College and Research Libraries Recent Publications BOOK REVIEWS Bennett, George E. Librarians in Search of Science and Identity: The Elusive Profes- sion. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow, 1988. 221p. $25 (ISBN 0-8108-2075-7). LC 88- 14679. In an essay published shortly after his death, Jesse H. Shera wrote: " Twenty years ago, I thought of what is now called information science as providing the intel- lectual and theoretical foundations of li- brarianship, but I am now convinced that I was wrong" [Jesse H. Shera, "Librarian- ship and Information Science," in The Study of Information: Interdisciplinary Mes- sages, ed. Fritz Machlup and Una Mans- field (New York: Wiley, 1983), p.383]. Li- brarians in Search of Science and Identity is Bennett's attempt to discover why librari- anship was drawn to information science in the first place, and then why Shera withdrew his support for the conver- gence. A reprint of Bennett's Ph.D. disserta- tion, this book is not for the casual reader. Reading it is reminiscent of peeling an on- ion: each time you think you have reached the core you encounter deeper layers and have to revise your expectations. The on- ion effect has to do with Bennett's ap- proach to his subject. Eschewing a strictly historical treatment, Bennett instead adopts a complex method known as her- meneutics. This method is familiar to some people as a basic tool of Biblical exe- gesis, but it has also come to have a more generalized meaning as the interpretation of texts. In its generalized application, hermeneutics is used by literary scholars, philosophers, and sociologists, among others. To oversimplify things drastically, her- meneutics is a dialectical or "circular" ap- proach in which the investigator moves back and forth between text (a written product of some sort) and context (which may include historical findings or the results of sociological analyses) in order to achieve understanding of the text. In the present work, Bennett applies hermeneu- tics to Shera's 1983 essay (the "recanta- tion" of information science). The context is provided under the aegis of the sociol- ogy of knowledge (how have librarians understood themselves?) and the sociol- ogy of science (how did information sci- ence develop?). Bennett's hermeneutic circle is evident from the organization of his book. He sets the stage in the first chapter with a dia- logue between himself and an interlocutor named Ishmael to present the problem and to introduce the concept of herme- neutics. Chapter 2 is a further method- ological elaboration. In chapter 3 he iden- tifies Shera' s essay and various contemporaneous works by other persons as central to his query and selects from these works certain themes to pursue (the names library science and information sci- ence, how the two disciplines developed in relation to each other, theory versus prag- matism in librarianship, professionaliza- tion and the quest for status, and so on). By tracing citations and in-text references, Bennett determines that the origins of these themes derive from writings pro- duced by librarians and documentalists (information scientists) prior to 1950. In chapter 4 he examines the pre-1950 histor- ical contexts of librarianship and docu- 703 704 College & Research Libraries mentation (information science). Chap- ters 5 and 6 move the analysis of texts, historical events, and sociological inter- pretations forward to the 1970s. Ishmael reappears in chapter 7 for a final dialogue which reveals how Bennett's original ex- pectations about the problem and his un- derstanding of hermeneutics have been affected by the trip through time. Bennett has, in effect, organized his dis- sertation in such a way that careful exami- nation of the structure leads to greater un- derstanding of the hermeneutical method. The structure itself instantiates (i.e., provides an example of) the investi- gative tool, so that both structure and sub- stantive findings (textual and historical analyses, etc.) shed light on the research ยท question. Needless to say, this is not an easy thing to pull off, but Bennett has done it very well indeed. Furthermore, he is-at least to this reviewer's knowledge- one of the few librarians, if not the only, to attempt this method. Most of our existing literature relies on more widely practiced forms of historical, sociological, or textual analysis. Persons interested in the origins of li- brary and information science, questions of social reproduction, professionalization theory, or education for librarianship should read this work not only for its methodological sophistication but also for the substantive findings that it presents. Some of the findings uphold work done by other investigators, for example, the sense of subordination common to the li- brary profession. Other findings-for ex- ample, the fleshing out of Shera' s gradual move over the course of a lifetime toward his "recantation" -represent a fresh un- derstanding of perennial professional questions and are worthy of further study by others. Normally a review of a Scarecrow Press dissertation-turned-into-book either be- gins or ends with a snide remark about the Scarecrow format and/or about authors who do not take the trouble to translate their theses out of '' dissertationese'' into the common tongue. Consider the remark made and immediately set aside as unim- portant in the face of Bennett's achieve- ment.-Patricia Ohl Rice, Pennsylvania State University, University Park. November 1989 Baughman, James C. Trustees, Trusteeship, and the Public Good: Issues of Accountabil- ity for Hospitals, Museums, Universities, and Libraries. New York: Quorum, 1987. 187p. $35 (ISBN 0-8930-195-9). LC 86- 25574. Who controls the affairs of charitable or- ganizations? Most would say trustees. However, according to James Baughman, trustees are only managers of a charitable institution's resources, which ultimately belong to the public. As trustees are charged with the task of running the chari- table organization for the public good, he says, in the final analysis they are account- able to the public. Yet, occasionally in the past, trustees have demonstrated that nei- ther they nor the public are aware that trustees are accountable to the general public for their actions. Baughman says that nonprofit institu- tions constitute a remarkable 11 percent of the national wealth of the United States. Their direction is of great importance and concern to the whole of society because their failure would be of great conse- quence. Furthermore, he reminds his readers of part of a past court ruling which states that every dollar a charitable institu- tion saves in tax levy becomes another dol- lar that other taxpayers must pay. Baughman, who is a professor at the Graduate School of Library and Informa- tion Science at Simmons College in Bos- ton, has written a lucid account describing the responsibilities trustees of charitable organizations have as found through vari- ous court cases. Having won the Research Roundtable's Research Competition Award for his work on knowledge control for interdisciplinary research, Baughman should be applauded once again for step- ping beyond the usual bounds of librari- anship. Writing in an easily readable style, the author cites court cases dealing with the fiduciary responsibilities of trustees in charitable institutions. Baughman devotes separate chapters to such charitable ventures as hospitals, col- leges and universities, museums, and school and public libraries. In each, here- counts events surrounding certain situa- tions and cites data from court records and cases, newspapers, professional litera- ture, and significant interviews to deter-