Book Reviews 553

contributions have appeared in print previously; Johnson’s chapter appeared earlier as an ACRL Con- tinuing Education publication (1983).

Her work includes results from a potentially useful survey of more than 90 library and infor-

mation science journal publishers which provides basic information on the editor, the address, pre- ferred length of manuscript and the average length of time for acceptance/rejection. Some of the information is dated already. For example, Government Publications Review has a new editor, JEL is now the Journal of Education for Library and Information Science and Library Research has changed its name to Library and Information Science Research. Of course, a prospective journal author might also wish to know more about the journal’s refereeing process (that is the editor has sole discretion to publish or employs a double blind system) and circulation figures with which to better evaluate the audience.

By comparison, Alley and Cargill, co-editors of Technicalities, provide better and more com- prehensive advice; at least their comments ring true to me. The book acts like a mentor, telling the reader how it really is; whether you think publishing should be like that or not, it does not matter. They address word processing and tax deductions as well as when to stop reviewing (a subject I have never seen covered). They discuss the wide variety of articles (reporting, “how to,” scholarly and inter-

view); bibliographies, books, even editing newsletters and periodicals. They, too, sent out a survey, but theirs is current for six publishers in library and information

science, and it covers 16 different points (e.g. specific advantages in publishing with the firm, sub- missions and rejections, and royalties). Too bad Ablex and Libraries Unlimited are not represented; apparently they were among those that did not respond (p. 86).

Ultimately, we writers (and editors) are guardians of language. Yet disturbing thoughts appear throughout Sellen’s text - e.g., “books are one format available to people who don’t write very well. . .” (p. 87). No doubt I am idealistic, but I certainly hope this statement is not true. But if Sellen thinks it is true, then she should recommend titles such as Strunk and White’s provocative The Ele- ments of Style, 3rd ed. (New York: Macmillan, 1979) or Theodore M. Bernstein’s delightful The Care- ful Writer; a Modern Guide to English Usage (New York: Atheneum, 1985).

Elsewhere, several of Sellen’s contributors mention book proposals (pp. 40, 87 and 96), but an entire chapter could have been devoted to the intellectual development of an idea and its marketing. At least Alley and Cargill recognize its relative importance and address the topic systematically (see pp. 83-86). As an alternative, Sellen or her authors could have mentioned useful titles such as Michael Larsen’s How to Write a Book Proposal (Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 1985); Alley and Cargill do. Portions of both works discuss contract negotiations, but neither refer interested readers to helpful titles such as Richard Balkin’s How to Understand & Negotiate a Book Contract or Maga- zine Agreement (Cincinnati, OH: Writer’s Digest Books, 1985) or Richard Curtis’ How to be Your Own Literary Agent (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1983).

In the final evaluation, self-help books should direct the interested reader to sources of further information. And appropriately, both books conclude with annotating bibliographies. Sellen’s was compiled in 1982, but lists a few titles as current as 1985; Alley and Cargill’s contains 92 citations and is certainly more current. However, I would add more titles: Charlotte Georgi and Terry Fate’s comprehensive Fund Raising, Grants, and Foundations: A Comprehensive Bibliography (Littleton, CO: Libraries Unlimited, 1985) and The ASJA Handbook (New York: American Society of Jour- nalists and Authors Inc., 1985). Alley and Cargill do cite Walter W. Powell’s insightful Getting into Print; the Decision-Making Process in Scholarly Publishing (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985).

While either work may appeal to newly appointed library school faculty, doctoral candidates who wish to gain tenure rapidly and academic librarians interested in publishing, I am concerned lest we overemphasize structure. Ultimately, we need more substance, not just self-help. On the other hand, if these works improve library literature, then they will have made a worthwhile contribution.

Graduate School of Library and Information Science University of California at Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA

JOHN RICHARDSON, JR.

Data Base Management Systems: The Desk-top Generation. B. A. BANET; J. R. DAVIS; R. T. MAR- SHAK. McGraw-Hill, New York (1985). viii + 199 pp., $15.95, ISBN 0-07-056325-X.

