Maturity in Reading: Its Nature and Appraisal by William S. Gray; Bernice RogersReview by: Ruth StrangThe Library Quarterly, Vol. 27, No. 2 (Apr., 1957), pp. 134-135Published by: The University of Chicago PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4304657 .

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134 THE LIBRARY QUARTERLY

ficulties," I and II; and "Basic Principles of Remedial Reading."

The third part includes seven chapters which are concerned with both "developmental and remedial teaching of specific reading skills." The scope of this section is suggested by the follow- ing chapter headings: "Developing Word Rec- ognition Skills," I and II; "Overcominig Difli- culties in Word Recognition"; "Developing Understanding in Reading," I and II; "Foster- ing Reading Interests and Tastes"; "Improving Rate of Reading"; and "Case Studies of Read- ing Disability." Of great practical value to field workers is the Appendix, which includes "An Alphabetical List of Tests" with annotations, "A Graded List of Books for Remedial Read- ing," and a list of publishers and their addresses.

As implied by the foregoinig outline, this book is not a discussion of the psychology of reading, a summary of research in reading, or a (letailed treatmenit of causation, diagnosis, or remediation of severe cases of reading disability. It is rather a concrete discussion of the various issues faced by every classroom teacher, par- ticularly at the elementary school level, in in- creasing reading ability. Through the content of the book as a whole and the discussions of spe- cific topics, the author has realized very well indeed his aim to achieve "breadth of scope," "a balanced point of view," anid "emphasis on the practical."

In his treatment of controversial issues, the author presents impartially opposing points of view, indicates strong and weak features of each, cites pertinent scientific evidence, and expresses his own personal beliefs or opinions. He rightly emphasizes the conviction that no one method "lprovides a panacea," that alternative proce- dures often incorporate sound psychological and educational principles, and that "artistry in teaching involves the judicious selection of methods which are particularly suited to a specific situation."

As implied by the foregoing comments, Dr. Harris' book presents admirably the current viewpoint concerning the nature and scope of reading instruction. It is eclectic in character, utilizing the results of tested experience and re- search wherever they are applicable. It is there- fore calculated to stimulate an open-minded and inquiring attitude toward reading problems on the part of prospective teachers. It will serve with equal distinction as a practical, valid guide for classroom teachers and supervisors and as a

resource book for advanced students of reading and those concerned chiefly with reading retardation.

WILLIAM S. GRAY

Unliversity of Chicaigo

Maltufrity in Readinzg: Its Nature and Alppraisail. By WILLIAM S. GRAY and BERNICE ROGERS.

Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1956. Pp. xii+273. $5.00.

As educators, librarians are concerned with the improvement of reading of the total popu- lation. While the schools are responsible for basic instruction in reading, the librarian guides individuals of all ages into more mature habits of reading.

The necessity for such guidance was recently highlighted by the facts about what adults read, why they read, and how they read presented in Adult Readinzg, the Fifty-Third Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education. Although the amount of published material has increased over 100 per cent from 1929 to 1947, library facilities are not available to many people, especially in some regions. The average person spends about half an hour a day reading some newspaper. About half of the adult popu- lation read nothing but the newspaper; only approximately 10 per cent engage in serious reading. Although, as Gray and Rogers say, "the need is widely recognized for a high level of competence in reading among young people and adults, very few detailed analyses have been made of what is involved" (p. 51).

If our objective is more mature reading on the part of a much larger proportion of our popu - lation, the next question is: What constitutes maturity in reading?

By far the most original and comprehensive answer to this question has been given in the book Maturity in Reading: Its Nature and Ap- praisal, by Gray and Rogers. The authors have woven together manystrands of related research; they have made and analyzed case studies; they have constructed a scale for measuring maturity in reading and have described a high level of maturity as a process rather than an end result achieved at a certain age.

The book is organized as a research study: stating the problem; reviewing previous rele- vant investigations, recognizing the fractional

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REVIEW'S 135

iiature of these studies and the need for a case- study approach; defining terms; describing methods of collecting and analyzing the data; presenting findings; and making a summary, drawing conclusions, and suggesting implica- tions. The analysis and interpretation of select- ed case studies, which constitutes a large part of the book, show the interrelation of many factors involved in maturity in reading and the infinite variation and deviation from the central tend- encies obtained from statistical analysis.

The methodology is of especial interest and in itself is a valuable contribution. It is highly appropriate to the authors' concept of maturity in reading: the mature reader possesses "a uni- fying philosophy of life" (p. 48) and a social purpose which motivates his reading. A combi- nation of interviews and test procedurewas used. In the interview the subject was encouraged to respond freely rather than to limit his answers to "formally structured questions" (p. 59). In the informal reading test, which was an intrinsic part of each interview, information was ob- tained on the subject's "ability to understand, interpret, and react to what he read" (p. 59). A scale for the appraisal of maturity in reading was derived from the preliminary investigation and then applied to additional cases, with full recognition of its value and its limitations.

In all, three groups of adults were inter- viewed: a diverse group of twenty-one adults, a sample of thirty-eight from a typical midwest- ern city, and a third group of twenty-one who were reputedly "well read." The data thus col- lected are presented, first, as case studies repre- senting different levels of maturity and, second, as maturity ratings for all the cases in each of the two groups studied.

Thus the wide range of reading maturity and the complexity of factors influencing people's reading today is made vivid. The study also reinforces and supplements the concept of read- ing, not only as part of a pattern of communica- tion skills but also as an expression of individu- ality and of social purpose. To teachers and li- brarians this book offers much help in guiding individuals and groups toward a higher level of maturity in reading.

RUTH STRANG

Teachers College Columbia University,

Neew York

Machine Litcryaurc Scarchlintg. By JAMES W. PERRY, ALLEN KENT, and MADELINE M. BERRY. New York: Interscience Publishers, Inc., 1956. Pp. xi+ 162. $4.00.

Machine Literature Searching is a report of the thinking and developmental work of the authors and their associates during the last ten years. It treats of the analysis of subject matter and of language for use in machines; the encod- ing of subjects, of diagrams for organic chemical compounds, and of abstracts; an analysis of searching techniques; and, finally, "A Look into the Future." It is not a balanced report on machine literature searching, for the authors treat only one or two ways to organize informa- tion for control by machines, as shown by the following quotation (p. 3):

... Machine searching operations inispect as a block all the characteristics pertaining to the subject matter of any one document, and the result of the search is based on the machine's identification of one or more of the characteristics required to define the scope of the search. This means that-in contrast to ordinary indexing-all entries pertaining to a single individual document are best entered in juxtaposi- tion in the recording medium for machine searching. When using punched cards, for example, all the entries pertaining to a given document will be punched in a single card, or, . . . in a sequence of cards which must then act as a unit.

The other way to organize information, by collecting document entries under subject desig- nations as seen in subject heading and classified catalogs and in co-ordinate indexes, is also adaptable to machine searching; and there is considerable literature already available for those who wish to gain a fuller understanding of the potentialities of machine literature searching.

In another review Ralph R. Shaw has point- ed out that "as a matter of fact there are no machines in production that will do even a frac- tion of what is claimed" (on p. 1); that the book presents no evidence on how large a mass of re- corded information must be to justify machine operations; that "many things ... are given as obvious conclusions which are not particularly obvious"; and that "the conclusions frequently appear... to represent unfamiliar and con- fused terminology rather than a revolution in information handling."'

t College and Research Libraries, XVII (Septem- ber, 1956), 450-52.

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