College and Research Libraries


management with management in other 
areas. Although Bailey notes in her introduc-
tion that library activities are often difficult 
to compare with others, she offers little justi-
fication for this view: her work draws almost 
exclusively on library literature. The book's 
final chapter discusses the characteristics of 
"good" management and offers a few sugges-
tions for those wishing to move into middle-
management positions. 

In summarizing the information on middle 
managers in academic libraries, Bailey re-
ports that there is little consensus on the var-
ious levels of middle management. The aver-
age manager has a master's degree from an 
ALA-accredited library/information school, 
and most have worked at least five years be-
fore obtaining their first middle-managerial 
positions. There is also general agreement, 
both by middle managers and top adminis-
trators, that library schools are doing a poor 
job in teaching management and administra-
tion. For those working in academic li-
braries, Bailey offers no surprises or new in-
formation, although this study may offer 
scholarly confirmation of what might other-
wise be only personal or institutional percep-
tions. 

The book contains chapter summaries, and 
notes and bibliographies follow most chap-
ters. Brief lists of "selected journals" and "se-
lected references" are included as appen-
dixes, and there is an index. It is evident that 
the author has devoted a good deal of time to 
her research and the result is a descriptive 
study which offers no startling conclusions 
and few suggestions for change. Those en-
gaged in research on this topic may find that 
this book provides good background mate-
rial, but this work is not likely to appeal to a 
wide audience.-Elizabeth M. Salzer, Stan-
ford University Libraries, Stanford, Califor-
nia. 

The Professional Development of the Librar-
ian and Information Worker. Edited by Pa-
tricia Layzell Ward. Aslib Reader Series, 
V.3. London: Aslib, 1980. 332p. £20.50 
(£17.50 to Aslib members); paper £12.50 
(£10.50 to Aslib members). ISBN 0-85142-
135-0; 0-85142-136-9 paper. 
Readers are librarianship's way of render-

ing centripetal what would otherwise be a 
highly centrifugal literature. They are our 

Recent Publications I 591 

black holes, our way of concentrating at a 
single point those journal articles, book chap-
ters, and report excerpts which are scattered 
across the landscape of the discipline. In the 
Anglo-American community of librarians, 
the production of readers is an addiction. The 
utility of the genre goes, perhaps wrongly, 
without question. Thus, the reviewer of a 
reader is reduced to making two inquiries: 
how well is it organized and has the editor 
chosen wisely? With regard to The Profes-
sional Development of the Librarian and In-
formation Worker, the answers to these ques-
tions are, respectively, very well indeed and 
fair to middling. 

The editor, Patricia Layzell Ward of the 
Centre for Library and Information Man-
agement at Loughborough University, sees 
this book as a contribution to the professional 
(i.e., organic) development of individual li-
brarians and information workers. It is to her 
everlasting credit that she regards profes-
sional development as extending well beyond 
those technical aspects of librarianship (e. g., 
the application of computers and telecom-
munications to library operations and man-
agement) which are the current obsession of 
continuing education in the United States. 
Professional development, in her view, em-
braces "the formation of a personal philoso-
phy concerning the role· of information, 
books and knowledge, and their free trans-
mission in society, and this may well involve 
the development of a personal set of ethics." 
This outlook is reflected in a set of readings 
which consistently emphasize the human, 
philosophical, and ethical dimensions of the 
library enterprise. 

The sections of the reader constitute a de-
ductive progression from the general to the 
particular concerns of librarianship. They 
are (1) library and/or information science, 
(2) research, (3) philosophy and ethics, (4) 
the planning of services, and (5) management 
(including the human side and the technical 
aspects thereof). This organization renders 
the book open to either reading seriatim or to 
more random consultation. It is much easier, 
on the other hand, to quarrel with the choice 
of readings, some of which evoked a distinct 
sense of deja vu, others an unhappy pedestri-
anism. At least six of the contributions were 
excellent, however, and merit further com-
ment. 



592 I College & Research Libraries • November 1981 

In his now classic "Of Librarianship, Doc-
umentation and Information Science," Jesse 
Shera contends that both library science and 
information science seek to "maximize the so-
cial utility of graphic records for the benefit 
of mankind." In this view, the librarian or 
information scientist is merely adjunctive to 
those who would define what is socially use-
ful or beneficial to mankind. One must for-
ever ask of this world view what a practi-
tioner might appropriately do in the Soviet 
Union, Nazi Germany, and Uganda where 
social utility has in the past been defined by 
Stalin, Hitler, and Idi Amin. 

