College and Research Libraries


B y W I L L I A M H . K U R T H 

A Proposed Cost of Books Index 
and Cost of Periodicals Index 

Mr. Kurth is assistant chief, Order Di-

vision, Library of Congress. 

RECENT YEARS h a v e witnessed sharp and a l a r m i n g increases in the prices of 
books and periodicals issued t h r o u g h o u t the 

w o r l d . T h a t this t r e n d in prices has been 

severe, i n c r e a s i n g l y d a m a g i n g to the de-

v e l o p m e n t of the l i b r a r y ' s book collections, 

and d i s r u p t i v e of the p l a n n i n g of m e a n i n g -

f u l b u d g e t a r y requests, is r e c o g n i z e d ; b u t 

the precise n a t u r e of the price m o v e m e n t 

d u r i n g the past f i f t e e n years, and up to the 

present time, remains i m p e r f e c t l y k n o w n . 

T h e l i b r a r y a d m i n i s t r a t o r is thus placed at 

a considerable d i s a d v a n t a g e by the l a c k of 

adequate price i n f o r m a t i o n . T h e e f f o r t to 

d e t e r m i n e the c h a n g e s o c c u r r i n g in the price 

of books and periodicals has been the sub-

j e c t , t h r o u g h o u t v a r i o u s libraries, of in-

d i v i d u a l price studies, w h i c h necessarily h a v e 

been based on the l i m i t e d and c i r c u m s t a n t i a l 

d a t a a v a i l a b l e , and w h i c h u n d o u b t e d l y h a v e 

n o t reflected a consistently applied statistical 

p a t t e r n f r o m y e a r to y e a r . N o c o n v e n i e n t 

s t a n d a r d f o r m e a s u r i n g price changes, in a 

f o r m s a t i s f a c t o r i l y m e e t i n g the needs of 

libraries, n o w exists. C e r t a i n d a t a are use-

f u l , e.g., the a v e r a g e prices a p p e a r i n g peri-

o d i c a l l y in Publishers' Weekly, The Book-

seller ( L o n d o n ) and in the Borsenblatt 

fur den deutschen Buchhandel ( F r a n k -

f u r t ) . T h e r e w o u l d , h o w e v e r , appear to 

be a need f o r a s t a n d a r d developed on the 

basis of A m e r i c a n l i b r a r y acquisitions prac-

tice a c c o r d i n g to a defined statistical pat-

t e r n , and w h i c h w o u l d r e p o r t book and 

p e r i o d i c a l price c h a n g e s f o r the book pro-

d u c t i o n of the U n i t e d S t a t e s and c e r t a i n 

of the m a j o r f o r e i g n ones. 

A s t a n d a r d f o r a c c u r a t e l y m e a s u r i n g book 

and periodical price c h a n g e s is the m o r e 

necessary in v i e w of evidence t h a t , w h i l e 

the g r o w t h of p u b l i c libraries and c o l l e g e 

and u n i v e r s i t y libraries d u r i n g recent y e a r s 

has been a r a t h e r v i g o r o u s one, the portion 

of the t o t a l b u d g e t devoted to the purchase 

of books and periodicals has a c t u a l l y s u f -

f e r e d a d e c l i n e . 1 T h e p o r t i o n of the b u d g e t 

a l l o c a t e d to books and periodicals in p u b l i c 

libraries, f o r e x a m p l e , has declined f r o m 

1 8 % in 1 9 3 9 , to 1 6 . 9 % in 1 9 4 5 , 1 5 . 9 % 

in 1 9 5 0 a n d 1 2 . 8 % in 1 9 5 4 . 2 I n c o l l e g e 

and u n i v e r s i t y libraries the p e r c e n t a g e s are 

36.3 f o r I 9 3 9 - 4 0 , 30.8 f o r i946-47> and 

2 7 . 5 4 f o r 1 9 5 1 - 5 2 . 3 T h i s decline is of 

course p a r t l y a t t r i b u t a b l e to increase in sala-

ries, y e t the f a c t r e m a i n s t h a t the portion of 

the b u d g e t a l l o c a t e d to books and periodicals 

has a c t u a l l y diminished in the face of sub-

stantial increases in book and periodical 

prices. 

A s t a n d a r d of m e a s u r e m e n t f o r book and 

1 R . W . F r a s e , Economic Trends in Trade Book 
Publishing, in Books and the Mass Market ( U r b a n a : 
U n i v e r s i t y of Illinois P r e s s , 1 9 5 3 ) , pp. 39-40. 

2 U . S . Office of E d u c a t i o n . Public Library Sta-
tistics. B u l l e t i n 1953, No. 9 ( W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . : 
G o v e r n m e n t P r i n t i n g Office, 1 9 5 4 ) , p. 14. ( T h e figures 
f o r 1939-1950 reflect public libraries of all population 
g r o u p s . ) 

Circular No. 442, A p r i l , 1955. ( T h e figure f o r 
1954 is derived f r o m this Circular and comprises public 
libraries in cities of population groups of 50,000 and 
more.) 

