Renfro, Patricia E.

College and Research Libraries

IDEALS @ Illinois

Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman's Guide to Surviving in the Academic World (Book Review)

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social organization of the computer un-derground. The most recent issue features a critique of the notion of the "information age"; an essay on the incompatibility be-tween capitalism and information; and a number of other pieces exploring the im-plications of the ownership of knowledge in an electronic environment. The jour-nal's layout and graphics attempt to sug-gest the radically "de-centered" and improvisory nature of cyberspace. Aca-demic librarians, accustomed to a more mundane treatment of technology, may be tempted to dismiss writing as "un-ruly" as that found in Intertek. This would be a mistake: cyberzines are con-structing a serious discourse on the fu-ture of information. Librarians clearly have a place in this conversation. (B. W.) Tarrow, Sidney. Rebirth or Stagnation? European Studies after 1989. New York: Social Science Research Council, June 1993. 43 p. Available gratis from the Social Science Research Council, 605 Third Ave., New York, NY 10158. This report discusses the impact of various institutional and programmatic responses to recent changes in Europe on European studies in the United States, pre-cipitated by the collapse of communism, German unification, and the implementa-tion of the Single European Act. Sidney Tarrow conducted the study for the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), inter-viewing 120 Europeanists at twelve aca-demic sites. Tarrow reviews the major challenges facing American social scien-tists studying Europe; identifies research questions arising from transformations in Europe; presents the educational and or-ganizational challenges ahead; and offers a series of recommendations to ensure the vitality of European studies. Despite in-creased organizational support for European studies in the United States, overall funding has declined, and the report calls upon the SSRC to help for-mulate a "common strategy for shaping European studies." One hopes this fu-ture consultation will extend to research librarians, who have toiled alongside their academic counterparts to cultivate European studies. The report totally ig-Book Reviews 555 nores trends in library collections and expenditures for European materials, which should form an integral part of any national research plan. (M.L.B.) Caplan, Paula J. Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman's Guide to Surviving in the Academic World. Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Pr., 1993. 273p. $45 (ISBN 0-8020-2903-5). Intended for women who are con-sidering an academic career, and for women who are already struggling with male-dominated academic institutions, Lifting a Ton of Feathers is a light read. It is a book of lists and anecdotes, and lists of anecdotes. The advice given is gener-ally good and sensible-find yourself a mentor, discuss your concerns and feel-ings with sympathetic colleagues, and make sure you fully understand the poli-cies and practices relating to tenure. But the academic women who are already making it on my own male-dominated campus seem far too bright and capable to have needed such obvious tips. And reassuring though it may be to find that others have felt the brunt of male insen-sitivity or have been unheard on male committees, one wonders if the chron-icles of remembered hurts and past wrongs does more that turns women in-ward toward a negative downward spi-ral. Will Lifting a Ton of Feathers give academic librarians a better understand-ing of the environment in which they work? Perhaps, but more useful would be a few lunches with women faculty colleagues, and some time spent in those committee meetings. (P.R.) Berman, Sanford. Prejudices and Anti-pathies: A Tract on the LC Subject Heads Concerning People. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1993. 211p. $19.95 (ISBN 0-89950-828-6). The 1993 edition of this classic from library literature reprints the 1971 edi-tion, adding a foreword by its first pub-lisher, Eric Moon, a new preface by the author, a brief bibliography, and a re-vised index. Ubrary school students who delighted in this revolutionary tract in 1971 are now mid-career librarians. Im-

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Lifting a Ton of Feathers: A Woman's Guide to Surviving in the Academic World (Book Review)

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