Astounding Science Fiction (British edition) — page 107: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Trlé REFERENCE a YA GR LIBRARY By P. SCHUYLER MILLER OFF THE CUFF... N recent columns, it seems to me— and to certain of our readers—I’ve been using too much space to make important-sounding pronouncements on this and that. This month, for a change, I’m going to answer the mail. This, I’m sorry to say, is something that doésn’t happen very often in the way that it should—directly. But I’m the world’s worst correspondent in any case, and I do manage to get loaded down with other things. There are months when I have to stay up overtime to read anything but the four or five books for the “Library.” However... A good few of the recent letters which have reached me raise a ques- tion which is apparently widespread: ““How do I go about buying a book?” It takes various forms: I’ve been asked to buy them for a reader, to give the publisher’s full mailing ad- dress, and even to present the review copy to the individual who says he’d like to read it too. Actually, I had no concept of the problem it might be for the average person to get his hands on a good book, until I came here and found that I have to hunt all over Pittsburgh for each new issue of the current science fiction magazines. But that’s another story. Let’s tackle the easy things first, namely how one goes about finding out what science fiction books are in print, from what publishers and at what prices. This need take you no further than your nearest public library. One of the librarian’s chief tools is a monthly paper-bound book, col- 105 comnicloolks.cornn