London University Central Information Services (LUCIS) Guide to Computer-Based Information Services (Book Review)
W. T. Brandhorst · College & Research Libraries · 1978
The subject of this publication is accurately stated by its title.Its value is that no such body of guidelines for audits of university libraries has previously appeared.University library administrators and university auditors are the logical and intended audience.The initial motivation leading to this study was the need to develop a systematic framework for auditing the Washington University Libraries.With the aid of a Council on Library Resources grant and resultant input from other university librarians and auditors, the authors were then able to broaden their studies beyond their local needs.The result is a set of general procedures that should be applicable, with modification for local convenience and practice, to all university libraries.The heart and bulk (seventy-one pages) of the report is a questionnaire for the evaluation of internal accounting control of a university library.It is in essence a systematic way of calling attention to a priority list of items on which university library auditing should focus.The chief function of the remaining sections of the report is to put this questionnaire into proper perspective by summarizing the work of an auditor and his or her proper relationship with university library management.The value of flow charting, sampling, and use of the computer for auditing is made clear.Library systems analysis has to date been concerned primarily with operational efficiency.However, fiscal integrity would seem an equally important aspect of such analysis.The authors deserve praise for focusing the attention of librarians on this relatively neglected area and for making a practical contribution to it.-Fred].Reinritz, Southern Connecticut State College, New Haven.