College and Research Libraries


170 I College & Research Libraries • March 1977 

copyright and literary rights, access and 
confidentiality, and social responsibility" are 
written with considerable perception and 
clarity. Hers is much the strongest part of 
the book and would be worth excerpting 
for special publication if updated at the 
time. 

Frazer Poole's chapter on preservation 
is quite good, but Duckett's relevant chap­
ters in Modern Manuscripts are in more 
detail. Together they provide valuable read­
ing. Robert L. Brubacker' s chapters on 
professional communication are useful in 
showing the need for the various associations 
of librarians, archivists, and historians to col­
laborate more closely if we are to deal with 
all of these common problems more effec­
tively in the future. We might begin by 
influencing the Public Documents Commis­
sion in its deliberations on the status of fed­
eral records. Marietta Malzer' s chapter, 
"Writings on Archive-Library Related Top­
ics," provides an excellent introduction to 
the literature.-Richard C. Berner, Head, 
University Archives and Manuscripts Divi­
sion, University of Washington. 

REFERENCES 

1. Norton on Archives, edited by Thornton W. 
Mitchell (Carbondale: Southern Illinois 
Univ. Pr., 1975). 

2. T. R. Schellenberg, The Management of 
Archives (New York: Columbia Univ. Pr., 
1965). 

3. Kenneth W. Duckett, Modern Manuscripts: 
A Practical Manual for Their Management, 
Car~ and Use (Nashville, Tenn.: American 
Association for State and Local History, 
1975). 

Rosenberg. Kenyon C., and Doskey, JohnS. 
Media Equipment: A Guide and Dictio­
nary. Preface by James W. Brown. Little­

. ton, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited, 1976. 
190p. $11.50. LC 76-25554. ISBN 0­
87287 -155-X. 
Next to building construction schematics, 

nothing is guaranteed to cause the uninitiat­
ed librarian more sleepless nights than the 
preparation or checking of specifications for 
future media equipment purchases. And 
like a capital construction project, language 
and terminologies are more difficult than 
one normally encounters while final deci­
sions are often based on compromising 
function to economics. 

This book's aim is to guide an individual 
in selecting the most suitable media equip­

ment for a library or learning center. How­
ever, only the most commonly used dissem­
ination hardware is covered: film, filmstrips, 
slides, overhead and opaque projectors, and 
audio recording and playback equipment. 

The book is divided into three sections. 
The first gives the basic criteria one should 
consider when purchasing any media hard­
ware. It is very short and ends with a 
checklist of questions which repeat, almost 
word for word, the considerations which 
preceded it in the section. 

The second section outlines specific me­
dia hardware and hardware systems by di­
viding each into its important parts, often 
defining these parts and outlining the rela­
tionships between the parts. Performance 
specifications for most pieces of electronic 
hardware are given as well. Evaluation 
ch~cklists for thirteen pieces of equipment 
are appropriately placed within this sec­
tion. 

The largest part of the book, however, 
is devoted to a "Dictionary of Technical 
Media Equipment Terms." More glossary 
than dictionary, it contains definitions for 
selected terms as well as the full names and 
addresses of principal trade, professional, 
and governmental organizations concerned 
with educational media. Simple line draw­
ings illustrate many of the equipment parts 
and systems defined. 

The preface of the book acknowledges 
that it should be used "in conjunction with 
otper helpful publications." A study of each 
of the three sections confirms that this vol­
ume is merely an introduction to some of 
the very traditional kinds of media equip­
ment. The first section's coverage of general 
criteria is sketchy and redundant. While 
one can understand why media production 
equipment was excluded from the second 
section, it is harder to excuse the absence 
of dissemination and duplication hardware 
which complements the audio and visual 
equipment which is covered. There is an 
almost total absence of guidelines for main­
tenance and repair. Scant coverage given 
to video equipment in the section is not re­
deemed by the large number of video defi­
nitions appearing in the "Dictionary." The 
bibliography is short and incomplete. 

Certainly not a harmful or misleading 
book, it is probably worth the purchase 
price. However, one is continually struck 
by the fact that firmer editorial direction 



plus harder work on the part of the authors 
would have produced a much more valu­
able book.-Thomas L. Bonn, Electronic 
Media Center Librarian, State University 
of N ew York, College at Cortland. 

