College and Research Libraries I ~ .. , ~ . . . . ~ .. ies. One wishes the author had incorporated this information ·in a general index. Espe- cially welcome in Welsch's book is infor- mation concerning the availability of micro- film readers and copying facilities in each institution. · An example of the author's time-saving advice: In order to obtain authorization to use the pre-1945 files of the German For- eign Office (now located in Bonn), the re- searcher must present a letter of introduc- tion from the U.S. Embassy. Similarly, the reader is advised as to the best procedure for gaining access to politically sensitive material in West and East Germany. This book is a prerequisite for the scholar who wants to know all about the many li- braries and · archives in Germany, the size of their collections, and their outstanding holdings. . A comprehensive bibliography following each listing eriables researchers to do in-depth background readings on the institution they plan to visit. This volume will be a most useful addition to the refer- ence collection in college and research li- braries.-Kurt S. Maier, Leo Baeck Insti- tute, New York. Clack, Doris H. Black Literature Resources: Analysis . and Organization. Books in Li- brary and Information Science, vol. 16. New York: Marcel Dekker, Inc., 1975. $17.50. (LC 75-23582) (ISBN 0-8257- 6307-6) The concern for proper organization of black resources is not new. As Arthur Spingarn assembled his vast personal li- brary of black literature during the first half of this century, he knew early that bib- liography, like book collecting, is never an end in itself. Nor is it ever complete. He simply mirrored the concerns of many col- lectors or scholars of black literature during his period and after. This small volume which Doris Clack has written is an exten- sion of a continuing concern for the proper organization and analysis of resources in black history and culture. In preparing the volume, Clack. cites two areas as significant and worthy of address- ing through the work. First, the text aims to fill at least a part of the void which exists in professional attention ·given to the problems of bibliographic organization of black resources and to inspire examination Recent Publications I 471 of .other ·areas of ·bibliographic organization iri ·search o( applications suited to black re- sources. Second, the text aims to facilitate the search for classification notation and in- dex terms which have already been de- veloped and which are used for arranging materials. The author's primary concern is with the treatment of black themes in Subject Head- ings Used in the Dictionary Catalog of the Library of Congress. To address this issue, she attempts to define the rationale for the work in Part I, which is devoted to a brief historical look at subject analysis of black materials · through citations to a few pub- -lished works on the subject. Clack cites the work of Frances L. Yocum, pioneer in this area, whose ·subject headings for black themes had a marked influence on the de- velopment of black subjects in the Library of Congress list. While the author recog- nizes that the literature on this subject is limited, there is a conspicuous absence of reference to the work of Atlanta University and Annette H. Phinazee in sponsoring a conference which partially embraced this issue. In 1967 proceedings of the confer- ence were published under the title Materi- als by and about American Negroes and in- cluded a number of recommendations worthy of consideration. Part I of the Clack volume continues with brief discussions on "The Develop- ment of Black Literature Resources from an Historical Perspective" in which the au- thor follows some of the paths of black his- tory, attempts to show the nature of black literature from 1761 through the New Deal era of the 1930s, and discusses· various con- ditions of the times which had an effect on black writings. Part I ends with "The In- fluence of Black Studies on the Develop- ment and Use of Black Literature Re- sources," which summarizes various studies and concludes that far too few libraries are providing personnel and finances required for the adequate support of black literature resources. "Subject Analysis · Schedules" is the focus of Part II and, for the most part, includes a list of all relevant subjects on black themes which were included in LC classifi- cation schedules, a list of relevant LC sub- ject headings, and nonrelevant classification notation and subject headings which have 472 I College & Research Libraries • September 1976 been used in organizing black literature, as found in . the Dictionary Catalog uf Negro Life and Literature, New York Public Li- brary. When Clack studied LC's treatment of black subject headings, she concluded that its subject analysis "is not adequate to accommodate black literature in a systemat- ic array as a unique body of literature," that there were inconsistencies between headings listed in the index and those list- ed in the outline, and that use of the sys- tem often fails to lead to the retrieval of relevant documents. After page-by-page re- view of the LC subject analysis system, Clack pulled all subjects together in a sin- gle listing that the librarian may see the picture as a whole. The nonrelevant list is designed' to complement the relevant ma- terials within a public catalog and to show the array of specific subjects on which pub- lished documents exist. Those who know black literature well will conclude that this book is incomplete. What is lacking most is a list of headings useful to the comprehensive collection which extends the LC list and the nonrele- vant list. Even then, headings which Clack terms nonrelevant may well be relevant in a comprehensive collfiction. Part I is a mixture of short, but vital topics that might well have been expanded into separate volumes. It might have been better. to omit this section altogether and expan.d Part II, which appears to be the main · thrust of the volume. More critical subject analysis ·of headings, showing pat- terns in their establishment, might also have been given. Although the volume is ar- ranged in two parts, ·the overall plan and progression of the work is confusing. So is the language used in the text. More than it does, the volume should stress that. the LC subject headings list and · classification schedules were designed to fit materials which are in the Library of Con- gress . . Because LC does not collect all ma- terials published, it has a built-in system for eliminating subject classifications which might b.e usefql in more specialized collec- tions. It is unfortunate that this book was pub- lished just at the time that LC was revising its subject headings · list for black themes, substituting the ·word "Mro-American" for "Negro" when relating to bllicks in the U.S., the word ''blacks" for ,"Negro" when referring to blacks in other countries. Nu- merous changes also appear within the new list. The strength of the work is that it pulls together in a handy volume lists of relevant and nonrelevant headings on black subjects which may be found in library catalogs. Li- brarians and library school students who are less familiar with black history and cul- ture and its literature m.ay also find Part I of some value.-]essie Gamey Smith, Uni- versity Librarian, Fisk University, Nash- ville, Tennessee. Borko, Harold, and Bernier,. Charles L. Ab- stracting Concepts and Methods. Library and Information Science~ New York: Academic Press, 1975. 250p. $14.95. (LC 75-13069) .(ISBN 0-12-118650-4) The authors have filled the long-standing need for a good text on abstracting with a well-organized, readable work. While the stated audience is library school students, it should also be more · broadly useful for self-teaching and as a supplementary tool for training in abstracting services. Fur- thermore, this is not the kind of text the reader trudges through because it is good for him; it is actually readable and interest- ing. This judgment was confirmed by use of the book with a course in abstracting and indexing. There are three sections: background on the nature of abstracts and abstracting ser- vices, with criteria, instructions, and stan- dards; abstracting procedures; a miscellany on management, automation, and personnel; the purposes of journal literature; a good projection of future trends; automatic ab- stracting; and career opportunities. The section on evaluation of abstracts in the chapter . on automatic abstracting could well have been placed elsewhere; it is a sad commentary on the field : that most of the formal work on evaluation of abstracts has been done in research on automatic ab- stracting . . Abstracts are placed in their. context as a .major type of document surrogate, and ·the · historical review of abstracts and ab- stracting services shows the · use of this form over the ·millennia from the earliest written ,f