3 Biennial Survey of Education in the United 
States, 1938-1940, College and University Library 
Statistics 1939-40 ( W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . : Government 
P r i n t i n g Office, 1 9 4 3 ) , p. 22. ( T h e figure of 36.3 in-
cludes binding in addition to books and periodicals.) 

Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 
1946-48. Chapter 6. Statistics of Libraries in Institu-
tions of Higher Education, 1946-47 ( W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . : 
G o v e r n m e n t P r i n t i n g Office, 1 9 4 9 ) , p. 9. 

Biennial Survey of Education in the United States, 
1950-52. Chapter 6. Statistics of Libraries in Institu-
tions of Higher Education, 1951-52 ( W a s h i n g t o n , D . C . : 
G o v e r n m e n t P r i n t i n g Office, 1 9 5 4 ) , p. 

390 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



periodical prices c o u l d be developed f r o m 

list prices f o r v a r i o u s key years in terms of 

a selected base y e a r . I t is proposed to de-

v e l o p such a v e r a g e prices by s u b j e c t cate-

gories u s i n g 1 9 3 9 as a base period. T h e 

a v e r a g e prices f o u n d to have p r e v a i l e d in 

1 9 3 9 w o u l d be assigned the v a l u e of 100 

and the a v e r a g e prices of subsequent y e a r s 

w o u l d be expressed in terms of this base 

v a l u e of 100 (e.g., if the a v e r a g e price f o r 

all s u b j e c t categories in 1 9 4 7 w e r e 3 5 % 

h i g h e r than in 1 9 3 9 , the increase w o u l d be 

expressed as an i n d e x n u m b e r of 1 3 5 ) . 

I t is intended t h a t such a cost of books 

i n d e x and a companion cost of periodicals 

i n d e x be prepared a l o n g broad lines to in-

sure their m a x i m u m usefulness to libraries 

g e n e r a l l y . O n c e the s t a n d a r d s and criteria 

f o r such indexes have been resolved, it is 

hoped t h a t the a c t u a l c o m p i l a t i o n of a cost 

of books index and a cost of periodicals in-

dex can be done c o o p e r a t i v e l y by libraries to 

p r o v i d e a c o m m o n a d m i n i s t r a t i v e aid. 

T h e r e are i m p o r t a n t a d v a n t a g e s in the 

cooperative establishment of a single system 

of price indexes w h i c h m a n y , or all, A m e r i c a n 

libraries could use. T h e indexes thereby 

w o u l d possess considerable statistical au-

t h o r i t y and s t a t u r e ; in this respect the index 

figures, as a single s t a n d a r d , c o u l d supersede 

the separately prepared price studies ( w h i c h 

by their v e r y n u m b e r and o f t e n c o n f l i c t i n g 

conclusions h a v e raised doubts in the m i n d s 

of a d m i n i s t r a t i v e officials and appropriations 

c o m m i t t e e s about a c t u a l price c h a n g e s ) . 

T h e salient f a c t o r s i n v o l v e d in the prepa-

ration of a price i n d e x are set f o r t h b e l o w . 

W h i l e there w o u l d be difficulties inherent 

in the m e t h o d s u t i l i z e d to establish them, 

the indexes are capable of being developed 

to a point of g r e a t usefulness to libraries. 

T H E C O S T OF B O O K S I N D E X 

A n a r r a n g e m e n t a c c o r d i n g to broad sub-

j e c t division w o u l d be f o l l o w e d f o r the cost 

of books index. T r a n s l a t i o n s , separates, 

textbooks, children's literature, 4 reprints, 

a l m a n a c s , calendars, e x t r a c t s , official g o v e r n -

m e n t documents, serial publications of so-

cieties, maps, music scores w o u l d be ex-

c l u d e d either because they do not f a l l w i t h -

in a r e g u l a r acquisitions p r o g r a m , or simply 

f o r the purpose of l i m i t i n g the i n q u i r y . T h e 

source m a t e r i a l f o r the indexes w o u l d be 

the list prices of the titles a p p e a r i n g in the 

v a r i o u s n a t i o n a l bibliographies. A v e r a g e 

prices w o u l d be yielded f o r v a r i o u s s u b j e c t 

divisions. 

I n o r d e r to permit f a i r l y rapid classifica-

tion in the c o m p i l a t i o n of the index the sub-

j e c t divisions o u g h t to be r e l a t i v e l y f e w and 

readily applicable entities. In addition, the 

s u b j e c t divisions should c o n s t i t u t e m e a n i n g -

f u l and usable entities f o r l i b r a r y acquisi-

tions p l a n n i n g . 

