College and Research Libraries By F R E D E. C R O X T O N The Location of Literature on Atomic Energy Mr. Croxton is chief, Bibliography Unit, Technical Information Service, United States Atomic Energy Commission. Introduction HI S T O R I C A L L Y , the study of atomic energy started with the discovery of radioactivity in 1896 by Henri Becquerel.1 Since then there have been several great milestones, among which have been the for- mulation of the equation relating mass and energy by Albert Einstein in 1905,2 the description of isotopes by Frederick Soddy in 1913,3 the observation of uranium fission by Otto Hahn and F. Strassmann in 19394 and the initiation of the first man-made, self-sustaining nuclear reaction in the Uni- versity of Chicago squash court by Enrico Fermi and others on Dec. 2, 1942.5 From its beginning, atomic energy has had a rapid and varied development. T h e first few years of this century saw intense study of radioactivity and the radioactive elements and isotopes being discovered by Mme. Curie and others. In the 1930's the pace of progress became phenomenal with rapid developments in isotope separation, mass spectrometry, particle acceleration, 1 Becquerel, H. "On the Radiation Emitted in Phos- p h o r e s c e n c e . " Compte rendus hebdomadaires des seances de I'academie des sciences, 1 2 2 : 4 2 0 - 2 1 , 1 8 9 6 . 2 Einstein, A. "Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies." Annalen der Physik, 1 7 : 8 9 1 - 9 2 ' ! , 1 9 0 5 ; " D o e s t h e I n e r t i a of a Body Depend on Its Energy?" Ibid., 18:639-41, 1905. 3 Soddy, F. "Radio-active Elements and the Periodic L a w . " Chemical News, 1 0 7 : 9 7 - 9 9 , 1 9 1 3 . 4 Hahn, O., and Strassmann, F. "Neutron Induced Radioactivity of Uranium." Naturwissencliaften, 27:11- 15, 1039. 5 A l l a r d i c e , C . , a n d T r a p n e l l , E . R . The First Pile. Oak Ridge, U.S.A.E.C., Nov. 17, 1949- (TID-292) tracer technique, elemental transmutation, the preparation of synthetic elements and, later, the construction of the nuclear re- actor. T h e discussion in this paper will be pri- marily limited to the location of unclassified, technical literature representing research carried out after 1940. However, a few comments on the other information may be in order. T h e results, prior to 1940, of atomic energy research—here intended to include nuclear physics, radiochemistry, radiobiol- ogy, and chemical, physical and biological studies with transuranium and other radio- active elements—are found in technical journals, monographs, treatises and reviews, the keys to which are those familiar to all who search the technical literature, e.g., Chemical Abstracts, Science Abstracts, Biological Abstracts, etc. During this period, very little nontechnical information on the subject appeared. T h e nontechnical information on atomic energy has, since 1940 (actually since 1945), appeared almost everywhere. T h e daily newspaper, the household magazine, the trade periodical and the radio all carry or have carried numerous items of interest. There has also been a flood of monographs on the probable effects of atomic energy on civilization and international politics. A paper has already been prepared on non- technical books on atomic energy,6 and its 8 Woodward, A. M. "Books on Atomic Energy for the Layman, 1948-1950." [New York, Columbia Uni- versity, 1950]. Ms. (Term paper for course in Science Literature). APRIL, 1951 10 7 content will not be repeated here. How- ever, the bibliography contains a few refer- ences to outstanding nontechnical biblio- graphies and indexes which may be of value in the science library. T h e classified information, that which is not released to the public for reasons of national security, is of little concern to non- project personnel for they will have no con- tact with it. T h e very close bibliographic control under which this information is held has been described in the semiannual reports of the U . S . A . E . C . to Congress7 and in the articles by Goldsmith8 and Fry, et al.9 Those faced with the control of in- dustrial reports or multitudinous separates may be interested in current methods. Publications and Publication Methods From 1940 until 1945, the publication of the results of research in atomic energy was limited by cooperative agreement as well as by security regulations. T h e rea- sons for the limitations are obvious, for prior to the bombings at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 any information released would have indicated the extent of progress in the country reporting the result and 7 U. S. Atomic Energy Commission. First Semiannual Report to the Congress by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Washington, U . S . G . P . O . , 1947: Second Semiannual Report to the Congress by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. W a s h i n g t o n , U . S . G . P . O . , 1 9 4 7 ; Third Semiannual Report to the Congress by the United States Atomic Energy Com- mission. W a s h i n g t o n , U . S . G . P . O . , 1 9 4 8 ; Fourth Semi- annual Report to the Congress by _ the