College and Research Libraries


seemed to be with it, as it reflected some spe-
cific focus of their operation not captured by 
a more generic term. 

Despite the inclusion of automation in the 
subtitle, there is not great emphasis on this 
aspect of library/information work in there-
port. The questionnaire asked about current 
usage and desire to automate, but readers are 
left to draw their own conclusions about its 
future impact.-Charlene Renner, Iowa 
State University, Ames. 

Chen, Ching-chih. Zero-Base Budgeting in 
Library Management: A Manual for Librar-
ians. Phoenix: Oryx Press, 1980. 290p. 
$27.50. LC 80-12055. ISBN 0-912700-18-
l. 
The author, who describes herself as nei-

ther advocate nor detractor of zero-base 
budgeting (ZBB), has addressed her work to 
library managers who seek information 
about this recently heralded theory/process, 
"to decide whether ZBB can be a meaningful 
and suitable process for them in planning, 
budgeting, evaluation, and control." Por-
tions of the material presented were devel-
oped for institutes on ZBB directed by the au-
thor in 1978. 

Following a section on "Fundamentals of 
Budgeting" (ten pages), Chen offers general 
background (eight pages), and some thirty 
pages of more detailed explanation of the 
special elements (e.g., "decision packages") 
of ZBB. She concludes the narrative section 
of the book with a short chapter (four pages) 
on advantages and disadvantages of ZBB, 
and then six pages on "Managing ZBB and Its 
Implications for Library Managers." Most of 
the remainder (some two hundred pages) of 
the book is taken up with examples, almost 
entirely reproductions of both blank and 
completed ZBB budget documents from 
three special libraries: a state library, two 
medium-sized university libraries, and one 
college library. A glossary, bibliography, 
and index complete the volume. 

The fundamental weakness of the work 
stems from its origins as a collection of mate-
rial intended for use in an institute, where an 
instructor or leader can provide both context 
and answers to questions. The book is 
wanting-certainly as a "manual" -in that 
both the general discussion and the examples 
of ZBB applications are presented without 

Recent Publications I 411 

context or the critical analysis and commen-
tary needed by many readers, especially 
those not well versed in budgeting issues. A 
more substantive review of general budget-
ing principles and theory (more than one 
paragraph to describe program or perfor-
mance budgeting, for example) would have 
strengthened this work considerably. Fewer 
examples, with explication of and fuller com-
mentary on the details of library applications 
of ZBB would have been most useful. Nu-
merous stylistic, and some grammatical, 
lapses also suggest haste in editing and pro-
duction. 

While references to other works on ZBB 
are many and valuable, all but a scattered 
few date from ZBB's halcyon period of 
1975-77. There are more recent and useful 
comprehensive analyses of ZBB, such as 
Hammond and Knott's Zero-Based Look at 
Zero-Base Budgeting (published in 1980), 
that the librarian-manager should consult. 

This would be an appropriate acquisition 
for larger library-science collections, but, es-
pecially at the quoted price, it is not recom-
mended to others.- William]. Crowe, Ohio 
State University Libraries, Columbus. 

Boss, Richard, and Raikes, Deborah. Devel-
oping Microform Reading Facilities. West-
port, Conn.: Microform Review, 1981. 
198p. $39.95. LC 81-3963. ISBN 0-
913672-09-2. 
The latest volume in the Microform Re-

view series in library micrographics manage-
men.t, Developing Microform Reading F acil-
ities, is magazine sized, with lots of 
photographs and not much text, considering 
the size. The price, moreover, is a rather 
steep $39.95. Nonetheless, the information it 
contains is accurate, complete, well illus-
trated, and certainly useful to anyone con-
templating designing a microforms-reading 
area. It is clear that the authors have had 
"hands on" experience with microforms and 
know whereof they speak; their recommen-
dations are both practical and reasonable. 

The book is divided into five chapters, plus 
an introduction and a conclusion. The first 
three chapters discuss the various micro-
formats and such things as reduction ratios, 
silver versus nonsilver film, and the physical 
care of microforms. Other topics covered in 
these chapters are locating and preparing a