College and Research Libraries 294 College & Research Libraries the enlightened librarian to stop thinking only in compartmentalized fashion and to start thinking on a higher plane of abstrac- tion where connections between seem- ingly diverse phenomena can be recog- nized. Enlightened librarians will no longer document isolated behaviors as an end in themselves but will now look for re- search opportunities that will advance theory. Ironically, Poole hopes to introduce the reader to his method of theorizing from a reworking of findings from the use studies he condemns. Documenting and discuss- ing virtually every procedural option, marching the reader through the weeding out of this or that type of study, Poole presents as complete a baring of his thought processes and as extended a treat- ment of the sources for his ideas as the most critical reader could ever want. Poole's eventual procedure was to write a summary of each study in his sample. He indicated which ''abstract information use concepts the data seemed to embody.'' He then works up a formal proposition in. sen- tence form. A summary might mention: ''Low use of a card catalog was due to the difficulty experienced by patrons in get- ting to the library from their offices.'' The conceptualized propositional statement might be: "Information channel use is an inverse function of perceived cost.'' While the working librarian might find this transformation a bit strained at first glance, Poole shows that when a seem- ingly different incident is subjected to this same treatment, a higher relationship can be discovered between the two incidents. An example might be the findings of a study that shows that less experienced sci- entists prefer simpler indexes, even when more complicated indexes might actually cover more material. Here the enlightened librarian can see that an index, too, can be an ''information channet '' and that those channels that are difficult to use (have a "perceived high cost") will see less use (an inverse function). Poole works through eleven examples and goes on to provide a good deal of tabular material on the frequency of some concepts and prop- ositional statements. He then examines those that are frequent enough and are May 1986 sufficiently well documented for possible ''theoretical import.'' Poole then outlines his options for a resulting "middle ground'' theory: least effort, pain avoid- ance, and combination least effort/pain avoidance. While it is arguable that these theories are testable and grounded in fact, it is not clear that the librarian portion of information science will refocus their working lives and research efforts around them. Moreover it seems unlikely that li- brarians will gain the respect of chemists or physicists in announcing that these the- ories formed some of the basis of informa- tion science. (I do not doubt that a sociolo- gist might be impressed). Of course Poole is only working up the theory that can be specifically based on his sample of articles, but these meager results seem so obvious and so above "middle" ground in terms of generality as to leave the reader feeling unrewarded for his or her considerable ef- forts in making it to page 89 to arrive at these conclusions. Indeed in this book- length version of what might very well be a dissertation with an important message about seei.I:tg the forest, not just the trees, most readers will probably get prema- turely tired of chopping all that wood. Or, in Poole's terms, use of this information channel (by working librarians at least) will be inversely proportional to its cost in pain. Of course exceptionally devoted in- formation thinkers like Poole might well reply with yet another "middle range" theory: "No pain, no gain."- Tony Stankus, Science Library, College of the Holy Cross, Worcester, Massachussets. Haas, Joan K., Helen Willa Samuels, and Barbara Trippel Simmons. Appraising the Records of Modern Science and Technol- ogy: A Guide. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT, 1985. 96p. $9 ($7 to SAA members). (Dist. by the Society of American Archi- vists.) For archivists, the concept of document- ing a discipline is a vastly different prob- lem today than it was a hundred years ago. The volume of material at hand is, for once, masses more than is necessary rather than less; the disciplines to be docu- mented have changed as well. The fact that archivists are thinking in terms of nBut thanks to the lSI® Grant Program, we can afford the big library coverage and the currency of the Science Citation Index®, the Social Sciences Citation Index®, and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index TM." For over ten years, the lSI Grant Program has been help- ing "small" libraries just like yours purchase lSI's major in- dexes at significant discounts. Today, libraries at California State College at Chico, Massa- chusetts General Hospital, Middlebury College, the Min- neapolis Public Library, Ports- mouth Polytechnic in En- gland, and Mexico's Uni- versidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico are just a few of the institutions that own lSI in- dexes as