College and Research Libraries MARC; user programs and package deals; subject retrieval in U.K. MARC; why MARC?; rules for alphabetical filing by computer; MARC in a special library en- vironment, MARC in the current scene; MARC and the future in libraries; MARC and the National Bibliography. The purpose of the seminar was to con- sider the several facets of MARC so that a better evaluation of the relevance of a cen- trally produced, machine-readable, catalog record can be made, and also so that the designers of the system ( s) can bend it to the requirements more effectively. Each pa- per is tied to the basic acceptance of stan- dardization. This standardization of a cat- aloging code, a book numbering scheme, and a subject retrieval system, such as a classification scheme, is implicit, perhaps as- sumed in all presentations. In some in- stances MARC appears to be almost an afterthought, and indeed, several authors acknowledge this. Such is the case in the paper on computer filing, subject retrieval and to some extent that of the British Na- tional Bibliography. But this should not be considered a fault in light of the stated purpose of the seminar; also, the reader can project for himself the impact of MARC. There are several aspects of the seminar which appear most refreshing. One of these is the attitude of both the authors and the participants who have apparently assumed that the projects and its problems are co- operative, that the solutions are a national concern, and that only by working through a central organization (in this case BNB) with government support can MARC be used effectively. There are few illusions in relation to financial investment. One paper leaves the reader with a vaguely negative feeling, but generally the attitude is one of positivism and imagination, as well as a seemingly clear idea of the task ahead. Another refreshing note is provided by the papers themselves. They are short, con- cise, to the point, and substantive, not only in relation to MARC and its characteristics but also to general library problems, e.g.: the card catalog versus the book catalog; doing speedily what does not need to be done at .all; and the varying requirements of libraries. All too often seminar and con- Recent Publications I 231 ference presentations fall so far short of being either substantive or informative, so that it is truly a work of art to provide both. Why is the volume of any use to the American librarian? Mr. Batty in his dis- cussion supports the preliminary work of MARC I and four experimental studies done in the United States, and cautions the British librarian not to minimize it. Amer- ican librarians can and should learn a great deal from these papers. Some of the posi- tive, constructive attitude of our British counterparts is sorely needed. The identi- fication and description of specific prob- lems is well done and would be helpful for librarians planning for MARC in the U.S. A very pertinent .analogy is provided by P. R. Lewis in his discussion of MARC and the future of libraries based on what he labels the "tower crane syndrome." This identifies a prevalent attitude and ap- proach of many American librarians and systems designers which must be avoided. Hopefully, the centralized, cooperative an- swers provided by these papers may filter into the planning and design of American library systems. This small volume is recommended to the library administrator and library school student because of the information it pro- vides, and to the technical service and systems personnel for both the information .and the identification of problems and pit- falls it provides.-Ann F. Painter, Drexel University. Introduction to Cataloging. Vol. 1: De- scriptive Cataloging and an Overview of Catalogs and Cataloging. John J. Boll. (McGraw-Hill series in library ed- ucation) New York: McGraw-Hill, 1970. 400p. $6.95. This text is the first of three volumes which, when used together, form an in- b·oduction to cataloging. Volume one cov- ers descriptive cataloging, volume two will cover personal name entry headings, and volume three will treat the subject ap- proach to cataloging. These texts are de- signed for individual study, for extension courses, and as a substitute for formal classroom instruction. Volume one is a combination of text il- ' 232 I College & Research Libraries • May 1971 lustrations, and exercises, with answers provided in an accompanying answer book. After providing a general discussion of cat- aloging, types of catalogs, catalog arrange- ments, and catalogs as compared to bibli- ographies and indexes, Boll attempts to summarize the logic behind cataloging and cataloging rules and to explain and illustrate the most important rules for mon- ographs, cited by rule number, in the An- glo-American Cataloging Rules, North American Text. Coverage includes card format, punctuation, title statement, author statement, edition statement, imprint, col- lation, series statement, notes, and a good summa1y which stresses the variations found in cataloging due to individual judg- ment, local needs, and rules which change with time. Exercises reinforce principles and allow the student to test comprehen- sion. The general explanations are basically sound and clear. Unfortunately, the text is marred by errors, occasional oversimpli- fications, and belaboring of the obvious. There are typographical errors and prob- lems for which an answer is incorrect or omitted in the answer book. The desire for clarity often results in a misleading statement such as: "We prepare a catalog by creating a description of, say, a book and then filing multiple copies of that description under entry headings for the names of persons who helped to create its intellectual content (usually this is only one author) and under subject headings for all subjects with which it deals thor- oughly." Multiple and corporate author- ship occur as frequently as single author- ship, and catalogers seldom list more than three subject headings for a book. Intro- ductory remarks on good study methods are trivial, and the sixty pages devoted to the format of a catalog card are excessive. The problems are neither difficult nor challenging. At a time when many library schools require only one cataloging course of stu- dents and when publication and use of nonbook materials is increasing rapidly, a beginning graduate-level course must cover more details of descriptive catalog- ing than this text does, in spite of Boll's assertion that a suitable level of biblio- graphical precision should not be confused with detail. Boll states that the principles of monographic description can be applied to the other forms of material. Such appli- cation is not as simple for students as he implies, and some exposure to serials and the major nonbook materials is desirable. The oversimplified and narrow coverage stems, in this reviewer's opinion, from the attempt to have one text serve all cata- loging students, whether in extension, un- dergraduate, or graduate courses. The amount of material covered and the de- gree of difficulty experienced will not be the same for all three levels of instruction. This text is suitable for the first two levels primarily, though instructors might use it as a supplementary text at the graduate leveL-Mrs. Nancy L. Eaton, Catalog Li- brarian, The University of Texas, Austin. Katalog. Leo Baeck Institute, New York. Bibliothek und Archiv. Band I. Hrsg. von Max Kreutzberger unter Mitarbeit von Irmgard Goerg. Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr (Paul Siebeck), 1970. xli, 623p. plates DM 143. (Schriftenreihe Wissen- schaftlicher Abhandlungen des Leo Baeck Institute, 22.) It is ironic that the German-Jewish com- munity, which produced the father of modern Jewish bibliography-the incom- parable Steinschneider-and which fos- tered the development of Jewish bibliog- raphy with the framework of the "Wissen- schaft des Judentums," should have been denied the opportunity of recording its bibliographic history while that community was still alive. The compilation of a Gesamtbibliographie of German Judaica was long a desideratum of German-Jewish scholarship. However, it was not until 1932 that the first substantial effort was made. In that year there appeared the first and only volume of the Katalog of the Stadt- bibliothekfrankfurt am Main, edited by Aron Freimann, and listing the Judaica holdings of what was probably the most extensive collection of German Judaica at that time. Alas, this was but a year before the infamous year of 1933; the rise of the Nazis to power in Germany heralded the end of German Jewry, and, of course,