College and Research Libraries 378 I College & Research Libraries • July 1979 of Library Trends attempts to go beyond the usual summaries of what one can read in •he field and attack the nagging problems that exist between librarians and society. It opens up an uncharted area for critical thinking and presents challenges unique to our times. What our professional goals were is thor- oughly discussed by Lester Asheim histori- cally, and options presented as to where professional standards should lead. Beverly P. Lynch contrasts two aspects of manage- ment: its formal characteristics organized for administrative efficiency and the informal processes whereby personnel react an- tagonistically toward service goals. How demographic trends and social struc- ture will affect librarianship is foretold by Lowell A. Martin in sections dealing with population growth, an older population, women and the family, urban concentration and dispersion, minorities and the poor, class and libraries, and, finally, demand for continued social research in the library field. What implication certain issues of MCGREGOR "PERSONALIZED SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE" Every customer is assigned an experienced "Home Office" ntpresentatlve. You corntSpond direct; any title needs, changes, cancellations or problems can be handled promptly by letter or phone. This makes your job easier al}d keeps you abreast of your subscription needs at all times. With over 45 years experl*nce, McGregor has built a reputation of prompt and courteous service on both domestic and International titles. We pntpay subscrip- tions ahead of time. Our customers, large and small, like the prompt attention we give them. We think you would tool Ask about McGregor's "Automatic Renewal" plan de- scribed in our new brochunt. Write today for your free copy. OUR 46th YEAR Mount Morris, llllnols61054 governance (equalization of educational op- portunity, research methodologies analyzing public policymaking, accountability for pub- lic funds) have for libraries is treated by R. Kathleen Molz. Much study still remains in these areas. To be read in conjunction with Asheim' s article, Richard L. Darling's ap- proach to intellectual freedom and access to material during the last forty years would seem to preview the future. The history and current scene of Ameri- can education in the schools depicted by Elaine Fain allows us to reexamine our past and to seek how libraries can be significant in the educational system. Lewis F. Stieg's insistence on the need for a theory in academic librarianship ties in beautifully with Martin's presentation. Academic li- brary goals and objectives must relate to societal factors. F. W. Lancaster and Linda C. Smith de- scribe the current pattern of disseminating research results and predict that the present communication cycle will give way to the electronic mode, offering the librarian the role of an indispensable, respectable ex- plorer of a tremendous electronic "library without walls." Robert D. Harlan and Bruce L. Johnson do not mince words as they lay it on the line for librarians in reporting the recent trends in American book publishing. Computer and communication technology with its effect on the library environment is addressed by Joseph Becker, who recog- nizes that technology alone cannot solve the problems of a pluralistic society. The chal- lenge is before us. In spite of the fact that the editors are aware of several other problems in our pro- fession, particularly as they relate to broad areas of concern in society, all of us can read at least this material with open minds and allow research by pertinent disciplines to have its impact on librarianship, as long as we pick up the ball and run with it! Let us thank the editors and writers for compil- ing and organizing these topics into a worthwhile pattern for us to study.-Jovian P. Lang, O.F.M., St. John's University, Jamaica, New York. Ash, Lee, comp. Subject Collections: A Guide to Special Book Collections and Subject Emphases lJ8 Reported by Uni- versity, College, Public, and Special Li- braries and Museums in the United States and Canada. 5th ed., rev. and enl. Corn- piled by Lee Ash, with the collaboration of Stephen J. Calvert and the assistance of William Miller. New York: Bowker, 1978. 1,184. $67.50. LC 78-26399. ISBN 0-83-2-0924-5. As they us d to say about the Kingfish, Subject Collections is "sui generis." Th~re is simply nothing like it for general coverage of libraries in North America. The new fifth edition enhances an established tradition of substantial reference and bibliographical value. Since it appeared in 1958, librarians and booksellers and book collectors have turned to it as a first guide to library hold- ings on special topics and the answers to such questions as, Where are the "Trollope, Anthony" or the "Agricultural Machinery" collections in the U.S. and Canada? Now, with the 1978 edition much greater scope, depth, and specificity of coverage have been realized, thanks to automation. Ash drew from his data base established with the fourth (1974) computer printouts