program, begun 
in 1955, of photographic r e p r o d u c t i o n of 
foreign journals a n d books. O n e h u n d r e d 
thousand copies of a seventy-five page cata-
log of such journals were p r i n t e d in 1958. 
T h e r e appears to be n o extensive (and ex-
pensive) translation of journals cover-to-
cover, as in the U n i t e d States, but there are 
n u m e r o u s series which provide full transla-
tions of selected articles and varying degrees 
of a n n o t a t i o n a n d listing. T h e a u t h o r men-
tions the Ekspress-informatsiia series, begun 
in 1955, as a particularly successful one. 

T h e a p p e n d i x of fifty-six supplements in-
cludes many statistical tables. Although sta-
tistics in the first forty-three supplements are 
derived f r o m one principal Soviet source 
a n d two annuals which continue it, as noted 
o n p. 198, u n f o r t u n a t e l y n o cross reference 
to the note appears with t h e tables them-
selves. T h e problems of comparative statis-
tics for American a n d Soviet publishing are 
discussed in the concluding chapter. Earlier 
in the book there is a statement about the 
acute shortage of p r i n t i n g facilities in the 
Soviet U n i o n , a fact which might have been 
reiterated in the otherwise valuable conclud-
ing estimate of the publishing scene. 

It is gratifying to find m u c h well docu-
m e n t e d material brought together u n d e r one 
cover a n d organized in such a way as to be 
particularly m e a n i n g f u l for the librarian, 
whether for purposes of comparison or as a 
vade mecum in dealing with Russian publi-
cations.—Eleanor Buist, Reference Depart-
ment, Columbia University Libraries. 

Reading for Life 
Reading for Life: Developing the College 

Student's Lifetime Reading Interest. 
Edited by Jacob M. Price. A n n Arbor, 
Mich.: University of Michigan Press, 1959. 
2 7 l p . $6.00. 

It is exciting to have first-class minds 
probe such a n i m p o r t a n t problem as how 
to give the u n d e r g r a d u a t e working for his 
degree in science or economics a lifelong 
enthusiasm for reading books. T h i s collec-
tion of suggestions from teachers, librarians, 
a n d bookmen is gathered from the proceed 

ings of a conference at the University of 
Michigan in February 1958. 

T h e occasion was auspicious (dedication 
of the three-million dollar undergraduate 
library). T h e participants were able a n d 
conscientious. T h e editing of their contribu-
tions, which includes discussion f r o m the 
floor a n d even follow-up correspondence as 
well as the papers given, has accordingly 
produced a stimulating volume—and a dis-
couraging one. 

Librarians are always shocked a n d dis-
mayed w h e n c o n f r o n t e d with the statistics 
which indicate, as Lester Asheim reports in 
his survey of recent research, that only 21 
per cent of a r a n d o m sampling of adults in 
the U n i t e d States in 1949 admitted to be 
actually engaged in reading a book; and by 
1957 this percentage h a d d r o p p e d to 17. 
O t h e r studies show that 15 per cent of col-
lege students withdraw n o books f r o m the 
library at all d u r i n g the academic year and 
that 31 per cent withdraw less than one 
book per m o n t h . If reading is not being 
d o n e by students, who still manage to gradu-
ate, then the f u t u r e of book reading looks 
black indeed. 

Of course, as the conferees p o i n t out, 
there are e x t e n u a t i n g considerations: Sci-
ence students may not need to d o so much 
book reading; students may read o t h e r than 
library books; r e p r i n t s in paperback form 
are a dramatic new source; " r e a d i n g " by 
way of other materials, such as audio-visual 
aids a n d non-book publications, may be 
equally effective in the learning process; a n d 
most of the teachers testified that today's 
u n d e r g r a d u a t e seemed better able t h a n his 
predecessors to extract i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m var-
ious sources. Still, for those who are com-
mitted to the value of the book, the picture 
looks dark, for all are agreed that the college 
years are crucial to continued book reading. 

W h a t are the causes of this defection from 
the book? O n e m e n t i o n e d by the conferees 
is the n a t u r e of the student. D e a n Charles E. 
Odegaard, now president of the University 
of Washington, states that 25 per cent of 
college students today come f r o m families of 
unskilled workers where there are few books 
a n d little reading. Elementary a n d second-
ary instruction o f t e n does little to empha-
size the rewards as opposed to t h e duty of 
book reading. Many participants admitted 
that college teaching also left much to be 

M A R C H 1 9 6 0 181