College and Research Libraries .. and practicing librarian or information specialist.-Audrey N. Grosch, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis. Dewey, Melvil. Melvil Dewey: His Endur- ing Presence in Librarianship. Edited by Sarah K. Vann. The Heritage of Librar- ianship Series, no.4. Littleton, Colo.: Li- braries Unlimited, 1978. 278p. $17.50 U.S. and Canada; $21 elsewhere. LC 77- 21852. ISBN 0-87287-134-7. Here is another worthwhile contribution to a growing body of works by and about the bearer of the best-known name in American library history. From Grosvenor Dawe' s official eulogy, published under the Lake Placid Club imprint the year after Melvil Dewey's death, to this latest compi- lation, biographers have given as much at- tention to revealing the man through his writings as through their own narratives. Small wonder, for while the bulk of Dew- ey's publication during his lifetime is sub- stantial, that of his unpublished correspon- dence, notes, and diaries is even greater and harder to access because of its disper- sion and difficult shorthand. The editors of this work, and of the series to which it belongs, disclaim having pro- duced the definitive study "so badly needed." Yet Sarah Vann researched an im- pressive list of sources to give us a concise biography, a useful selection from Dewey's library writings, and a nearly definitive chronological bibliography. She mentions, but does not attempt to document, such other enthusiasms as simplified spelling, the metric system, and the Lake Placid Club. This biobibliography adds nothing star- tling to our general acquaintance with a nineteenth-century titan. Ardent, industri- ous, high-principled, optimistic, hyperac- tive, and opinionated, Dewey deliberately chose librarianship as his primary sphere of action. He was not merely a joiner but also a founder of lyceums, societies, and clubs. He planned, organized, and administered at every opportunity, attracting loyal support- ers and antagonizing other strong-willed as- sociates throughout his long career. He was more an activist than a contemplative scholar or researcher. His writings tend toward exhortation, bolstered by fairly ab- solutist pronouncements based on shrewd Recent Publications I 377 practical observation. Yet through the famil- iar idiosyncrasies of his nature and his milieu emerges a picture of a genial, just, dedicated, and effective man. Following a short but revealing biography in part I, part II, which forms the bulk of the volume, groups selected professional papers of Dewey into fourteen subtopics, each prefaced by a brief critical commen- tary. They cover his views on the American Library Association, women in librarianship, education for librarianship, library coopera- tion, cataloging and classification, the Li- brary of Congress, public and academic li- braries, and glances toward the future and the past. The bibliography in part III first identifies extant Dewey manuscript collec- tions. It next cites in chronological order his editorial achievements and his library- related publications. Finally it gives a useful survey of works about the man. The book closes with a general index. Few readers will proceed straight through this book from cover to cover. It is more a source for reference and browsing. Its chief impact will be to remind us how little in li- brary theory and practice is new. Terminol- ogy and modes of expression alter, but the issues are perennial, resulting in solutions that frequently become cyclic. That is, the issues transcend our temporal solutions. They must be faced and "solved" by each new generation. Historical perspective be- comes, then, not an excuse for skepticism or irresponsibility, but an opportunity to learn from the experience of the past. Melvil Dewey packed into his eighty years a great deal of observation and common sense that can inform and guide us today.-] eanne Osborn, The University of Iowa, Iowa City. "Libraries and Society: Research and Thought." Phyllis Dain and Margaret F. Stieg, issue editors. Library Trends 27:221-417 (Winter 1979). $5. ISSN 0024-2594. (Available from: Univ. of Illi- nois Pr., Urbana, IL 61801.) The need for librarians to study their re- lationship to society in these changing times is of prime importance. The library's role in our sociocultural milieu is dependent on varied circumstances, technological ad- vances, changing human thought and be- havior, to name but a few factors. This issue 378 I College & Research Libraries • July 1979 of Library Trends attempts to go beyond the usual summaries of what one can read in •he field and attack the nagging problems that exist between librarians and society. It opens up an uncharted area for critical thinking and presents challenges unique to our times. What our professional goals were is thor- oughly discussed by Lester Asheim histori- cally, and options presented as to where professional standards should lead. Beverly P. Lynch contrasts two aspects of manage- ment: its formal characteristics organized for administrative efficiency and the informal processes whereby personnel react an- tagonistically toward service goals. How demographic trends and social struc- ture will affect librarianship is foretold by Lowell A. Martin in sections dealing with population growth, an older population, women and the family, urban concentration and dispersion, minorities and the poor, class and libraries, and, finally, demand for continued social research in the library field. What implication certain issues of MCGREGOR "PERSONALIZED SUBSCRIPTION SERVICE" Every customer is assigned an experienced "Home Office" ntpresentatlve. You corntSpond direct; any title needs, changes, cancellations or problems can be handled promptly by letter or phone. This makes your job easier al}d keeps you abreast of your subscription needs at all times. With over 45 years experl*nce, McGregor has built a reputation of prompt and courteous service on both domestic and International titles. We pntpay subscrip- tions ahead of time. Our customers, large and small, like the prompt attention we give them. We think you would tool Ask about McGregor's "Automatic Renewal" plan de- scribed in our new brochunt. Write today for your free copy. OUR 46th YEAR Mount Morris, llllnols61054 governance (equalization of educational op- portunity, research methodologies analyzing public policymaking, accountability for pub- lic funds) have for libraries is treated by R. Kathleen Molz. Much study still remains in these areas. To be read in conjunction with Asheim' s article, Richard L. Darling's ap- proach to intellectual freedom and access to material during the last forty years would seem to preview the future. The history and current scene of Ameri- can education in the schools depicted by Elaine Fain allows us to reexamine our past and to seek how libraries can be significant in the educational system. Lewis F. Stieg's insistence on the need for a theory in academic librarianship ties in beautifully with Martin's presentation. Academic li- brary goals and objectives must relate to societal factors. F. W. Lancaster and Linda C. Smith de- scribe the current pattern of disseminating research results and predict that the present communication cycle will give way to the electronic mode, offering the librarian the role of an indispensable, respectable ex- plorer of a tremendous electronic "library without walls." Robert D. Harlan and Bruce L. Johnson do not mince words as they lay it on the line for librarians in reporting the recent trends in American book publishing. Computer and communication technology with its effect on the library environment is addressed by Joseph Becker, who recog- nizes that technology alone cannot solve the problems of a pluralistic society. The chal- lenge is before us. In spite of the fact that the editors are aware of several other problems in our pro- fession, particularly as they relate to broad areas of concern in society, all of us can read at least this material with open minds and allow research by pertinent disciplines to have its impact on librarianship, as long as we pick up the ball and run with it! Let us thank the editors and writers for compil- ing and organizing these topics into a worthwhile pattern for us to study.-Jovian P. Lang, O.F.M., St. John's University, Jamaica, New York. Ash, Lee, comp. Subject Collections: A Guide to Special Book Collections and Subject Emphases lJ8 Reported by Uni-