United States Atomic Energy Commission. W a s h i n g t o n , U . S . G . P . O . , 1 9 4 8 ; Fifth Semiannual Report to the Congress by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. W a s h i n g t o n , U . S . G . P . O . , 1049. ( A l s o titled, Atomic Energy Develop- ment 1947-1948); Sixth Semiannual Report to the Con- gress by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Washington, U.S.G.P.O., 1949, (Also titled Atomic Energy and the Life Sciences); Seventh Semiannual Re- port to the Congress b y the United States Atomic Energy Commission. Washington, U.S.G.P.O., 1950. (Also t i t l e d Atomic Energy and the Physical Sciences); Eighth Semiannual Report to the Congress by the United States Atomic Energy Commission. W a s h i n g t o n , U.S.G.P.O., 1950. (Also titled Control of Radiation Hazards in the Atomic Energy Program). 8 Goldsmith, H. H. "The Literature of Atomic Energy of the Past Decade." Scientific Monthly, 68:291-98, 1949. 9 Fry, B. M., Warheit, I. A., and Randall, G. E. "The Atomic Energy Commission Library System: Its Origin a n d D e v e l o p m e n t . " College and Research Libraries, 11:5-9, 19S0. 104 aided its enemy. T h e small amount of in- formation which did appear on such topics as the chemistry of the fission products is found in the standard sources which publish the results on other research. T h e first major publication after the bombings was the Smyth report10 which attempted to review, briefly and simply, the achievements and general methods used by the Manhattan Engineer District and its contractors to produce their end product, the atomic bomb. W i t h the publication of the Smyth report and shortly thereafter the passage of the Atomic Energy Act of 1946,11 a veritable deluge of information was released or ready for release. T h i s was partially the normal result of the desire of the individual scientist to publish his find- ings, and partially of the legal responsibility placed upon the newly formed U . S . A . E . C . by the Atomic Energy A c t which stated in part: . . . the dissemination of scientific and techni- cal information relating to atomic energy should be permitted and encouraged so as to provide that free exchange of ideas and criticism which is essential to scientific prog- ress. In discharging its responsibility, the U . S . A . E . C . has used most of the modern communication media, emphasizing the well-established channels for disseminating scientific and technical information, but creating new publications as the need arose. Basically the publication of atomic energy research involves two steps: first, the approval of the research paper for re- lease from a security standpoint; and sec- ond, the selection and use of a publication medium. It is common knowledge that to- 1 0 S m y t h , H . D . Atomic Energy for Military Pur- Poses. The Official Report on the Development'of the Atomic Bomb under the Auspices of the United States Government, 1940-1945. Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1945. 11 U. S. Congress. An Act for the Development and Control of Atomic Energy. (Atomic Energy Act of TQ16). Seventy-ninth Congress, Second Session, S.1717, Public Law 585, Aug. 1, 1946. Section 10, (a) (2). • COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES day the scientific press is all but swamped with acceptable contributions, particularly from workers on government contracts, so publication is often delayed for many months. Therefore, other media of dis- semination must be available. T h e National Nuclear Energy Series is one of the outstanding publications carry- ing the results of atomic energy research. It is a numbered book series published by the M c G r a w - H i l l Book Company under contract to the U . S . A . E . C . , which will con- sist of approximately 60 volumes of reviews, collected papers and bibliography on the advances in the many fields of pure and ap- plied science resulting from the efforts of the U . S . A . E . C . , its predecessor the Man- hattan Engineer District and their con- tractors. Each of the volumes is authorita- tive and is edited or written by one or more of today's outstanding scientists. T h e individual papers in the volumes of col- lected papers are, in many cases, the con- tributions of young men who have not yet become well known outside the atomic en- ergy project itself. However, the papers have been carefully selected and those con- tributing are fully competent in the sub- jects upon which they dwell. ( A list of the titles available in the National Nuclear Energy Series is given in each issue of Nuclear Science Abstracts.) Although most of the technical journals are necessarily slow in publishing papers submitted to them, many of the results of atomic energy research appear between their covers. T h e decision on the submission of a paper to a journal rather than the use of some other method of publication is, for U . S . A . E . C . authors, usually considered a writer's prerogative. Consequently, papers by authors desiring their work published in the established periodicals are found throughout