AARL

Book reviews

Collection Management: A Concise Introduction John Kennedy. Wagga Wagga NSW Centre For Information Studies Charles Sturt University 2002 vi 144pp (Topics in Australasian Library and Information Studies No 19) ISBN 1-876938-18-8

Notwithstanding occasional predictions to the contrary, collection management remains at the heart of all librarianship, whether we think of a major research library attempting to balance limited funds across multiple fields of knowledge, of a public library trying to make sure that the books on its shelves are the ones its patrons want to read, or of a small special library aiming to provide up-to-the-minute information for its particular client group. And collection management is no less an issue for electronic resources, governed by licences and often proliferating with little or no editorial or bibliographic control, than it is for print.

John Kennedy's new book is aimed primarily at library studies students but is also useful for working librarians, provides a comprehensive, current, broadly-informed overview of all aspects of the collection management process. It remains firmly anchored in Australian practice, while also drawing freely on international models and experience. The book begins by grappling with the key terms 'collection management' and 'collection development', opting for the former as the more inclusive, and then proceeds with chapters on collection development policy, selection, acquisitions and licensing, evaluation, preservation and deselection, and inter-institutional cooperation. The conclusion suggests some ways in which collection management may evolve. I suspect that print resources will require managing for a good deal longer than the ten years Kennedy suggests (p128), but he is surely right to highlight the increasing urgency of a solution to the problem of preserving electronic resources in a useable form (pp95-7, 128).

The present book does not include the readings that characterise and enliven the two editions of Collection Development for Australian Libraries (Gorman and Howes, 1988; Gorman and Kennedy, 1992), but the references at the end of each chapter are a useful guide to recent literature in the field. Collection Management: A Concise Introduction will be valued both as a textbook and as a work of ready reference.

David Wells, Curtin University of Technology

Journal of Access Services: Innovations for Electronic and Digital Library and Information Resources Lori Driscoll ed (effective with vol 2, no 1, Spring 2004). Haworth Information Press ISSN 1536-7967

When I picked up the first issue of this journal I wondered why there needed to be another professional journal in the field of librarianship. However, on reading the table of contents it soon became evident that the Journal of Access Services is a very welcome addition to that literature.

The term 'access services' may not yet be widely used in Australia, but in the US it seems that as the traditional separation of 'technical services' and 'public services' has become progressively blurred by technological developments in service delivery, the concept of 'access services' as an organisational entity has emerged. By covering the many and varied issues that come under the broad definition of 'access services', this journal offers a forum for continuing education and professional development as well as some extremely useful advice.

The first issue has the theme of 'The origin, evolution, and future of access services'. Topics covered include interlibrary loans, document delivery and resource sharing, user access to resources in a networked environment, license negotiations with publishers for electronic delivery of documents, emerging trends in fee-based information services and the future of access services as an organisational unit within libraries.

Later issues of this peer-reviewed journal reveal it continues to provide interesting and topical essays, articles, reviews and research reports in this rapidly changing arena. It is definitely an interesting journal to keep an eye on, particularly if Australian libraries start to adopt the concept of 'access services' as an organisational unit.

Sue Grey-Smith, Curtin University of Technology

La Véritable Histoire de la Grande Bibliothèque François Stasse Paris Editions du Seuil 2002 210pp 25.20 Euro ISBN 2 02 051761 2

This work is a good account of the controversies and catastrophes which initially surrounded the construction of what became an extremely expensive new national library, the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF), at Tolbiac in Paris. The confusions which beset this project arose from the statement (14 July, 1988) of the then president, François Mitterand, that the proposal was for 'the creation of a very large library of an entirely new type' (p26). This imprecise statement bedevilled the planning from the outset. Another factor that caused trouble was the suggestion that the new library would be mainly an electronic library, but would house all publications after 1945, whereas the old BN at rue de Richelieu would retain all the other books. Another even stranger occurrence was the sidelining of the staff of the BN who were excluded from the planning process. Its senior staff seemed unable to agree on anything except maintaining the status quo and an apparently well-entrenched elitist view of the library's functions. From the politicians' point of view their credibility was badly eroded.

In August 1989 it was announced that the Tolbiac project would now house the entire collection of some eleven million items. Instead of 'a library of an entirely new type', there was a library created on traditional lines (p55). The lack from the outset of a clear concept and of competing planning interests is certainly one of the shocking aspects of the project. All this cast shadows over the project, exciting the media to exposés of ineptitude, and arousing public indignation. But the overriding consideration remained: to complete the project before Mitterand's second (and last) term as president came to an end. Annexe 1 of the book provides an excellent chronology of the significant stages in the BNF project from 1987 to June 2002.

The many mishaps made the project's costs embarrassingly huge. Much the same thing happened with the British Library building at St Pancras. Stasse is both humorous and ironic in discussing the architectural failures, the technological hubris and the political obstinacy which marked the project. Stasse attributes some of the disasters to 'French arrogance' that he castigates with harsh words. Disasters continued even after completion of the already ill-starred project.