T h e f o l l o w i n g are t e n t a t i v e l y designated 

as s u b j e c t divisions, p e r m i t t i n g l a t e r con-

solidation if f o u n d d e s i r a b l e : 

( a ) Philosophy and religion 
( b ) Fine A r t s 
( c ) Social sciences (including anthropol-

ogy, economics, education, political sci-
ence, psychology, history, sociology, 
and geography) 

( d ) L i t e r a t u r e (including drama, folk-
lore, linguistics, poetry and biography) 

( e ) N o v e l s 
( f ) N a t u r a l sciences and technology 
( g ) L a w 
( h ) Medicine 
( i ) A g r i c u l t u r e 

T h e inclusion of a separate index to cover 

the n o v e l is e x p e r i m e n t a l and f o r the pur-

pose of d e t e r m i n i n g h o w closely its a v e r a g e 

price w i l l c o r r e l a t e w i t h the i n d e x as a 

w h o l e . 

T h e period to be covered by the indexes 

w o u l d be the c a l e n d a r years 1 9 3 9 , I947> 

1 9 5 0 , and 1 9 5 4 . T h e y e a r 1 9 3 9 is tenta-

tively chosen as a base y e a r — a period neither 

4 Dependent upon support f r o m interested educational 
institutions, it is proposed to include t w o additional 
categories f o r the U . S. portion of the cost of books 
i n d e x : children's literature and textbooks; the latter 
might be subdivided into elementary school textbooks, 
high school textbooks, and college textbooks. 

OCTOBER, 1955 
40 7 



p r e d o m i n a n t l y o n e of h i g h n o r of v e r y l o w 

business a c t i v i t y . T h e y e a r 1 9 4 7 is s e l e c t e d 

as a p o s t - w a r y e a r , and 1 9 5 0 is d e s i g n a t e d 

to e s t a b l i s h t h e p r i c e s p r e v a i l i n g a t t h e t i m e 

of t h e K o r e a n w a r . C o m p i l a t i o n on an 

a n n u a l basis w o u l d f o l l o w a f t e r 1 9 5 4 . 

T h e c o u n t r i e s w h o s e b o o k p r o d u c t i o n s 

w o u l d h a v e i n d e x e s p r e p a r e d a r e : A u s t r i a , 

B e l g i u m , B r a z i l , D e n m a r k , F r a n c e , I t a l y , 

J a p a n , N e t h e r l a n d s , N o r w a y , S p a i n , S w e -

d e n , S w i t z e r l a n d , U n i t e d K i n g d o m , U n i t e d 

S t a t e s , a n d t h e G e r m a n F e d e r a l R e p u b l i c . 

I t w i l l be n e c e s s a r y t o d e f i n e " b o o k " w i t h 

respect to t h e q u e s t i o n of p a g e l e n g t h , since 

it is on this basis t h a t the i n i t i a l s e l e c t i o n o r 

r e j e c t i o n w i l l be m a d e in t h e d e v e l o p m e n t 

of t h e m a t e r i a l f o r t h e c o s t of b o o k s i n d e x . 

D e f i n i t i o n s of w h a t c o n s t i t u t e s a b o o k 

v a r y f r o m c o u n t r y t o c o u n t r y ; h o w e v e r , 

a n a t t e m p t a t s t a n d a r d i z a t i o n is m a d e by 

U N E S C O in its s u r v e y of b o o k p r o d u c -

t i o n : " T h e f o l l o w i n g d e f i n i t i o n of a b o o k 

m a y be f o u n d a p p r o p r i a t e f o r r e c o n c i l i n g 

D e n m a r k ) use t h e s t a n d a r d of 1 0 0 p a g e s . 

E x p e r i m e n t a l w o r k on t h e f a c t o r s i n v o l v e d 

in t h e use of a 5 0 - p a g e s t a n d a r d , as o p p o s e d 

to one of 1 0 0 p a g e s , is n e c e s s a r y . T h e use 

of a 1 0 0 - p a g e s t a n d a r d w o u l d be m o r e a d -

v a n t a g e o u s , h o w e v e r , since f e w e r i t e m s 

w o u l d be i n v o l v e d in the c o m p i l a t i o n a n d 

t a b u l a t i o n . 

T h e b o o k i n d e x w o u l d be based o n t h e 

i n c l u s i o n of all e l i g i b l e t i t l e s ( e x c l u d i n g 

o f f i c i a l g o v e r n m e n t d o c u m e n t s , t r a n s l a t i o n s , 

e t c . ) a n d e s s e n t i a l l y it w o u l d d e v e l o p — o n 

the basis of t h e d e f i n i t i o n s f o r m u l a t e d — a 

c o n c e p t of " a v e r a g e b o o k " w i t h its a t t e n d a n t 

a v e r a g e p r i c e f o r t h e v a r i o u s n a t i o n a l b o o k 

p r o d u c t i o n s f o r t h e y e a r s d e s i g n a t e d . 

