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“In 1957, the year ALCTS’ predecessor, the ALA’s Resources and Technical Services Division (RTSD) was founded, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the first artificial satellite” (96). In 1957 there were no MARC formats, no AACR, no LC Rule Interpretations, no OCLC or RLG, no ISBD, no BIBCO, CONSER, NACO, or SACO, no Internet, no computers in libraries, no online catalogs or online access to Library of Congress (LC) bibliographic files or documentation, and no Integrated Library Systems. What catalogers had were printed classification schedules, older cataloging codes, typewriters, and LC–printed unit catalog cards to which each individual library had to add the headings traced on the bottom of the cards.

We also had RTSD and its sections and their respective publications. Today, after all the changes that have occurred in librarianship (and particularly in technical services) we still have RTSD (now ALCTS) and its sections and their publications. The contributors to this book chronicle ALCTS over these past fifty years, both the constants and the changes.

As a personal note, 1957 was also the year in which I got my MLS and joined ALA and RTSD, although it would be another ten years or so before I began to attend conferences and to participate in RTSD and its Cataloging and Classification Section. I retired in 2004 but continued to attend conferences through 2007; thus my entire professional life paralleled the period covered in this book, I know many of the chapter authors and the persons they mentioned, and I witnessed or participated in a number of the activities described.

Commemorating the Past. Not surprisingly, this is the strongest aspect of the book. The first chapter is devoted to the history of the division. Miriam Palm briefly describes its changing organizational structure, headquarters staffing, and publications, but the rest of the chapter is devoted to the remembrances of past presidents, executive directors, and newsletter editors, following a structure provided by the questions Miriam asked them to answer. They describe their personal backgrounds, the organization and its culture in the years of their activity, their professional heroes, their greatest achievements and biggest disappointments, the biggest changes they have seen in technical services over the course of their careers, and what they see as the biggest challenges for the years ahead. I enjoyed these reminiscences, at least partly because I knew the people mentioned.

Another chapter consists of a single personal memoir, “The True History of AACR2, 1968–1988, A Personal Memoir by One Who Was There.” This chapter by Michael Gorman fits the theme of the book, since RTSD’s Cataloging and Classification Section and its committees are the ALA bodies responsible for cataloging codes. As a cataloger and former teacher of cataloging, I found this chapter fascinating. Gorman has a well-deserved reputation for being outspoken and writing well; he lives up to his reputation here.

Another strongly historical chapter is Yvonne Carignan’s “‘And a Handful of Visionaries’: A History of Library Preservation.” This is a well-researched history of library preservation, but of all the chapters it shows the weakest connection to the theme of the book. I found only three references to ALCTS and to its Preservation and Reformatting Section (PARS) in the chapter. Of course PARS is the newest section in RTSD/ALCTS, having been established in 1980 as the Preservation of Library Materials Section (PLMS).

Two of the former ALCTS presidents who contributed to the first chapter also authored chapters of their own: Janet Swan Hill (1997–98) wrote “Education For and About Technical Services: Where We Are, and Where Do We Go Next?” and Peggy Johnson (1999–2000) wrote “Collection Development in the Best of Times and the Worst of Times.” The latter chapter is written historically, as are the remaining two chapters.

“Taming the Serials Beast: A Look Back and a Peek Forward,” by Regina Romano Reynolds, is a fine summary of the history of serials control. “We are Not Alone: ALCTS and the World,” by David Miller, is perhaps the most unusual chapter. It and Janet Swan Hill’s on education for technical services are the only chapters not directly related to one of the functional sections of ALCTS. The focus of Miller’s chapter is ALCTS’s involvement with international librarianship. He discusses international cataloging, the activities of the various RTSD/ALCTS International Relations Committees, RTSD/ALCTS relations with the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), and the international activities of the various RTSD/ALCTS sections and their committees. I had personal involvement in one of those activities. In 1980 the Cataloging and Classification Section Committee on Cataloging: African and Asian Materials (CC:AAM), of which I was then a member, was consulted about the possible value of the American Library Association and LC switching from the Wade-Giles system of Chinese romanization to the Pinyin System. As David reports, the committee voted to retain the Wade-Giles System, but I have always been proud of the fact that I was part of a minority of two that voted in favor of Pinyin. Ten years later CC:AAM reconsidered the matter and this time came down in favor of Pinyin.

Celebrating the Present, Creating the Future. With the strong historical emphasis of the various chapters, there is less of a role for either celebrating (or even describing) the present or creating the future.

Janet Swan Hill is well known for her work on education for librarianship, so she was an obvious choice to write about education for technical services. Although her chapter has its historical component, its emphasis is a discussion of ALCTS members’ current concerns related to education based on a 2005 survey of ALCTS members on ALCTS services and important issues for technical services. Education-related concerns were a prominent feature of the answers received. After discussing the concerns identified in the survey, Hill concludes with a paragraph listing some of the things she thinks ALCTS can do beyond offering programs, seminars, and institutes.

All of the chapters contain some view of the future, including the former officers writing in the first chapter and Michael Gorman in his personal memoir. They are all well documented.

This book will probably appeal most to those having some active involvement in RTSD/ALCTS during the period covered. Newcomers to ALCTS and the field of technical services will benefit from having this overview of where the field and the division has been.