College and Research Libraries raphy arranged by type of application. Ci- tations are listed within application in ·re- verse chronological order. The chapter on problems is general; it is organized around the difficulties of three groups of people: computer center and sys- tems personnel, suppliers of hardware and software, and librarians. Three other types of problems are also discussed: poor plan- ning, · poor design, and poor implementa- tion. The final chapter on prospects touches on networks, standards, minicomputers, commercial systems, and future develop- ments. This chapter is short, general, and not especially insightful, but may stimulate questions from those beginning their ex- amination of library automation systems and trends. In summary, the book is easy and inter- esting reading. It contains a wealth of in- formation presented in a free-flowing, pleasant manner and is a good starting point for those desiring an orderly review of what has gone on before. Also, the au- thor and publisher succeeded in publishing material that was as timely as possible up to the point of publication. However, the $24.50 price tag is going to be hard to swallow.-Eleanor Montague, Project Di- rector, Western Network Project, Western Interstate Commission for Higher Educa- tion. Cole, John Y., ed. Ainsworth Rand Spof- ford: Bookman and Librarian. The Her- itage of Librarianship Series, no. 2. Lit- tleton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, Inc., 1975. 203p. $11.50. (LC 75-31517) (ISBN 0-87287-117-7) In the foreword to this volume, series ed- itor Michael Harris indicates that the sub- ject of this book is "the rise of the Library of Congress to a position of unrivaled su- premacy among American libraries" (p.5). That rise was the work of Ainsworth Rand Spofford. His own writings and the intro- ductory background describe what he did for the Library of Congress. John Y. Cole is, perhaps, preeminently qualified to edit this volume and to discuss Spofford's career. Cole's doctoral disserta- tion is entitled "Ainsworth Spofford and the National Library," and he has written seven Recent Publications I 375 lengthy articles about the Library of Con- gress and Spofford. Part I of this work is a well-documented, precisely written history of Spofford's professional life. These details provide the background necessary to estab- lish the context of the selections presented in Part II. The important features of Spof- ford's philosophy about the library and his profession are also highlighted in this sum- mary. A skillful use of quotations encour- ages the reader to move directly and will- ingly into the selection of writings. Part II is one of the most pleasant sur- prises this reviewer has had recently. Spof- ford was an opinionated, articulate person who had clearly defined goals and equally definite methods of achieving them. No li- brarian today would agree with all of his ideas. But any discussion about reference service or the role of the Library of Con- gress or book selection or the qualifications of a librarian or even classification could be vigorously stimulated by a reading of these essays. Would you characterize the Library . of Congress as the "book palace of the American people" (p.43)? Spofford did, in 1899. He also saw the public library as the "people's university" (p.22). "Everyone seeking to know anything, should find the librarian a living catalogue" (p.152), he concluded. Several of his writings may offer "new" solutions to hoary problems. His "First An- nual Report" could serve as a model for a librarian describing library needs to a non- librarian supervisor. Present-day adminis- trators might find that his arguments for more space in "A 'Wholly Distinct' Library Building" could be used with great effec- tiveness. ALA's GODORT members will want to read his memo on "An Index to the Documents and Debates of Congress." Librarians and library school students should read this book and study this man's ideas. The volume is a necessary acquisi- tion for collections concerned with library history and library philosophy. John Y. Cole has reestablished an important figure in our professional heritage.-Judy H. Fair, Direc- tor of the Library, The Urban Institute, Washington, D.C. Martin, Susan K., and Butler, Brett, eds. Library Automation: The State of the 376 f College & Research Libraries • July 1976 Art II. Papers presented at the Precon- ference Institute on Library Automation. Held at Las Vegas, Nevada June 22-23, 1973, under the sponsorship of the Infor- mation Science and Automation Division of the American Library Association. With a bibliography compiled by Mar- tha W. West. Chicago: American Li- brary Assn., 1975. 191p. $7.50 (LC 75- 20168) (ISBN 0-8389-3152-9) These proceedings cover the state of the art in library automation as perceived by an experienced and distinguished panel of speakers in 1973. The overall aim of these papers was to identify, discuss, and evalu- ate trends in library automation using ex- tant systems as illustrations. The editors have also included the dialogue which took place during discussion periods following each presentation. The range of topics presented include a review of the previous five years, i.e., 1968- 73, most ably done by Allen Veaner, who also summarizes with his own personal "shopping lists" of needs and goals for the future; and Ralph Shoffner gives a predic- tion of the future (four to six years from 1973). Between those two ends of the scale are papers on the 1973 state-of-the-art by func- tion. In her paper on technology, Diana Delanoy presents a brief but pithy sum- mary including minicomputers and infor- mation retrieval enlivened by a couple of appropriate cartoons and tables; she even manages to fit in a useful list of guidelines for decision making. Lois Kirshner's paper on user services is a good overview espe- cially in the area of circulation, although too brief in the on-line searching aspect. Cataloging is reviewed by Maurice Freed- man thoroughly and with a refreshing, if categorical, approach. David Weisbrod on acquisitions, Pauline Atherton on the needs for systems personnel, and Walter Curley on innovative strategies complete the topics covered by this book It is a pity that the publication of the proceedings was so long delayed. The book now is of more interest in a retrospective sense, whereas earlier publication would have had immediate relevance for the pro- fession. Nevertheless, the papers are still thought provoking and the discussions en- lightening and interesting, especially .when read in the context of developments m the field since 1973. Although the