College and Research Libraries


B y J . W . P E R R Y , A L L E N K E N T A N D M . M . B E R R Y 

Mechanised Literat 
A Progress Report 

The authors are members of the staff 

of Battelle Memorial Institute, Columbus, 

Ohio. 

RE C E N T Y E A R S h a v e w i t n e s s e d a n i n -c r e a s i n g a m o u n t of time and e f f o r t 
b e i n g devoted to the problems of scientific 

and t e c h n i c a l d o c u m e n t a t i o n . U n f o r t u -

n a t e l y , discussion of n e w l y developed m e t h -

ods and e q u i p m e n t sometimes obscures the 

purposes to be served. U n r e a l i s t i c e v a l u a -

tion of n e w d o c u m e n t a t i o n techniques m a y 

do more h a r m than g o o d . 

T h e m a t e r i a l basis of our c i v i l i z a t i o n is 

p r o v i d e d by science and t e c h n o l o g y . E f f i -

cient use of scientific and t e c h n i c a l i n f o r m a -

tion is essential to a v e r y w i d e r a n g e of 

activities, such as d e v e l o p i n g n e w p r o d u c t s 

and d e s i g n i n g n e w machines, p l a n n i n g and 

c o n d u c t i n g research, and e v a l u a t i n g the 

results of tests and experiments. In plan-

n i n g p r o d u c t i o n , either in f a r m or f a c t o r y , 

in e x p l o r i n g f o r n e w m i n e r a l resources, in 

c o n d u c t i n g t r a d e and c o m m e r c e , the effec-

tive use of scientific and technical i n f o r m a -

tion m a y w e l l provide the m a r g i n b e t w e e n 

success and f a i l u r e . 

I t should not be c o n c l u d e d , h o w e v e r , t h a t 

scientific o r technical i n f o r m a t i o n is so high 

in v a l u e , that r e n d e r i n g it r e a d i l y a v a i l a b l e 

justifies u n l i m i t e d cost. A t best, the v a l u e 

of a g i v e n piece of i n f o r m a t i o n c a n n o t ex-

ceed the cost of r e g e n e r a t i n g it t h r o u g h 

e x p e r i m e n t , test o r o t h e r w i s e . T h e philoso-

p h y t h a t should u n d e r l i e the design of a 

d o c u m e n t a t i o n system in science and tech-

n o l o g y is the same as f o r d e s i g n i n g a sol-

Searching— 

v e n t - r e c o v e r y system. T h e v a l u e of the 

recovered m a t e r i a l — b e it i n f o r m a t i o n or 

a c e t o n e — m u s t , in no case, be less than the 

cost of r e c o v e r y . D i f f i c u l t i e s i n v o l v e d in 

e s t i m a t i n g the v a l u e of retrieved i n f o r m a -

tion o f t e n render q u a n t i t a t i v e application 

of this philosophy difficult, b u t this in no 

w a y u n d e r m i n e s the l a t t e r ' s v a l i d i t y . 

T h e philosophy of cost j u s t i f i c a t i o n , even 

if applied only in a q u a l i t a t i v e w a y , pro-

vides considerable v a l u a b l e g u i d a n c e . W e 

are r e m i n d e d , first of all, t h a t there are 

o n l y d i s a d v a n t a g e s in r e t a i n i n g i n f o r m a t i o n 

f o r w h i c h absence of f u t u r e use can cer-

t a i n l y be predicted. F u r t h e r m o r e , this 

principle s t r o n g l y suggests t h a t time and 

e f f o r t invested in processing d i f f e r e n t types 

of i n f o r m a t i o n f o r f u t u r e r e t r i e v a l should 

be p r o p o r t i o n a l to the benefits to be 

achieved. S u c h benefits m a y be measured 

as the f r e q u e n c y of use times the v a l u e pro-

v i d e d by each use. In e s t i m a t i n g v a l u e , 

t h o u g h t should be g i v e n n o t o n l y to the 

cost of e v e n t u a l l y r e g e n e r a t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n 

by e x p e r i m e n t or test, but also to the f a c t 

t h a t the record of an e x p e r i m e n t is f a r less 

i n f o r m a t i v e than the e x p e r i m e n t itself. R e -

p e a t i n g an e x p e r i m e n t can be expected to 

provide considerably m o r e i n f o r m a t i o n t h a n 

l e a d i n g someone else's description of w h a t 

he did and s a w — o r t h o u g h t he did and 

s a w , as the case m a y be. 