The four 18-storey towers (floors 1-7 are offices, the rest are stacks) threw up considerable problems. They proved to have grave deficiencies with heat and light, ventilation and on some floors with faulty drainage. The original intention that the stacks be transparent from the outside had to be abandoned, but the special protective wooden shutters that were added at extra expense experienced technical difficulties. The original internal document delivery system did not function as envisaged, and readers had for a period to give 24 hours' notice of books they wished to consult. Since the building is so heavily reliant on technology in almost every aspect of its operations, the inevitable teething troubles with failing computers and unreliable software made the early days of BNF at Tolbiac a veritable nightmare. Other difficulties included 'wind tunnel' effects which badly affected the trees on the esplanade level. Visitors to BNF were injured by slipping on the wooden esplanade leading to the library (pp118-119). Electronic cards used to access and exit the building failed for a period. Parts of the ceiling in the reading room became unstable and fell to the floor, fortunately not hitting anyone underneath. The large glass doors proved too heavy to close and open easily, and so on. The early days were a public relations disaster and deeply damaging to an imaginative and spectacular project.

Whilst Stasse gives very full information about all this, he is not an unfriendly critic and the latter part of his book deals with successes and progress. He pays just tribute to the beautiful materials used in the structure and the furnishings of what is a striking building. But he points out that the media remained fixated on the early troubles and failed to report or care about the successful steps made by BNF to rectify the problems. The final section of the book is entitled 'successes and promises' (pp157-191). This balances the rather dismal account of failures in planning and technology. One of the successes that receives proper attention is the skill with which the transfer of eleven million items from the old to the new building was carried out. This account would interest most librarians who have been confronted with moving premises. The other great success is the digitising of the BNF's huge catalogue, now available on the web. There is certainly much to praise in the present BNF, but equally the lessons to be learned are numerous.

Stasse's book is directed to a literate, general readership and does not seek to analyse in depth, although there is nothing superficial in what he offers. A work such as Alan Day's Inside the British Library (1998) needs to be written for the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Until it comes, the present work should find an appreciative readership. Recommended for academic and research libraries.

Note: BNF has issued a handsome booklet Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Connaissance des Arts (1997 75pp). With splendid coloured photos and text dealing with both the building and the functions and operations of the library. Available in different languages. ISSN 1242 9198

R L Cope

Library Trends Deborah Joseph Schmidle issue editor 'Services to the Labor Community' vol 51 no 1 Summer 2002 139pp ISSN 0024-2594

This issue of Library Trends documents the past and present of library services to a specialised constituency, the union community in the USA. It sets out to and succeeds in making the history of services to this community more visible. The contributions celebrate 50 years of the work of the American Library Association and the peak union body, the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organisations through their Joint Committee on Library Service to Labor Groups. Three historical articles provide the context by outlining the long relationship between libraries, including public libraries, and unions. The articles on specific cases and how American unions use the internet are more interesting. For example, Howard Nelson and Bernadette Bailey chart how information services were critical in the emergence of a national union, the American Federation of Teachers. Gaye Williams, writing from the union perspective, shows how the locals online services of America's largest union, Service Employees International Union, enabled unionists to control communications at a local level and to share information for campaigns. She also notes that these services were used to support union families affected by the 11 September disaster. Public outreach to unions, including internet training programs by universities with industrial relations programs, are covered in Deborah Schmidle's article. Thomas Connors considers the history of efforts to preserve labour archives to meet the needs of both unions and researchers. In doing so, he presents valuable data on major collections and constructs an agenda for future projects. Several contributors note that the continuing partnership between labour and libraries is crucial for the success of unions in an ever-changing world. There is much here to inspire Australian librarians and archivists engaged in similar endeavours.

Sigrid McCausland, The Australian National University

Allies, Enemies and Trading Partners: Records on Australia and the Japanese Pam Oliver Canberra National Archives of Australia 2004 288p ISBN 1920807039

A well made research guide excites researchers just as a store catalogue does shoppers. It suggests a range of possibilities, and we plan various future projects while turning pages filled with interesting information. Recently published, Oliver's research guide, Allies, Enemies and Trading Partners: Records on Australia and the Japanese, has just done that.

Oliver first identified some 14 000 relevant items on the relationship between Australia and Japan in the National Archives online database for the period between the 1890s and 1971. In addition, she examined many items that had not been listed individually in the database. The guide naturally covers varied topics. These include immigration, citizenship, trade, shipping, defence security, and diplomatic relations. Records on Australian industries where the Japanese had historically close involvement, such as pearling and fishing, were also examined. As for world wars I and II, Oliver focused on the records that reflected the impact of the wars on Australian attitudes towards Japan, and the treatment of POWs and internees by both Australia and Japan.

This guide is an excellent reference for students and researchers, providing appropriate directions for record searching. Archival documents demonstrate the progression of the relationship between Australia and Japan from the time of federation to the more recent post-war period, when the economic ties grew much stronger - as the title of the guide indicates. At the same time, Oliver successfully shows that the archival records can tell many personal stories of those engaged in the ties between the two countries, and who lived through these changes.

Keiko Tamura, Australia-Japan research project, Australian War Memorial