College and Research Libraries


field, England: Postgraduate School of 
Librarianship and Information Science, 
University of Sheffield, 1971. 314p. 
£3.50. 
Language has always been one of the 

easier criteria to apply in selecting books 
and journals for academic libraries. There 
is a generally understood but largely un-
measured correlation among the language 
of the publication, its subject, and its ac-
tual use. In times of budgetary restraint, 
therefore, the book selector is often tempt-
ed to choose the path of least resistance; 
i.e., to prefer the language used by the ma-
jority in the academic community. Tradi-
tion, assumption, and intuition play a ma-
jor role in this decision-making process as 
published knowledge on scholarly behavior 
and use-patterns in libraries has yet to pro-
vide interpretable data. 

The detailed case study done at the 
University of Sheffield by Hutchins and 
others is a significant step toward a better 
understanding of the practical problem of 
language in the transfer of scholarlv and 
scientific information and it offers an· inter-
esting variety of contact points for thought 
and action. 

Building on earlier work done at the 
same university, the authors have tried to 
determine the nature and effects of the 
"language barrier" between the "very large 
rapidly increasing quantity in all fields of 
knowledge in languages other than English" 
and the efficiency and quality of research 
and scholarly activity. The possible need 
for translation services was explored in re-
lation to - this barrier. During a two-year 
period the team interviewed more than 
half of the population being surveyed-in 
virtually all representative academic dis-
ciplines-with an emphasis on language 
competence and education, assessment of 
the importance of research work carried 
out in various countries in the world, 
and methods by which the population kept 
up to date in their fields. This information 
was collated against a variety of records 
and analyses of the actual library usage 
including a full year's borrowing and 
foreign language interlibrary loan transac-
tions, Xerox copying of foreign language 
items, and the use inside the library of 
current foreign language and multilingual 
journals. To add further dimensions an 

Reoent Publications I 243 

analysis was made of all citations in pub-
lications and theses produced during one 
year, and all the library's holdings and 
budgets with regard to the foreign lan-
guage material. The results of these sur-
veys have been reproduced in a substantial 
number of detailed tables showing the lan-
guage and use relationship in the human-
ities, social sciences, physical sciences, med-
icine, and engineering. 

The conclusions, of course, are not so 
surprising: There is indeed a language bar-
rier and there is a great need for access in 
one form or another to especially French, 
German, Russian, and Japanese research 
output. The authors recommend that spe-
cial courses in technical language knowl-
edge be developed. Despite the low usage 
in some fields the library should continue 
to select foreign language materials and 
the library staff should increase its efforts 
to promote the use of the available bib-
liographical and indexing tools. The need 
for coordinated, competent translation ser-
vices is clearly identified. 

For American university libraries faced 
with dwindling funds and sharply decreas-
ing university language requirements, this 
study comes at a most opportune time. Its 
methodology and the detail with which the 
data have been arranged can serve as a 
very useful model for local or national 
application. We hope that this volume will 
not only reach the shelves but also the 
eyes of concerned librarians and univer-
sity administrators.-Hendrik Edelman, Cor-
nell University Libraries. 

UNISIST: Study Report on the Feasibility 
of a World Science Information System. 
United Nations Educational, Scientific 
and Cultural Organization and the In-
ternational Council of Scientific Unions. 
Paris: UNESCO, 1971. 161p. $4.00. 
In one triad of scientific investigation-

desirability, necessity, and feasibility-it is 
often only the third component which gar-
ners the focus of attention. It is refreshing 
to note that in this study, however, the 
elements of desirability and necessity are 
considered with equal concern. 

The results of this four-year inquiry sug-
gest that the needs of the scientific and 
technological communities can be met more 
satisfactorily through a flexible network of 



244 I College & Research Libraries • May 1972 

information services. The now familiar 
characteristics of the information problem 
were all considered, including the in-
creasing rate of information production; 
the faculty dissemination practices; the in-
adequate libraries; and the linguistic bar-
riers. 

In addition, attention was directed to-
ward the less familiar elements of the in-
formation problem such as the shifting re-
quirements of the scientific community; for 
example, the interdisciplinary approaches 
to environmental problems necessitating in-
formation from not only the classical sci-
ences but also such subjects as sociology 
and economics. The lag in accommodating 
these requirements is demonstrated in the 
present services of journals, indexes, and 
abstracts. A search, therefore, for more 
flexible forms is herein attempted. 

Although these aspects of the informa-
tion problem have been recognized and 
under study intermittently for several years, 
the investigation tries to unify some of the 
existing fragmentation by resolving the is-
sues on an international scale. The utiliza-
tion of the most advanced communica-
tion technology is an obvious conclusion in 
view of the computer's capability to handle 
speedily large chunks of information as well 
as its flexible capacity to manipulate. Mech-
anized systems also create problems in the 
information arena vis-a-vis compatibility 
and fragmentation. The added problem of 
reliance emerges upon machines and their 
indigene to industrialization which many 
developing countries lack along with a 
paucity of infra structures of libraries. 

The subject of costs is dealt with know-
ingly and realistically. An information net-
work has to be more than a luxury for the 
wealthy, so says the UNISIST Committee. 
International communication and coopera-
tion are essential elements in a successfu] 
information system. Through such a uni-
fied effort, reduced costs and more effec-
tive information transfer may be expected, 
according to the investigators. New and 
emerging patterns of cooperation are also 
identified, which augurs well toward a 
feasible world network of scientific infor-
mation. The job to be done, nonetheless, 
exceeds the resources of any one or two 
countries, making cooperation and sharing 
imperative requirements. 

The investigators advanced twenty-two 
wide-ranging recommendations. They run 
from the development of basic philosophy 
of sharing the work and products of in-
formation transfer and the on-going ex-
periments aimed at increasing effectiveness, 
to the establishment of governmental agen-
cies at the national levels in consonance 
with the principles of UNISIST and the 
creation of interrelated managerial bodies, 
one of which would be a permanent ~ec­
retariat. 

It is notable that the study emphasizes 
that UNISIST is not a radical departure 
in science information transfer but rather 
a systematization of international coopera-
tion. Another way to describe the plan is 
to regard UNISIST as a type of worldwide 
movement more than an operating system 
in its own right. In essence then, the con-
cept of UNISIST appears not to be an in-
formation system superimposed upon exist-
ing services but a cooperative effort of 
governments and scientific organizations to-
ward approaching solutions in an evolu-
tionary and pragmatic fashion. 

As the document itself suggests this is in-
deed, "a report of major importance to all 
those concerned with the communication 
of scientific information."-Le Mayne W. 
Anderson, Colorado State University. 

Proceedings of the Second Conference on 
Federal Information Resources. Wash-
ington, D.C. March 30-31, 1971. 

This little volume is hardly an appro-
priate subject for review, since it is in itself 
a review of the announced subject by a 
large number of participants. As one of 
them, a few additional remarks may serve 
to elaborate the text usefully. 

The nearly verbatim record of presen-
tations and comments reveals no essen-
tial change in the divergent approaches 
of those on the donor (government) side 
or those on the receiver (public) side. The 
producers (?) of information are plagued 
by costs and funding problems and the 
users by f1ustrating reductions in available 
resources, while both sides are targets of 
steadily increasing demand. There are a 
few noteworthy statements, for the record, 
if for no other purpose. Milczewski's sum-
mary of progress since the first conference,