A p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r in deter-

m i n i n g the v a l u e of recorded i n f o r m a t i o n is 

the l e v e l of ability and c o m p e t e n c e of the 

user. A first-rate scientist m a y be stimu-

lated by a report of a previous f a i l u r e to 

APRIL, 1955 157 



t r y a s l i g h t l y d i f f e r e n t a p p r o a c h or to re-

peat the p r e v i o u s e x p e r i m e n t w i t h j u s t those 

p r e c a u t i o n s needed to achieve success. M e -

diocre t a l e n t , u n d e r the same circumstances, 

m a y be discouraged f r o m any f u r t h e r re-

search. S k i l l in e v a l u a t i n g and u s i n g the 

results of e a r l i e r w o r k is an essential f a c -

t o r in d e t e r m i n i n g the v a l u e of d o c u m e n t a -

tion. S u c h skill, it should be noted, is 

closely akin to the a b i l i t y to observe and to 

e v a l u a t e the results of e x p e r i m e n t s in o r d e r 

t o a r r i v e at sound conclusions. M e d i o c r e 

t a l e n t is at a d i s a d v a n t a g e w h e n c o n f r o n t e d 

by n e w results r e g a r d l e s s of w h e t h e r they 

o r i g i n a t e in l a b o r a t o r y or l i b r a r y . 

E n o u g h has been said, perhaps, to enable 

us to say t h a t the g o a l of d o c u m e n t a t i o n in 

science and t e c h n o l o g y is to reduce the cost 

of research, d e v e l o p m e n t , and related activi-

ties by m a k i n g scientific and technical in-

f o r m a t i o n a v a i l a b l e as needed. T h i s defini-

tion of purpose presupposes n o t h i n g con-

c e r n i n g m e t h o d s to be used. T h e choice of 

m e t h o d s w i l l be d e t e r m i n e d , of course, by 

the p a r a m e t e r s of the s i t u a t i o n t o be met 

and the needs to be served. 

C o n s i d e r , as an a l m o s t t r i v i a l , t h o u g h 

i n s t r u c t i v e , e x a m p l e , a s m a l l c o l l e c t i o n of a 

d o z e n or so w o r k i n g papers of m o d e r a t e 

l e n g t h . C l a s s i f y i n g or i n d e x i n g such a 

s m a l l c o l l e c t i o n can p r o v i d e l i t t l e or no 

s a v i n g of t i m e or e f f o r t w h e n u s i n g them. 

N o o r g a n i z a t i o n is, f o r this simple s i t u a t i o n , 

almost sure t o be the best o r g a n i z a t i o n . 

T h e s i t u a t i o n c h a n g e s , of course, w i t h 

i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r of papers. H e r e , it m a y 

be h e l p f u l t o distinguish b e t w e e n t w o cases. 

I n one of these, let us assume t h a t the 

v a r i o u s items m a y be a r r a n g e d in some one 

o r d e r in a c c o r d a n c e w i t h some one f e a t u r e , 

such as the serial n u m b e r on the patents of 

a g i v e n c o u n t r y or the senior a u t h o r name 

on reprints. S e t t i n g up a m o n o d i m e n s i o n a l 

a r r a y on such a basis can p r o d u c e satisfac-

tion t o the user, if other aspects, especially 

those r e l a t i n g to s u b j e c t m a t t e r , w i l l n e v e r 

need to be a v a i l a b l e as leads to d o c u m e n t s 

of interest. E v e n w h e n s u b j e c t m a t t e r is 

of i m p o r t a n c e , it m a y be a d v i s a b l e to m a i n -

tain an a u t h o r i n d e x or a n u m e r i c a l i n d e x 

f o r patents if f r e q u e n c y of use and r e s u l t i n g 

s a v i n g in t i m e p r o v i d e j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r the 

expense i n v o l v e d . 