A n e x p e r i m e n t a l i n d e x w a s p r e p a r e d f o r 

t h e S w i s s b o o k p r o d u c t i o n of 1 9 3 9 a n d 

1 9 5 0 , based on the n a t i o n a l b i b l i o g r a p h y . 6 

A l l b o o k s of a t l e a s t 1 0 0 p a g e s w e r e re-

c o r d e d on c a r d s , in a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e 

d e f i n i t i o n s p r e v i o u s l y s u m m a r i z e d . T h i s 

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

S u b j e c t Division 

1 9 3 9 

N o . of 
items 

Aver. 
Price 

Index 
n u m b e r 

1 9 5 0 

N o . of 
items 

Aver. 
Price 

. % 
Difference 

Philosophy and Religion 
Fine A r t s 
Social Sciences 
L i t e r a t u r e 
Novels 
N a t u r a l Science 
L a w 
Medicine 
Agriculture 

T o t a l s 

3 2 
1 6 6 
1 5 3 

5 3 
2 3 
68 
2 9 
1 2 

6 1 7 

6 . 7 8 

1 3 - 1 7 
7 . 2 4 
5 . 0 1 
6 . 2 7 

9 - 3 9 
8 . 9 5 

1 1 . 7 4 
5 - 9 7 

7 - 3 2 

1 0 0 
1 0 0 
1 0 0 
1 0 0 
1 0 0 
1 0 0 
1 0 0 
1 0 0 
1 0 0 

1 0 0 

5 3 
2 8 9 
1 9 9 

1 6 5 
82 
82 
3 6 
1 3 

1 , 1 0 0 

1 0 . 2 6 
1 8 . 8 0 
1 2 - 3 3 
1 1 . 9 8 

9 - 3 5 
2 1 . 6 5 
1 5 . 1 9 
1 3 . 7 6 
1 0 . 5 7 

1 2 . 7 3 

+ 5 i 
+ 7 2 
+ 4 ° 
+ 1 3 9 
+ 4 9 
+ 1 3 0 
+ 6 9 

+ 1 7 
+ 7 7 

+ 7 3 

t h e w i d e v a r i e t y of n a t i o n a l d e f i n i t i o n s a n d 

f i t t i n g t h e a i m of b o o k p r o d u c t i o n s t a t i s t i c s : 

a b o o k is a n o n - p e r i o d i c a l l i t e r a r y p u b l i c a -

tion c o n t a i n i n g 4 9 o r m o r e p a g e s , n o t c o u n t -

i n g the c o v e r s . " 5 

I n the U N E S C O s t u d y m e n t i o n e d , f o u r 

c o u n t r i e s ( I t a l y , S w e d e n , S w i t z e r l a n d , 

5 UNESCO Statistical Report on Book Production, 
1937-1950 ( P a r i s : U N E S C O , 1 9 5 2 ) , p. 6. 

T h e 6 1 7 " e l i g i b l e " i t e m s in t h e 1 9 3 9 S w i s s 

b i b l i o g r a p h y r e p r e s e n t 3 4 % of t h e o f f i c i a l 

b o o k p r o d u c t i o n f i g u r e s ( 1 , 8 0 2 ) f o r t h a t 

y e a r . 7 T o s e c u r e a r o u g h a p p r o x i m a t i o n of 

the n u m b e r of e l i g i b l e i t e m s in t h e v a r i o u s 

n a t i o n a l b o o k p r o d u c t i o n s f o r t h e y e a r s t o 

6 C o v e r i n g all 12 monthly issues of the Biblio-
graphisches Bulletin der Schweiz f o r 1939, and all 24 
semi-monthly issues of Das Schweizer Buck for 1950. 

7 U N E S C O , op. cit. p. 62. 

392 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



Book production in fifteen countries, 1939-19541 

C o u n t r y 
1939 1947 1950 1954 T o t a l 

Eligibles 
4 years 

C o u n t r y 
T o t a l Elig. T o t a l Elig. T o t a l Elig. 

E s t 
T o t a l Elig. 

