College and Research Libraries B y N . O R W I N R U S H The British National Bibliography and Some Random Impressions of a Fulbrighter in England Mr. RushJ librarian of the University of Wyoming, was in England on a Fulbright award for the year 1952-53. ON J A N U A R Y 4 , 1 9 5 0 , a p p e a r e d t h e first number of a publication now widely known in E n g l a n d as the B N B . T h e three years of activity and service by the British National Bibliography probably constitute the greatest cooperative undertaking in the field of bibliography since the year 1 8 7 6 , when the A L A took over Poole's Index which project eventually developed into the W i l s o n indexes. It would seem without doubt that the B N B bibliographical ad- venture constitutes one of the most progres- sive steps taken by the English library profession since the end of the w a r . T h e B N B is bringing about many of the library services which have been needed in G r e a t Britain and has laid the groundwork for even greater achievements. F r o m the subscription records in the editor's office it would seem that B N B is not as well-known in America as it should be, and certainly American libraries would profit by making more use of its services. T h e ideas behind its foundation, its pres- ent activities, and its f u t u r e possibilities are one of the best examples of effective co- operation in the library profession known to me in contemporary library activities. A glance, f o r example, at the impressive list of names joined together to produce the B N B w i l l bear this out—the L i b r a r y A s - sociation, the British M u s e u m , A S L I B , the Booksellers' Association, the British Council, the National Book League, the National Central L i b r a r y and the U N E S C O Co- operating Body f o r Libraries. O u t of these groups a Council w a s formed to put into action a publication f o r "publishing in ap- propriate bibliographical f o r m lists of books, pamphlets and other recorded material of whatever nature published in G r e a t Britain, the Dominions and Colonies and/or foreign countries, together with such annotations or further information as may be desirable f o r the use of libraries, bibliographers and others." T h e actual administration of the work w a s l e f t in the hands of an executive committee, which is made up of one repre- sentative each from the British M u s e u m , the L i b r a r y Association, the Publishers' A s - sociation, the Booksellers' Association and the National Book League. T h e B N B meets the librarian's need f o r an up-to-date and f u l l list of current copy- righted publications in G r e a t Britain. I t has been w e l l received in G r e a t Britain and subscriptions have exceeded original esti- mates. I t is published weekly and a special edition is available which is printed on one side of the page only to allow f o r cutting up and mounting onto cards if desired. A f e w libraries are finding this arrangement most convenient and useful. T h e entries in B N B are arranged in subject groups and are class- ified according to D e w e y as well as entered according to the Anglo-American cataloging code. A great time-saving feature is the serial number which libraries merely quote OCTOBER, 1953 405 when requesting many interlibrary loans and for reporting to the regional union catalogs and the National Central L i b r a r y their acquisitions and w i t h d r a w a l s . T h e weekly and monthly numbers contain an author index giving short titles, publisher, price, classification number, and serial num- ber. T h e classified quarterly and annual volumes contain an alphabetical author, title and subject matter index. T h e remarkable thing is that the service given is actually up-to-date. T h e weekly lists do in reality include all books published in the week of issue with a very f e w excep- tions and these are never later than the previous week. T h e publishers, through the encouragement of the Publishers' A s - sociation (who took an active part in found- ing the B N B ) , are sending their books to the copyright office in the British M u s e u m f r o m seven days to three weeks before pub- lication. T h e B N B staff complete the cataloging of all items on the same day they are received—by doing so they clear their desks f o r the new lot to be received the f o l l o w i n g day. In addition to being a great national bibliography to be used as a very valuable reference tool, enough description is given each item to enable a trained librarian to assess properly the value of the book f o r his library and in this w a y it is a most useful aid to book selection. Its subject arrange- ment along lines usually found in libraries is a great help when used as an aid to build up or strengthen the book collection. Certainly one great advantage to British libraries is B N B ' s use as a subject catalog. E v e r y American w h o has used a number of English libraries f r o m the subject ap- proach knows only too w e l l the meaning of the British phrase, " I t is a bit difficult at times." Of course, the British librarians have long recognized this deficiency and 406 • CO some have attempted to meet the problem in various ways without too much success. Another outstanding achievement to date of B N B is its central cataloging service. Each book is f u l l y cataloged and basic material is provided f o r subject headings by a group of qualified catalogers. It is un- fortunate that G r e a t Britain has never had available to classifiers an accepted list of subject headings, and librarians are finding the subject index of the weekly, monthly and annual volumes of B N B a most valu- able aid. M a n y libraries are taking ad- vantage of this service and if not always accepting the cataloging verbatim they are at least finding the information given a very definite help when doing their own catalog- ing. Some libraries are finding that the annual volumes can be used as their own catalogs. It seems quite certain that this practice w i l l spread greatly when and if B N B is able to carry out its plans f o r issuing five and perhaps ten year cumulations. It is expected that the smaller public libraries w i l l find it desirable to use the B N B