College and Research Libraries A SYMPOSIUM Proposed Expansion of the Library of Congress Catalog—Books: Authors Into a Current National Union Catalog, 1956 T h e following f o u r papers were presented at the meeting of the ALA Resources Board, Philadelphia, Pa., J u l y 4, 1955. Dr. Frederick H . W a g m a n , University of Michigan Li- brary, presided. B y C H A R L E S W . D A V I D Background and Significance of the Proposal Dr. David is director of a new research li- brary for the Longwood Foundation, E. I. duPont de Nemours and Company. AT T H E A N N U A L Conference of the Ameri-can Library Association which was held in Los Angeles in the early summer of 1953, I a p p e a r e d before an o p e n meeting of the Board on Resources a n d presented a p a p e r on " T h e R e p r o d u c t i o n of the N a t i o n a l U n i o n Catalog." 1 I was then working as the chairman of a subcommittee of the Board on Resources which h a d h a d this matter u n d e r consideration for many months, h a d held a n u m b e r of meetings on the subject, a n d h a d t o r m e n t e d the Library of Congress with repeated requests for study a n d e x p e r i m e n t a t i o n in an effort to find a way to bring a b o u t the publication in good readable f o r m of o u r great n a t i o n a l biblio- graphical instrument, so that it could be made generally available on the shelves of our research libraries. I m e n t i o n these things in order to indi- cate that I may perhaps claim to be some- t h i n g of a veteran in the campaign to pro- vide research libraries with a convenient, readily usable copy of o u r National U n i o n Catalog. B u t to confess the t r u t h , the Los Angeles 1 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S , X V ( 1 9 5 4 ) , 20-26. p a p e r was n o o u t s t a n d i n g success, though it did, I think, set forth simply a n d hon- estly the record of a considerable effort di- rected towards a very desirable objective, which ended in failure. T h e r e were several good reasons for the failure. Due, among other things, to the refusal of Congress to provide a d e q u a t e sustenance, the existing U n i o n Catalog was not fit to be published without a gigantic effort of filing, retyping, a n d editing. Also there were strong reasons against publishing u n t i l a great a n d expen- sive f u r t h e r effort h a d been made to bring the catalog more nearly to completion; a n d the evidence which has accumulated since then has certainly confirmed this view. Fi- nally, with the m a g n i t u d e of the enterprise a n d with the rising costs of all bibliographi- cal work a n d of publishing, we f o u n d our estimates of the total necessary outlay rising to between f o u r a n d a half a n d five million dollars; a n d nobody h a d the courage to con- template the possibility of any such burden as that being borne, even cooperatively a n d collectively, by our research libraries. Yet in spite of the discouragement of such figures, I said in a final paragraph, "Experi- enced librarians will hardly be willing to write finis u p o n this project a n d condemn it to the musty files of the forgotten." R a t h e r I suggested that the work of the subcommittee "should not . . . be regarded 24 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES as h a v i n g r e c o r d e d a f a i l u r e , b u t r a t h e r as h a v i n g established a b e n c h - m a r k f o r t h e g u i d a n c e of m o r e successful e x p l o r e r s a n d surveyors of a l a t e r t i m e . " T o d a y we a r e m e t to t a k e fresh e n c o u r a g e m e n t f r o m t h e fact t h a t t h e effort w h i c h c u l m i n a t e d in 1953 d i d n o t e n d in final d e f e a t a n d to t a k e a c c o u n t of t h e f a c t t h a t s u b s t a n t i a l prog- ress has b e e n m a d e , p a r t i c u l a r l y a l o n g o n e l i n e of a t t a c k . I h a v e n o t m a d e t h e necessary effort to d e t e r m i n e j u s t w h e r e a n d w h e n a n d by w h o m t h e p r o p o s a l was first m a d e t h a t t h e Library of Congress Catalog—Books: Au- thors b e e x p a n