I n the m o r e g e n e r a l case, o f . c o u r s e , con-

siderable a d v a n t a g e s are achieved by pro-

v i d i n g a s u b j e c t a p p r o a c h t o the contents of 

scientific and technical d o c u m e n t s . B e f o r e 

c o n s i d e r i n g in detail some of the methods, 

techniques, and devices t h a t h a v e been de-

v e l o p e d or proposed f o r use in this connec-

tion, it is w e l l to note t h a t c e r t a i n steps are 

i n v o l v e d regardless of w h a t m e t h o d s , tech-

niques, o r devices m a y be used. T h e s e basic 

steps m i g h t be s u m m a r i z e d as f o l l o w s : 

(1) Analysis of subject matter. 

D u r i n g this step, decisions must be 
made as to which aspects of subject 
matter are likely to be important in 
retrieving the document or correlating 
its information w i t h that of other 
documents. F a i l u r e to detect an im-
portant aspect may result in the 
document being overlooked when its 
contents should be considered. O v e r -
evaluation of a document may result 
in its being selected as pertinent when 
it is of so little interest as to be merely 
troublesome. F o r these reasons, the 
expense incurred in having an expert 
conduct this analytical step usually 
can be justified as a good investment. 

(2) Processing important aspects of subject 
matter. 

T h e goal of such processing is to 
establish means f o r facilitating the 
identification of pertinent documents 
to meet the users' requirements. A s 
is w e l l known, such processing may 
assume a variety of forms. 

W o r d s and phrases may be selected 
to constitute index entries which are 
then alphabetized to provide an array 
and thus facilitate a person's finding 

158 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



a given entry, as a lead to a desired 
paper. 

A n alternate possibility, that has 
been extensively discussed during the 
past year, is to establish a separate 
card for each aspect and enter on each 
aspect card the numbers of the docu-
ment to which the given aspects per-
tain. A book devoted to this system, 
sometimes referred to by the name 
" U n i t e r m , " appeared a f e w months ago. 
E a r l i e r embodiments of this approach 
w e r e the Batten-Cordonnier and N a -
tional B u r e a u of Standards (Office 
of Basic Instrumentation) systems, in 
which holes w e r e punched on aspect 
cards to permit easier manipulation of 
the reference cards. (See R . S. 
Casey and J. W . P e r r y , eds., Punched 
Cards—Their Application to Science 
and Industry. N e w Y o r k , Reinhold 
Publishing Company, 1951. Chapter 
by D r . Batten.) 

A third alternative is to relate the 
various aspects selected as being im-
portant in an array of headings, such 
as the U n i v e r s a l D e c i m a l Classifica-
tion System, or the M a n u a l of Classi-
fication of the U . S. Patent Office. 
O n e or several headings of more or 
less generic scope may be used to d r a w 
together papers having certain aspects 
in common. 

A f o u r t h procedure is to use the 
various aspects as a basis f o r making 
entries on a medium to be searched by 
mechanical or electronic means. F o r 
examples, holes may be punched in 
cards, or magnetic spots may be re-
corded on tape, or transparent spots 
recorded on photographic film. V a r i -
ous systems, usually referred to as 
codes, are used f o r attributing mean-
ing to such holes or spots in a w e l l -
defined orderly manner. 

A n alternate possibility, to which w e 
have been and still are devoting con-
siderable time and attention, is to 
organize the w o r d s and phrases that 
correspond to important aspects so 
that a telegraphic-style abstract is 
generated. Encoding its component 
w o r d s and phrases renders it " r e a d -
able" by recently designed scanning 

equipment. V a r i o u s problems involved 
and advantages that can be achieved 
w i l l be discussed subsequently. 

(3) Utilizing processed aspects to identify 
pertinent documents. 

T h e importance of this step seems 
to be underestimated w i t h surprising 
frequency. I t is obvious, of course, 
that indexes, classification systems, and 
other forms of documentation cannot 
be regarded as successful unless they 
enable persons needing information to 
identify documents of pertinent in-
terest at reasonable cost of time and 
energy. 

(4) Acquiring needed information. 
Identifying those documents most 

likely to contain information of value 
to the user must be followed by 
his actually contacting and absorbing 
the needed information. A t this stage, 
effective abstracts can provide valuable 
assistance in aiding the user either to 
reject papers of marginal interest or 
to obtain a quick bird's-eye view of 
papers of sufficient interest to w a r r a n t 
detailed study. 

Problems involved in supplying 
copies of needed documents or difficul-
ties caused by language barriers w i l l 
not be discussed in this paper. H o w -
ever, new approaches to some of the 
problems involved in supplying copies 
of needed documents are being de-
veloped in France ( F i l m - O - R e x ) and 
in the United States ( E a s t m a n Kodak's 
M i n i c a r d ) , etc. 