this w a y to supplement their own local catalogs which would then need to be only a shelf or stock list. P a r t i c u l a r l y in G r e a t Britain with its well-developed national system of interlibrary lending this is possible and feasible since in reality all books in all libraries in the country are quickly and easily available to the readers of any library. T h e British library profession through the National Central L i b r a r y is certainly highly successful in its interlibrary loan coverage, and has a very efficient system. A t present, however, the N C L ' s long stand- ing policy of sending boxes of books to adult classes is not especially encouraged. T h e present tendency also appears to be away f r o m N C L ' s attempt to own as many books as possible f o r loan to enlisting all of the libraries in G r e a t Britain f o r help in supply- LLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES ing the books requested. Since the w a r an area-type union catalog has been undertaken by the N C L — t h a t of Russian books in British libraries, and of G e r m a n wartime and postwar publications received in G r e a t Britain. I believe that the B N B has the distinc- tion of being discussed around the lunch table at Chaucer House more than any other topic of conversation. T h i s fact in itself is quite a distinction since it has been my observation that the daily luncheon table discussion, presided over by M r . P . S. J . W e l s f o r d , secretary of the L i b r a r y A s - sociation, is the real place in England to become informed on the leading library problems of the country. I am sure that it is around this table that many of the ideas in the library profession in G r e a t Britain have their origin. Sooner or later almost all of the outstanding librarians of the country w i l l be found taking part in these informal discussions and usually they w i l l be found there several times during the year — t h u s naturally it is a place where all library topics are hashed over. T h i s daily lunch table discussion provides the head- quarters staff with an opportunity to talk over matters with librarians in the field and in my estimation is a most valuable experi- ence which is lacking at our A L A head- quarters. Of course, Chaucer House, the L A headquarters, is ideally located f o r such informal meetings. Unlike A L A head- quarters, L A is rubbing elbows with a variety of outstanding libraries. T h e great British M u s e u m , the London University L i b r a r y , and the National Central L i b r a r y , not to mention the many special libraries associated in various ways with London University are all well within five minutes walking distance of Chaucer House. M o s t of the L i b r a r y Association Committee meet- ings are held at Chaucer House and anyone, no matter where he may live in E n g l a n d , can quite conveniently get to London for a committee meeting. T h i s type of contact at Chaucer House I think without doubt is a great source of inspiration to the library profession in England. I ' m quite sure that M r . W e l s f o r d , the members of his staff, and the Council have planned it this w a y and the fact of being centrally located in a small country is not the only contributing element. T h e y have arranged a comfortable and at- tractive lounge known as " T h e Members' R o o m " and in this room have provided luncheon quarters serving f u l l course meals and have encouraged members f r o m near and f a r to make use of the room. In fact they find this get-together over the luncheon table so valuable to the profession that in order to help attract members the price of the food has been made very reasonable, even to the extent of the association sub- sidizing the meals when it becomes neces- sary. T h e results are that the headquarters staff definitely have a most valuable fellow- ship contact with members in the field, the like of which I never experienced during my three years at 50 East H u r o n St. Perhaps the U . S . A . is too large to ac- complish anything approximating this fel- lowship at the headquarters of its national library association unless someday we have two or three regional headquarters. T h e r e does seem, however, to be a center in the process of developing around the University of Chicago now that the M i d w e s t Inter- L i b r a r y Center is there, and in time that location might prove to be a great advantage over the present A L A headquarters, espe- cially f o r A C R L . I t is possible, of course, that this luncheon club effect at Chaucer House is just a part of the English club approach which is such a pleasant aspect of English life. W h a t e v e r the reasons may be f o r its existence it has become an institution OCTOBER, 1953 40 7 at Chaucer House and it is something that the L i b r a r y Association, I am sure, w i l l always keep and cherish, and which the A L A headquarters might w e l l try to emulate. T h e B N B has even revolutionized the appearance of the British M u s e u m by intro- ducing the card catalog. W h e n I first used the British M u s e u m in 1 9 3 7 I found nothing in it that resembled a card catalog. H o w e v e r , when I entered its great reading room in September 1 9 5 2 , one of the first sights that met my eyes w a s a large section of card catalog cabinets. T h e newly deco- rated reading room of the British M u s e u m with its modern individual fluorescent light- ing f i x t u r e s ; the leather covered tables and most comfortable arm-chairs on casters; the unique individual folding book-rests which recede, when not in use, into the center partition found at most of the tables (this high partition provides a private atmosphere so much sought a f t e r in American libraries t o d a y ) ; the busy activities of the B N B ; the office of the Friends of National L i - braries; the headquarters of the British U n i o n C a t a l o g of Periodicals; and the first f e w minutes in the office of M r . F . C . Francis, Keeper, Department of Printed Books listening to some of M r . Francis' ideas about the f u t u r e development and activities of large research libraries all give the impression that great things are happen- ing in the British M u s e u m and