d e d i n t o a c u r r e n t n a t i o n a l u n i o n catalog. T h e Books: Authors Catalog itself stems f r o m t h e earlier massive Catalog of Books Represented by Library of Con- gress Printed Cards, w h i c h was p r o m o t e d a n d s p o n s o r e d by t h e Association of R e s e a r c h Libraries. I n t h e course of t h e i n v e s t i g a t i o n a n d t h e discussions w h i c h led t h e L i b r a r y of Congress to t h e decision in 1946 to p u b - lish its catalog c u r r e n t l y a n d c u m u l a t i v e l y in t h e f o r m w h i c h h a s n o w come to be called t h e Books: Authors Catalog, t h e pos- sibility of a l a t e r e x p a n s i o n of this instru- m e n t i n t o a n a t i o n a l u n i o n catalog was re- p e a t e d l y c o n s i d e r e d a n d came to b e re- g a r d e d as a n i m p o r t a n t d e s i d e r a t u m . I t was discussed a t some l e n g t h in a p a p e r by C. S u m n e r S p a l d i n g w h i c h was r e a d at t h e same m e e t i n g of t h e B o a r d o n Resources in Los Angeles to w h i c h r e f e r e n c e has already b e e n m a d e . B u t I t h i n k it was n o t u n t i l s o m e w h a t l a t e r t h a n this t h a t research li- b r a r i a n s b e g a n to be conscious of t h e ef- fects w h i c h such a n e x p a n s i o n of t h e Books: Authors Catalog m i g h t h a v e o n t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g p r o b l e m as a whole. If it s h o u l d p r o v e to be feasible financial- ly a n d practically to e x p a n d t h e Books: Author Catalog i n t o a really successful cur- r e n t n a t i o n a l u n i o n c a t a l o g — w i t h p r o p e r e d i t i n g , w i t h o u t a n y c u m b e r s o m e backlog of u n f i l e d entries, w i t h o u t a n y u n d u e delays in r e p o r t i n g — t h e n w o u l d n o t a g r e a t b u r - d e n be l i f t e d off t h e existing N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g staff? W o u l d it n o t t h e n b e possible to cease filing c u r r e n t cards i n t o t h e exist- i n g catalog, as of a given "cut-off" d a t e , t h u s b r i n g i n g to a n e n d (or n e a r l y to a n e n d ) its seemingly endless e x p a n s i o n ? If such s h o u l d p r o v e to be t h e case, t h e n m i g h t t h e r e n o t be a n e n d of t h e serious b u d g e t a r y i n a d e q u a c y of t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g Division at t h e L i b r a r y of Congress, a n d m i g h t n o t t h e staff find itself in a p o s i t i o n to d e v o t e its resources a n d its t i m e a n d energy m u c h m o r e largely to t h e work of filing t h e back- log of a c c u m u l a t e d cards, to e d i t i n g a n d re- t y p i n g u n s a t i s f a c t o r y cards, a n d p e r h a p s most i m p o r t a n t of all, to b r i n g i n g t h e cata- log m o r e n e a r l y to c o m p l e t i o n . T h u s w o u l d some of t h e obstacles to p u b l i c a t i o n w h i c h h a v e b e e n n o t e d a b o v e g r a d u a l l y be r e m o v e d — w i t h t h e h o p e d - f o r result t h a t t h e catalog m i g h t u l t i m a t e l y b e p u b l i s h e d a n d m a d e widely available. Such r e a s o n i n g h a d a very s t r o n g two-fold a p p e a l . First, it offered t h e almost i m m e d i a t e h o p e of a p u b l i s h e d cur- r e n t n a t i o n a l u n i o n catalog, w h i c h w i t h i n a few years w o u l d i n e v i t a b l y grow i n t o some- t h i n g retrospectively i m p o r t a n t . Second, it offered t h e h o p e of l i f t i n g a g r e a t b u r d e n of f r u s t r a t i o n f r o m t h e s h o u d e r s of t h e exist- ing U n i o n C a t a l o g staff a n d of p r e p a r i n g t h e way f o r t h e u l t i m a t e p u b l i c a t i o n of t h a t g r e a t b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l i n s t r u m e n t . So f a r as I a m aware, this l i n e of reason- i n g was first d e v e l o p e d i n a n i n f o r m a l con- v e r s a t i o n l a t e o n e e v e n i n g in a h o t e l l o b b y i n M i n n e a p o l i s d u r i n g t h e A L A A n n