The educational screen (c1922-c1956])

Page 106 The Educational Screen If the museum is to compete successfully for public funds (as most of them will almost certainly be compelled to do with the drying up of sources of private endowment), they will need to enlarge still further their contribution to the gen- eral educational program of their community. Adult education will be expanded through creative classes, lecture courses, interpretive exhibitions, etc. A similar de- velopment could take place in the program for children. Ex- tension in museum activity through branch museums may be tried, but the author believes that the primary responsibility of the art museum is within its owns walls, or within the wall of those branch museums now tentatively established by several of the large institutions, and if it spreads its activities too far afield, it can no longer function as a whole. It is unquestionably the museum's function to supply the school sys- tem with adequate illustrative and background material for guidance tours. If the whole relation of the museum to the school can be properly clarified, we shall see in the post-war period a tre- mendous increase in the use of the museums by the schools and a far more effective contribution on the part of the museum to our educational system. EQUIPMENT Acoustic Performance of 16-millimeter Sound Motion- Picture Projectors—Wilbert F. Snyder—Circular of the National Bureau of Standards, C439. 1942. 15c. 56p. biblio. Thi.s; report is based on an investigation of the perform- ance of the sound-reproduction system of 16mm. projectors for the Committee on Scientific Aids to Learning. The bulletin describes the tests used for determining the ef- fectiveness of the sound reproducing aspect of projection. In addition to the over-all performance of each of six types of projectors, including the response-frequency range, harmonic distortion, volume of sound, noise of operating the mechanism, there were tests for specific qualities, such as flutter, the coordination of the amplifier and scanning beam, the efficiency of the loudspeaker and the like. The author deplores the fact that no test filin is available that would permit the proper testing of acoustical qualities in a projector. Of course, the quality of recording used must be considered in determining the reproduction pos- sibilities. This need for a good test film was expressed by the Non-Theatrical Equipment Committee of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers (July, 1941). Certain improvements are recommended to manufacturers of 16mm. projectors, and specific suggestions arc given throughout this report that would permit these improve- ments to be effected. For the average school administrator who wants to check on certain makes of projectors before buying, the SMPE report is more suitable because it goes beyond the actual projector to include acoustics of the room, screens, and the like. However, this report on the acoustical perform- ance of projectors will be useful in a school system where engineers are available to help carry on the proper tests. BOOK REVIEW The Theory of the Photographic Process—Dr. C. E. Kenneth Mees, Vice-President of Eastman Kodak Company and Ciiief of Research Laboratories. 1085 p. 1942. Photography is both a science and an art. Books on photog- raphy deal chiefly with the practice of the art, but to under- stand that practice, it is necessary to know something of the science behind it, and consequently most books on photog- raphy contain some discussion of the underlying principles. Up to the present time, however, there has not been avail- able any book in which the whole scientific theory of the photographic process is discussed in detail. This process is the subject matter of "The Theory of the Photographic Process." Such a book could only be written by a considerable group of experts, and the group who form the staff of the Kodak Research Laboratories is peculiarly fitted for the task. Dr. Mees has combined their contributions to produce a work which is not merely authoritative but is as readable as such a book can be. The book contains six sections: The Photographic Ma- terial ; The Action of Light; Development and the After Processes; Sensitometry; Photographic Physics; and Op- tical Sensitizing. There are, in all, twenty-five chapters, ex- haustive indexes, and more than 400 illustrations. Some of the chapters are not merely resumes of published work but are in themselves monographs on subjects of which there has been no comparable discussion. This book will not enable the reader to take better photo- graphs, and its study requires a working knowledge of gen- eral chemistry and physics. It will, however, be of the greatest value to the student of the subject and to the many scientists who will find in it the whole literature of photo- graphic science discussed with knowledge and authority. The book can be purchased through photographic dealers. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Films for the Community in Wartime—Mary Losey— National Board of Review of Motion Pictures, 70 Fifth Ave., New York City. 1943. SOc. 78 p. A well-organized handbook for use in groups that may have had no experience with community film showings, and who may have been apprehensive about such an under- taking. The style is informal and the information accurate and sound. From the Foreword by Quincy Howe and the Introduction by James Shelley Hamilton, we are told that Miss Losey actually saw and evaluated the films recom- mended. This was no small task, but one which most "compilers" fail to do. A commentary is inserted between each grouping of films, giving some of the background of the agency responsible for them, and so on. The de- scriptive statement for each title, similarly gives informa- tion about those who made it and whether or not it is available for non-theatrical use. The first chapter, "Films That Will Help Win the War" is the longest and includes titles under the following cate- gories: Who Are Our Allies? (then are listed films on Great Britain, U.S.S.R., China, Canada, Latin America and other LTnited Nations); What is Life Like in the Armed Forces?; What Does Global Warfare Mean?; What Does Total Warfare Mean to Me? Then the author gives some pointers on the utilization and showing of films. Sources of information are included at the end. Flying and Weather—Lili Heimers—New Jersey State Teachers College, Upper Montclair, N. J. 13 p. mimeo. SOc to persons outside of the state. 1942. As evidence of the dynamic quality of teaching aids for Aeronautics and Weather, the author had to insert seven pages of addenda in the introductory section because that much new information had reached her when the material was ready for press! Therefore, sources of periodicals, maps, films and filmstrips, etc. are given in two sections of the bulletin,—in the supplement (which comes first) and in the main section. Much valuable information on this very timely subject has been assembled here for ready reference. Bibliography of Aviation Education Materials—Catherine Cartwright et al.—The Macmillan Co. 1942. 139 p. 88c. This annotated list of books and visual aids for the use of schools and libraries was prepared with the Cooperation of the Civil .Aeronautics Administration and the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences. The persons who worked on the bibliography were members of the Aviation Education Research Group at Teachers College, Columbia University. The result is a remarkably useful handbook to guide teachers in the selection and purchase of teaching aids. Annotations are written with the teachers' problems in mind. In this bibliography are listed: A. Books (for general information and for special study of various phases of avia- tion, both for students and for teachers); B. Magazines; C. Free and Inexpensive Materials; D. Maps, Charts and Globes; E. Radio Scripts and Transcriptions; and F. Films and Filmstrips.