that many progressive steps w i l l be forthcoming f r o m that library. O n e has the feeling that in recent years the British M u s e u m is taking a cue f r o m the L i b r a r y of Congress and is not concerned so much with its own scholarly development but is assuming a more healthy outward look and in some cases taking the lead rather than detaching itself from most library movements in the country. I t appears that the real emphasis behind the B N B came from the L i b r a r y Associa- tion but the British M u s e u m , influenced by U N E S C O ' s drive f o r national bibliogra- phies, was the first spark f o r making it a reality. I t was necessary to set up the B N B office in the British M u s e u m where access could be had to all of the copyright books in G r e a t Britain. T h e r e f o r e office space was given B N B in an adjoining building belonging to the British M u s e u m . It w a s interesting, however, to note that the only w a y the B N B could obtain permission to have the British M u s e u m ' s deposited copy- right books delivered to their office w a s to transfer them in locked boxes, and if it became necessary to keep them over night M r . W e l l s had to agree to put them under lock and key. One is greatly impressed with the determination of M r . W e l l s and his staff to overcome every obstacle that may be in the w a y of the growth and develop- ment of B N B . T h e British M u s e u m has also fostered, at least to the extent of providing office space, two other organizations—the British Union Catalog of Periodicals and the Friends of National Libraries. T h e Union C a t a l o g of Periodicals proj- ect has been handicapped in that it has had three different editors since its inception and at present is having financial difficulties. I t w a s the plan of the original editor to include great masses of material such as administra- tive annual reports of all kinds of bodies throughout the w o r l d , documents issued by the central and local government depart- ments of all countries, local directories and guides, timetables, and other miscellaneous items in great variety. T h i s undertaking has been abandoned and the information has been turned over to the National Central L i b r a r y . I t is hoped that funds w i l l be available f o r publishing the catalog when it is completed but in any case its constitu- tion states " S h o u l d the publication of the 408 • COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES catalog prove impossible, the material col- lected shall be given to the T r u s t e e s of the N a t i o n a l C e n t r a l L i b r a r y , f o r use in such a w a y as w i l l best supplement their records of periodicals in E n g l i s h l i b r a r i e s . " H o w - ever, every e f f o r t is being made to insure its publication. T h e British have great feeling f o r their national treasures and are doing a fine job of keeping and preserving them. T h e F r i e n d s of the N a t i o n a l L i b r a r i e s , which assists the national, university, and munic- ipal libraries, is enthusiastically supported. O f course the U . S . is too large a nation to organize a " F r i e n d s " group f o r the entire country as has been done in G r e a t B r i t a i n , and probably should continue to concentrate on F r i e n d s of individual libraries. H o w - ever, w e might w e l l take a suggestion f r o m the British and organize state groups in order to help keep w i t h i n state borders the literary and historical heritage of each state. F u t u r e contemplated activities of B N B include analytical entries f o r articles in periodicals prepared perhaps w i t h the aid of university, special and reference libraries of the c o u n t r y ; a British index of subject head- i n g s ; directions f o r classified c a t a l o g i n g ; a national bibliography of m u s i c ; and possibly a card service f o r those libraries h a v i n g card catalogs. Some of the libraries in A m e r i c a already s u b s c r i b i n g to the English Catalog of Books a n d / o r Whitaker's Cumulative Book List may feel that they cannot a f f o r d B N B as w e l l . B N B has several advantages over these t w o publications—it has a classified subject arrangement, a w i d e r scope, a much f u l l e r entry, and a more up-to-the-minute list of books being published in E n g l a n d thus g i v i n g A m e r i c a n libraries a better opportunity to obtain copies before they go out of p r i n t — a disappointment experienced by so many in recent years. I t is possible and desirable when placing orders w i t h book dealers in L o n d o n to order by the serial number given in the B N B j u s t as L C cards are n o w ordered by the L C number. I t w o u l d appear that libraries in the U . S . buying books published in G r e a t B r i t a i n should do more of their ordering direct f r o m E n g l i s h dealers. T h e E n g l i s h dealers are prepared to give quicker service and should be able to a l l o w the purchasing l i b r a r y a greater discount than can be re- ceived f r o m agents in A m e r i c a . B y using the B N B serial number a large book order could be sent by air mail f o r only IO0 and at the same time reduce the amount of paper w o r k necessary w h e n using author, title, etc. I w o u l d point out M r . W . J . M c E l d o w - ney's article in the New Zealand Libraries f o r J u l y 1 9 5 1 to those libraries w h o may feel that the Cumulative Book Index w i l l meet their need f o r E n g l i s h books. M r . M c E l d o w n e y states that in comparing an issue of the B N B w i t h the C B I — " t h e r e are 3 3 5 items listed in this issue of the B N B , of w h i c h f e w e r than half had made the C B I by nearly nine months l a t e r . " "Socialistica" (Continued fr collectors is still small, perhaps less than t w o dozen. B u t also f e w in number are the dealers w h o specialize in "socialistica," so that the supply by no means equals the demand. A l l in all, this is a subject which of 1800-1850 )m page 404) can be recommended to most librarians. T h e r e is competition enough to challenge the combative, and opportunity enough to sustain those w h o require occasional encouragement. OCTOBER, 1953 409