College and Research Libraries magazines, on-line retrieval services, and information brokerage as examples of how the library might compete in the informa- tion marketplace despite concomitant prob- lems. Building this book upon Bell's "post-in- dustrial society," the editor erected a spe·- cific type of well-interfaced edifice, not a library, reflecting the expertise of a variety of artisans. The introduction compares vari- ous parts of the building to librarianship, while the bibliography cites library litera- ture related to each section. Starting with a different concept, one might well fabri- cate a totally different structure with quite different craftsmen, with as valid and beau- tiful results. For many librarians who seek to involve professionals from other disciplines in their research and teaching, this compilation will have much appeal. Critical thinking on the concerns of librarianship will occur more readily as a result of such intet disciplinary findings. This descriptive review was deliberate so that librarians will know that only one- fourth of the book deals directly with li- brary and information services. Any librar- ian worthy of the appellative "professional" will peruse this book with delight, make ap- plications to the field, develop methods of procedure, and organize activities that de- rive from the critical thinking necessary in this crucial age in order to save the library profession for its present clientele and ex- tend it to others who have not as yet bene- fited from it.-Rev. Jovian Lang, Division of Library and Information Science, St. John's University, Jamaica, New York. Tedd, L. A., An Introduction to Comput- er-Based Library Systems. London: Heyden, 1977. 208p. £ 8.50. $17.00. ISBN 0-88501-221-8. This is a textbook based on a course taught by the author at the International Graduate Summer School at the College of Librarianship in Aberystwyth, Wales. Be- cause of either the nature of the course or for some other reason, the scope is extreme- ly broad for a 200-page book. Within its covers it attempts to provide an introduc- tion to computers, a discussion of com- puterized library systems, and a discussion of computerized information retrieval sys- tems. Recent Publications I 545 After an "overview" chapter, there are three on computers: one each on hardware and software, and one on "setting up." These are brief but fairly clear; they nat- urally use British terminology ("backing store" for off-line storage, for example), but this seldom presents a problem in under- standing. The next four chapters comprise the sec- tion on library applications of data process- ing, or, as Tedd continually refers to them, "housekeeping activities." The phrase is reminiscent of the 1950s when such appli- cations were considered too trivial to de- serve serious study, information retrieval being just around the corner and obviously destined to make traditional library opera- tions (and libraries) obsolete in short order. Perhaps because of such a view, the cover- age of some "h,ousekeeping" applications is very slight-automated acquisition sys- tems, for example, are covered in a little more than two pages. Circulation control receives twenty-three pages, reflecting the widespread interest in such systems in Britain, with the treatment of ·cataloging and serials control somewhere in between these extremes. The discussion of MARC concentrates so heavily on the British viewpoint that the reader is left with the impression that the development of MARC has been a joint ef- fort of the United Kingdom and the Library of Congress almost from the beginning. Some basic information about MARC is omitted: there is no mention, for example, of the languages, publication dates, or types of materials covered by either LC' s MARC Distribution Service or the counter- part service offered by the British Library. Computerized information retrieval sys- tems are treated in three chapters: one on indexing, one on selective dissemination of information ( SDI), and one on retrospec- tive search systems. There is a fairly exten- sive discussion of the various types of KWIC (Key Word In Context) indexes, a description of PRECIS (the Preserved Con- text Index System), and brief mention of one or two others. The SDI chapter ex- plains the concept and the most common variations, then lists some of the SDI ser- vices available commercially-without, however, describing them. In the chapter on retrospective search systems, the two dominant commercial ones ( SDC' s ORBIT 546 I College & Research Libraries • November 1977 and Lockheed's DIALOG) are discussed briefly but without comparison, and the National Library of Medicine's various MEDLINE services are then described more fully. There is no bibliography, although there are references at the end of each chapter. There is a brief glossary and two appen- dixes that explain binary arithmetic and how to compute a Modulus 11 check digit. For its original purpose-a brief intro- duction to the field for British students- the text is probably adequate. For Amer- ican students, there are better and more pertinent works available; and for those already familiar with the basics of library automation this book offers very little that is new. For the British perspective on library automation, R. T. Kimber's Auto- mation in Libraries is older but more sub- stantial, although Tedd's book provides occasionally useful details on specific Brit:. ish systems. This volume is recommended for comprehensive collections only.-Ste- phen R. Salmon, University of California, Berkeley. Bry, Ilse. The Emerging Field of Sociobib- liography: The Collected Essays of llse Bry. Edited and compiled by Lois Affler- bach and Marga Franck. Contributions in Librarianship and Information Sci- ence, Number 19. Westport, Conn.: .Greenwood Pr., 1977. 251p. $17.50. LC 76-28644. ISBN 0-8371-9289-7. The late Ilse Bry viewed entries in a bib- liography the way an archaeologist views shards-as material traces of an aspect of human activity, capable, like the pottery fragments, of yielding insights into the pur- poses, values, and daily practices of the culture that created and used them. Thus "in sociobibliography, bibliographic data are investigated for a variety of scientific purposes independent of users' needs to consult the publications" ( p.237). General- ly the purpose is to shed light on the char- acter of communication in scholarly disci- plines and the roles played by a discipline's literature in shaping the knowledge to which the field lays claim. The Mental Health Book Review Index, issued from 1956 to 1972 by a committee of librarians headed by Ilse Bry, was a lo- cation tool for reviews of books in the behavioral sciences and also a vehicle for investigation and discussion of the use of bibliography as an analytic instrument. Edi- torials published with the index pointed out trends and relationships discernible in the index listings and considered how these might contribute to greater understanding both of the history and sociology of science, and of the requirements of scientific bibli- ography. These editorials, some of which have been reprinted previously in journals, are here collected in book form under the editorship of two of the principal collab- orators on MHBRI. The essays raise a number of interesting issues: the contrast in purpose and point of view between subject bibliography, as con- ceived by the academic community, and li- brary cataloging (essay 1); the scholarly contribution of book reviews and distortion of their scientific function by evaluative perspectives imported from literary and art criticism (essay 4); ways in which conven- tional bibliographic styles and standards suppress scientifically valuable data about books (essay 7) ; the potential of biblio- graphic organization for shaping the char- acter of a field of study (essay 8) and for illuminating trends in a subject's develop- ment (essays 9, 10, 13). Although the earliest pieces in the book were written nearly twenty years ago, the discussion remains fresh and provocative, characterized throughout by the author's clear-sighted view of the contribution of bibliography to science and her wide-rang- ing historical and philosophical erudition. Indeed, Bry's ideas may be said to have grown in interest and relevance now that the flowering of computers has so greatly multiplied bibliographic possibilities with- out contributing the knowledge needed for intelligent choices. Librarians curious to decipher meaning behind our daily tools, and concerned to make them more effec- tive, will value this book. One complaint: The final essay, which is the most comprehensive statement of the concept of sociobibliography, is included only in summary form. A fuller version may be found in Morris Gelfand, ed., Access to Knowledge and Information in the Social Sciences and Humanities (Queens College Press, 1974) .-Thelma Frei.des, Swarth- more College Library, Swarthmore, Penn- sylvania.