T o t a l 
Eligibles 
4 years 

U n i t e d S t a t e s 
U n i t e d Kingdom 
G e r m a n y 2 
France 3 
J a p a n 4 
I t a l y 
N e t h e r l a n d s 5 
Austria 6 
Belgium7 
Sweden8 
Swi tzerland 
N o r w a y 9 
Brazil10 
Spain11 
D e n m a r k 1 2 

10,640 4 , 2 5 6 
14,904 5 , 9 6 2 
20,378 8 , 1 5 2 

8 , 1 2 4 3 , 2 5 0 
26,435 10,574 
10,465 4 , 1 8 6 
6 , 5 5 4 2,621 
1 , 4 8 9 596 
3 , 6 2 4 1,450 
2 , 9 5 4 1,181 
1,802 721 
2 , 4 5 8 984 
2 , 0 0 0 800 
2 , 5 8 7 1,032 
3 , 4 2 3 1 , 3 7 0 

9 , 1 8 2 3 , 6 7 3 
13,046 5,219 
8 , 6 1 2 3 , 4 4 5 

13,419 5,368 
6 , 1 7 5 2 , 4 7 0 
5 , 7 7 o 2 , 3 0 8 
7 , 0 8 6 2 , 8 3 5 
2 , 8 9 1 1,157 
3 , 0 0 0 1 , 2 0 0 
3 , 4 5 3 1,382 
3 , 8 1 0 1,524 
2 , 5 8 5 1 , 0 3 4 
2 , 0 0 0 800 
3 , 6 4 3 1,458 
3 , 3 5 3 i , 3 4 2 

11,022 4 , 4 0 9 
17,072 6 , 8 2 9 
14,094 5,638 
9 , 9 9 3 3 , 9 9 8 

13,009 5,204 
8 , 9 0 4 3 , 5 6 2 
6 , 5 3 7 2 , 6 1 5 
3 , 7 8 8 1,516 
4 , 5 7 4 1,831 
3 , 5 0 6 1,403 
3 , 5 2 7 i , 4 H 
2 , 5 4 8 1 , 0 2 0 
2 , 0 0 0 800 
3 , 6 3 3 1,454 
3 , 5 0 8 1,404 

11,OOO 4 , 4 0 0 
18,000 7 , 2 0 0 
15,000 6 , 0 0 0 
i 0 , 0 0 0 4 , 0 0 0 
15,000 6 , 0 0 0 
9 , 0 0 0 3 , 6 0 0 
7 , 0 0 0 2 , 8 0 0 
4,OOO I , 6 0 0 
4 , 0 0 0 1 , 6 0 0 
4 , 0 0 0 1 , 6 0 0 
4,OOO I , 6 0 0 
3 , 0 0 0 1 , 2 0 0 
2 , 0 0 0 800 
3 , 6 0 0 1 , 4 4 0 
3 , 6 0 0 1 , 4 4 ° 

16,738 
2 5 , 2 1 0 
23,235 
16,616 
24,248 
13,656 
10,871 
4 , 8 6 9 
6 , 0 8 1 
5,566 
5,526 
4 , 2 3 8 
3 , 2 0 0 
5 , 3 8 4 
5 , 5 5 6 

U n i t e d S t a t e s 
U n i t e d Kingdom 
G e r m a n y 2 
France 3 
J a p a n 4 
I t a l y 
N e t h e r l a n d s 5 
Austria 6 
Belgium7 
Sweden8 
Swi tzerland 
N o r w a y 9 
Brazil10 
Spain11 
D e n m a r k 1 2 

" 7 , 8 3 7 4 7 > i 3 5 88,025 3 5 , 2 1 5 107,715 4 3 , 0 9 4 113,200 4 5 , 2 8 0 170,724 

1 Except where otherwise noted, the source for these 
figures is UNESCO Statistical Report on Book Pro-
duction, 1937-1950 ( P a r i s : U n e s c o , 1952)- The figures 
for 1954 are projections of the productions for the 
preceding years. 

2 Germany. T h e post-1939 figures are for the Ger-
man Federal Republic only. The figure listed for 1950 
is actually for 1951 and is derived from S i g f r i e d 
Taubert, Grundriss des Buchliandels in aller Welt 
( H a m b u r g : E. Hauswedell, 1953). P- 88. 

3 France. F i g u r e under 1939 actually that for 1938. 
4 Japan. Shuppan nenkan (Publications Yearbook) 

for 1940 and 1951; Nihen shuppan nenkan. (Japan 
Publications Yearbook) for 1947-48. 

be s u r v e y e d , a n e v e n 4 0 % w a s used in 

p r e p a r a t i o n of t h e f o l l o w i n g s u m m a r y . 

