software, beyond a statement that the complete ... number of software packages, how do the packages .... needs persuasion that health care is big business.
Book
Reviews EDITED BY DORIS BOLEF, Book Review Editor
WOODS, LAWRENCE A., AND POPE, NOLAN F. The Librarian's Guide to Microcomputer Technology and Applications. White Plains, N.Y.: Knowledge Industry Publications, Inc., 1983. 207 p. $34.50. The authors of this book had several disparate purposes. They wanted to provide a "substantial compilation" of libraries that use microcomputers. They also wanted to provide descriptions, within a single source, of specific library applications. Finally, they wanted "to give a very basic understanding of the technology of microcomputers particularly as it relates to library applications." To accomplish the first purpose, they sent a questionnaire to members of several library associations. A list of micro users who responded to the survey is included in an appendix. In fulfillment of the second purpose, a substantial part of the book contains examples of applications packages by category (i.e., cataloging, interlibrary loan, circulation). But the information provided for the packages is not uniform, nor are criteria for inclusion of the packages mentioned. Instead, we are given brochure-like descriptions of various systems. For example, the description of Video Patsearch does not include the type of hardware needed to run the software, beyond a statement that the complete system is available at a certain price. Are we to assume it is necessary to buy all the hardware as well as the software from the vendor? On the other hand, a previous section on the Census Data System includes complete hardware requirements and alternatives. It would have been much more helpful to readers if the authors had reported consistent categories of information for each package. A table of standard features and the systems' ability to supply these features would have been one way to organize the data. Completion of the last purpose takes up almost half the book. I approached this section from the viewpoint of a novice wanting information about microcomputers. I asked questions that I, myself, had had several years ago while trying to decide whether a microcomputer might be useful and how to choose one. Some of these questions were: What criteria and elements should be included in making a decision about microcomputer and software purchases? Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 73(1) January 1985
What applications have already been produced for libraries? What are the major components of these? What should one look for in them? For what size collections may they be used? Which software and hardware are compatible? For those applications such as circulation, for which there are a number of software packages, how do the packages compare to each other? What linkages are possible with other computers within one's institution? Obviously, no one book should attempt to answer all of these questions, even if one of its purposes is to give a basic understanding of the technology. However, this book only addresses the first two questions, and answers them incompletely at that. For example, the authors recommend that acceptance tests be defined in the contract for purchase of a system. However, there are no guidelines on how to develop such tests, only suggestions for deriving typical response times, which is a different matter. At the very least, they could have recommended other sources for specific guidance. Discussion of needs assessment, cost analysis, and documentation was also superficial. The authors briefly cover the history of computers through the development of the microchip. There are paragraph summaries of many related developments: local area networks, operating systems, database packages, levels of programming languages, and system considerations. The book suffers from sketchy treatment of too many issues. The library world has enough introductions to microcomputers. It is time to produce some in-depth studies of the use and functions of computer systems in libraries. TRUDY A. GARDNER Chicago, Illinois
GERRIE, BRENDA. Online Information Systems: Use and Operating Characteristics, Limitations, and Design Alternatives. Foreword by F. Wilfrid Lancaster. Arlington, Va.: Information Resources Press, 1983. 189 p. $24.50. In Online Information Systems Gerrie proposes the existence of two generations of online information retrieval systems. The current online information retrieval systems represent the first generation. These systems are characterized by retrieval mech-
73
BOOK REVIEWS
anisms and structures which reflect informationstorage patterns. The second generation will be characterized by active computer systems based on user information-seeking patterns rather than information-storage patterns. An example of systems planning based on information-seeking patterns can be found in the Matheson and Cooper report [1]. Practical prototypes of the second generation will be found in forthcoming systems developed for computer-based information management. The book begins with a historical review of existing information retrieval systems. In the subsequent four chapters, Gerrie summarizes a number of authors' thoughts regarding the factors that affect the success of online information retrieval systems. These factors include: document and query analysis, file structures, retrieval process, search strategies, and the search process. The final chapter analyzes the essentials for successful information retrieval that will characterize secondgeneration information systems. The text is well written and documented. The contents reflect a distillation of theories on designing and manipulating conventional online systems. Some understanding of the structure or operation of online information retrieval systems is essential when reading Gerrie's text, as only brief summaries of retrieval issues appear. This book is not for the novice online searcher. Only the experienced searcher will recognize how the theoretical factors described translate into practicalities. Those with a detailed knowledge of online systems will appreciate the variety and complexity of the design and retrieval factors presented. Online Information Systems is an excellent text for managers, designers, and searchers of online information systems. The book represents one of the few comprehensive treatments of online information retrieval systems. It will be useful to individuals who are planning changes or improvements in existing systems or who are liaisons for systems personnel designing information retrieval systems, especially those involved with future academic information centers. Database searchers or trainers also may find the text valuable for gaining an understanding of how information retrieval systems work. GAIL YOKOTE Houston, Texas REFERENCES I. Matheson NW, Cooper JAD. Academic information in the academic health sciences center: roles for the
74
library in information management. J Med Educ 1982 Oct;57(10):1-93, Part 2.
Archival Choices: Managing the Historical Record in an Age ofAbundance. Edited by Nancy E. Peace. Lexington, Mass.: Lexington Books, 1984. xii, 164 p. $23.00. Several large medical libraries in the United States and Canada have archives associated with them. For this reason, when an important book on archival management appears, it should be brought to the attention of readers of this journal. Such a publication is Archival Choices, edited by Nancy E. Peace. This is true even though Archival Choices is not an integrated text, but rather a collection of essays by specialists on various aspects of archival appraisal for contemporary collections. When librarians speak of appraisal, they generally mean determining the market value of an already defined collection for insurance or tax purposes, or perhaps with an eye to selling items off. By contrast, the authors of these essays follow the generally accepted archival definition, whereby material worth saving is identified within a larger mass of documentation. The book is relevant to the work of archivists in medical institutions even though the essays do not address specific problems in preserving the history of medicine. Peace, author of the lead essay, "Deciding what to save: fifty years of theory and practice," shows how current archival appraisal theory is rooted, like virtually all archival conceptions, in policies evolved for handling the records of government agencies. Despite vast differences in scale between government bureaucracies and offices of the average hospital or medical school, basic principles for identifying and saving important records are the same. A contribution by John Dojka and Sheila Conneen, "Records management as an appraisal tool in college and university archives," discusses procedures for appraising medical school documentation. Their argument is that archivists must set standards for the handling of all collegiate paperwork if they expect to receive and care for the tiny fraction that is historically significant. Francis X. Blouin, Jr., prescribes "An agenda for the appraisal of business records." Archivists who evaluate hospital administrative records could profit from this article. Surely no one needs persuasion that health care is big business these days. Even a topic ostensibly so remote from medical librarianship as the management of congressional representatives' papers should not be passed over. Bull. Med. Libr. Assoc. 73(1) January 1985
