College and Research Libraries '-· plans were whether such procurement plans are cost effective, whether the qual- ity of collection development is impaired or improved by these plans, how should an approval plan be handled and managed by the library, would the faculty accept the plan, what are the objections to having an approval plan, and how could a library with an automated acquisitions program incorporate the approval plan into its au- tomated program? Advances in Understanding Approval and Gathering Plans in Academic Libraries is a collection of papers presented at the Second International Seminar on Approval Plans in Large and Medium-sized Libraries, which was held at Western Michigan U ni- versity on October 31, 1969. The seminar took place in a year when book budgets were sizeable and when federal support was great. It was a time when many medi- um-sized libraries were presented with huge amounts of money and were faced with the problem of how to spend it. In some instances the approval plan was not viewed as a valuable procurement method but as a hole in which to dump a huge sum of money. The papers reflect the age of affi.uence. It is assumed that the great amount of money being poured into ap- proval plans is justifiable. Papers relating the experiences of seven libraries concerning approval plans make up one third of the book: the role of the faculty in book selection (a problem which is relatively independent of the method of book procurement), the mechanics and ra- tionale of ordering additional copies of ti- tles received on approval, and the need for a system of earmarking titles for special col- lections and binding are discussed. Other papers address an unsuccessful attempt at making an approval plan work, faculty ap- praisal of approval plans, the satisfaction of branch library needs, and the problems of incorporating the approval plan into an existing automated acquisitions program. The remainder of the book describes the services of a number of dealers offering approval plans. Several types of plans are represented, although changes in the ser- vices described have since taken place. Richard Abel & Co., which was then man- ually operating its program, now employs a computer for profiling and supplying ac- Recent Publications I 335 cording to the customer's requirements, and Bro-Dart, which then employed a computer, is now manually operated and has limited its approval coverage to the sciences, med- icine, business, and economics. Baker & Tay- lor, then a newcomer as an approval deal- er, has developed its U.S. English-language approval plan. In spite of such changes, the services presented provide an overview of the different types of approval plans that were and are available to libraries. Just as budgets have changed, so has the ability of approval dealers to supply titles against a narrower, more specific profile. Dealers have learned from their experi- ences and have developed subject de- scriptors and other limiting parameters, so that a library wishing to receive only cer- tain types of books in given subject cate- gories may do so. This type of information is not included in the proceedings, nor is the discussion of how or whether libraries with limited book budgets should go on a limited approval plan for "core" titles. The library market is dynamic and although its complexion has changed since the sem- inar, these proceedings play an important role in relating the development of ap- proval plans in academic libraries. Daniel Gore's critical essay, "Understanding Ap- proval and Gathering Plans," is excellent and should be required reading for librar- ians and library school students.-H arriet K. Rebuldela, University of Colorado, Boulder, Colorado State Library Policy; Its Legislative and Environmental Contexts. Douglas St. Angelo, Annie Mary Hartsfield, Harold Goldstein. Chicago: American Library Association, 1971. 118p. Knowing that the research upon which this slim volume is based was supported by a substantial federal grant one is tempted to ask in the words of a popular song, "Is that all there is?" Upon close examination, however, it appears that this study, which utilizes the techniques of policy output analysis to examine the significant factors in state library development is very sub- stantial. For this reviewer the most significant conclusions were: 1. Good state library programs are an act of free will. 336 I College & Research Libraries • July 1972 2. Good library programs are the result of leadership. Granted that these conclusions are valid, anyone who has observed the state library scene for the last decade or so must raise an inevitable question. With all of the rhetoric about the central role of the state library and its leadership functions, why haven't more good state library programs developed? Are we lacking in will or lead- ership or both? In addition to the substantial questions which it answers and raises, the study in- cludes a number of notable features. The chapter on "Agencies and the Policy Proc- ess" is an excellent manual on profitable political activity. Also, Alex Ladenson' s essay included in the appendix on "The Role of State Government in the Establish- ment, Promotion and Support of Public Li- braries" is a very useful survey. A v.aluable study and a refreshing de- parture from the usual efforts in this field which are over-larded with useless sta- tistics and short on meaningful conclusions. -F. William Summers, Graduate Library School, University of South Carolina John B. Corbin. A Technical Services Manual for Small Libraries. Metuchen N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1971. 206p. ' In A Technical Services Manual for Small Libraries by John B. Corbin, Scare- crow Press, 1971, Corbin attempts to de- scribe technical service routines and prac- tices in "small- to medium-sized libraries (college, school, public, or special) " for the benefit of inexperienced librarians as- signed the task of organizing and manag- ing a technical service operation. Since "small" is nowhere defined, and since col- lege, public, school, and special libraries vary radically in function, size, and popu- lations served, the book manages to fall neatly between several stools. Corbin seems most comfortable in describing techniques appropriate to public libraries, and is aware of procedures useful to college li- braries of modest aims; the book is of little use to special or school libraries. It might more appropriately have been titled Help- ful Hints for Planning and Managing Tech- nical Service Operations in Small Public or College Libraries. Corbin devotes time to describing the nature of work in acquisition and catalog- ing, and requirements for space, equip- ment, and desirable staff traits for tech- nical service librarians. Curiously, although acquisitions and cataloging functions, and book preparation procedures are examined in some detail, no attempt is made to de- scribe bindery or prebindery procedures. After chapters on Organization, Selec- tion, Acquisitions, Classification and Cata- loging, Preparation of Catalog and Shelf List Cards, and Final Preparation of Ma- terials, the last chapter concerns itself with Special Problems in Technical Services Work. These problems are work simplifi- cation, precataloging and reclassifying, cen- tralized processing, preprocessing, and au- tomation and mechanization. The selected bibliography of basic sources is one of the more useful features of the book. However, whether Haines' Living With Books has practical applica- tions today is debatable; The National Un- ion Catalog is most likely to be required in affiuent college libraries; Robert Casey's Punched Cards-$20.00 for one chapter- seems a dubious choice, and Tauber's Tech- nical Services in Libraries is seriously out of date. The most remarkable omission is Dougherty and Heinritz' s Scientific Man- agement of Library Operations, a funda- mental text for organizing routines in li- braries. Corbin describes established techniques, well known to experienced librarians and, for the most part, already described else- where in the literature. However, the tech- niques discussed are clearly and carefully described. The book could thus be of some help to neophytes in the profession if the texts in Corbin's bibliography are not at hand. Physically, this is one of the characteris- tically unattractive but sturdy books pub- lished by Scarecrow Press, photo-reduced from an accurately typed manuscript. ( Oh, yes, on page 117, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is by Edward, not Albert Albee.) Corbin's book is not a significant addi- tion to the literature of library manage- ment. It is recommended only for those li- braries attempting to collect all books on librarianship.-David E. Pownall, Hofstra University