Evening star., 1933-08-27
Harding.

that, with nothing else to do, she left his socks
undarned his shirts buttOnless and his clothes
unwashed and chose Saturday afternoon for
cleaning the house. Prosperity in business he
had for a time not deserving II, then he lost
his job. Anne. having grown stronger with
adversely. saw him rapidly lose his grip. throw
away his chances Of securing new work and
acknowledged to herself: He was q weakhng;
always had been. He was kind and sensitive
and intelligent. But right down In the very
essence Of him was this weakness2 Unrelieved
tragedy marks the END Of THE Plebian's
Progress" In theme it Is strkingly like Little
Man. What Nov?" by Hans Fallada. Both Mr.
Fallada and Mr.. Tilsley have shown weak men
racked by circumstances, but Mr.. Fallada's Jo-
hannes Is not weak IS Allen Barclay and
Bunny. the wife of Johannes, Is more of .
tower of strength than Anne Mr.. Fallada offers
hope through the spirit Of courage and love
which endures in his young couple; Mr. Tlsley
sees no outcome but the exceedingly bitter one
which he so powerfully describes. Both Of these
novels Of 1888 are essentially products Of their
period. but both also involve the universal prob
lem Of character. They are among the most
vital fiction titles Of the year. =.
AN INTRODUCTION TO LIBRARY SCIENCE
By Pierce Butler. Chicago: The University
Of Chicago Press. tThe University of Chi
cago Library Science Series, No. H.
THERE have been libraries for thousands Of
years; the earlier ones consisted Of clay
bricks or manuscripts instead Of printed books
The earliest as well as the latest have pre-
sumably been in charge of librarians But it
Is only so years since the first school for train
ing professional librarians was founded In
the intervening years several library schools
have been established. In 1926 the Graduate
Library School was founded at the University
Of Chicago. whose object was writes DR.. Louis
r. Wilson, dean of the school, in the foreword
to this book to devote itself to advanced study
and investigation in the field of librarianship."
That school has been conducting The Library
Quarterly" primarily for the purpose Of pre-
senting the results of special Investigations in
various fields Of library interest. With this
small volume by d. Pierce Butler professor of
photographed history. the school begins a new
series of more extended studies It is not an
elementary handbook dealing with library pro-
cedures, but is concerned with librarianship as
Q science.
To insure that his point of view will be
understood DR.. Butler devotes his opening
chapter to the nature of science The library
IS social institution and not . phenomenon
of nature. Although there can be no library
science in the sense that there is a science of
chemistry, yet the problems of hbrarianship may
be investigated by scientific methods; hence his
chapter defining the essential characteristics
OF those methods. He then applies the scientific
method to the sociological problem defining the
ibrary's function in its relation to the COM
munity which it serves. Secondly, he takes up
the psychological problem the mental activities
OF readers in finding. reading and utilizing
books. Thirdly he treats Of the historical prob
lem, the historic process whereby society has
accumulated its store Of knowledge contained
IN graphic records. His final chapter argues
that librarianship has need of Investigations
In these fields and that the profession will
profit by their findings. On the jacket this
book is described as "a new approach to Ii.
brarianship" In his introduction the author
modestly says that mo better fate can be hoped
for what is here written than that it should
quickly become obsolete" thus expressing The
tentative character of his thesis. Librarians viii
no doubt await with expectation other volumes
in the series.
I GO NURSING BY corinne johnson Kern.
New York: E. p. Du.ton & Co.
CLINICAL Thermometers, laboratory tests,
~ diet Kitchens rubber gloves and sause
packs do not lessen the humanity which can
not be crushed by technique in Nurse john
sons experience. She was II when she earned
her cap and uniform after three months Of
probation in q San Francisco hospital She
does not tell how old she was when she saved
the life OF her dearest patient-and, We are
sure. married him. In between these two
events she moved steadily from lesser tasks
to difacult cases; from cleaning diet kitchens,
carrying meal trays. taking temperatures, to
watching alone beside the beds of desperately
Ill patients with finger on pulse, ready to give
the needed hypodern1ic at the least alarming
symptom. The sometimes daily tragedy in
which she played her important part was en-
durable only because doctors and nurses were
able or trained themselves to be able when
critical operation was over fight for life
had failed to throw of the strain and become