I t is n o t the purpose of this paper to 

a t t e m p t to define w i t h precision the c i r c u m -

stances u n d e r w h i c h v a r i o u s methods, tech-

niques, and e q u i p m e n t w i l l p r o v e to be most 

a d v a n t a g e o u s . T h e d e t e r m i n i n g parame-

ters, as is perhaps e v i d e n t f r o m p r e c e d i n g 

discussion, are as f o l l o w s : 

( 1 ) Size of file, i.e., number of reports, 
reprints, and other papers. 

( 2 ) Complexity of subject matter involved, 
range of aspects of importance, num-
ber of aspects involved on an average 
per document, important relationships 
between aspects. 

( 3 ) Frequency of use of file. 

APRIL, 1955 
19 7 



( 4 ) T y p e of search required; in particular, 
range and number of aspects involved 
in defining an average search. 

( 5 ) N e e d f o r speed in responding to 
search requirements. 

I n t e r m s of these p a r a m e t e r s , each of the 

m e t h o d s p r e v i o u s l y o u t l i n e d has its range 

of usefulness. T h e m a c h i n e s e a r c h i n g sys-

t e m n o w to be discussed has been designed 

t o meet the m o s t severe c o n d i t i o n s w i t h 

respect to size of file, c o m p l e x i t y of sub-

j e c t m a t t e r , f r e q u e n c y of use, c o m p l e x i t y 

of search, need f o r speed and, last b u t n o t 

least, m i n i m u m cost. 

T o p r o v i d e m a x i m u m flexibility, the n e w 

i n d e x i n g - a b s t r a c t i n g m e t h o d s h a v e been de-

signed so t h a t any i m p o r t a n t aspect or fea-

t u r e of the s u b j e c t m a t t e r of d o c u m e n t s or 

any c o m b i n a t i o n of such aspects m a y be 

used to define the scope of a search to be 

c o n d u c t e d by m a c h i n e . S e a r c h i n g m e t h o d s 

h a v e been devised so t h a t the m a c h i n e scans 

encoded abstracts of special design. A s p e c t s 

of s u b j e c t m a t t e r m e n t i o n e d in these ab-

stracts m a y i n c l u d e s p a t i o - t e m p o r a l entities 

( t h i n g s o r substances, organisms, persons, 

devices, a p p a r a t u s , or m a c h i n e s ) , processes 

and actions, c o n d i t i o n i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s , 

g e o g r a p h i c a l regions, locations and dates, 

concepts of g e n e r i c or t h e o r e t i c a l n a t u r e , 

a t t r i b u t e s i n c l u d i n g those i n v o l v i n g n u m e r i -

cal v a l u e s , such as m e l t i n g points. T h e 

abstracts are so prepared as to r e n d e r ex-

plicit relationships b e t w e e n these d i f f e r e n t 

aspects of s u b j e c t m a t t e r . 

T h e analysis of s u b j e c t m a t t e r a l r e a d y 

p r e v i o u s l y discussed is the first step t o w a r d 

p r e p a r i n g these abstracts. T h i s analysis is 

best accomplished by a s u b j e c t - m a t t e r e x p e r t 

w h o decides w h a t the i m p o r t a n t aspects of 

s u b j e c t m a t t e r are and then designates these 

aspects by a p p r o p r i a t e l y selected w o r d s and 

phrases. U n d e r l i n i n g or s i m i l a r m a r k i n g 

m a y be used to direct a t t e n t i o n to the 

selected w o r d s and phrases or they m a y be 

p r o v i d e d as m a r g i n a l notations. N o restric-

tions are imposed on the w o r d s o r phrases 

t h a t m a y be so selected. 

T h e n e x t step is to o r g a n i z e the w o r d s 

and phrases into t e l e g r a p h i c style abstracts 

and f i n a l l y to encode the abstracts t o render 

e x p l i c i t i m p o r t a n t points of m e a n i n g w h i c h 

then serve as r e f e r e n c e points in d e f i n i n g 

and c o n d u c t i n g the scope of a search. 