T h e d e v e l o p m e n t of t h e d a t a f o r a cost 

of books i n d e x , a n d t h e i r l a t e r t a b u l a t i o n , 

c o u l d be c o n v e n i e n t l y a c c o m p l i s h e d t h r o u g h 

t h e use of p u n c h e d c a r d s . O n t h e e x p e r i -

m e n t a l p u n c h e d c a r d i l l u s t r a t e d , t h e l e f t 

h a n d p o r t i o n w o u l d be c h e c k e d b y t h e 

person e x a m i n i n g t h e b i b l i o g r a p h y ( t h e 

" r e a d e r " ) f o r t h e e l i g i b l e items, a n d t h e 

r i g h t h a n d p o r t i o n w o u l d be used f o r p u n c h -

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

a n d c o u n t r y w o u l d be g a n g - p u n c h e d . T h e 

r e a d e r w o u l d c h e c k - m a r k t h e p r o p e r sub-

j e c t d i v i s i o n , e i t h e r the b o u n d o r u n b o u n d 

b o x , r e c o r d the n u m b e r of p a g e s , a n d t h e 

p r i c e in the n a t i o n a l c u r r e n c y . ( T h e issue 

n u m b e r of t h e b i b l i o g r a p h y , a n d e i t h e r t h e 

i t e m n u m b e r o r p a g e n u m b e r w o u l d also be 

r e c o r d e d . ) T h e b o x l a b e l e d " q u e s t i o n " 

OCTOBER, 1955 

5 Netherlands. F i g u r e for 1950 from Taubert, op. cit., 
p. 202. 

8 Austria. F i g u r e under 1939 actually that for 1937-
7 Belgium. F i g u r e under 1939 actually that for 1934. 

from Taubert, op. cit. 
8 Sweden. F i g u r e for 1950 from Taubert, op. cit., 

p. 254. 
9 Norway. F i g u r e for 1950 from Taubert, op. cit., 

p. 212. 
10 Brazil. Estimated figures supplied by Hispanic 

Foundation, Library of Congress. 
11 Spain. Figure under 1939 actually that for 1940. 
12 Denmark. Figure under 1939 actually that for 

1940. 

w o u l d be c h e c k - m a r k e d if the r e a d e r w e r e 

d o u b t f u l of an i t e m ' s i n c l u s i o n ; t h e ques-

tion c a r d s w o u l d be s o r t e d o u t a n d e x a m i n e d 

by a r e v i s e r . T o secure the a v e r a g e prices, 

the c a r d s w o u l d be t o t a l e d on the t a b u l a t o r 

in t h e n a t i o n a l c u r r e n c y , c o n v e r t e d t o U . S . 

c u r r e n c y a t t h e r a t e of e x c h a n g e p r e v a i l i n g 

d u r i n g t h e p a r t i c u l a r y e a r , o r t h e a v e r a g e 

r a t e of e x c h a n g e f o r t h a t y e a r , a n d t h e n 

a v e r a g e d . T h e u t i l i z a t i o n of p u n c h e d c a r d s 

w i l l f a c i l i t a t e t h e c e n t r a l t a b u l a t i o n of d a t a 

d e v e l o p e d a t s e v e r a l d i f f e r e n t l o c a t i o n s . 

A C O S T O F P E R I O D I C A L S I N D E X 

A cost of p e r i o d i c a l s i n d e x w o u l d be de-

v e l o p e d f o r t h e s a m e c o u n t r i e s as w o u l d the 

cost of b o o k s i n d e x ; t h e base p e r i o d , re-

p o r t i n g y e a r s , a n d the s u b j e c t d i v i s i o n s ( e x -

c e p t i n g n o v e l s ) w o u l d l i k e w i s e be i d e n t i c a l . 

T h e i n d e x r e f l e c t i n g c h a n g e s in t h e cost 

40 7 



I >> 
i s s u e item a § 

0 

r e f e r e n c e 
y e a r c o u n t r y r e f e r e n c e y e a r 

a § 
0 i s s . item 

p h i l o s o p h y & 
1 

n a t u r a l 
s c i e n c e s 11 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 

2 12 number p a g e s 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 M i l 

f i n e a r t s 3 l a w 13 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 

4 14 c o s t 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 

s o c i a l 
s c i e n c e s ,1 1 m e d i c i n e 15 

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 
b d . unbd. S 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 

6 16 b i n d i n s 
S 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 

l i t e r a t u r e 7 a g r i c u l t u r e 17 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 6 

8 18 q u e s t i o n 
7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 7 

n o v e l s 9 19 8 8 8 8 8 b 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 

10 20 9 9 9 9 15 « I ' If 
9 9 9 9 9 

5' 5? 53 
9 9 9 9 
A 55 56 5 

9 9 9 9 
15 « I ' If 

9 9 9 
5' 5? 53 

9 9 9 9 
A 55 56 5 

0 0 0 0 
56 59 60 61 
l l l l 

2 2 2 2 

3 3 3 3 

4 4 4 4 

5 5 5 5 

6 6 6 6 

7 7 7 7 

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 
6; 6< 65 66 61 >8 63 10 71 

1 1 11 1 I t I I 1 

2 2 

3 3 

4 4 

5 5 

2 2 2 2 2 2 

3 3 3 3 3 3 

4 4 4 4 4 4 

5 5 5 5 5 5 

6 6 6 6 6 6 

7 7 7 7 7 7 

8 8 8 8 8 8 

9 9 9 9 9 9 

n 

6 6 * 6 6 

7 7 7 7 

9 9 b 9 
V 59 60 61 67 61 64 65 66 6/168 69 '0 

9 9;g ? 