bibliography contains a few foreign citations, the papers themselves do not mention some of the significant library automation projects under way abroad. This seems a significant omission. Another slight problem is the difficulty in following some of Shoffner's dialogue in the discus- sion section. One gets the impression that there are too many prepositions and not enough verbs and nouns. This reviewer was also disappointed in the paper on innova- tive strategies in systems and automation. While Curley's paper is interesting and in- formative it addresses itself more to the possibilit~ of eclectic choices in deciding which combination of systems and services to use rather than to the truly innovative strategies which certainly existed in 1973. Comments throughout the book, primari- ly from Shoffner, Atherton, and Veaner, call attention to topics, primarily related to staffing, which should be included ~ future state-of-the-art reviews. Atherton s paper addressed itself primarily to systems staff needs and administrative shortcomings. But what of the other library staff and their training or retraining, or the impact of au- tomation on patterns of library staff organi- zation, or the manpower needs of the fu- ture? These subjects need coverage badly. At one point Veaner posed this question to Curley: "What was the staff's reaction? What kinds of problems did you have and how were they overcome?" Curley's answer was: "Move the staff out ... and move a new staff in"! Later Shoffner expressed the view that R&D staff are the people who are responsible for the definition of a system and what it will do but are rwt responsible for its operating effectiveness. Such state- ments are dangerous and should not go un- challenged. In conclusion, this book should be "re- quired" reading for every librarian in 1976 for two reasons: (1) It is encouraging in these difficult times to note the progress which has been made since 1973; (2) the truths, admonitions, goals, and guidelines voiced in the papers are still very relevant; and reading the book will serve to keep goals not yet achieved in mind and in per- spective.-Teresa Strozik, Associate for Li- brary Services> Central Administration> State University of New York, Albany. Schlipf, Frederick A., ed. Collective Bar- gaining in Libraries. Proceedings. of a Conference Sponsored by the Illinois State Library and the University of ll- linois Graduate School of Library Science and University of Illinois Office of Con- tinuing Education and Public Service. Urbana-Champaign, Ill.: University of lllinois, Graduate School of Library Sci- ence, 1975. 179p. $8.00. (Available from Publications Office, Graduate School of Library Science, 249 Armory Building, Champaign, IL 61820) (LC 75-25240) (ISBN 0-87845-042-4) The entry of librarians into organized la- bor relations presents a largely misunder- stood challenge to the ethics of librarian- ship, even though it is estimated that in the United States some 33 ·percent of school li- brarians, 20 percent of academic librarians, and 10 percent of public librarians already are represented by collective bargaining. The purpose of the Allerton Park Insti- tute held in 197 4 was to examine library unionization in a dispassionate way. Thus, these ten papers review the evolution of the union movement, cover basic bargain- ing methods, and summarize the impact of bargaining on libraries. The first two papers conclude that librarians are on the thresh- old of unprecedented unionization, due to increasing financial problems and new laws allowing collective bargaining in the public sector. Five succeeding papers deal with legal considerations, bargaining agent rec- ognition, unit establishment, topics of nego- tiation, and grievances. The concluding three papers assess collective bargaining as it applies specifically to libraries and in- clude a simulated bargaining session and evaluations of public and academic library unionization. Appended are a comprehen- sive bibliography and a glossary of labor terms. As a general introduction to the technical details of bargaining, this volume provides some helpful insights. It is not, however, a how-to book for librarians expecting a realistic guide to negotiations, nor is it an objective examination of what forms of par- Recent Publications I 377 ticipatory management have been achieved through bargaining. It is in the final three papers, those ex- amining bargaining as it functions · in li- braries, where the aim of the institute goes awry. The simulated bargaining session uses a plastics firm as its example, an un- fortunate choice in that bargaining in the public sector, where most librarians are employed, is very different from the private sector where bargaining laws are less re- strictive and there is little question of final authority. In addition, the evaluations of the effects of bargaining, both written by library directors, deal with library staffs in general and are apprehensive in attitude to- wards governance, arbitration, accountabil- ity, and other negotiable issues. Indeed, the paper on bargaining in academic libraries contains a whole section entitled "Threat to the Service Function." Further, the eval- uation of academic libraries is by a Cana- dian who admits more familiarity with the libraries of Canada than those of the U.S., which is demonstrated by her misinterpre- tation of the bargaining unit model set at Wayne State University. (Contrary to her report, only supervisory librarians with final hire-fire authority, namely, the director of libraries and assistant/ associate directors, are excluded from the unit.) Thus, in these assessments, collective bargaining is not ob- jectively, nor always accurately, presented. It is worth noting that, of all the con- tributors, only one represents a union; five are lawyers, agency representatives, or pro- fessors outside the field of librarianship; and only four are librarians, including two directors of libraries and two professors of library science. Only one contributor ap- pears to have had actual experience as a ne- gotiator representing library employees. Significantly, no rank-and-file librarians are included. Thus, this volume has a disturb- ing lack of balance between viewpoints. Clearly, library management and those not directly involved with some of the basic is- sues of collective bargaining in libraries are curious choices for presenting a fair and complete picture of library unionization. A definitive analysis of collective bargain- ing in libraries is yet to be written.- Lothar Spang> Assistant to the Director, Wayne State University Libraries> Detroit, Michigan.