the recent scientific literature. T h e publication of scientific papers as serially numbered separates is the unusual feature in the reporting of results of atomic energy research. These separates are either declassified documents (reports which at the time of writing were restricted in dis- tribution but which have since been de- termined to be releasable) or unclassified documents (reports which were available for broad distribution upon completion be- cause of official interpretation of the term "restricted data" in the Atomic Energy A c t ) . These reports, both declassified and unclassified, are available in much the same fashion as other government publications - except that they should be ordered either from the Office of Technical Services in Washington or from the Technical Infor- mation Service, U . S . A . E . C . , in Oak Ridge, Tenn. This method of publication corre- sponds to that adopted by the Naval Re- search Laboratory, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and other tech- nical organizations sponsored by the U . S. Government. These atomic energy sepa- rates, like the others, ordinarily contain the results of original study not published else- where. Automatic distribution of most of them is made to 31 depository libraries, and many of them are dispensed to other li- braries upon specific request. There is, however, a group which is not usually dis- tributed. These are the documents which are to be included in the volumes of the National Nuclear Energy Series or which the author wishes to submit for journal publication. This withholding is done so that sales potential will not be compromised by prior publication, and so that duplicate publication—an annoying problem in the technical literature—will not result. Pe- riodic press releases are issued listing those documents made available during a brief period and these are usually reproduced in Chemical and Engineering News, Science and other periodicals. APRIL, 1951 10 7 T h e major part of the research data ob- tained on atomic energy by private institu- tions is published directly in the technical periodicals. T h i s is also true of the un- classified, non-Russian, foreign results. T h e keys to atomic energy research in- formation are similar to those used in any technical field. However, the speed of availability is of utmost importance. There are abstracts, indexes and bibliographies which cover all of the technical information released by the U . S . A . E . C . and as much material on the topic contributed by other domestic and foreign organizations as can be located. T h e outstanding key is Nuclear Science Abstracts. This is a semi-monthly publica- tion begun in July 1948 by the Technical Information Service, U . S . A . E . C . , which at- tempts to abstract all technical articles on atomic energy or other fields of direct in- terest to the atomic energy research worker.12 T h e articles abstracted in the publication, which is approximately the size of Science Abstracts. A. Physics Abstracts, cover a number of subject disciplines: chemistry, physics, metallurgy, ceramics, biology, medicine and engineering. A de- tailed subject index, along with a number of other useful indexes, has been included in each issue as well as being cumulated in the final number of each volume. One of the outstanding features of this publication, in addition to a far smaller time lag of abstracting than any other commonly avail- able abstracting service, is the large number of items included which do not appear in other abstracting journals. These are pri- marily monographic publications of the U . S . A . E . C . , other domestic and foreign governmental laboratories, and university research laboratories and foundations, to- gether with a few items from unusual or 12 McGee, J. H. "The Organization of an Abstracting Service." Special Libraries, 40:244-48, 1949. esoteric periodicals obtained in the Techni- cal Information Service exchange program. Nuclear Science Abstracts is available free to all project and depository libraries, and to other libraries and individuals on a subscription or exchange basis. Prior to the publication of Nuclear Sci- ence Abstracts, two other periodicals ab- stracted and indexed some of the same literature. These were Abstracts of De- classified Documents and Guide to Pub- lished Research on Atomic Energy. T h e first of these existed for two volumes start- ing in July 1947, and the second for three volumes starting in November 1946. In July 1948, both were discontinued in favor of the then new Nuclear Science A bstracts. T h e combination of these publications af- fords excellent entree to the atomic energy research since 1940, or more accurately, to the technical data released since 1946. T h e Office of Technical Services' publi- cation, Bibliography of Scientific and In- dustrial Reports, also carries brief abstracts of U . S . A . E . C . documents. However, be- cause of the inadequate indexes presently available, it is of little permanent value for atomic energy research data. T h e major abstracting and indexing services, such