College and Research Libraries


570 I College & Research Libraries • November 1979 

entries appearing in that week's issue of 
BNB. The selective tape, also a weekly ser-
vice, contains only records of publications 
that the library states it intends to purchase 
or has already purchased. The third service 
is the local cataloging service , which is is-
sued on microform at stated intervals; with 
this service a library may specify the rec-
ords it wishes to receive as well as the 
amount of data each record should contain . 
Cataloging in publication is also a responsi-
bility of this division. 

All these activities are described in the 
tape-slide program , which explains how the 
data are assembled and distributed. The 
presentation does not provide a comprehen-
sive coverage of the activities in the various 
components of the division , only an over-
view of the division's work. This is why the 
informative pamphlets on the products and 
activities of the division that are included in 
the . package are of great value and deserve 
attention . 

The twenty-five minute sound cassette , 
which is accompanied by a printed text, is 
concise, pertinent, and well written . Several 
voices are heard on it, and the end result is 
a pleasing variety of clear enunciation. 

The seventy-six slides , on the other hand, 
are not of comparable quality. They gener-
ally exhibit a lack of imagination , have a 
tendency to be repetitious , and are insuf-
ficient in number. Slides of cataloging rec-
ords, however, are exceptionally clear, with 
artistically designed and positioned arrows 
that direct the viewer's attention to the rel-
evant data . A considerable number of slides 
simply present, in visual form , portions of 
the text on the accompanying sound cassette 
that the producers felt should be reinforced . 

Even though the objective of the tape-
slide program is never mentioned , it is clear 
from the slides used to reinforce the content 
of the accompanying tape and ffom the 
lengthy pauses on it that the package is in-
tended as a teaching device. As this package 
is unlikely to be used as a teaching tool in 
this country, librarians many find these in-
structional techniques irritating. At thirty-
five pounds, the package is an expensive 
means of acquiring information about the 
profession that can be obtained from a thor-
ough perusal of the library literature.-
Judith P. Cannan, Washington , D. C. 

The Role of Women in Librarianship, 
1876-1976: The Entry, Advancement, and 
Struggle for Equalization in One Profes-
sion. By Kathleen Weibel and Kathleen 
M. Heim , with assistance from Dianne J. 
Ellsworth. A Neal-Schuman Professional 
Book. Phoenix, Ariz.: Oryx Press , 1979. 
SlOp. $14.95. LC 78-27302. ISBN 
0-912700-01-7 . 
In spite of, or because of, its length, the 

title of this book does not tell us that it is an 
anthology and a comprehensive, annotated 
bibliography . As such, it encompasses a 
wide variety of sources and styles, out of 
which the compilers dissect seven broad 
types of writing: (1) opinion pieces pro and 
con the presence of women in the profes-
sion , (2) exhortations on how to be good 
women librarians , (3) descriptions of wom-
en's status in librarianship, ( 4) statistical 
studies including data on women, (5) statis-
tical studies that focus solely on women , (6) 
regularly published news items or features, 
and (7) historical or sociological studies of 
the role of women in the field. 

A preface tells us of the book's conception 
and gestation . An introduction reviews the 
varying professional and social climates 
within which women assumed their 
equivocal preponderance in librarianship . 
An alphabetized set of biographical notes 
follows on the contributors of the forty-four 
articles that have been chosen from British 
and American sources . These articles are ar-
ranged in five historical periods: " 1876-
1900-Emergence of an Organized Profes-
sion"; "1901-1921-The Move toward Suf-
frage"; "1922-1940-Between the Wars "; 
" 1941-1965-World War II and After"; and 
"1966-1976-The Second Feminist Move-
ment." 

The bibliography, with its own introduc-
tion and three indexes (subject, author, and 
title) occupies the final two-fifths of the vol-
ume. It was compiled by searching Cannons, 
Library Literature, special lists such as the 
bibliography of the SSRT Task Force on 
Women and those appended to substantial 
works on the subject, in addition to special 
journal indexes, e.g., for the Library As-
sociation Record and Library ] ournal. The 
entries are arranged first by year, then by 
season and month, except that letters re-
sponding to articles, etc., are cited with the 



items to which they relate. Although it is 
international in scope , it focuses on mate-
rials from English-speaking countries. There 
are no biographies, except for a few collec-
tions. Like bibliographies, they appear only 
if they have substantial significance for the 
topic. 