Nicholas Belkin and Stephen Robertson, 
the English authors of "Information Science 
and the Phenomena of Information," make a 
very different, but no less deductive, point. 
They say that information is something 
which changes the structure of those images 
of the world that we carry about in our 
minds. For them, information science has 
three related subject matters: the structure of 
the text or the information, the image struc-
ture of the sender, and the image structure of 
the receiver. They assert that information sci-
ence has concentrated on the structure of in-
formation, that education and psychology 
have explored the image structure of the re-
cipient of information, and that the image 
structure of the sender of information "re-
mains virtually virgin territory." This last 
contention is wrong, and sadly so since it em-
anates from authors with a structuralist bias. · 
While structuralism is now somewhat 
winded intellectually, the image structure of 
the sender has been a preoccupation of Noam 
Chomsky in linguistics, Claude Levi-Strauss 
in anthropology, Roman J akobson in literary 
criticism, and Gunther Stent in neurobiol-
ogy, among many others. Like Belkin and 
Robertson, these scholars have long recog-
nized that an understanding of information 
transfer is to be found in the holism of struc-
ture rather than in the atomism of content. 

"An Alternative Model of a Profession for 
Librarians" by Gardner Hands and C. James 
Schmidt is a valuable exercise in demystifica-
tion. In its quest of professionalism, librari-
anship has mimicked, uncritically, a model 
derived from law and medicine. From its ex-
clusion of nonscientific knowledge to its fixed 
judgment of the client as inferior to the pro-
fessional in competence, this model empha-

sizes stasis. Librarians, according to the au-
thors, would do well to choose an 
open-systems model of professionalism that 
more easily accommodates change. To read 
Maurice Line's "On the Design of Informa-
tion Systems for Human Beings" is a hum-
bling experience. His essay consists of a series 
of seemingly everyday questions (e.g., What 
are the psychological and sociological factors 
which attract people to libraries? What ele-
ments in their physical design invite people to 
use reference tools? Can we satisfactorily lo-
cate information in a computer where the 
familiar spatial and visual frames of refer-
ence provided by books and libraries are 
missing?) for which, apparently, we have no 
very good or complete answers. 

Other interesting entries are "Quasi 
Unions ·and Organizational Hegemony 
within the Library Field" by Gail Schlachter 
and Jeffrey Raffel's "From Economic to Po-
litical Analysis of Library Decision Making." 
The former describes the conversion of pro-
fessional organizations into quasi unions, 
groups with a concern for both professional 
norms and employee welfare. Schlachter sug-
gests that the American Library Association 
must become a quasi union if it is to maintain 
the allegiance of librarians. This may yet oc-
cur, but one remains haunted by the fact that 
the ALA, with its nonlibrarian contingent, is 
not a professional society and, therefore, fits 
only loosely the evolutionary model erected 
here. In the latter, Raffel argues that political 
analysis becomes more helpful than eco-
nomic analysis in library decision making as 
the decision to be made becomes more criti-
cal. The reason is that while costs can often be 
assessed, benefits, especially where innova-
tive solutions are involved (e. g., the distribu-
tion, free of charge, of books by libraries as 
opposed to the circulation of books that re-
main the property of the library), cannot be 
easily measured. "It is impossible," suggests 
the author, "to compare or weigh the value of 
individual dignity against the loss of rare 
books. " 

Ward's reader, the third in an Aslib series, 
is certainly worth reading selectively. It is 
relatively free of errors, though, almost un-
forgivably, after including "The Manage-
ment Review and Analysis Program: A Sym-
posium," she identifies the MRAP with the 
Association of College and Research Li-



YOU CAN DEPEND ON 
BAKER 8c TAYLOR'S 

CONTINUATION SERVICE. 
YEAR AFTER YEAR. 

The Baker & Taylor ~ 
Continuation Service is 
designed to meet the 
needs of academic, pub-
lic, special and school 
libraries. Nearly 3,400 
libraries, including major 
research facilities, pres-
ently participate in our 
Continuation Service . It 
helps save time and 
money- two important 
elements that librarians 
always find in short 
supply. 

COMPREHENSIVE 
SERVICE 
The Continuation Service will 
assist libraries with two of the 
most time-consuming and frus-
trating aspects of acquisitions 
work-establishing and monitor-
ing standing orders. Baker & 
Taylor has information on over 
17,000 series. serials, and sets-in-
progress. and we continue to 
expand the database as new 
titles appear. Our system allows 
us to give special attention to 
irregular publications. the most 
difficult to monitor. 

CUSTOMIZED 
SERVICE 
The Baker & Taylor Continuation 
Service is flexible . For example, 
you can change your standing 
order at any time . Serials can be 
provided on an alternate year 

basis. Or. if you desire. pre-
viously published series volumes 
which are still available can be 
ordered through the program. 

MANAGEMENT 
REPORTS 
To assist libraries in maintaining 
complete records of Continua-
tion titles received from Baker & 
Taylor. a number of serials man-
agement reports are available 
on request. Included in these 
reports: a complete listing of 
all titles the library has on stand-
ing order; shipment histories. 
status reports; and individual title 
reports . 

SPECIAL LISTS TO 
FACILITATE ORDERING 
To help libraries open new 
accounts. we offer several starter 
lists. one of which includes 1.500 
of the most frequently ordered 
serials. We also provide a list of 

university press serials sup-
plied by Baker & Taylor as 
well as customized biblio-
graphies in which serials 
data is extracted by sub-
ject and user level. These 
lists enable libraries to 
establish. expand or enrich 
serials collections more 
easily ... and more 
economically. 