B e f o r e u n d e r t a k i n g to o u t l i n e the prin-

ciples i n v o l v e d in p r e p a r i n g the abstracts 

and in e s t a b l i s h i n g codes f o r w o r d s and 

phrases, it s h o u l d be pointed o u t that the 

d e v e l o p m e n t of these m e t h o d s proceeded 

hand in hand w i t h the d e v e l o p m e n t of the 

n e w s c a n n i n g e q u i p m e n t f o r s e a r c h i n g en-

coded abstracts and s e l e c t i n g those of per-

t i n e n t interest. 

E a r l y in this d e v e l o p m e n t , it w a s recog-

n i z e d t h a t the s c a n n i n g m a c h i n e should 

h a v e the a b i l i t y to p e r f o r m selections de-

fined by r e q u i r i n g the s i m u l t a n e o u s presence 

of a l l of s e v e r a l search c r i t e r i a . S u c h a 

r e q u i r e m e n t w h i c h is said to i n v o l v e the 

l o g i c a l p r o d u c t of the c r i t e r i a m a y be rep-

resented by A B C - D E ( f o r five cri-

t e r i a ) . A n o t h e r possibility is a search in 

w h i c h a n y one of several c r i t e r i a suffices f o r 

a positive response. T h i s r e q u i r e m e n t , 

sometimes c a l l e d the l o g i c a l sum, m a y be 

represented by A + B + C + D + E ( a g a i n 

f o r five c r i t e r i a ) . W h e n it is required t h a t 

some c r i t e r i o n be absent, the l o g i c a l d i f f e r -

ence is i n v o l v e d as s y m b o l i c a l l y expressed by 

A — B ( i n this case, the search r e q u i r e m e n t 

is f o r A to be present and B to be a b s e n t ) . 

I t w a s r e a l i z e d e a r l y in this d e v e l o p m e n t 

of n e w m e t h o d s and e q u i p m e n t t h a t the use 

of selected w o r d s to designate the impor-

t a n t aspects of the s u b j e c t m a t t e r of docu-

m e n t s has p r o v e d h i g h l y e f f e c t i v e in con-

s t r u c t i n g s u b j e c t indexes to be scanned by 

h u m a n experts. T h e i r ability to i n t e r p r e t 

the m e a n i n g of t e c h n i c a l t e r m i n o l o g y , and 

other w o r d s , is also essential to s u c c e s s f u l 

160 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



use of c o n v e n t i o n a l classification systems. 

T h e use of p h r a s i n g to indicate relation-

ships b e t w e e n substances, processes, attri-

butes, and concepts in g e n e r a l p l a y s an im-

p o r t a n t role in a b s t r a c t i n g , i n d e x i n g , and 

c l a s s i f y i n g a l o n g t r a d i t i o n a l lines. T h e 

p r o b l e m is to p r o v i d e means f o r r e n d e r i n g 

e x p l i c i t f o r machine s e a r c h i n g those im-

plied aspects of the m e a n i n g of w o r d s and 

phrases w h i c h can be understood easily and 

q u i c k l y by the h u m a n e x p e r t b u t w h i c h can-

not be i n t e r p r e t e d by e l e c t r o n i c machines 

of p r a c t i c a l design at the present level of 

e l e c t r o n i c t e c h n o l o g y . 

T h e most c o n v e n i e n t approach to this 

p r o b l e m is to consider the p r o b l e m pre-

sented by the m e a n i n g of w o r d s . W e ob-

serve, first of a l l , t h a t certain technical 

terms are so derived e t y m o l o g i c a l l y t h a t 

their G r e e k and L a t i n roots render c e r t a i n 

basic aspects of m e a n i n g e x p l i c i t in the 

w o r d s ' s p e l l i n g . E x a m p l e s of such w o r d s 

are " t h e r m o m e t e r " ( h e a t , m e a s u r e ) , and 

" c y t o l y s i s " ( c e l l , d i s s o l u t i o n ) . If a l l the 

w o r d s of o u r l a n g u a g e w e r e derived in the 

same w a y , basic aspects of m e a n i n g , denoted 

by the G r e e k roots, w o u l d be rendered 

e x p l i c i t by c e r t a i n l e t t e r combinations in 

the spelling, such as " t h e r m " f o r heat, 

" m e t e r " or " m e t r i c " f o r measure, " l y s i s " 

f o r dissolution, etc. T h e limited degree 

to w h i c h the s p e l l i n g of technical terms 

e x p l i c i t l y exhibits, in a l o g i c a l w a y , the 

basic elements of their m e a n i n g has m a d e it 

advisable to g e n e r a t e codes to render such 

m e a n i n g explicit and thus m a k e it possible 

f o r machines to detect certain combinations 

of symbols used to designate elements of 

m e a n i n g . I n the code w e h a v e developed, 

three-letter combinations are u s u a l l y so 

used. T h u s , M A C is used to designate 

" m a c h i n e , apparatus, e q u i p m e n t , d e v i c e , " 