u a l C o n f e r e n c e a year ago. I t was f u r t h e r dis- cussed a n d d e v e l o p e d in a m e e t i n g of t h e B o a r d o n Resources a day o r two l a t e r ; a n d since t h e n it has b e e n u n d e r active consid- e r a t i o n by a n e w s u b c o m m i t t e e of t h e b o a r d , of w h i c h F r e d e r i c k H . W a g m a n is c h a i r m a n , by t h e L i b r a r y of Congress, a n d by t h e b o a r d itself. T h e s u b c o m m i t t e e h e l d l o n g m e e t i n g s at t h e L i b r a r y of Congress in O c t o b e r of 1954 a n d in J a n u a r y of t h e p r e s e n t year, a n d it has laid o n t h e L i b r a r y of Congress a tre- m e n d o u s b u r d e n of investigation, calcula- t i o n , a n d p l a n n i n g . A t t h e J a n u a r y m e e t i n g of t h e s u b c o m m i t t e e t h e L i b r a r y of Congress p r e s e n t e d d e t a i l e d studies of a l t e r n a t i v e plans, t o g e t h e r w i t h some 32 pages of sta- tistical tables s h o w i n g t h e p r o b a b l e n u m b e r of cards to b e h a n d l e d a n d giving estimates of s u b s c r i p t i o n costs. A f t e r these difficult d a t a h a d b e e n e x a m i n e d w i t h as m u c h u n d e r - s t a n d i n g as t h e m e m b e r s of t h e s u b c o m m i t - tee c o u l d b r i n g to b e a r u p o n t h e m , t h e gen- eral o u t l i n e of t h e p l a n w h i c h is today be- f o r e us was u n a n i m o u s l y a p p r o v e d . Since JANUARY, 1956 25- t h e n t h e p l a n has been s t u d i e d f u r t h e r by t h e L i b r a r y of Congress a n d by t h e B o a r d of Resources; it has b e e n f o r m a l l y a p p r o v e d in p r i n c i p l e by t h e b o a r d a n d by t h e Asso- ciation of R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s , a n d it has been laid b e f o r e m a n y l i b r a r i a n s h e r e pres- e n t in writing, t o g e t h e r w i t h a r e q u e s t t h a t they i n d i c a t e t h e i r willingness to h a v e t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h they serve subscribe to a c o n s i d e r a b l e n u m b e r of copies of t h e ex- p a n d e d catalog, t h u s o f f e r i n g t h e assurance of financial feasibility. T h e p l a n itself, t o g e t h e r w i t h reasons f o r its a d o p t i o n , will be p r e s e n t e d to you in some d e t a i l in t h e f o l l o w i n g p a p e r by t h e chief of t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g Division of t h e L i b r a r y of Congress. T h e r e m a i n d e r of my a s s i g n m e n t is to express my convictions a b o u t t h e significance of t h e p r o p o s e d ex- p a n d e d catalog. H e r e I t h i n k I h a d b e t t e r begin by m a k i n g t h e h o n e s t confession t h a t I a m a n avowed a d v o c a t e of this p r o j e c t r a t h e r t h a n a n im- p a r t i a l j u d g e . I t is t r u e t h a t I h a v e h a d to l e a r n some d e g r e e of m o d e r a t i o n since in my first e n t h u s i a s m over t h e possibilities of m o d e r n r e p r o d u c t i o n t e c h n i q u e s I s h a r e d , a g o o d m a n y years ago, in t h e a u t h o r s h i p of a n article w h i c h seriously p r o p o s e d t h e com- p i l a t i o n of a w o r l d t h e s a u r u s ; 2 b u t I still h o l d w i t h d e e p c o n v i c t i o n to t h e view t h a t A m e r i c a n scholarship, A m e r i c a n l i b r a r i a n - ship, a n d t h e n a t i o n a l i n t e r e s t r e q u i r e t h a t we h a v e in o u r research libraries a well- e d i t e d , c o n v e n i e n t l y usable, n a t i o n a l u n i o n catalog which will reveal, w i t h locations, s u b s t a n t i a l l y o u r total n a t i o n a l l i b r a r y re- sources. T h e efforts which h a v e been m a d e in r e c e n t years, m a i n l y u n d e r t h e sponsor- ship of t h e B o a r d o n Resources, h a v e seemed to d e m o n s t r a t e t h a t such a u n i o n catalog, h o w e v e r desirable, is n o t p r e s e n t l y a practi- cal possibility. B u t t h e m o r e l i m i t e d p r o j e c t w h i c h is b e f o r e us today does