as Chemical Abstracts, Science Abstracts and those operated by the H. W . Wilson Com- pany, New York, also carry references to a few of the U . S . A . E . C . publications. Another tool made available by the U . S . A . E . C . to a number of libraries throughout the country (those serving U . S . A . E . C . contract holders) is a card index to unclassified and declassified reports which it has sponsored or handled.13 This card file is a partial duplication of the in- formation in Nuclear Science Abstracts, but for items published before its inception, it is useful because the subject division in the card file is more detailed than that found 13 Fry, B. M., et al., Loc. cit. 106 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES in the index to Abstracts of Declassified Documents, which is duplicated. T h e unclassified and declassified docu- ments mentioned above are issued, ordered, and for reasons of convenience, often re- ferred to by number. This, coupled with the variation in availability between docu- ments, makes necessary some tool for the actual location and/or indication of avail- ability of individual documents. Nuclear Science Abstracts carries an issue-by-issue index of those numbered documents ab- stracted, but since it abstracts most of the unclassified and declassified documents in manuscript form, most of them are not publicly available as soon as the abstract appears. Hence, the Technical Informa- tion Service has issued cumulative bibliog- raphies of the documents released, with in- dications of their locations in the literature and/or their sale price as separates. T h e last such list14 contains over 1900 titles. These cumulative lists, as separates, were discontinued in favor of a document avail- ability index in Nuclear Science Abstracts, the first of which appeared in the cumula- tive index number of volume I V . This in- dex shows not only the locations and prices of the documents made available, but also the Nuclear Science Abstracts abstract number for every U . S . A . E . C . document ab- stracted during the period covered. T h e document availability index covering the period to Jan. I, 1950 (through volume I V ) , contains information on over 3400 documents, many of which are not readily available at this time. Lists of new documents for sale are also issued at about two-month intervals, and are available free from the Technical In- formation Service, Oak Ridge, Tenn. A number of general and subject bibliog- 14 Technical Information Division. "Documents Re- leased by the United States Atomic Energy Commission to Januarv i, iqso." Oak Ridge, U.S.A.E.C., April 1950. (TID-358) raphies have also been published which accumulate references to U . S . A . E . C . docu- ments and other published literature of in- terest in atomic energy research. T h e bibliography of this paper contains a brief list of the general bibliographies available to the public. T h e subject bibliographies, such as the recent publication on tritium,15 can be located through Nuclear Science A b- stracts or the card file mentioned above, both of which contain main subject headings for bibliography. T h e British, French and Canadian atomic energy projects issue reports as separates, much as does the U . S . A . E . C . However, none of these projects publishes readily available and complete lists of its unclassified documents. T h e British de- classified documents are distributed by His Majesty's Stationery Office, and lists of publications prepared by that organization include those containing atomic energy in- formation. T w o lists made in this country are shown in the bibliography. These lists, together with the periodic lists published in Chemical Age (London) and Nature, are usable keys to the British documents. Canadian documents are usually avail- able through the National Research Coun- cil of Canada. However, little effort ap- parently is expended to indicate their avail- ability. Documents published by the French project are less readily available. T h e Technical Information Service takes pains to acquire as many of these foreign documents as possible and to include them in Nuclear Science Abstracts. Those acquired are often available on interlibrary loan from the Oak Ridge office of the Technical Information Service. T h e German effort on atomic energy has been summarized in the much discussed F . I . A . T . reviews. These summaries are "Croxton, F. E., and Schwind, S. B. Tritium (H>): A Bibliography of Unclassified Literature. O a k R i d g e , U.S.A.E.C., Aug. 25, 1950. (TID-371) APRIL, 1951 10 7 quite complete, but it must be remembered that considerable hindsight went into their preparation. Hence, some results reported as obtained were not from German effort. It has already been mentioned that a large portion of the unclassified foreign literature on atomic energy is published directly in technical journals, so the stand- ard keys to the literature are applicable. Summary T h e results of atomic energy research which are available to the public are located in the National Nuclear Energy