M E S " m e a s u r e , " N A L " a n a l y s i s , " R E H 

" h e a t , " R E L " l i g h t , " etc. T h e three-

l e t t e r combinations can be set up so as to 

be m n e m o n i c in c h a r a c t e r and o t h e r w i s e 

c o n v e n i e n t in use. 

A typical g r o u p of w o r d s selected f r o m 

our code d i c t i o n a r y are p r o v i d e d f o r illus-

t r a t i v e purposes. 

abaca T E X F I B 
abortion B I L D E D G E G 
abortifacient B I L D E D G E G 

D O G 
abrade B A R 
abrasion B A R 
abrasive B A R 
absorb B A S 
absorbent cotton B A S T E X 
absorber B A S M A C 
absorption band B A S R A L C A P 
absorption tower B A S M A C 
acaricide D E D P E S 

I n d e v e l o p i n g such codes f o r scientific 

t e r m i n o l o g y , o u r e f f o r t s have been directed, 

as a l r e a d y noted, to r e n d e r i n g e x p l i c i t in 

the codes, those aspects of the m e a n i n g of 

t e r m s m o s t u s e f u l as r e f e r e n c e points f o r 

d e f i n i n g s e a r c h i n g operations to be per-

f o r m e d by a u t o m a t i c equipment. 

I t is perhaps obvious t h a t t w o p r o b l e m s 

have been e n c o u n t e r e d . 

O n e of these is t o a r r i v e at a set of basic 

aspects of m e a n i n g as exemplified by M A C 

f o r " m a c h i n e , apparatus, equipment, d e v i c e " 

or M E S f o r " m e a s u r e . " S u c h aspects of 

m e a n i n g — o r semantic f a c t o r s , as they are 

sometimes c a l l e d — p r o v i d e a f r a m e w o r k of 

generic r e f e r e n c e points f o r s e a r c h i n g opera-

tions. 

T h e second, n o less i m p o r t a n t p r o b l e m , 

has been to a p p l y the semantic f a c t o r s in a 

consistent fashion w h e n s e t t i n g up the codes 

f o r i n d i v i d u a l terms used in science and tech-

n o l o g y . A t the present time, w e are c a r r y i n g 

t h r o u g h a revision of the o r i g i n a l t e n t a t i v e 

codes f o r 7000 terms f r e q u e n t l y used in tra-

ditional i n d e x i n g and c l a s s i f y i n g systems. 

I t is not possible, w i t h i n the limits of this 

paper, to set f o r t h in detail the v a r i o u s con-

siderations t h a t h a v e come to our a t t e n t i o n 

in d e v e l o p i n g codes based on semantic 

APRIL, 1955 
19 7 



f a c t o r s . I t m a y be i l l u m i n a t i n g , h o w e v e r , 

to point out the n a t u r e of the l o g i c a l re-

lationships t h a t exist b e t w e e n specific terms 

and the semantic f a c t o r s f r o m w h i c h the 

codes of the terms are c o n s t r u c t e d . T hese 

relationships are of f o u r t y p e s : ( i ) F u n c -

t i o n a l ; ( 2 ) A t t r i b u t i v e ; ( 3 ) W h o l e - p a r t ; 

( 4 ) C l a s s inclusion. 

F u n c t i o n a l a t t r i b u t e s are i l l u s t r a t e d by 

those semantic f a c t o r s w h i c h designate 

operations such as M E S f o r " m e a s u r e m e n t " 

or N A L f o r " a n a l y s i s . " T h e f o l l o w i n g 

sample codes i l l u s t r a t e the use of semantic 

f a c t o r s i n d i c a t i n g f u n c t i o n a l aspects, w h i c h 

are pointed o u t by u n d e r l i n i n g . 

