College and Research Libraries 272 College & Research Libraries many instances, the information is out-of- date. Upgraded hardware is available, new manufacturers have come into being, the software industry is booming, and li- braries are charting new paths with their micros . An important contribution to this book should have been the articles on staff de- velopment. Unfortunately, "Technology: Staff Issues'' is little more than a summary of Ron Havelock's and Everett Roger's work on the dissemination patterns of in- novation. It does not apply itself directly to the issue of libraries and technology in general, or micros, in particular. Much more space and detail should have been devoted to this area and to needs assess- ment if a manager is to seriously address these concerns. The bibliography and the glossary are two of the book's strengths. The glossary has excellent, short, well- explained definitions. The bibliography is divided into journals, books, journal arti- cles, and technical reports and conference proceedings; the list is not comprehensive but the choices are excellent. It offers a good, well-rounded list for the librarian who needs to delve deep. Microcomputers in Libraries is for the nov- ice. It's a good place to begin the journey to the understanding of computers and li- brary applications.-Judith A. Sessions, George Washington University. Hernon, Peter, ed. Collection Development and Public Access of Government Docu- ments: Proceedings of the First Annual Li- brary Government Documents and Informa- tion Conference. Westport, Conn.: Meckler Publishing, 1982. 160p. $29.95. LC 82-3435. ISBN 0-930466-49-7. The papers in Collection Development and Public Access of Government Documents; Pro- ceedings of the First Annual Library Govern- ment Documents and Information Conference were delivered in Boston, March 3 and 4, 1981. In the preface, editor Hernon points out that many writings about government publications are provincial and redundant and that there is a clear need for ''research related to government publications, the introduction of innovative approaches to resolve ongoing problems, and more criti- cal evaluation of underlying assump- May 1983 tions." These papers represent a first step in defining and addressing this need. The book begins with Bernard Fry's "The Need for a Theoretical Base" which argues that consensus on a theoretical base is essential if document librarians are to actively meet the public need for gov- ernment information in the face of acceler- ating numbers of publications and the growth of electronic information systems and services. Charles McClure's paper "Structural Analysis of the Depository System: A Preliminary Assessment'' ad- dresses the need for formal evaluative re- view of the U.S. federal depository system based on measuring performance against stated goals and objectives. McClure sug- gests several interesting alternatives to the existing depository structure but con- cludes that clear objectives and perfor- mance measures must be developed be- fore rational decisions can be made about improvements in the system. Two reports on research in progress, ''Collection Development as Represented through the GPO Automated List of Item Numbers" by Peter Hernon and Gary R. Purcell and "Government Documents in Social Science Literature : A Preliminary Report of Citations from the Social Sci- ences Citation Index" by Peter Hernon and Clayton A. Shepherd, provide incon- clusive preliminary results and explain some of the difficulties encountered in the research. Because GPO's item number file is archival rather than subject-oriented, it is virtually impossible to use it to analyze collection development patterns in depos- itory libraries. Furthermore, it is ex- tremely complex to carry out the type of ci- tation analysis Hernon and Shepherd attempted using SSCI, but this kind of re- search could be extremely useful for gov- ernment publications collection develop- ment work. The remaining five papers in the volume are less oriented toward research and per- haps more directly applicable for the doc- ument librarian. LeRoy C. Schwarzkopf describes the historical development of the U.S. depository library program and explains his thesis that it is ''basically a li- brary sponsored and initiated program for the benefit of libraries, and not a program THE B/NA FIRM ORDER SYSTEM: FULFILLING YOUR ORDERS IN HALF THE TIME. After two years of development, the B/NA Firm Order System is cutting library book delivery times in half. Plus it is offering routine ordering and response speed similar to that of yester- day's rush orders. Here's how it works for your library. 1. You order electronically or by mail. Some networks can send your orders via electronic mail for same day handling. In every case we handle your orders on day of receipt. 2. We enter your order, locate titles and instantaneously create your full order from our com- puter Library File, Publisher File of over 30,000 publishers and comprehensive Bibliographic File. It currently contains over 250,000 titles including all new titles treated by BIN A over the past five years, plus current fulfilled and unfulfilled orders. Over 70% of scholarly titles are immediately found. Those not found are entered into the Bibliographic File. 3· The system prints your order which is checked against BIN A inventories in Lake Oswe- go and Blackwood for shipment. The system also gives out-of- print and other current status reports so we can notify you, or begin automatic 0/P searching. 