College and Research Libraries


merely to show and comment on the rela-
tionship of listed activities to the data gath-
ered from the survey results. 

For any planner deciding on the menu 
of activities for a network and needing sug-
gestions on how to get there, Guidelines 
will be a useful tool. The ingredients will 
not all be applicable, and there will be a 
pinch more of this and a teaspoon less of 
that, but it will serve as a point of departure 
from which adjustments can be made to re-
flect local goals, resources, and needs. That 
is, after all, what library cooperation is all 
about.-Donald D. Hendricks, Director of 
the Library, The University of Texas Health 
Science Center, Dallas, Texas. 

Lancaster, F. W. Vocabulary Control for 
Information R·etrieval, Information Re-
sources Press, 1972. 
This is an exceptionally well done cover-

age of a topic vital to library practice as well 
as computer-based reference retrieval. It fo-
cuses its attention on vocabulary control and 
presents virtually every relevant aspect in 
a lucid, well organized, thoroughly illustrat-
ed, and technically informed manner. The 
professional in the field will find it as val-
uable as the student and teacher. 

The content can roughly be divided into 
three parts: 

( 1) A general classification of various 
kinds of vocabularies, with a more 
detailed description of each (Chap-
ters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 19). 

( 2) An analysis of the various steps in 
creating and maintaining a vocabu-
lary (Chapters 6, 17, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 
and 12). 

( 3) A discussion of the use of a vocabu-
lary (or set of them) (Chapters 13, 
24; 14, 15, 16; 20, 21, 22, 23; and 
18). 

The general classification is now a classic 
one: precoordinated vocabularies (subject 
headings and classifications) and postcoor-
dinated ones (thesauri and more restrictive 
word lists) . While making this division, 
Lancaster is careful to point out that the dis-
tinctions, although conceptually clear, are 
blurred in practice. The detailed discussions 
are richly illustrated with examples and 
thorough comparative analyses. 

The processing steps discussed include 
generating the vocabulary conceptually, 

Recent Publications I 165 

pragmatically, and mechanically (the latter 
as part of an excellent discussion of auto-
matic indexing and classification), org~niz­
ing and displaying it, establishing standards 
for it, providing reference structures for it, 
and updating it. A full chapter is devoted 
to a discussion of the use of computers in 
carrying out these processes. Again, a 
wealth of specific examples are presented, 
each with illustrations, analyses, and com-
parisons. 

To his discussion of the use of vocabu-
laries, especially in evaluation of their in-
fluence on system performance, Lancaster 
brings his own knowledge of this crucial is-
sue. Since he has previously written about 
the criteria and procedures for evaluating 
performance, he simply summarizes them 
here, but then pays specific attention to the 
causes of retrieval failure due to vocabulary. 
The discussions of forms of syntax and other 
rules for use of a vocabulary, of auxiliary de-
vices for reducing failures due to vocabulary 
(such as links, roles, and other relational in-
dicators), or "natural language" uses, and 
of compatibility between languages are all 
equally well informed and well illustrated. 
Special attention is paid to the uses of vo-
cabulary in "on-line" situations. 

In summary, this book is heartily recom-
mended to everyone concerned with the 
field of information retrievaL-Robert M. 
Hayes, Executive Vice-President, Becker & 
Hayes Inc., Los Angeles, California. 

West, Celeste, and Katz, Elizabeth, eds. 
Revolting Librarians. San Francisco: 
Booklegger Press, 1972. Distributed by 
the American Library Association, Chica-
go. 158p. $2.00 ppd. 
The pun in the title is intended, of 

course, for here is a collection of 30-odd 
poems, stories, and articles on revolting li-
brarians-those who revolt against the sys-
tem and those who are revolting because 
they are the system. Ms. Katz and Ms. 
West are well known around the San Fran-
cisco Bay Area as members of the former 
group. Celeste is currently editor of Syner-
gy, the graphically (and intellectually) ex-
citing publication of the Bay Area Reference 
Center; Elizabeth is part-time librarian in 
the San Francisco Public Library. 

Visually the book resembles Synergy. I 
recommend that you at least look at it even