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
u ?«is re » re 19 
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 

2 2 2 2 2 2 2 
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 

4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 

5i5 5 5 5 5 5 5 
i 

6l6 6 6 6 6 6 6 

7 7 7 7 7 / 7 

9 9 9 9 9 9 9 

Sample of Punched Card 

of periodicals w o u l d d i f f e r in its d e r i v a t i o n 

f r o m the i n d e x f o r books. B a s i c a l l y the 

same periodicals w o u l d be u t i l i z e d f o r the 

entire period 1 9 3 9 - 1 9 5 4 , their prices as-

certained, a v e r a g e d , and then c o n v e r t e d i n t o 

index n u m b e r s based on the 1 9 3 9 prices. 

T h u s the periodicals index w o u l d m a k e use 

of the f a c t o r of c o n t i n u i t y of p u b l i c a t i o n , 

in c o n t r a s t to the d e v e l o p m e n t of a cost of 

books i n d e x . 

T h e c o n s t r u c t i o n of the i n d e x w o u l d be 

based on the n u m b e r of periodicals published 

in a p a r t i c u l a r c o u n t r y and their n u m e r i c a l 

d i s t r i b u t i o n w i t h i n the s u b j e c t divisions, 

that is, the t o t a l n u m b e r of periodicals con-

s t i t u t i n g the i n d e x itself w o u l d be deter-

m i n e d by the t o t a l n u m b e r of periodicals 

published in a p a r t i c u l a r c o u n t r y . T h i s 

w o u l d be accomplished t h r o u g h a s a m p l i n g 

p r o c e d u r e . 

A l t h o u g h the basic core of the index 

w o u l d consist of the same titles b e g i n n i n g 

w i t h the base period of 1 9 3 9 it w i l l be 

desirable to add n e w l y issued titles f o r the 

y e a r s of r e p o r t i n g ( 1 9 4 7 , 1 9 5 0 , e t c . ) . T h e 

inclusion of n e w titles w i t h nascent e d i t o r i a l 

and m a n u f a c t u r i n g costs w o u l d m a k e the 

i n d e x m o r e representative of the p u b l i s h i n g 

scene. I n a d d i t i o n to this economic f a c t o r , 

c e r t a i n of the n e w titles w o u l d reflect n e w 

fields of interest and techniques w i t h i n the 

s u b j e c t divisions ( e . g . , j o u r n a l s in the field 

of g e r o n t o l o g y and antibiotics m i g h t be in-

c l u d e d in the i n d e x f o r M e d i c i n e ) , thereby 

m a k i n g f o r a d e q u a t e representation w i t h i n 

the s u b j e c t . 

T h e c h a n g e in the composition and qual-

ity of the i n d i v i d u a l periodical d u r i n g the 

period 1 9 3 9 - 1 9 5 4 m e r i t s a t t e n t i o n . T h e 

use of the same periodical titles in the in-

dex in a sense implies the m e a s u r e m e n t of 

the same substance t h r o u g h o u t this period. 

T h u s the question of c o m p a r a t i v e v a l u e is 

raised r a t h e r f o r c i b l y at i n t e r v a l s d u r i n g this 

period since a p a t t e r n f o r the c o m p a r i s o n 

c o n v e n i e n t l y e x i s t s — t h e i n d i v i d u a l pub-

lisher's o r i g i n a l e d i t o r i a l practice in f o r m a t , 

use of i l l u s t r a t i o n s , q u a l i t y of paper, etc. 

I n d e v e l o p i n g a cost of books index the 

aspect of comparison does n o t arise as 

s h a r p l y because of the dissimilarities a m o n g 

books and the a v e r a g e s in the cost of books 

index w o u l d reflect the q u a l i t y of paper, 

b i n d i n g , and g e n e r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c p r e v a l e n t 

d u r i n g a p a r t i c u l a r y e a r . S i m i l a r l y , the 

m a i n consideration in a cost of periodicals 

index w o u l d be that it constitute a measure-

m e n t of the periodicals being published. 