4· The system generates publisher purchase orders. If your order is not in our inven- tory, the system creates pub- lisher orders. You automatically receive a 3x5 status report. We can also produce regular man- agement reports in various formats, and now offer fund accounting options. 5· We pick up orders and ship them. BIN A vans pick up from over 100 New York area pub- lishers for timely shipping. It's a working, practical sys- tem backed by Blackwell Group expertise and our bookselling tradition. To try it, simply enter your next firm order with us. BLACKWELL Blackwell North America, Inc. 6o24 S. W. Jean Road, Building G Lake Oswego, Oregon 97034 Telephone (8oo)547-6426 1001 Fries Mill Road Blackwood, New Jersey o8ou Telephone (8oo)257-7341 OFFICES IN: OXFORD, ENGLAND; LAKE OSWEGO, OREGON; BLACKWOOD, NEW JERSEY; NOVATO, CALIFORNIA; LONDON, ONTARIO, CANADA; HOUSTON, TEXAS; ATLANTA, GEORGIA; MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA; CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA AND FREmURG, WEST GERMANY. 274 College & Research Libraries of overriding concern to the federal gov- ernment or to the general public." In "The United States Government Printing Office in the 1980s" William J. Barrett complements Schwarzkopf nicely by fo- cusing on the impact of technology on the GPO. Luciana Marulli-Koenig examines collection development principles and ap- plications relating to United Nations doc- umentation. Peter I. Hajnal provides a ba- sic description of Unesco's documents and publications and of the problems of bibliographic control. In "The Uses and Misuses of Information Found in Govern- ment Publications" Joe Morehead engag- ingly presents an issue that has both prac- tical and ethical implications. What is the librarian's role in interpreting, pointing out pitfalls, and warning about unreliable statistical data particularly for unsophisti- cated library users? Is there an obligation to do more than acquire, catalog, and make government information accessible? Citing examples of widely used statistics that may be misleading, easily misinter- preted without close attention to explana- ~ MAGAz;l'v. 00 << Olin> 'f"--<1 !Sj) % MC~~EGOR /!] <::::.: < ¥ ~ ~)' 1933-1983 k-> 'o ~ORRIS, ll'-\~O DISCOVER McGregor Where Customers Are Names-Not Numbers "Personalized" Subscription Service-Since 1933 • All domestic and foreign titles • Title Research • Single billing • Automatic renewal • Personal customer • Prepaid account subscriptions representatives Let an experienced McGregor "Home Office" representative simplify your complex problems of periodical procurement. Prompt and courteous service has been a tradition with McGregor since 1933. Our customers like it-We think you would . too! Write for catalog or Phone 815/734-4183 May 1983 tory material, or self-serving, Morehead concludes by saying he is attempting to raise the question of the librarian's role for further discussion. The article could well serve as an excellent introduction to dis- cussion of the topic. As a group, the papers in this volume do not make a unified statement nor do they conform all that well to the collection de- velopment and public access title they've been assigned. However, each of them does make a valuable contribution- whether it is in providing background in- formation, outlining an approach to a cur- rent topic of concern, or describing an area where research is badly needed. Although the book is a worthwhile addition to li- braries with extensive holdings in govern- ment publications and/or library science, its $29.95 price tag may well be a deterrent to libraries without them.-Carol Turner, Stanford University Libraries. Price, Paxton P., ed. International Book and Library Activities: The History of a U.S. Foreign Policy. Metuchen, N.J.: Scare- crow Press, 1982. 248p. LC 82-3297. ISBN 0-8108-1545-1. This is a frustrating book because its generous title implies far more than actu- ally comes through. The U.S. govern- ment, through one agency or another, has long and usefully been involved in a vari- ety of international book and library activi- ties. A focussed analysis of this rich experience could be enlightening and fas- cinating, but it has not yet been written. One thinks immediately of such undertak- ings as: the Library War Service estab- lished by the ALA in 1917, with its inter- esting progeny the American Library in Paris; the aggressive Library of Congress Mission to Europe in search of wartime books beginning in 1943, and its aftermath the Farmington Plan; the expansive and often embattled U.S.I.A. overseas library program; the practical Franklin Books Pro- gram; and, of course, the extensive, worldwide activities of ALA's Interna- tional Relations Board under the sponsor- ship and funding of a number of govern- ment agencies as well as private foundations. However, this book barely mentions but