Physically the book is well made and at-
tractive. Placing the three bibliography in-
dexes immediately ahead of the general 
index is convenient in a way. Typography 
and running titles are added to help the 
reader differentiate . Still, it is a challenge to 
find the right index quickly for the purpose 
at hand. 

As for errors , they exist, but they are rel-
atively insignificant, considering the accom-
plishment as a whole . On page 454 Darkas 
is a misspelling in Miss Fellows's name . But 
a quick review of her published works indi-
cates that the worthy lady had a bit of trou-
ble herself deciding whether it should be 
Dorkas or Dorcas. On pages 446 and 4 71 
the index entries under "American Library 
Association-Task Force on Women" offer a 
distinction without much difference in try-
ing to separate cleanly the "subject" from 
the " author" headings. The subject index ci-
tation " 1973--33B" appears to be a misprint 
for " 1973-34, " and its entry for Isaac 
Asimov should read "1973-17A. " Moreover, 
bibliography listings (e.g. , 1971-16 and 
1971-26) can be found that are not indexed 
under either rubric. Indexing for such re-
lated organizations as the Bay Area SSRT 
(1971-41 letter) , the Massachusetts Task 
Force on Women (1972-34) , and the Wash-
ington Chapter (1972-15 and 1972-22) com-
pletely elude this reviewer. 

These peccadilloes are only incidental to 
the quantity and variety of fact , opinion, 
and solid perspective afforded. We have 
here reliable documentation of what we al-
ready knew-that the high percentage of 
women librarians during the past hundred 
years has not ensured anything like equality 
in salaries, administrative responsibilities , 
professional recognition , or related 
perquisites.-Jeanne Osborn , Th e Univer-
sity of Iowa, Iowa City. 

Nakata, Yuri. From Press to People: CoUect-
ing and Using U.S. Government Publica-
tions. Chicago : American Library Assn. , 

Recent Publications I 571 

1979. 212p. $15. LC 78-26306. ISBN 
0-8389-0264-2. 

Nakata, Yuri; Smith, Susan J. ; and Ernst, 
William B. , Jr., comps. Organizing a 
Local Government Documents C oUection. 
Chicago: American Library Assn~ , 1979. 
61p. $5. LC 79-12197. ISBN 0-8389-
0284-7. 
Both of these American Library Associa-

tion handbooks are designed for a small 
population of inexperienced document li-
brarians. The local documents title is also 
useful for any librarian with collection de-
velopment responsibility. Recognized spe-
cialists in the document field were con-
sulted , adding to the validity of both titles. 
In From Press to People, LeRoy Schwarz-
kopf, from the University of Maryland Li-
braries , contributed a short explanation of 
regional depository libraries. Likewise, 
compilers of the local government manual 
obtained advice from area specialists, the 
Chicago Municipal Reference Library, and 
the executive committee of the Illinois Re-
gional Library Council. 

The author of From Press to People ad-
mits " that several excellent works on gov-
ernment publications have appeared in re-
cent years as aids to organizing and adminis-
tering government publications. " This 
work's uniqueness is found "as a handbook 
for the beginning documents librarian. " 
Within this scope , Nakata offers a realistic 
although limited explanation of establishing 
and maintaining a depository collection. It is 
assumed that established depositories are al-
ready familiar with these suggestions as part 
of required procedures by the Superinten-
dent of Documents or in striving to achieve 
standards suggested by the Depository Li-
brary Council. 

Coverage includes an explanation of the 
federal depository library program , organi-
zation and collection , the improved Monthly 
Catalog , data sources, and cataloging. There 
is also a useful section on official and 
nonofficial reference source s along with 
selected departmental library catalogs. Ap-
pendixes include excerpts from chapter 19, 
Title 44 of the U. S. Code, instructions to 
depositories , and other procedural GPO 
regulations. The index is adequate. The text 
of " Guidelines for the Depository Library 
System" is useful only if the beginner had