REV IEW Review of Academic Computers in Service* By Charles Mosmann. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1973. Pp. 186. This book is a well written and fairly comprehensive review of the present pattern and key issues in the administration of computing activities in the academic setting. It attempts to treat a large number of important issues which arise when the academic institution incorporates computing into its administrative and/or academic program. Mosmann's target is the administrator in the university setting who is faced with difficult decisions concerning the allocation of funds, establishment of policy or creation of new organizational structures in order to respond to demands generated within the university or college environment for access to computers or the services which computers can provide. Mosmann catalogues the various types of uses which are currently being made of computers in both academic administration and instruction at the college and university and junior college level. He describes differences in the needs and expectations held for computers by various groups and departments within the academic institution. He describes various alternative methods for obtaining access to computing resources, many of which involve complex and innovative administrative arrangements for the sharing of computing resources among departments, administrative units, and even between universities and colleges located in different places. In describing these arrangements he focuses specially on issues of organizational controls, policy setting and management of the computing resource and access to it. Finally he provides some advice for organizations which are considering the acquisition of computers or the development of new computing applications in either the administrative or academic end of the spectrum of academic computing. One of the most valuable aspects of this little book for persons making {or influencing) decisions regarding computing services is that Mosmann provides a distillation and review of a rather widely scattered and extremely varied literature on some very complex problems. In addition, he provides a well selected and up-to-date bibliography of additional information with respect to each of the issues which he raises. Mosmann does not appear to take sides on many of the burning controversies which he describes, such as the question of separation of academic and administrative computing centers. He recognises that differences in resources and needs are reflected in different patterns of adaptation to the availability of computers and their capacity to change the administrative process and curriculum° He cautions against the pitfalls of forging ahead with computing development without integrated and comprehensive planning and review on the part of the institution considering such development. By providing sensitive descriptions of many different experiences with computing development, some of which he was personally associated with as a consultant, he may help the academic administrator sort out key issues which should be taken into account when policy decisions are made with respect to academic computing activities° -Daniel Ayres *Reprinted from ON-LINE, vol. CRLT, Ann Arbor MI 2, no. 5. September 1973. Karl Zinn, ed., U-M ACM SIGCUE Bulletin v8 #i January

/lp/association-for-computing-machinery/review-of-academic-computers-in-service-by-charles-mosmann-jossey-bass-JSEjV5yNvq