College and Research Libraries


philosophy, which, even for old books, stu-
dents of today would like to see brought into 
line with modern terminology. There is the 
question of . inverted headings, which in a 
specialized catalog are more convenient if 
made directly, partly because that is the way 
users think and partly because it facilitates 
subdivision if this becomes necessary. A spe-
cial hobby of the reviewer is the avoidance of 
headings that end with "of." Light-Wave 
theory is no less comprehensible than Physics-
History, and this device consistently followed 
at least has the merit of eliminating one 
filing complication. Mr. Voigt has eliminated 
a few hyphens where this was justified, with 
the same end in view. 

It is also to be noted that this list is strictly 
confined to the subject matter of physics; it 

does not include the mathematical techniques 
and disciplines nor the top.ics in cognate and 
ancillary sciences which must be part of a 
physics library and which it is most ~mportant 
to have well represented in the catalog. The 
question of form division is also passed by. 
How, for instance, does Mr. Voigt segre-
gate the general works, which are textbooks 
sought by undergraduates, from treatises and 
compendia used by research men? In these 
respects the list does not constitute a self-
contained tool. It is, however, a very com-
mendable first move in the right direction, 
and it is to be hoped it may stir the Library 
of C~mgress to give to it's physics headings 
the consideration it has recently been giving 
to its mathematics headings.-M argaret C. 
Shields, Princeton U nivers·ity Library. 

New Microfilm Resources 
Union List of Microfilms, Supplement II. 

Philadelphia Bibliographical Center and 
Union Library Catalog. 1943· xi, 282, 
[2]p. 81 X II inches. Mimeographed. 

Because of the present war conditions many 
cooperative library projects have folded up 
or have been temporarily shelved. Not so 
with the Union List of Microfilms. In spite 
of the absence of one third of the committee 
responsible for producing the volume the work 
has gone on. Attending difficulties have been 
overcome, and the second supplement has 
made its appearance. In fact, coming with 
the supplement is the notice that the edi-
torial work for . Supplement III will begin 
Sept. 15, 1944. 

The serial numbering of the entries is con-
tinued from Supplement I. Supplement II 
adds 3687 new items. The scheme of ar-
rangement remains quite the same as in the 
original publication and the first supplement, 
e.g., one aJphabet with many helpful cross 
references. Though some entries are neces-
sarily lacking in some of the desired infor-
mation, they in general consist of the author, 
title, imprint, collation (and-or number of 
frames; for extensive works number of reels), 
location of original form which film was made, 
and whether master negative or positive. 
The compilation was made from informa-
tion given on cards sent in by the cooperat-

MARCH, 1945 

ing libraries. Ordinarily one would not 
expect quite as much film to be produced as 
this supplement indicates. However, the 
editors think some of it is film completed 
earlier rather than new film produced since 
the first supplement. 

Union lists like the above are becoming 
more and more numerous in the various fields 
of knowledge. They are beginning to fulfil 
a need of cooperation, the various ideas on 
which we are learning about through the 
writings of Robert B. Downs and Fremont 
Rider, to mention two librarians specifically. 
The effort to make known the resources of 
one library to another, one region to another, 
and even one country to another, goes on 
apace with the publication of many tools 
similar to the Union List of Microfilms. 
With the publication of each such tool we 
make a definite bit of progress in the field 
of cooperation. From the original Union 
List of Microfilms and its supplements a 
growing field of resources on film is becom-
ing available for interlibrary loan and perma-
nent acquisition by those libraries needing the ' 
material. With growth and possible per-
fection its value will become increasingly 
great. 

All librarians have become acutely aware 
of the problem of maintaining files of Euro-
pean publications during this . war period. 

187 

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0 

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Those difficulties will be with us even after 
the war is over. The Union List will serve 
as an invaluable aid in locating the issues of 
those put> lications that have been filmed by 
various libraries and agencies. It is highly 
desirable that all the cooperative project's of 
filming the elusive material abroad have their 
results recorded in the Union List. 