a direct result of these discounts. Thanks to the . lSI Grant Program, these li- braries can now afford the thorough, precise literature search capabilities of the Sci- ence Citation Index, the Social Sciences Citation Index, and the Arts & Humanities Citation Index. Isn't it time your library discovered the lSI Grant Pro- gram? To find out how your library can qualify, just call our Customer Services De- partment at 800-523-1850, ex- tension 1371. In Pennsylva- nia, call collect 215-386-0100, extension 1371. We'll send you a free, no-obligation eval- uation form that will help us determine your library's eligibility. D@C® ©1985151 D ® 1 0 ., -4 2 2 5 Institute for Scientific Information Customer Services Department, 3501 Market Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104 U.S.A . Telephone: (215)386-0100, ex't'. 1371, Cable: SCINFO, Telex: 84-5305 296 College & Research Libraries "documentation strategies" reflects the new concern. As is now apparent, in order to develop even documentation of a sub- ject, the archivist needs to take a hand in the creation, selection, and disposition of the records. This work follows on the heels of Under- standing Progress as Process, the final report of JCAST, the Joint Committee on the Ar- chives of Science and Technology, pub- lished in 1983. Recognizing the new and powerful role of science and technology in modern society, JCAST evaluated the state of the corresponding historical docu- mentation. The upshot of the report was that these areas were not being adequately documented and, thus, the committee recommended recourse for reconstructing the information. Appraising the Records of Modem Science and Technology: A Guide is in effect a response to the JCAST report, of- fering techniques to improve deficient ar- chival skills. The particular tool that is treated in this volume is that archival func- tion upon which all others are based: ap- praisal. Facility with it provides the frame- work for deciding whether to acquire a collection or not, how to process the mate- rials and for records managers, assistance with setting retention guidelines. The authors certainly know whereof they speak. Helen Samuels was a member of the original JCAST team; she and her colleagues Haas and Simmons partially constitute the archives staff at the Massa- chusetts Institute of Technology, a major scientific and technical university. From that base, they carried out research for the Guide, consulting with members of the sci- entific, engineering, and archival profes- sions. While Haas and the others readily admit their primary experience is with ac- ademic archives, they have tested the Guide in such a way as to provide are- source that has applicability in govern- ment and industry archives as well. The Guide is intended for use by archi- vists and is based upon traditional archi- val principles and practices. With that as a framework, the authors identified the component activities of science and tech- nology and described their processes. The authors theorize that they will '' demys- tify'' the subject if they are able to describe May 1986 it, although they admit that the process is "rarely neat, orderly and predictable." The Guide describes, for example, the con- cept of research and development, what activities compose this, and what records are generated from it. The other areas sim- ilarly treated are personal and profes- sional activities, the administration of re- search and development, and the dissemination of information. By way of explaining the absence of precise ap- praisal guidelines, the authors remark that [although] "we may long for absolute and easy answers in appraisal . . . there are none because appraisal is carried out in specific institutional settings where space, staff and resources and particular subject interests temper all decisions.'' One of the successes of the Guide, as well as the significance of '' documenta- tion strategies" for other subjects is the degree to which original records are per- ceived as a part of a larger whole. This broad approach requires the archivist to consider all formats of information avail- able (artifact, papers, published material, oral or audiovisual) when deciding what to retain. A particular strength of this guide is its capacity to suggest when the published and thus more readily obtain- able material is sufficient, to recommend when only the original documents will do, to specify when preserving a scientific in- strument would be helpful, and to outline when the archivist must actually create a/ record in order to complete the documen- tation. Of course the net result of this is improved documentation for all pur- poses. Although the authors state that the Guide is only a starting point, it is indeed a very important starting point. It broadens the technical literature for archivists, and it reminds us of ·a collecting responsibility we have for science and technology. Fi- nally, the Guide encourages archivists to work in consort with librarians and mu- seum curators. If we view our responsibil- ity as a joint one, in the long run the past will be much more soundly