seem to m e to be e m i n e n t l y practical a n d possible a n d to c o n s t i t u t e a g r e a t f o r w a r d step in t h e r i g h t d i r e c t i o n . T h e Library of Congress Catalog—Books: Authors w h e n first p r o p o s e d was, I t h i n k , viewed by a g o o d m a n y l i b r a r i a n s w i t h real misgivings, b u t it has succeeded b e y o n d ex- p e c t a t i o n s a n d has n o w come to be r e g a r d e d 2 " A C u m u l a t i v e W o r l d T h e s a u r u s , " The Journal of Documentation, I I I , ( 1 9 4 7 ) , 43-45. as a n i n d i s p e n s a b l e tool in b o t h t h e tech- nical a n d t h e service divisions of a g r e a t m a n y libraries, even fairly small ones. I a m c o n v i n c e d t h a t t h e p r o p o s e d e x p a n d e d cata- log, because of its g r e a t e r riches, will p r o v e to be even m o r e i n d i s p e n s a b l e in p r e t t y n e a r l y all t h e c o n n e c t i o n s in w h i c h t h e pres- e n t Books: Authors Catalog is used. M o r e o v e r , as in t h e case of t h e p r e s e n t Books: Authors Catalog, currency, especially because of t h e r e g u l a r a n d systematic cumu- lations, soon stretches o u t i n t o t h e l o n g r a n g e , a n d so it will be w i t h t h e p r o p o s e d e x p a n d e d catalog. T h e statistics of t h e e x p e r i e n c e of u n i o n catalogs on cards, b o t h n a t i o n a l a n d region- al, on which I w o u l d like to lay h a n d s at this m o m e n t a p p e a r f o r t h e most p a r t n o t to be a v a i l a b l e ; b u t t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g Divi- sion of t h e L i b r a r y of Congress has b e e n a b l e t o p r o v i d e m e w i t h p a r t i a l d a t a which seem to m e to be w o r t h y of a t t e n t i o n . Leav- i n g o u t of a c c o u n t t h e u n r e c o r d e d searches of i n d i v i d u a l scholars w h o visited t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g a n d used it personally, it a p p e a r s t h a t d u r i n g t h e first q u a r t e r of 1954 a t o t a l of 3,293 r e q u e s t s f o r m o n o g r a p h s were re- ceived a n d searched by t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g . Of these 13.5% b o r e i m p r i n t dates of t h e 15-year p e r i o d 1940 t h r o u g h 1954; 23.5%, i m p r i n t dates of t h e 20-year p e r i o d 1920 t h r o u g h 1939; a n d 11.5%, i m p r i n t dates of t h e 20-year p e r i o d 1900 t h r o u g h 1919. T h e t o t a l f o r t h e 55 years 1900 t h r o u g h 1954 was t h e r e f o r e 4 8 . 5 % . T h e staff of t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g Division believes t h a t these statistics, t h o u g h obviously p r e t t y l i m i t e d a n d t a k i n g n o a c c o u n t of t h e i n q u i r i e s of i n d i v i d u a l searchers o u t s i d e t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g staff, a r e nevertheless fairly r e p r e s e n t a t i v e . T h e b r o a d conclusion w o u l d t h e r e f o r e seem to b e t h a t a b o u t one-half of t h e i n q u i r i e s m a d e at t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g in W a s h i n g t o n a r e f o r items p u b l i s h e d d u r i n g this p r e s e n t cen- tury. I t h i n k it is f a i r to observe, however, t h a t t h e k i n d of i n q u i r i e s w h i c h o n e c o m m o n l y takes t h e t r o u b l e to s e n d or carry to Wash- i n g t o n a r e likely to b e t h e difficult ones f o r items b e a r i n g t h e o l d e r i m p r i n t dates. If we h a d a satisfactory p u b l i s h e d u n i o n catalog c o n v e n i e n t l y on o u r shelves, I a m c o n v i n c e d t h a t t h e use of it w o u l d be f o r t h e s e a r c h i n g of r e c e n t i m p r i n t s m u c h m o r e largely t h a n 26 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES t h e W a s h i n g t o n e x p e r i e n c e e x a m i n e d above w o u l d lead o n e to expect. T h i s view is con- firmed by t h e staff of t h e P h i l a d e l p h i a Re- g i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g u e . W h i l e they h a v e