of each in- stitution for changes and additions. The re- sponse has been very positive and has greatly expanded the researcher's capability to get a handle on his topic. Not only will one find an increased number of new entries but also many new and useful "see references" not in the fourth; many new subject headings C'Black Holes [Astronomy]"); and especially name collections or names that are part of a larger collection (e. g., collections under the sur- name Smith were two in 1958 and thirty- three in 1978). As Ash warns, users must read the intro- ductory sections with care as these cover in- clusions and exclusions. Some headings (e. g., "Slides-Collections") yielded so many entries as to be unwieldy and were dropped. His admonition still holds: "The larger a collection the less adequate any de- scription is likely to be." Of greatest impor- tance is the stipulation that there is valid material in the fourth not contained in the fifth; therefore, the earlier version must re- main available for consultation. Successive editions of the important ref- erence works like Ash are themselves key documents reflecting change over time. Recent Publications I 379 What libraries process and house mirror in their own way our social and intellectual history during a turbulent two decades. We do not wonder that the fifth has over twenty-five entries for collections about Vietnam and its war, whereas the fourth has nineteen and the third (1967) but three. The aftermath of that debacle lingers in a new subject heading: "Ref1_1gees, Viet- namese." Automation affects our lives increasingly: note that the first shows fifteen collections on "Computing Machines" and "Electronic Data Processing," whereas the fifth boasts no less than seventy-seven under updated terms. "Concrete Poetry" didn't exist to col- lect in 1958, and now three libraries report special holdings on that literary form. Li- braries now report five times as many "Evolution" and "Darwin, Charles" collec- tions and twice as many "Crane, Stephen" collections as they did twenty years ago, whereas "Dolls" has dropped from six to four. While the content has changed markedly-mostly through growth-what about internal organization and format? Ar- rangement still follows a single alphabetical sequence of subject headings used and "see references."· Beneath the former, collection entries are by state. Two changes inaugu- rated in the fourth were continued: LC sub- ject headings were substituted for Sears, and "see also" references were dropped. In form the size of the entries has grown from mostly short ones of two or three lines giv- ing the name and location of the repository to some very long (20--30 lines), which dis- cuss the collections more. Many more en- tries in the fifth cite available printed bib- liographies (e.g., G. K. Hall catalogs) and calendars. In his preface, Ash cites the continuing "demand" for his work. But, we may appro- priately ask, just how much is it actually used by public service academic libraries and in what ways? I suspect that a portion of that demand stems from librarians check- ing to see how their library "came out" and quibbling over the results. I informally can- vassed a number of respected reference li- brarians in our large UC system. There was a broad range of responses: from "very lit- tle" to "quite often." None reported daily 380 I College & Research Libraries • July 1979 use. Its direct use in interlibrary loan is negligible as those quests are mostly for known items. Subject Collections seems to be one of those books always seen at the front desk right along with the Encyclopedia of Associations, Statistical Abstract, and Granger but not used with their regularity. The substantial virtues realized in the fifth will doubtless resolve any problem of underu tilization. Some faults mar the fifth and should be worked on before the sixth appears. Many of the ent~ies are confusing as to actual holdings. Segments of collections will show the same number of volumes as the larger collections of which they are a part. This is disturbing and should be corrected. Also, as reviewers of the fourth have noted, very long entries are repeated in toto under as many as five headings. This method wastes a good deal of space and could be corrected either by briefer entries with a reference to a main entry or by an index (a solution Ash has resisted). A word about the physical properties of the work. The paper seems durable and the typographical characteristics 0 TIMELY DELIVERY On Your Book Orders a-a-a-a SEPTEMBER 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 the BOOK HOUSE SINCE 1962 . SERVING INSTITUTIONAL LIBRARIES WITH ANY BOOK IN PRINT clear; but the binding is insubstantial for the overall book weight. I am afraid that the binding will "spring" as it did for several copies of the fourth that r ve inspected. Puzzling also to this reviewer is the actual number of collections cited in the fifth. Ash doesn't give a figure, but the fourth is claimed to have over 70,000 entries. I ran counts of a number of pages of the fourth and found that the number of entries (in- cluding "see references") was from about twenty to forty-five per page-never more. Multiplying the largest possible number by the pages (908p.), I conclude there couldn't be more than 40,000. By the same process, the fifth couldn't contain more than 54,000 entries. For the price, Bowker owes us a correct count or an explanation. Despite the above minor debilities, about which I feel slightly churlish in having even mentioned, Subject Collections is an essen- tial tool. Along with Mansell and the N a- tiona[ Union Catalog of Manuscript Collec- tions, it helps marshal our scholarly re- sources into a common pool more accessible to all readers. The library world's consider- College and University Acquisition Librarians ... -.. Now is the time to try the best source for: • any book in print • accurate invoicing • meaningful reports • rush order service • competitive discounts • plus many other services Call 517-849-2117 Collect 208 WEST CHICAGO STREET JONESVILLE. MICHIGAN 49250 able debt to Lee Ash mounts.-Marc Git- telsohn, University of California, San Di- ego. Prentice, Ann E. Strategies for Survival: Library Financial Management Today. LJ Special Report #7. New York: Library Journal, 1978. 56p. $5; cash with order, $3.95 ISBN 0-8352-1144-4. ISSN 0362- 448X. A fairly current and well-balanced selec- tion of principles, techniques, and meth- odologies to aid the library administrator in financial decision making during times of fiscal stress, this concise "report" could serve as a handy outline of some major management issues facing library directors today. The Delphi technique, community analysis, program and performance budget- ing, ZBB, model building, and other cur- rently sexy economic analysis techniques are sketched. (For an antidote see De Gen- naro's masterful put-down of same in the December 15, 1978, Library Journal.) How budget cuts may affect various personnel management issues and what the library can do to maintain control in this area are the subject of Sheila Creth' s (University of Connecticut Library) chapter. A discussion of some library services that ma"y be contracted out or implemented through automation is nicely balanced by a chapter on ways to raise money within the library (fees, Ms. Blake). Further potential for easing the financial burden on libraries is seen in the chapters on resource sharing and "Architectural Con- siderations," the most useful of which are conducting an "energy audit" of the library and determining the cost of renovation ver- sus construction. Some general advice on the cost of automating services is only min- imally useful. Evaluation of services, the one area in which libraries traditionally have been weak, is the subject of the last chapter. (Un- fortunately, Lancaster's important work, The Measurement and Evaluation of Library Services, is not included in the bibliogra- phy.) Within such short chapters Prentice and others manage to balance their presen- tations with relevant con arguments and Recent Publications I 381 cautions. One strain that comes through all ten chapters is the suggested analytical and quantitative approach to economic decision making in libraries and the implication that seat-of-the-pants, intuitive management is inadequate to deal with complex library problems. Armed with a fleshed-out understanding of the ideas presented here in skeletal form (the bibliography items are c;gsP..ntial reading for anyone wishing to go beyond Prentice's treatment), the neophyte may gain a good understanding of the major issues and trends in library management today, whereas the seasoned administrator could use the "report" to fill in some gaps in his or her knowledge.-Albert F. Maag, Capi- tal University, Columbus, Ohio. COM Systems in Libraries: Current British Practice. Edited by S. J. Teague. Guildford, Surrey: Microfilm Association of Great Britain, 1978. 49p. £4 (£3 to MAGB members). ISBN 0-906542-00-6. (Available from: Microfilm Association of Great Britain, 8 High St., Guildford, Sur- rey GU2 5AJ.) This pamphlet contains seven articles dis- cussing computer output microfilm (COM) applications at seven British libraries. Ad- vantages and disadvantages of COM are dis- cussed within the specific setting outlined at each institution. Limited insight into the au- tomated library system behind each applica- tion can be gained by careful reading of each article. This reviewer is particularly impressed with the cooperation of British libraries, wh~ch several of these articles discuss·. Each library's operation is different, yet each has elements of commonality. The meeting, which was attended by most of the libraries represented in this publication, with COM vendors provides insight into the British li- brary scene. This type of activity produced excellent results in Britain. Advantages and disadvantages are dis- cussed from the viewpoint of each COM application. A general theme is evident in the change from film to fiche, either com- pleted or planned at each library. The rea- sons cited for this change to fiche are as valid in the U.S. as Britain. The reasons given for the change to fiche