The purpose of this book, which is intended for business people with little or no technical background, is to help readers choose the most appropriate microcomputer database management program for their particular applications. The authors also hope that readers will acquire a better understanding of database management systems (DBMS) in the process.

554 Book Reviews

The book is in two parts: The first provides an introduction to database management, database needs assessment, and DBMS evaluation; the second contains reviews of selected database manage- ment systems for the IBM PC and compatible computers.

The introduction to database management covers the basic functions of a DBMS, places microcomputer DBMS in context and gives an overview of common database models. In the discus- sion of database needs assessment, guidelines are presented and their use illustrated in the analysis of a sample application. A detailed list of DBMS evaluation criteria provides a framework for the reviews which follow.

Three single-file and five multifile database management programs are evaluated using the cri- teria listed earlier. They are also evaluated on the basis of their performance in a benchmark application.

Reviews are preceded by a one-page summary which includes general information about the pro- gram, its strengths, weaknesses, required level of user experience and recommended applications. The body of the review is interspersed with figures which illustrate various program features. An overall assessment of the program concludes each review.

The book is written in a clear, practical style and, for the most part, is well organized. The authors inspire the feeling that they have used the programs they review and are familiar with their subject. Nonetheless, there are a few areas in which the work could be improved.

For example, the reviews are arranged in a single alphabetical sequence by program name. They would be better separated into single-file and multifile DBMS, and then arranged alphabetically within each group.

Another criticism concerns the figures used in the reviews: They appear to have been reproduced from photographs of a display screen. In some figures the text is faint and in others blurred, mak- ing them difficult to read. In addition, the use of figures is not consistent. For example, one can not easily compare the user interface of different report generators because the appropriate figure is not included in every review.

Another inconsistency concerns the provision of version numbers for the programs reviewed. In some reviews this information is given in the capsule summary, in others it is given in the text and in the case of CIP, dBASE III, Omnifile and Please, it is not given at all.

Concerning the choice of programs reviewed, the authors state that they were selected on the basis of effectiveness, popularity or uniqueness. It is therefore surprising that pfs:FILE, probably the most popular single-file data management program, is not included.

The book could also be improved by the inclusion of a table summarizing the content of the reviews. Finally, a select bibliography of other works on microcomputer database management sys- tems would be a useful addition.

In summary, this is a valuable book for anyone involved in the evaluation and selection of microcomputer database management systems. Because of its shortcomings, however, it might best be used in conjunction with a comparable work such as Kruglinski’s Data Base Management Sys- terns: MS-DOS: Evaluating MS-DOS Data Base Sqftware.

College of Library and Information Science University of Kentucky Lexington, KY

RICHARD POLLARD

Dewey Decimal Classification Online Project; Evaluation of a Library Schedule and Index Integrated into the Subject Searching Capabilities of an Online Catalog. K. MARKEY; A. DEMEYER. OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc., Office of Research, Dublin, OH (1986). xliii + 382 pp., 24 appen- dices. No price given. No ISBN. (OCLC Research Report Series: Report No. : OCLC/OPR/RR-86/l)

This research report is the result of an interesting set of experiments made to test the ability of the Dewey Decimal Classification to be “an online searcher’s tool for subject access, browsing and dis- play in an online catalog.” (p. 1). Because American libraries use classification systems for the arrange- ment of books, mainly in open-stack libraries, what is being tested here is, to a considerable degree, the state of browsing with a general classification system covering the sum total of human knowl- edge. Though the Library of Congress classification has been widely used since its inception in 1876, there was a flurry of switching to it in the I96Os, under the illusion that because it is used mainly in academic libraries, it is more erudite. Automation of Dewey has been a long time in coming. The successful experiment in automating the Universal Decimal Classification in 1968 was, for some unknown reason, not replicated with the Dewey Decimal Classification. Possibly it is because, being monolingual for the most part, Americans prefer subject access by use of words. Considering the large proportion of dictionary terms having multiple meanings, this preference is a mystery. Even