394 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



N a t u r a l and Applied Sciences 

1939 1947 1950 1954 1955 

American Assoc. of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin 
(Tulsa, Okla.) 10.00 15.00 15 00 18 00 18 00 

American Journal of Mathematics (Baltimore) 7 . 5 0 7 . 5 0 7 50 8 5° 
8 50 

American Journal of Science (New H a v e n ) 6 . 0 0 6 . 0 0 8 00 8 00 10 00 
American Railway Engineering Assoc. (Chicago) 1 0 . 0 0 1 0 . 0 0 10 00 10 00 10 00 
Diesel Progress (Los Angeles) 3 . 0 0 5 . 0 0 5 . 0 0 5 00 5 00 
Ecology (Brooklyn and D u r h a m ) 5 . 0 0 5 . 0 0 7 5o 7 5° 7 50 Electrical World (New Y o r k ) 4 . 0 0 6 . 0 0 6 00 6 . 0 0 6 00 
Engineering and Mining Journal (New Y o r k ) 3 . 0 0 3 . 0 0 3 00 3 00 3 00 
Entomological News (Phila.) 3 . 0 0 3 . 0 0 3 00 5 00 5 00 
Franklin Institute Journal (Phila.) 6 . 0 0 6 . 0 0 8 00 10 00 10 00 
Journal of Applied Physics (New York) 7 . 0 0 7 . 0 0 9 00 12 00 12 00 
Journal of Chemical Physics (New Y o r k ) 1 0 . 0 0 1 0 . 0 0 15 00 15 00 15 00 
Journal of Geology (Chicago) 6 . 0 0 6 . 0 0 6 00 7 00 7 00 
Journal of Organic Chemistry (Baltimore) 6 . 0 0 6 . 0 0 6 00 14 00 14 00 
Journal of Paleontology (Tulsa, Okla.) 6 . 0 0 6 . 0 0 6 00 10 00 10 00 
Mechanical Engineering (New Y o r k ) 5 . 0 0 6 . 0 0 7 00 7 00 7 00 
Physiological Zoology (Chicago) 7 . 5 0 1 0 . 0 0 10 00 10 00 10 00 

T o t a l s 105.00 123.50 132 00 156 00 158 00 

I N D E X FOR N A T U R A L A N D A P P L I E D S C I E N C E S 1 0 0 . 0 117.6 125 7 148 5 1 5 0 . 4 

M e r e l y f o r p u r p o s e s of i l l u s t r a t i n g a 

p a t t e r n , p r i c e s h a v e b e e n d e v e l o p e d f o r the 

f o l l o w i n g g r o u p of A m e r i c a n p e r i o d i c a l s 

s e l e c t e d a t r a n d o m f o r the s u b j e c t d i v i s i o n 

of n a t u r a l a n d a p p l i e d sciences ( i n c l u d i n g 

t e c h n o l o g y ) . I n p r a c t i c e , p r i c e s w o u l d be 

r e c o r d e d a n n u a l l y o n a m a s t e r l i s t of t h e 

t i t l e s c o m p r i s i n g a l l t h e s u b j e c t d i v i s i o n s 

of t h e i n d e x . A n n u a l l y o n l y the i n d e x 

n u m b e r f o r e a c h s u b j e c t d i v i s i o n , as w e l l as 

t h e i n d e x n u m b e r f o r the a g g r e g a t e of a l l 

t i t l e s f o r m i n g t h e i n d e x , c o u l d be p u b l i s h e d . 

S i n c e t h e d e v e l o p m e n t of p r i c e i n d e x e s 

w o u l d be a m a t t e r of p r a c t i c a l i n t e r e s t t o 

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

g e s t i o n s w o u l d be g r a t e f u l l y r e c e i v e d by the 

w r i t e r . F u r t h e r e x p e r i m e n t a l w o r k is b e i n g 

c o n t i n u e d , a n d the s u b j e c t of p r i c e i n d e x e s 

w i l l c o n s t i t u t e t h e t o p i c of a thesis f o r t h e 

d e g r e e of M . S . in L . S . a t the C a t h o l i c 

U n i v e r s i t y of A m e r i c a . 

T h e B o a r d o n A c q u i s i t i o n of L i b r a r y 

M a t e r i a l s ( A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y A s s o c i a t i o n ) 

has e x p r e s s e d an i n t e r e s t in t h e d e v e l o p m e n t 

of the i n d e x e s . I t s c h a i r m a n , M r . R o b e r t 

V o s p e r , has m a d e k n o w n to t h e d i r e c t o r of 

t h e thesis, t h e R e v e r e n d J a m e s J . K o r t e n -

d i c k , head of the D e p a r t m e n t of L i b r a r y 

S c i e n c e a t t h e C a t h o l i c U n i v e r s i t y , t h e 

B o a r d ' s w i l l i n g n e s s t o o f f e r s u c h a d v i c e a n d 

c o u n s e l , t h r o u g h M r . E d w i n E . W i l l i a m s , 

chief of t h e A c q u i s i t i o n s D e p a r t m e n t a t t h e 

H a r v a r d U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y , a n d M r . M e l -

v i n J . V o i g t , assistant l i b r a r i a n a t t h e U n i -

v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a L i b r a r y a t B e r k e l e y , 

as m a y be a p p r o p r i a t e in the d e v e l o p m e n t 

of t h e price i n d e x e s . 

OCTOBER, 1955 
40 7