NONFICTION : LIFE GOES ON: TWENTY MORE YEARS OF FORTUNE AND FRIENDSHIP by Lawrence Clark Powell; with checklist of publications by Robert Mitchell and Betty Rosenberg (Scarecrow: $19.50; 222 pp., illustrated).

With this book, Lawrence Clark Powell, founder of the UCLA School of Library Science, university librarian for 17 years and director of the Clark Library for 23 years, continues the autobiography he began in 1968 under the title “Fortune and Friendship.” Powell’s memory never misses a beat as he chronicles his search for an emeritus position following his retirement and describes his second career as consultant on libraries at the University of Arizona.

Anyone hoping for more keen observations about the library biz or the rare book trade will be disappointed by this second installment of Powell’s memoirs. Although he has total recall of names, hotels, conferences and speaking engagements, Powell fails to provide the animated commentary needed to make the richness of his experiences memorable to others. The reflective appraisal of events that might have been expected from the elder statesman of the library world is missing.

Powell is convincing when he celebrates the humanizing benefits of books and libraries. If you want to hear this great librarian’s message, catch his speech at the November, 1986, California Library Assn. conference in Long Beach. Powell’s magnetic personality and strong convictions are more apparent in person than in the second volume of his autobiography.