College and Research Libraries 262 I College & Research Libraries • May 1981 Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1980. 154p. $8.50. LC 80_-15762. ISBN 0-8108- 1319-X. Studies in Creative Partnership examines . the uses to which federal aid generated by the period of the Great Depression was put in the public libraries of seven major Amer- ican cities: Baltimore, Cleveland, Chicago, New York, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, and San Francisco. The federal agencies re- sponsible for the sudden infusion of hun- dreds of newly employed workers into these civic libraries were all created from Presi- dent Roosevelt's New Deal legislation: the Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA); the Civil Works Administration (CW A) ; and the most well known of the agencies , the Works Progress Administra- tion (WPA). Established in 1935, the WPA provided funds for library personnel to maintain and repair buildings , bind and mend books, serve in clerical and other paraprofessional posts, and provide support for large-scale bibliographical projects, such as union catalogs, which would probably not have been undertaken without additional help. Unlike Edward B. Stanford's monograph, Library Extension under the W .P .A. , which analyzed the national distribution of funds and examined their use at the state level, this anthology concentrates its attention at the grass-roots level of government. Its con- tributors have scrutinized local records to determine what the various projects were and to evaluate their utility and long-term success. As might be expected, the results were uneven . Chicago, for example, forged ahead with the production of major catalogs and bibliographies, while San Francisco, under a rather lackluster librarian , hired workers to perform as clerks, bookbinders, and typists. Libraries also showed variety in the ways in which WP A workers were inte- grated with the permanent staff; employee unrest characterized Baltimore ' s Enoch Pratt Free Library, while the New York Public Library's use of additional personnel appears to have gone smoothly. No doubt because of the paucity of records, this anthology heavily stresses the institutional response to the WPA program ; little pre- sumably remains attesting to reactions of the federally paid employees to their new work environment. As Fay Blake poignantly observes, "For San Francisco Public Library the Works Project Administration provided a steady, if unspectacular, source of assis- tance and support. For the people whose livelihood the Agency ensured it meant more." This anthology is helpful in broadening our knowledge of early programs of federal assistance in the seven libraries selected for study, but the relationship of these forms of grants activity to the larger issues soon to occupy the nation's public libraries in their search for federal aid is largely untouched. This lack of connection somewhat limits the book as a source for an understanding of the role of public libraries on the public policy agenda.-R . Kathleen Molz , Columbia Uni- versity, New York City . Closing the Catalog: Proceedings of the 1978 & 1979 Library and Information Technology Association Institutes. Edited by D. Kaye Gapen and Bonnie Juergens. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Pr., 1980. 194p. $18.50. ISBN 0-912700-56-4. Closing the Catalog is more than a frank and comprehensive evaluation of the pros and cons of closing a catalog. This record of two Library and Information Technology Association (LITA) institutes offers an en- gaging philosophical discussion of the pur- poses of a library catalog and the future of bibliographic access . In addition to very practical treatises on closing the catalog at the New York Public Library , the New York State Library, the University of Toron- to, .and LC , this volume contains articles on such topics as the process of planning for the bibliographic future ; the impact of clos- ing on library organization and on reference services; past and present research that could affect library catalog design ; and opening the catalog, i.e. , making the catalog more relevant , sensitive, . and timely for the library user. Although some would argue that the topic of this work makes it auto- matically out of date , the content of the presenta_tions would belie any such claim. If ther_e is one message that this work emphasizes, it is that the adoption of AACR2 ·by itself is insufficient reason for closing a catalog. Despite dire consequenc- es-loss of continuity , indefinite creation · wan teal;. a la tar ealucateal :siness jua\gments. available: .Methods, practices, concepts and theories of the best minds of business ... access to facts, figures and theories in the fields of management science, economics, finance, banking and law ... labor relations, per- sonnel policies, real estate and insurance ... government, taxes, taxa- tion and regulations ... advertising, marketing, telecommunications and data processing ... such information and more is available and accessible in a matter of minutes! The source is the online-accessible database called the decision-makers' database Call toll-free ... 