College and Research Libraries


support of the '1ocal retailer of infonna-
tion" to the "investment of the wholesale 
area, in the interface between the producer 
and the library retailer, to ensure the qual-
ity and availability of needed products, at 
prices, which the retailer can afford." 0 

Reading the essays for the first time, or 
reading them over again, is a therapeutic 
experience. It sharpens one's philosophical 
perspectives and strengthens one's patience, 
both very useful attributes in analyzing the 
slow evolutionary process of cooperation. 

It is easy to update the Reader's sense 
of urgency. A few of the many obstacles yet 
to be overcome include recent attempts to 
increase subscription rates to join coopera-
tive networks; the mushrooming of locally 
designed automated systems with total dis-
regard for national standards; and the copy-
right controversy. 

On the other hand, a continuous interest 
in the development of networks, expressed 
by national and local organizations; spec-
tacular achievements in fields such as 
shared cataloging, for example; and en-
couragement fr om hindsight knowledge re-
corded in the Reader in Library Coopera-
tion suggest a flicker of hope for better li-
brary cooperation in the years to come.-
]oseph Z. Nitecki, Temple University, Phil-
adelphia, Pennsylvania. 

Borko, Harold, ed. Targets for Research 
in Library Education. Chicago: Ameri-
can Library Association, 1973. 239 p. 
$10.00. 
This is an important book. It is impor-

tant not because of the use of the "Delphi 
Technique," that controversial, much-ma-
ligned, and generally misunderstood method 
for predicting research needs and priorities, 
but rather because it contains what I view 
as some of the most provocative and pro-
ductive thinking on the subject of library 
education ever brought together in any one 
volume. 

At first one is puzzled at the rather con-
siderable success of this book, especially in 
comparison to earlier cooperative attempts 
to "understand" library education. The key 

°From the "Statement by William S. Buding-
ton . . . representing the Association of Re-
search Libraries before the Subcommittee on 
Education of the Senate Committee on Labor 
and Public Welfare on July 24, 1973." 

Recent Publications I 139 

appears to be Harold Borko, the editor, who 
recruited a dozen knowledgeable and artic-
ulate library educators, assigned them top-
ics worth thinking about, and then carefully 
and finnly directed and focused their work. 

The authors include Jesse Shera, Mar-
garet Monroe, Gerald J ahoda, Irving Lie-
berman, Robert B. Downs, Page Ackennan, 
and Leon Carnovsky, and their papers dis-
cuss such matters as the goals of library 
education, general versus specialized study, 
library school administration, library school 
faculty and students, and continuing educa-
tion. Each author was asked to define the 
problem under discussion, to critically an-
alyze previous research in this area, to sug-
gest needed research, and finally to specu-
late on how the findings generated by such 
research might be utilized to improve the 
quality of library education. The ten papers 
produced using this formula constitute 
Part I of Targets for Research in Library 
Education and are at once infonnative and 
provocative, and represent required reading 
for anyone interested in library education. 

Part II of this book is comprised of one 
paper describing the "Delphi Technique" 
and another by Borko entitled "Predicting 
Research Needs in Library and Infonnation 
Science Education." In the latter, Borko at-
tempts to assess accurately "group opinion 
on the relative importance of the various 
research projects which had been identi-
fied." Library educators will be pleased or 
displeased with his work in direct propor-
tion to the "priority" rating given to their 
pet projects. But then, the priority ratings 
should not be taken as definitive, for the 
rapid changes in economic and social condi-
tions that we are now witnessing will sig-
nificantly alter our "priorities" in library ed-
ucation over the next few years. Thus the 
findings reported in part two of this book 
must be considered tentative and indeed 
perhaps even dated. 

At the same time, it must be reiterated 
that the essays in part one are extremely 
valuable and will continue to provoke, in-
spire, and guide library educators for years 
to come. Harold Borko deserves a large 
bouquet indeed for his masterful direction 
of what must have been an unruly but bril-
liant ensemble.-Michael H. Harris, Col-
lege of Library Science, University of Ken-
tucky.