Examples of F a c t o r s Indicating Functions 

Grindstone B A R ; M A C ( a b r a d e ; 

machine) 
Saber C U T ; W E P ( c u t ; 

w e a p o n ) 
Insecticide D E D ; P E S ( k i l l ; 

pest) 
N a v i g a t o r G U D ; P E P ( g u i d e ; 

person) 
Filter S E P ; M A C (sepa-

r a t e ; machine) 

A t t r i b u t i v e semantic f a c t o r s indicate a 

relationship of a descriptive o r a d j e c t i v a l 

c h a r a c t e r . T h i s type of relationship m a y 

be i l l u s t r a t e d by the f o l l o w i n g examples, in 

w h i c h codes f o r the a t t r i b u t i v e f a c t o r s h a v e 

been u n d e r l i n e d . 

Examples of F a c t o r s Indicating 

A t t r i b u t i v e Relationship 

Forestry W O D ; P A N ; S I C 

H o u r 

( w o o d ; p l a n t ; 
science) 

T I M ; L E M ( t i m e ; 

unit) 
M e t e o r o l o g y W E T ; S I C 

Forceps 

Bombsight 

( w e a t h e r ; science) 
S U G ; M A C 

( s u r g e r y ; machine) 
M I L ; P O T ; M A C 

( m i l i t a r y ; optics; 
machine) 

T h e role of the w h o l e - p a r t relationship is 

p a r t i c u l a r l y w e l l i l l u s t r a t e d by codes f o r 

g e o g r a p h i c units, f o r w h i c h d e p a r t u r e f r o m 

the use of t h r e e - l e t t e r c o m b i n a t i o n s permits 

m o r e c o m p a c t codes to be established. 

G e o g r a p h i c a l Codes Illustrating 
W h o l e - P a r t Relationships 

United States 
N e w England 

M a s s a c h u s e t t s 
V e r m o n t 
N e w Hampshire 
Connecticut 
M a i n e 
Rhode Island 

U S 
U S N E 
U S N E M A 
U S N E V T 
U S N E N H 
U S N E C T 
U S N E M E 
U S N E R I 

In c o d i n g scientific and technical ter-

m i n o l o g y the w h o l e - p a r t relationship comes 

into use r e l a t i v e l y i n f r e q u e n t l y . T h e rea-

son f o r this is the f a c t that this type of 

relationship is m o r e f r e q u e n t l y an i m p o r t a n t 

aspect of m e a n i n g at the i n d e x i n g - a b s t r a c t -

i n g level r a t h e r t h a n a semantic aspect of 

the m e a n i n g of i n d i v i d u a l terms. 

Examples of F a c t o r s Indicating 
W h o l e - P a r t Relationships 

Roof 

T a u - s a g h y z 

Fleet 

S U T ; C O V (struc-

t u r e ; cover) 

P A N ; R U B ( p l a n t ; 

rubber) 

M I L ; S A S ; S I P (mili-

t a r y ; o r g a n i z a t i o n ; 

ship) 

F r o m the philosophical point of v i e w 

any set of i n d i v i d u a l s h a v i n g one or s e v e r a l 

f u n c t i o n s or a t t r i b u t e s in c o m m o n con-

stitute a class. S i m i l a r l y , the v a r i o u s parts 

of a g i v e n w h o l e also f o r m a class. H e n c e , 

f r o m this point of v i e w , class i n c l u s i o n — 

o u r f o u r t h l o g i c a l relationship b e t w e e n 

specific t e r m s and semantic f a c t o r s — m i g h t 

be r e g a r d e d as all inclusive w i t h respect to 

the other t h r e e . T h e s e m a n t i c f a c t o r s of 

the type e x e m p l i f i e d by M A C " m a c h i n e , 

a p p a r a t u s , e q u i p m e n t , d e v i c e " or T E X 

" t e x t i l e " m a y be said to be based on g e n e r i c 

162 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



t e r m s d e n o t i n g classes. S u c h class designa-

tion does n o t i n v o l v e direct e x p l i c i t r e f e r -

ence to the a t t r i b u t e s i n v o l v e d , f o r e x a m p l e , 

in textiles or machines and similar devices. 

F r o m this point of v i e w , w e m a y find logi-

cal j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r speaking of semantic 

f a c t o r s based on class inclusion. C e r t a i n l y , 

this concept proves h e l p f u l in establishing 

codes f o r terms. 