800/626-2823 ... or return the coupon for complete information about this continually updated storehouse of information for business. If you want to learn more about online, request our free and informative booklet, Getting Acquainted With Online. • produced by DATA COURIER INC Dept. RC-60 DATA COURIER, INC., 620 So. Fifth St., Louisville, KY 40202 U.S.A. 0 Send more free information about the ABI/INFORM database. 0 Send free info about the ABI/INFORM user guide and audio training kit . 0 Send free ABI/1 NFORM Journals List for Article Retrievals. 0 Send your new, free Getting Acquainted With Online booklet. Name ----------------------------------------------- Organization ___________________________________ _ Address ___________________________________________ __ 264 I College & Research Libraries • May 1981 of two catalogs, premature use of technolo- gy and professionals, and a "new era of de- pendence on LC"-Paul Fasana, who gave the keynote address, elects for closing the catalog because of AACR2 and LC' s re- sponse to AACR2. Seymour Lubetzky con- tends that "a scarred catalog is vastly prefer- able to a dismembered one." Joseph A. Rosenthal discusses the process of planning itself, and its benefits and drawbacks. In planning for the bibliographic future, he argues persuasively that staff should be widely involved, but at the same time he indicates that it is important to be speedy and forceful, and to include statistical verification when presenting a case. Frederick Kilgour notes, "to be sure, imple- mentation of AACR2 will not produce eco- nomic catastrophe but, on the other hand, it will not improve the economics of librar- ies." Edward Shaw views the closing of the catalog as a symbol of the end of one epoch and the beginning of another. Peter Paulson points out that opportunities to exploit new technology are the soundest reason for clos- ing a catalog. Allen Hogden and Valentine Heritage on Microfilnt Rare and out-of-print titles and documents on 35mm silver halide microfilm. • French Books before 1601 • Scandinavian Culture • 18th Century English Literature • Victorian Fiction • Literature of Folklore • Hispanic Culture Send for catalog and title information today. ~~~~~ ~COV\P~ 70 Coolidge Hill Road Watertown, MA 02172 (617) 926-5557 DeBruin provide detailed case histories of closings at the New York Public Library and the University of Toronto. Susan L. Miller gives a thorough description of the Library Control System (LCS), which, with its en- hancements, is becoming Ohio State Uni- versity's online catalog. Michael Gorman speaks of the card catalog as the "Biblio- graphic Maginot Line," and maintains that mechanization and standardization are the only future course for cataloging. Carole Weiss believes the most significant reason for closing is the "desirability of taking advantage of new computer technology to provide better information retrieval." She and Pauline Atherton both· summarize F. W. Lancaster's findings on catalog use stud- ies. Atherton provides an excellent com- parison of the advantages and disadvantages of card catalogs, COM, and online catalogs, plus an extensive bibliography of catalog use studies. Hugh Atkinson presents his theories on the effects the death of the cata- log will have on library organization. He foresees smaller units that will participate in technical service and public service func- tions simultaneously. Lucia Rather, after describing the history of LC' s decision on closing, offers three scenarios: (1) if a li- brary needs to close its catalog and has plans for a viable alternative, the catalog should be closed preferably at the time AACR2 is adopted; (2) if a library feels the need to close and has no ready alternative, the catalog should be closed with the adop- tiop of AACR2 and a temporary new card catalog begun; (3) if a library has no other need to close its existing card catalog (space is not a problem, filing staff is adequate, etc.), the card catalog should not be closed simply to accommodate new rules. She notes that "the most important step to be taken is to begin to plan for change." John G. Lorenz' presentatio~ follows Rather's and describes AR~' s program to study the costs of closing. (The King Research Pro- gram has since been finished and its conclu- sions published.) Two