documented. The attractively designed volume is il- lustrated and has a short bibliography at the end. In addition to its full index, the Guide also contains a comprehensive and Since that particular day in March, 1876, when Mr. Bell used his new inven- tion to call for his assistant, information management hasn't been the same. Today's information manager is a communications specialist And when you provide information on demand, you demand support from people who pursue excellence as avidly as Mr. Bell. EBSCO, for its part, has explored the application of international telecom- munications to the world of serials. And put people with experience at the other end of the line. For contemporary subscription services that reach the highest levels of ac- complishment, communicate with EBSCO. ii:t-ri•J SUBSCRIPTION SERVICES P.O. Box 1943 Binningham, Alabama 35201 205-991-1182 298 College & Research Libraries useful list of discipline centers. Although they are primarily in the science and engi- neering fields, the centers are fine exam- ples of the success and logic of II documen- tation strategies." -Elizabeth C. Stewart, Folsom Library, Rensselaer Polytechnic Insti- tute, Troy, New York. Neway, Julie M. Information Specialist as Team Player in the Research Process. West- port, Conn.: Greenwood, 1985. 194p. (New Directions in Librarianship, No.9). $29.95. LC 85-5488. ISBN 0-313- 24508-8. Using a case study approach, Julie Ne- way examines information services estab- lished in nonlibrary environments and serving staffs from such diverse fields as business, the social sciences, and both the pure and applied sciences. Under the aus- pices of a variety of funding sources, infor- mation services were tailored to meet the special needs of the target groups and were determined by direct interviews and other forms of information-need assess- ment. Quite frequently services included SDI, database searching, and document delivery. The author, an advocate for proactive li- brarianship, provides a rough method- ological framework for service develop- ment and implementation. She believes that establishment of such services may be crucial to the survival of this profession. In essence, Neway argues that information specialists, i.e., librarians, be attached to research teams in order to improve their individual or collective performance. Significant portions of the monograph are based upon the author's doctoral dis- sertation (University of lllinois at Urbana- Champaign, 1982). As such, the narrative is heavily footnoted, reflecting the exten- sive literature review common to the me- dium. The book is organized into eight chapters with accompanying index and bibliography. The majority of the text is devoted to histories of specific services. The length of these descriptions varies greatly. Most noteworthy is the review of Neway' sown experience with the Depart- ment of Microbiology at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. For roughly one year in the early 1980s, the May 1986 author assessed the impact of an informa- tion scientist's presence as a member of the research team. The study included a user evaluation of provided services. Use of a control group allowed the author to ?etermine changes in information use be- havior. Undoubtedly aided by her background in biology, Neway became well integrated into the scientists' environment, attend- ing weekly lab meetings, assessing indi- vidual information requirements, evaluat- ing computer-based literature searches, and the like. The service required nearly twenty hours per week in order to fulfill the information requirements of approxi- mately forty scientists. Nearly four hun- dred information requests resulted in about twenty-five hundred documents delivered at an average cost of $5, which included the salary of the information spe- cialist. The information-use habits of the control and experimental groups manifest some interesting contrasts. Neway ob- serves that the scientists favored with the service spent less time skimming or browsing in favor of reading requested materials in depth. Also, this same group apparently spent less time in discussion with their colleagues. This monograph encourages librarians to develop advanced information services based upon client-articulated need. In this sense, she shares common ground with certain elements of both the bibliographic instruction and collection development movements that have significant numbers advocating elaborate outreach or liaison activities. The book wisely reviews service failures as well as success. Additionally, the author provides a useful review of the lit- erature of information-use behavior of various disciplines and professions. Un- fortunately, it remains unclear why so many apparent useful information ser- vices cannot attract ongoing support. Cost, of course, is a factor since the ser- vices described are not without significant fiscal impact. One wonders if any univer- sity would absorb the cost of such services if they were extended to the entire faculty. More important is the question of benefit. Current management science often re-