Examples of Factors Indicating 

C l a s s Inclusion 

C y t o l o g y C E L ; S I C ( c e l l ; 

• science) 

C u r i e R A X ; L E M (radia-

tion; element) 

Beer's L a w R U L ; B A S ; R A L 

( l a w ; absorption; 
light) 

Chaplain R E L ; P E P (religion; 

person) 

Gasoline P E T ; F U L (petro-

l e u m ; f u e l ) 

In discussing the establishment of codes 

f o r terms, r e n d e r i n g their m e a n i n g e x p l i c i t 

is the p r o b l e m w i t h w h i c h w e have been 

c o n c e r n e d . D e s i g n a t i n g a t h e r m o m e t e r as a 

device f o r m e a s u r i n g t e m p e r a t u r e ( M A C ; 

M E S ; T E M ) does not, h o w e v e r , indi-

cate in w h a t respect a t h e r m o m e t e r m a y 

be i n v o l v e d in a g i v e n situation reported 

in some d o c u m e n t . T h e r m o m e t e r s m i g h t , 

f o r e x a m p l e , be r e f e r r e d to as being m a n u -

f a c t u r e d or the d o c u m e n t m a y be concerned 

w i t h research on t h e r m o m e t e r s . T h e re-

lationships b e t w e e n the v a r i o u s things, proc-

esses, and circumstances are also i m p o r t a n t 

w h e n d e v e l o p i n g a system aimed at render-

i n g e x p l i c i t as m a n y i m p o r t a n t aspects of 

s u b j e c t m a t t e r of a d o c u m e n t as m a y be ad-

v a n t a g e o u s f o r s e a r c h i n g and c o r r e l a t i n g . 

I n a n a l y z i n g these relationships, g u i d a n c e 

is p r o v i d e d by the same l o g i c a l relationships 

as u n d e r l i e the d e v e l o p m e n t of codes em-

p l o y i n g semantic f a c t o r s . W h e n i n d e x i n g 

a d o c u m e n t , w e m a y note, f o r e x a m p l e , t h a t 

a certain c h e m i c a l c o m p o u n d is used as a 

c o m p o n e n t of a m i x t u r e ( w h o l e - p a r t re-

l a t i o n s h i p ) or t h a t a g i v e n c o m p o u n d or 

m i x t u r e m a y be used to t r e a t a disease 

( f u n c t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p ) or t h a t a g i v e n 

m e d i c i n a l p r e p a r a t i o n has a c e r t a i n physical 

consistency ( a t t r i b u t i v e r e l a t i o n s h i p ) . T h e 

class inclusion relationship w i l l be based, 

w h e n c o n d u c t i n g i n d e x i n g , on some w h o l e -

p a r t , f u n c t i o n a l or a t t r i b u t i v e relationship, 

w h i c h is m u c h m o r e e x p l i c i t in c h a r a c t e r 

t h a n is the case in the establishment of ter-

m i n o l o g y . 

Linda Hall Library 
(Continued from page 14.1) 

R a r e B o o k R o o m is located at the south-

east c o r n e r of the first floor, a d j a c e n t to the 

l i b r a r i a n ' s office. A small e l e v a t o r and t w o 

b o o k - l i f t s to a l l levels are located on the 

l o w e r stack levels. B o o k capacity of the 

n e w b u i l d i n g is estimated a t a b o u t one-half 

m i l l i o n v o l u m e s , and the t o t a l cost at less 

t h a n one and one-half m i l l i o n dollars. 

T h e r e is e v e r y indication to believe that 

the L i n d a H a l l L i b r a r y , w i t h a l a r g e and 

r a p i d l y g r o w i n g collection in science and 

t e c h n o l o g y , meets a real need in a region 

w h i c h has s h o w n a r e m a r k a b l e rate of ex-

pansion in i n d u s t r i a l and t e c h n i c a l f a c i l i t i e s 

since the end of the w a r . W i t h a n e w 

b u i l d i n g , p r o v i d i n g space f o r at least t w e n t y 

years, and an e n d o w m e n t w h i c h should 

p r o v e adequate f o r the steady g r o w t h of the 

c o l l e c t i o n , L i n d a H a l l should become an 

i n c r e a s i n g l y v a l u a b l e research asset. 

APRIL, 1955 
19 7