Robinson, Arthur H., and Petchenik, Bar­
bara Bartz. The Nature of Maps: Essays 
toward Understanding Maps and Map­
ping. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 
1976. 138p. $8.95. LC 75-36401. ISBN 
0-226-72281-3. 
The Nature of Maps consists of six essays 

which together are an impressive attempt 
to provide a general theory of cartography. 
The essays are: On Maps and Mapping; 
the Map as a Communication System; Map­
ping, Language and Meaning; Seeing and 
Mapping; the Conception of Space; and 
Structure in Maps and Mapping. Drs. Rob­
inson and Petchenik are eminent cartogra­
phers, well versed in the literature of their 
own field as well as related disciplines such 
as logic, philosophy, linguistics, informa­
tion theory, and psychology. 

Generally, cartographers have been pri­
marily concerned with various technical in­
novations and not the theoretical problem 
of how a map acquires meaning from its 
maker and elicits meaning rin its user. In 
order to understand the communicative 
process in maps, the authors provide an 
analysis of other types of communications 
and demonstrate their relationship to car­
tography. What the authors are delineating 
is a broad research paradigm specific to 
this discipline, with the emphasis shifting 
from the "map as a static graphic display 
to the cognitive and perceptual activities 
of the individuals who interact with maps." 

This is the first detailed analysis of the 
philosophical basis of cartography and the 
treatment of the map as a cognitive system. 
It is a highly sophisticated benchmark work 
which treats in great detail issues which 
have been only briefly raised by earlier re­
searchers: for example, the fundamental 
character of meaning in the mapping sys­
tem, physiological and psychological in­
sights into visual cognition, development 
of the ability to visualize and form images 
of the perceptual ·stimuli themselves, and 
acquisition and character of spatial knowl­
edge. 

The volume is well documented with nu­
merous references to scholars in the sci-

Recent Publications I 171 

ences and humanities, such as R. Camap, 
E. Cassirer, J. Piaget, M. Polyani, and 
E. Imhof. It should be noted that this is 
far from the easiest book to follow) for 
either the cartographer or the librarian. It is 
a major contribution toward a general the­
ory of cartography and clearly demonstrates 
that the "concept of spatial relatedness 
which is of concern in mapping and which 
indeed is the reason for the very existence 
of cartography, is a quality without which 
it is difficult or impossible for the human 
mind to apprehend anything." The Nature 
of Maps is recommended for most four­
year college and university libraries.-Alan 
Edward Schorr, Assistant Professor, Elmer 
E. Rasmuson Library, University of Alaska, 
Fairbanks. 

A Reader in Library Management. Edited 
by Ross Shimmon, and with linking com­
mentaries by John Allred, K. H. Jones, 
Peter Jordan. London: Clive Bingley; 
Hamden, Conn.: Linnet Books, 1976. 
$10.00. 213p. LC 76-10382. ISBN 0­
85157-194-8, Bingley; 0-208-01378-4, 
Linnet. 
The purpose of this reader "is to present, 

in an accessible and convenient form, a 
group of articles which have been found to 
be of more than average usefulness by sev­
eral lecturers with courses in library man­
agement." The twelve articles chosen are 
from British, American, and Canadian jour­
nals, dated between 1968 and 1974. 

The text itself is divided into five sec­
tions: management, planning, organization, 
personnel, and evaluation. The articles 
chosen to discuss issues relating to these 
five topics provide a general introduction 
to library management theory. "The Need 
for Adminish·ative Know-How in Libraries" 
by Beatrice V. Simon is well-placed as the 
initial selection and provides a synoptic re­
view of the literature and concepts of man­
agement science. 

In "Creative Library Management" K. H. 
Jones distinguishes between the narrowness 
of mechanistic librarianship and a more en­
compassing existential view of library ser­
vice. P. H. Sewell and J. R. Haak point up 
the need for library goals on a national 
level and in undergraduate libraries, re­
spectively. 

..A Systems Concept of Organization and 
Control of Large University Libraries" by