Series, standard technical periodicals and serial separates published by the U . S . A . E . C . and other agencies supporting atomic energy re- search. T h e most complete index to this information is furnished in Nuclear Science Abstracts and its predecessors, Abstracts of Declassified Documents and Guide to Pub- lished Research on Atomic Energy. Addi- tional useful keys are the bibliographies prepared by the U . S . A . E . C . and others, and the standard technical abstracting and in- dexing services. Glossaries G a y n o r , F . , e d . Pocket Encyclopedia of Atomic Energy. New York, Philosophical Library, 1950. S h e b e k a y , D . S . Glossary of Definitions and Terms Used in the Science of Atomic Energy. C h i c a g o , Shebekay, D. S., 1946. S m i t h , N . M . , J r . Revised Draft of Glossary in Terms of Reactor Theory. Oak Ridge, U.S.A.E.C., Nov. 4, 1948. (AECD-2441) U. N. Atomic Energy Commission. Scientific and Tech- nical Aspects of the Control of Atomic Energy; the Full Text of the First Report of the Scientific and Technical Committee of the Atomic Energy Commission, the Back- ground of the Report, a Glossary of Scientific Terms and Bibliographical Notes. Lake Success, U.N. Department of Public Information, 1946. U. S. Senate, Special Committee on Atomic Energy. Atomic Energy Act of 1946; Report to Accompany S.1717. Seventy-ninth Congress, Second Session, Calendar No. 1251, Report No. 1311. (Also titled "Essential Information on Atomic Energy." Including a Glossary and Bibliography). Indexes and Abstracts Atomic Energy Yearbook. London, Temple Press, 1 9 4 9 - 4 - Brookhaven National Laboratory. Guide to Russian Scientific Periodical Literature. U p t o n , N e w Y o r k , T h e Laboratory, irr., vol. 1, in 19484-. (Each issue bears a BNL number as well as the indication of volume and number). H o l l o w a y , O . W . American and British Atomic Energy Reports. Washington, Office of Technical Services, 1948. (PB-87782) Legislative Reference Service. Atomic Energy: Signifi- cant References Covering Various Aspects of the Subject, Arranged Topically. Washington, Library of Congress, monthly. Technical Information Division. Abstracts of British Decl ssified and Unclassified Documents. O a k R i d g e , U.S.A.E.C., May 21, 1949- (TID-232) Technical Information Division. Abstracts of Declassi- fied Documents. Oak Ridge, U.S.A.E.C.. July 1947- June 1048. 2v. (Subject and author indexes do not ear volume and issue numbers.) Technical Information Division. Guide to Published Re- search on Atomic Energy. O a k R i d g e , U . S . A . E . C . , November 1946-June 1948. 3 v. Technical Information Service. Nuclear Science Ab- stracts. Oak Ridge, U.S.A.E.C., semimonthly, July 1948-1-. Bibliographies I s o t o p e s D i v i s i o n . Isotopes; A Three Year Summary of U. S. Distribution with Extensive Bibliography. W a s h - ington, U.S.G.P.O., August 1949. L i g h t , I . Bibliography of Bibliographies on Atomic Energy. Washington, Office of Education, Federal Se- curity Agency, February 1949. (Bibliography no. 1— Educational Implications of Atomic Energy). L i g h t , I . Introductory Bibliography on Atomic Energy. Washington, Office of Education, Federal Security Agency, March 1949. (Bibliography no. 2'—Educational Implications of Atomic Energy). L i g h t , I . Teaching Aids in Atomic Energy: Bibliography for Teachers. Washington, Office of Education, Federal Security Agency, March 1949. (Bibliography no. 3— Educational Implications of Atomic Energy). L i g h t , I . Inexpensive Books and Pamphlets on Atomic Energy. Washington, Office of Education, Federal Se- curity Agency, May 1949. (Bibliography no. 4—Edu- cational Implications of Atomic Energy). Northwestern University Library. Bibliography on the Atomic Bomb. Evanston, Northwestern University, No- vember 1945. S c a n l o n , H . L . Security in the Atomic Age: Inter- national Control of the Bomb; an Annotated Bibliography with Supplementary List of Document ry Materials on National Problems of Control. W a s h i n g t o n , C a r n e g i e Endowment for International Peace, 1946. Technical Information Division. Library Bulletin. Oak Ridge, U.S.A.E.C., various dates. (Each issue bears an individual TID number). U. N. Atomic Energy Commission. An International Bibliography on Atomic Energy. Volume I. Political, Economic and Social Aspects, r e v . e d . L a k e S u c c e s s , U. N. Depirtment of Public Information, Sept. 10, 1948. ( A E C / I N F / 7 / R e v . 1) (Second revision is now available from the Columbia University Press). U. N. Atomic Energy Commission. An International Bibliography on Atomic Energy. Volume II. Scientific Aspects; Parts I. II, and V. Lake Success, U. N. De- partment of Public Information. Feb. 14, 1949- 2v. ( A E C / I N F / 1 0 - A and A E C / I N F / 1 0 - B ) U. N. Atomic Energy Commission. An International Bibliography on Atomic Energy. Volume II. Scientific Aspects; Parts III end IV. Lake Success,. U. N. De- partment of Public Information, Sept. 17, 1948. ( A E C / I N F / 9 ) 108 • COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES