College and Research Libraries 286 I College & Research Libraries • July, 1967 l quite a different manner. For instance, a A Plan for Indexing the Periodical Liter- ' diaeresis over an "o" in an English language ature of Nursing. By Vern Pings. With title would be dropped out of the sort con- an introductory chapter by Ellwynne M. trol, but when the computer detected a Vreeland. New York: The American diaeresis and on checking the language in- Nurses' Foundation Inc. 1966. xii, 202p. dication field found that the title was in ( 66-29223) . German, it would then place an "e" after the character over which the diaeresis oc- curred. With relatively few exceptions-per- haps one half of one per cent of entries-a computer can arrange bibliographic entries according to present library filing systems without human intervention. In part, the proposed code does not suc- ceed because it is not viewed as a segment in a comprehensive library system. It is only with the design of a machine-readable cataloging record to serve throughout li- braries that work should be undertaken on a machineable filing code. Even then characteristics of the machine must not be allowed to impose themselves on the code; rather, the objectives of the code should be firmly established and then the machine invoked to meet those objectives. Of course, the biggest obstacle to constructing an ef- fective new filing code-either machineable or manual-is that there are no adequate data to define the objectives of a filing ar- rangement. Much research needs to be done to attain understanding of how users use catalogs and indexes before thought should be given to construction, much less ac- ceptance, of a new filing code. The sum total of the book, however, is to propose a new filing code differing from existing codes. The differences are not great, and no evidence is presented to justify changes made from the present code. It seems unwise to invoke such a change without a clear demonstration of its bene- fit. Indeed, the proposed change involves greater human intervention in filing than would the computerization of present filing practices. Any increase in human interven- tion, such as manually preparing an entry for filing, diminishes the advantage of the machine. The code proposed in this book has been needlessly subjected to unneces- sary machine restriction, and can be con- sidered only as a departure from the old position; it is not a start in the right di- rection.-Frederick G. Kilgour, Yale Uni- versity. The proclaimed need for serious research in the library field together with the criti- cism now leveled at the superficial studies which have been dignified by that title are symptoms of our growing professional so- phistication. A research report such as this done in 1964 by Vern Pings for the Amer- r _ ican Nurses' Foundation proves that the J "working" librarian is capable of analytic examination of his field. The papers which make up the bulk of this report begin with a study of the growth of nursing as a pro- fession in terms of its formal communica- tion needs, continuing to a detailed study of the characteristics of the articles on nursing and their present bibliographical control, culminating in a formal series of plans for an index to this subject field. Despite the specificity of the subject in- vestigated, Dr. Pings' volume is of general interest to reference librarians; library edu- cators can use it as a teaching model, and it will serve other librarians contemplating similar studies as a planning guide. Each paper is formally organized, be- ginning with statements of hypotheses, de- scription of study methods , findings , con- clusions, and summary; extensive tables and appendices reinforce or demonstrate the points made. Chapters 3 and 4 which con- tain the analysis of the MEDLARS (Medi- cal Literature Analysis and Reb·ieval Sys- tem) coverage of nursing give a clear ac- count of MeSH (Medical Subject Head- ings) and the problems and inconsistencies which can frustrate the unwary user of Index Medicus. Conventionally, each chap- ter is accompanied by a good bibliography; the extensive one on nursing libraries in Chapter 9 of over three hundred items cov- ering the years 1903-1963 is especially im- pressive. The plans proposed by Dr. Pings for an index with broad geographic coverage and special subject headings but based on the already available MEDLARS foundation were closely followed in the new Interna- , I I ~· tional Nursing Index (v. 1, 1967) prepared by the National Library of Medicine and published by the American Journal of Nurs- ing Company. When IN! is studied by the historians of the future, Dr. Pings' Plan will be often blessed for the information it contains on the personal and administra- ~'- tive interactions between the several nurs- ing associations and the National Library of Medicine. To criticize Dr. Pings' prose as struc- turally involved and barren of lightness is valid, but hardly fair; the papers were H written to be used as working tools by a committee, not for publication in mono- graphic form.-]oan Titley, University of Louisville. Librarianship in the Developing Coun- tries. By Lester Asheim. Urbana: Univer- sity of Illinois Press, 1966. 95p. ( 66- 29774). Here are ninety-five pages of sage coun- sel, born of great experience, for the Amer- ican librarian who is called upon to advise the library industries in developing nations. Constituting the 1966 Windsor Lectures in Librarianship at the University of Illinois, these three brief essays are entitled "Some ~ Parallels and Contrasts," "Some Overarch- ing Problems," and "The Role of Librarian- ship." They of course draw heavily upon the author's wisdom and the store of under- standing of his subject which Dr. Asheim has built up during his five busy years as director of ALA's International Relations ~ Office. In his first lecture Dr. Asheim warns of the Culture Shock often experienced by ex- troverted, reader-oriented American librari- ans when they meet their first case in an- other society of "the philosophy of primacy of the book over the reader." Seek first ~ within the setting where it is found the reasons for such a philosophy before con- demning it out of hand, he urges. Must our rightness, he wonders, be assumed in all situations? Must the way we do things ap- ply universally? Perhaps ; but he admonishes that we reply affirmatively only after much " searching contemplation of a complex of historical, social, physical, and cultural fac- tors which are often overlooked. In his second essay, the author points Book Reviews I 281 specifically to some such factors. These in- clude the aristocratic tradition that exists in many developing lands; it often makes untenable such an ideal as universal edu- cation. Another influence which is often more important elsewhere than it is in our own society is "deference to age, authority, and the past." Out of these two factors alone comes a range of special problems for library management which are related to colonialism and class privilege, civil service, red tape, and strong attachment to the status quo. There are, of course, eco- nomic and psychological factors which must be pondered, including problems of illiter- acy and neo-literacy, outmoded teaching method, manpower shortages, and the pres- tige or the lack of prestige of librarianship, and there are such physical problems as climate, undernourishment, and geography. Again we must ask if our answers are valid in view of these problems? The concluding lecture asks how we can help, as well as such harder questions as whether or not anyone really wants the help we offer. What of the strings and im- plications for the recipient that so often accompany our help? How can we help to educate without encouraging the great "brain drain" from developing countries? Also, he observes, the very existence of United States and other national informa- tion libraries in developing countries rein- forces "the suspicion that a public library ... is a special-interest, brain-washing agen- cy rather than an institution of disinterested education." The basic question to which Dr. Asheim's deliberations lead him, how- ever, is "what exactly do we in America have to offer the developing nations that will help them to generate the kinds of libraries, librarians, and library services best suited to their needs and their aspirations?" This is a tough question, but he does well at approaching a whole congeries of pro- vocative answers before he concludes, and his answers have far-reaching significance and implication. Every librarian heading for an overseas assignment should be denied his visa until he memorizes this little book verbatim ac litteratim; it is that important. It will also be darned good reading for those of us who stay home.-D.K.