College and Research Libraries rage that humanistic study is being laced into the straitjacket of technology and is going down the tube. Perhaps we should listen.-]oe W. Kraus, IUinois State Univer- sity' N Orrnlll. Davis, Charles H., and Rush, James E. Guide to Information Science. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Pr., 1979. 305p. $25. LC 78-75240. ISBN 0-313-20982-0. This conservatively Bound black book, accented with gold spine lettering contains an exciting clear presentation of certain fun- damental ~ncepts in information science. The first six chapters are revised and ex- panded versions of chapters in these au- thors' earlier book Information Retrieval and Documentation in Chemistry. Some of the statistics have been toned down to appeal to those in nonscientific disciplines. However, this book cannot be construed as a first text in the topics it treats-unless it is supplemented with appropriate readings, many of which are cited in the bibliog- raphies following each chapter. New chapters are included on the"His- tory and Fundamentals of Computing" and "Data Structures and File Organization." This latter chapter is the longest of all the chapters, giving good treatment at the in- termediate level or for the advanced begin- ner in a graduate information science pro- gram. Those possessing Davis and Rush's earlier book will want to add this one to their li- brary. The "History" chapter is interesting but does not really add significantly to the main content and purpose of this book in the sense of infDrmation science principles. But, nonetheless, the chapter is valuable as a concise history; however, hardly what the graduate student in the history of science or computing would find informative. Most im- portant, perhaps for women in information science, is the just recognition the authors give to Lady Lovelace, "Ada," who was Charles Babbage's collaborator and support- er and for whom one of the latest program- ming languages (ADA) is named. The last chapter would be a particularly useful text chapter for a .beginning course in information science, where students need to have exposure to basic data structures, file organization, and principles of computer Recent Publications I 365 programming. In fact, no clearer exposition is present in the literature, in this review- er's opinion, of some of the principles and their examples. Queues, stacks, strings, tables, and trees should all become clearer to the reader here than in many other treat- ments this reviewer has seen. The quality of writing is excellent. Also the production quality is high, certainly worth the asking price, with only one typographical error on page 111. A minor misstatement occurs on the top of page 163 as power consumption of second generation computers rather decreased from the first generation due to the solid-state devices used. This reviewer recommends this book for use in the teaching of information science fundamentals courses, for survey courses in library science, and for addition to any li- brary supporting such curriculum offerings. Moreover, it should be a welcome addition to the private practitioner's library, and in- deed a very good candidate for a "Best Book" award.-Audrey N. Grosch, Uni- versity of Minnesota, St. Paul. Brown, Eleanor Frances. Cutting Library Coats: lncreaaing Productivity and Rail- ing Revenuea. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1979. 264p. $12.50. LC 79- 19448. ISBN 0-8108-1250-9. Living and working as we do in a period of increasing inflation, our budgets are con- tinually being eroded. These are indeed trying times as we strive to provide the ser- vices we feel are necessary with dollars that purchase less and less. This is especially true for those many libraries that are under- staffed, overworked, and underfunded. The timely appearance of Eleanor Frances Brown's Cutting Library Costs may very well prove useful by giving some helpful suggestions and by stimulating our own ideas and starting points. The book is a listing of one suggestion after another, covering the whole spectrum of the public library's activities. Many are extremely basic, commonsensical kinds of ideas. I am sure that there are a number of people who would take umbrage at some of these very simple suggestions; however, I tend to feel, like the author, that there are many librarians who would welcome and 366 I CoUege & Research Libraries • july 1980 would profit from even the simplest ideas. Knowledge of good management principles cannot be considered a given. We may have good ideas as concerns the big picture, but flounder a bit when it comes down to the little nitty-gritty details; and that is where a great many of the author's suggestions are directed. She begins by laying the groundwork for and pointing out the benefits of cost stud- ies, and then proceeds to work her way from the director to the page and through the various departments with numerous suggestions in every area. She gives con- crete, specific ideas with examples, charts, forms, and step-by-step procedures. But don't be misled: Eleanor Brown is mostly concerned with efficient working methods and proper assignment of duties that are cost-effectiveness measures. This is proper management, but does not result in making more dollars available or provide cuts in the budget where needed, unless staff can be reduced or replaced by some means. There are suggestions for obtaining addi- tional revenue ranging from federal funds to having sales. She also suggests throughout the book the possibility of charging fees for a variety of services. This will most certain- ly raise some hackles among readers who should keep in mind that the suggestions are free to be accepted or declined and are offered in that spirit. She does have a tendency to state many of her ideas in a very positive, assertive manner, but options can be found once one begins thinking constructively about the problems. Her how-to approach can provide insights into savings that many may have overlooked in their search. H one can keep an open mind, overlook some obvious biases, then this volume can be useful-mostly to small and medium-size libraries, less so to large--and, even though the suggestions are basically directed at public libraries, I believe academics can make use of a variety of them. It has a little of something for everyone.-]. Wayne Bak- er, Ohio Northern University, Ada. DeHarl, Florence E. The Librarian's PsycholQgical Commitments: Human Rela- tions in Librarianship. Contributions in Librarianship and Information Science, Number 27. Westport, Conn.: Green- wood Pr., 1979. 208p. $18.95. LC 79- 7059. ISBN 0-313-21329-1. This small volume presents a number of complex issues as they relate to human rela- tions in library environments, including in- trapersonal and interpersonal communica- tion, working relationships, transactional analysis, role expectations and strain, group norms and dynamics, sources of power, assertive and aggressive behavior, and be- havioral integrity. The purpose of the book is to present a "conceptual framework for applying behavioral skills in librarianship.,. Unfortunately, the presentation is not en- tirely successful and at times is, indeed, confusing. Part of the difficulty lies in the fact that the author has included many different psychological concepts and ideas without adequate discussion and explanation. It is assumed that the reader is familiar with communication and psychological theories. For instance, the author includes references to transactional analysis and its implications for analyzing working relationships though there is never adequate explanation of the basic premise of transactional analysis. This superficial treatment of complex concepts involving human relations may lead the reader to believe that indeed the concepts, and therefore the relationships, are simple to understand and interpret. The other difficulty with the book is, that in the context of the presentation of the psychological and behavioral material, the author includes brief scenarios complete with dialogue. This format contributes to confusion as the reader shifts from a discus- sion of principles and concepts to one brief scenario after another without evaluation of the situations by the author in order to clarify the concept contained within the example. The book is organized into three sections: (1) inputs to commitment development: understanding; (2) psychological commit- ments to oneself, staff, and clients: atti- tudes; and (3) carrying out psychological commitments: skills. The organization of the sections and their respective chapters is in- tended to provide a sequence that progres- ses from an understanding of human be- havior to an exploration of attitudes and,.