articles by Sanford Berman and Maurice Freedman are perhaps the most in- teresting because they both challenge the assumptions of the previous presentations and argue for more creative cataloging that meets local needs. Their concern is that libraries will run , as Freedman puts it, "lemming-like to follow the de facto national library's practices or support their biblio- graphic utility's practices .... " Like most of the authors, they argue strongly for rigorous authority control as an essential element of good cataloging. In his closing remarks S. Michael Malico- nico is equally critical of the rush to close. He also questions the benefits libraries will derive from AACR2 when machine search- ing is capable of rendering moot many of the questions of choice and form of entry. Perhaps AACR2' s most lasting benefit will be as a catalyst to change . This work is a provocative one , well worth its cost. This brief review necessarily telescopes much of the commentary by these cataloging experts, and this reviewer strongly urges that libraries purchase this ti- tle and librarians read it.-Frederick C. Lynden, Brown University , Providence, Rhode Island. The Making of a Code: The Issues Under- lying AACR2. Edited by Doris Hargrett Clack. Chicago: American Library Assn. , 1980. 264p. $15. LC 80-17496 . ISBN 0-8389-0309-6. Maxwell , Margaret F. Handbook for AACR2: Explaining and Illustrating Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules, Second Edition. Chicago: American Li- brary Assn., 1980. 476p. $20. LC 80- 17667. ISBN 0-8389-0301-0. The Making of a Code gathers papers presented at the International Conference on AACR2 held March 11-14, 1979, in Tal- lahassee, Florida. Objectives of the confer- ence were : (1) to provide librarians with an opportunity for dialogue with the individuals directly responsible for the revision of AACR; (2) to provide an opportunity for in- dividuals to discuss the various rule changes and thus _gain a better insight into the theory behind the rules ; (3) to provide an opportunity for individuals to exchange ideas about the code to increase their understanding of the impact of the code on library operations and user expectations; and (4) to e;x:plore avenues for implementa- tion. The majority of the papers, particular- ly in part 2, "Description," part 3, "Access Points," and part 4, "Looking beyond the Recent Publications I 265 Rules," do not provide new insights into the interpretation of use of the code or even the background of the code development for the most part. A notable exception is "Examin- ing the ' Main' in Main Entry Headings" by Eli~beth L . Tate, who addresses the fun- damental concept of the role of the main entry in cataloging, tracing the development of the main entry (as reflected in an author- unit-entry) over the past 130 years. Tate in- vestigates three questions : (1) Is the author- unit-entry more efficient than the title-unit- entry as far as the user is concerned or vice versa? (2) Is either method demonstrably more or less costly? (3) Is either type of cataloging more or less suitable for interna- tional exchange of cataloging data? Although she can answer only the last question with any degree of certainty (the title-unit-entry appears to be more amenable to effective international exchange of bibliographic data in her opinion), she touches on questions of catalog use studies, work-flow analyses, and other studies as part of her examination of the still unsettled controversy. It is in part 1, "Generalities ," however , that the most interesting presentations appear. In "The Fundamentals of Biblio- graphic Cataloging and AACR2 ," Seymour Lubetzky points out that the attempts of the authors of AACR2 to reconcile widely diver- gent opinions and objectives has resulted in a "compromise unsusceptible to a coherent ideology based on the requirements of a sound catalog designed to serve the users of the library. " Despite praise for the crafts- manship of the new code , Lubetzky iden- tifies three decisions made dming its de- velopment that · have compromised the in- tegrity of AACR: first , a compromise on the issue of main entry that blurs the primary objective of the catalog as first set forward by Panizzi ; second , the abandonment of the principle of corporate authorship ; and third , the resulting inadequacy of the treatment of serials in AACR2. Lubetzky reminds us of Panizzi's critics, who looked at a catalog pri- marily as a finding list rather than as a de- vice that could also in its structure reflect the relationships of works and editions to one another, thus providing the catalog user with more information than simply that needed for identification of a specific item. The collocating function of a catalog that in-