In the introduction we find the statement: 

"It is expected to continue the publication 
of this catalogue, with the prospect of a 
cumulative edition when personnel and re-
sources permit a thorough bibliographical re-
vision and a more complete indexing." Here 
is a hope that we all wish to see fulfilled.-
G. F. Sheph e rd~ Jr.~ head~ circulation d epart-
ment~ and in charge of microphotography~ 
University of North Carolina Library. 

Stepping--Stones to Cooperative Cataloging 
Coop erative Cataloging Manual for th e Use 

of Contributing .Libraries. Library of Con-
gress. Descriptive Cataloging Division. 
Washington, U.S. Government Printing 
Office, 1944· 104p. 
The Library of Congress has issued a small 

Coop erative Cataloging Manual which should 
help to facilitate present-day cooperative cata-
loging. At the same time it may serve as a 
point of departure for a discussion of co-
operative cataloging of the future. 

The Manual~ prepared principally by Helen 
B. Stevens, describes the procedures of the 
cooperative cataloging centered in the Li-
brary of Congress. It tells how libraries 
should proceed in supplying copy for printing 
but does not attempt to explain the intricate 
art of cataloging. In a brief introduction 
the h'istory of cooperative cataloging in the 
United States is sketched , from Charles Coffin 
Jewett's Plan for St er eotyping Catalogues by 
Separate Titles in 1851 to the activities of the 
A.L.A. Cooperative Cataloging Committee, 
begun in 1932 and merged, in January 1941, 
with the work of the Library of Congress. 

The cooperative cataloging associated with 
the Library of Congress has been concerned 
chiefly with the analyzing of serial publica-
tions and. the cataloging of foreign books. 
Lately the work has been expanded to in-
clude the cataloging of American doctoral 
dissertations, the output of a number of uni-
versity presses, and the official publications of 
some of the states of the union, while the 
cooperative cataloging of the acquisitions by 

· several federal libraries in Washington, be-
gun in 1902, has been .continued. 

Copy for printing is thus of various types 
and originates from many sources. The 
Manual gives useful information as to the 
manner in which copy should be prepared by 
the cooperating libraries. A special section 

devoted to the preparation of authority cards 
is in severfll respects more instructive and 
detailed than the corresponding section in the 
1941 preliminary A .L.A. Catalog Rules. The 
work at the Library of Congress is likewise 
described, details being given as to · the re -
ceipt and revision of copy, leading finally to 
the printing and distribution of catalog cards. 

An appendix contains a list of the 365 li-
braries that have participated in cooperative 
cataloging, a list of 615 reference books use-
ful in establishing and verifying author head-
ings, and a list of easily understandable 
abbreviations that may be used aQ.vantageously 
by both the Library of Congress and the 
collaborating libraries. The latter feature con-
stitutes in large measure the realization of 
a project that has for years been on the 
agenda of the A.L.A. Division of Cataloging 
and Classification. 

The Manual emphasizes that with respect 
to entries the A .L.A. Catalog Rules are gen-
erally to be followed, while "beyond the head-
ing, uniformity of practice is essential only 
so far as filing and intelligibility of the cards 
are concerned" (page I 6). Nevertheless, we 
learn on page 20 that the title of the book, 
including name of author, edition statement, 
and imprint, "should be accurately transcribed 
. . . according to L.C. cataloging rules." 
Collation, series note, and full name note are 
likewise to follow L.C. rules, while subject 
headings should be assigned according to the 
L.C. List of Subject Headings. Standardiz~­
tion, thus, seems to be more thorough than 
at first suggested. 

This contradiction touches upon a point of 
considerable importance for the future of 
American cataloging. When the revolt 
against overelaborate cataloging took place 
at the time of the publication of the new 
A .L.A. Catalog Code~ a distinct tendency 

188 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES