College and Research Libraries 238 I College & Research Libraries • May 1978 all who either contemplate or are already heavily engaged in the stimulating but sometimes frustrating venture of attempting to preserve "history warm." -Alice M. Hoffman, Pennsylvania State University, King of Prussia Graduate Center. Prospects for Change in Bibliographic Con- trol. Proceedings of the Thirty-eighth Annual Conference of the Graduate Li- brary School, November 8-9, 1976. Edited by Abraham Bookstein, Herman H. Fussier, and Helen F. Schmierer. The University of Chicago Studies in Library Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977. 138p. $7.50. LC 77-23767. ISBN 0-226-06365-8. As usual, the annual conference of the University of Chicago Graduate Library School results in a high-powered overview of the chosen topic. The title of the thirty- eighth conference should serve as a caution- ary note: these proceedings should be read without delay, since the pace of change threatens to make much of the content passe in short order. Three of the seven papers are largely fac- tual, informative, and nonprovocative state-of-the-art presentations. "Technological Foundations for Bibliographic Control Sys- tems," by Ronald L. Wigington and Charles N. Costakos, serves an important function for planners of bibliographic systems gener- ally. The paper's scope-computer technol- ogy, communications technology, reprog- raphy, and software-along with its lucid exposition and predictions of future trends makes it one of the most relevant and valu- able pieces this reviewer has read for some time. (Another reason to read it: most of the news is good!) Elaine Svenonius and Helen F. Schmier- er write perceptively on recent work in the area of subject control within a neatly or- ganized framework encompassing univer- sal schemes (LC and Dewey classification and LC subject headings), natural language indexing, indexing vocabulary convertibility, Subscriptions ... the professional way. [[N] F.W. FAXOn comPAnY, 1nc. Library Magazine Subscription Agency 15 Southwest Park Westwood, Massachusetts 02090 Tel : 800-225-7894 (toll-free) 617-329-3350 (collect in Mass. and Canada only) With costs increasing as library budgets shrink, modern librarians are called upon to use their pro- fessional skills more than ever. That's why Faxon's fast, accurate, flexible subscription service makes sense for so many busy libraries. Fully computerized, yet fully personal, Faxon offers three renewal options and six ordering plans - and a complete range of other valuable subscription services. Ordering serials through Faxon helps to manage costs, and helps to free librarians for important management tasks. Write or call Faxon today for our Librarians' Guide and Service Brochure. Find out how Faxon helps librarians order periodicals quickly and effi- ciently ... the professional way. Ubrary business is our only business- since 1881. and string indexing languages. Regrettably, they chose not to use this forum for the ex- pression of judgmental viewpoints that might help direct the information commu- nity's allocation of resources for subject analysis. Henriette A vram, before finishing with a remarkably pithy summary of the confer- ence, reviews developments (mostly post- 1960) in production and dissemination of bibliographic data, with a view toward a multifaceted bibliographic network. In four paragraphs at the conclusion of the review (p.127-28) she poses some of the most difficult and important problems now facing network planners. (In the seventeen pages of her contribution, Avram introduces thirty-five different initialisms and ac- ronyms, using them a total of 281 times, thus qualifying her as a finalist in the World Acronymic Competitive Knockout Year [WACKY].) Herman H. Fussier and Karl Kocher's in- troductory outline of "contemporary issues" provides a convenient framework for the papers that follow but can be skipped by anyone reasonably au courant with the bib- liographic scene. In a lengthy presentation entitled "Theory of Bibliographic Control iri Librar- ies," Doralyn J. Hickey deals in a confusing and (to this reviewer) sterile manner with a hodgepodge analysis of historic American practice in bibliography and the develop- ment of library catalogs. A series of ques- tions that leads to a "Prolegomena to a Theory of Bibliographic Control," although couched in high-sounding terminology, con- stitutes further ammunition for the unpro- ductive and seemingly endless haggling in some circles about how many bibliographk angels can or should dance on the head of a single pin. Hickey's paper is a superb illus- tration of the difficulty encountered in de- veloping a theoretical structure applicable to an essentially pragmatic situation, one that can be better analyzed as a set of public pol- icy problems in the allocation of resources rather than treated as an area for philosophical speculation. In contrast to Hickey, Warren J. Haas' discourse on "Organization Structures to Meet Future Bibliographic Requirements" is precisely on target in its delineation of Recent Publications I 239 bibliographic ends and means, taking off from the judgment that one of our major handicaps is " the lack of an effective . . . capacity to develop a national strategy for bibliographic control. " His concluding pro- posal for a cooperative project on the part of the Library of Congress and the Association of Research Libraries to formulate and test "methods for planning and assessing the performance of our bibliographic mechanisms" deserves attention in spite of its aura of creaky machinery and elitist con- trol. In what is certainly the most elegant and most pleasurable to read of the conference papers, S. Michael Malinconico steps through some highlights of cultural and bib- liographic history as a prelude to, and as a basis for , an examination of the relationship between computer-based technology , the purposes of bibliothecal activity, and the standards under which it is (or is not) per- formed. Malinconico finishes with an eloquent-although debatable-plea for adherence to the concept of main entry. The paper unfortunately stops short of ad- dressing the topic that lies for this reviewer (and, one would expect, for Malinconico) at the heart of the matter: authority control of access points in bibliographic files.-:-]oseph A. Rosenthal, University of California, Berkeley. CORRECTION The Institute for Scientific Information has called our attention to errors in the review of Eugene Garfield's Essays of an Information Sci- entist, which appeared in the March 1978 issue, pages 148 and 150. lSI points out that Eugene Garfield is more than "currently active in lSI," he is the founder , president, and its board chairman. Further, Dr. Garfield is not president of Information Interna- tional, Inc. (III), and has never been associated in any capacity with any firm with this or a similar name. Dr. Garfield was never president of ASIS or AD I. He served on the Council of that organi- zation and was president of the Information In- dustry Association (IIA) . Current Contents has never been produced by any other firm than the Institute for Scientific In- formation. · The author of the review and the editor regret these errors and offer their apologies to Dr. Garfield and lSI.