AFFORDABLE 
ASSISTANCE 

Our Continuation Service offers 
the most generous discounts 
available . And we include no 
service charges of any kind. 
Libraries requiring assistance 
from our experienced profes-
sional staff to open an account. 
answer a claim or research a 
particular title may call lor 
quick service: 201-526-8000. 

··------------------·-·-YES! Tell me more abo~~~!!~ & 
Taylor's Continuation ~ervice . 
0 Send me your brochure which 

includes data on Management 
Reports and Customized Service 
Bibliographies. 

0 Have a representative contact me . 

Name & Title 

Library 

Street 

City State Zip 

·------···-··------------· 
IB&er &. Taylor lla: Book Professionals 
Eastern Division 50 Kirby Avenue. Sumerviiie. New Jersey 08876 Tel 20 1·722·80CXJ 
Southern Division Cu mmerce. Georgia 30599 Tel 404 -335·50CXJ 
Midwestern Division Glad1ola Aven ue. Momence. llhno1s 60954 Tel 815·472·2444 
Western Division 380 Ec:II son Way , Reno. Nevada 89564 Tel 702·786·6700 



594 I College & Research Libraries· November 1981 

braries rather than with the Association of 
Research Libraries. One can envision the use 
of this reader in library school courses on the 
foundations of librarianship as well as in pro-
grams of continuing education for librarians 
and information workers.-Dan Bergen, 
University of Rhode Island, Kingston. 

Dale, Doris C. Career Patterns of Women Li-
brarians with Doctorates. Occasional Pa-
pers no.147, December 1980. Urbana: 
University of Illinois Graduate School of 
Library Science, 1980. 28p. $3. ISSN 
0073-5310. 

Lundy, Kathryn Renfro. Women View Li-
brarianship: Nine Perspectives. ACRL Pub-
lications in Librarianship no.41. Chicago: 
American Library Assn., 1980. 108p. $7. 
LC 80-23611. ISBN 0-8389-3251-7. 
From a scholarly point of view these two 

studies have so little in common that their 
common subject, women in librarianship, 
seems hardly to connect them. Doris Dale has 
conducted and here reports upon a question-
naire survey of 300 living women librarians 

Articles on the 
Middle Sast 

1947-1971 
This four volume cumulation of 

the bibliographies from the Middle 
East Journal directs the user to 

coverage and analysis of the events 
leading up to the last Arab/Israeli 

war in '73. 
Nearly 1200 pages of bibliography 

are complemented by an author/ 
reviewer/main entry index consist-

ing of 42,000 citations and a 
9200 citation subject index. 

Four Volume Set: $160.00 
Available on 30-day approval from: 
Pierian Press 
5000 Washtenaw Ave. 
Ann Arbor, Ml 48104 

with earned doctorates of whom just over 50 
percent responded. In a clear narrative style 
she explains how the women were identified, 
the techniques used in conducting the study, 
and the numerical details of all responses to 
the thirty-eight-question, four-page survey 
instrument. 

I wish the questionnaire itself had been re-
produced as part of this report, but Dale's 
table-by-table summary makes that an aca-
demic rather than substantive issue. Of 
slightly more importance is a tone which 
creeps into the descriptions, especially in the 
latter pages when discrimination is the topic, 
a tone of complaint that does not seem to be 
justified by the data. 

I think we must all be aware by now that 
women have been discriminated against in 
our profession (a so-called women's profes-
sion) as in other professional, business, and 
work areas. There is some evidence that the 
situation is improving, but discrimination by 
sex exists. Therefore, it is a surprise to dis-
cover that of more than 150 women respon-
dents only about one third indicated they had 
been discriminated against either overtly or 
covertly. In reporting this Dale slips a little 
into "over-selling" the reported discrimina-
tion. 

Where Dale is scientific, Lundy is humani-
tarian. Having interviewed, in 1978, nine fe-
male leaders of the profession, she sent each a 
transcript and accepted their corrections. 
The resulting question/answer texts are pre-
sented verbatim with brief-too brief-
introductions outlining the careers of the 
women. 

These are great librarians: Page Acker-
man, Patricia Battin, Martha Boaz, Connie 
Dunlap, Margaret Goggin, Virginia Lacy 
Jones, Annette Phinazee, Sarah Rebecca 
Reed, and Helen Tuttle. It is satisfying to 
read their considered responses to questions 
ranging from ideas about administration and 
personal career choices to developing library 
school curricula and advice to beginning pro-
fessionals. What is not satisfying is the lack of 
spontaneity which should be a strength of the 
interview format. It was edited out, one sus-
pects, when the interviewers saw their less 
than carefully planned verbal expressions in 
the cold, black light of print. 

Still, this is more enjoyable reading than 
most of our professional literature, and