n o t c o m p i l e d statistics on this p o i n t , it is t h e i r u n a n i m o u s impression t h a t t h e in- q u i r i e s w i t h w h i c h they h a v e to deal a r e m u c h m o r e p r e p o n d e r a n t l y f o r i m p r i n t s of relatively r e c e n t d a t e . T o m e it seems p r o b - a b l e t h a t t h e P h i l a d e l p h i a e x p e r i e n c e is a b e t t e r i n d i c a t o r t h a n t h a t of W a s h i n g t o n as to w h a t we m i g h t e x p e c t as to t h e use of t h e p r o p o s e d e x p a n d e d Books: Authors Catalog. I believe in short t h a t , if t h e pro- posed n e w v e n t u r e succeeds, most of us will be a s t o n i s h e d at t h e r a p i d i t y w i t h which o u r n e w tool takes o n g r e a t retrospective im- p o r t a n c e a n d p r o v i d e s c o n v e n i e n t answers to a great n u m b e r of o u r questions. A n d as f o r t h e existing N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g on cards, which will, I am con- vinced, be greatly assisted by t h e l a u n c h i n g of t h e p r o p o s e d new c u r r e n t catalog, we a r e n o t yet in d e s p a i r of u l t i m a t e p u b l i c a t i o n , as I h o p e o t h e r speakers on this p r o g r a m will presently convince us. S p e a k i n g n o w f r o m t h e v i e w p o i n t of a large university or research library, w h a t claims can I p r o p e r l y m a k e f o r t h e i m p o r - t a n c e a n d t h e usefulness of t h e p r o p o s e d ex- p a n s i o n of t h e Books: Authors Catalog i n t o a c u r r e n t , c u m u l a t i v e n a t i o n a l u n i o n cata- log? I n o r d e r to clarify my t h i n k i n g on this subject, I h a v e c o n f e r r e d a b o u t t h e p r o j e c t w i t h a good m a n y of t h e m e m b e r s of my staff whose e x p e r i e n c e s h o u l d l e n d w e i g h t to t h e i r j u d g m e n t . T h e i r c o m m e n t s h a v e been u n a n i m o u s l y f a v o r a b l e . I n t h e acquisi- tions d e p a r t m e n t I h a v e b e e n assured t h a t t h e e x p a n d e d catalog w o u l d be of g r e a t assistance to t h e searchers in t h e i r effort to establish correct entries a n d to t h e d e p a r t - m e n t as a w h o l e in its effort to f o r m a n idea of t h e c o n t e n t s of a p r o p o s e d p u r c h a s e a n d so reach a s o u n d decision as to w h e t h e r to p r o c e e d w i t h t h e p u r c h a s e or n o t . I n t h e c a t a l o g i n g d e p a r t m e n t t h e r e was e q u a l en- thusiasm. It was felt t h a t t h e n e w tool w o u l d be of m u c h v a l u e in establishing a u t h o r i d e n t i t y for botli c u r r e n t a n d n o n - c u r r e n t m a t e r i a l , t h a t it w o u l d greatly l i g h t e n t h e b u r d e n of searching, a n d t h a t it w o u l d be of m u c h h e l p in d e a l i n g w i t h t h e difficult s u b j e c t of c o r p o r a t e h e a d i n g s . W e have in o u r library a n i m p o r t a n t e n t e r p r i s e of cata- log revision w h i c h stems f r o m t h e b a d prac- tices of f o r m e r g e n e r a t i o n s . H e r e a g a i n I received assurance f r o m t h e catalog reviser t h a t t h e new i n s t r u m e n t w o u l d be of m u c h assistance, p a r t i c u l a r l y because of t h e r e c o r d it w o u l d s u p p l y of t h e practices of o t h e r in- s t i t u t i o n s . T h e r e f e r e n c e d e p a r t m e n t was equally e m p h a t i c . It was p a r t i c u l a r l y n o t e d t h a t t h e e x p a n d e d catalog w o u l d s u p p l y m u c h b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l i n f o r m a t i o n o n au- thors which is elsewhere far m o r e difficult t o come by, t h a t it w o u l d be of g r e a t assist- ance in t h e h a n d l i n g of t h e g r o w i n g traffic in i n t e r l i b r a r y loans, a n d t h a t it w o u l d con- s t i t u t e a r e f e r e n c e tool of great i m p o r t a n c e n o t only f o r l i b r a r i a n s b u t f o r t h e faculty a n d s t u d e n t s which we serve. O n reflection I w o n d e r why I h a v e t a k e n t h e t r o u b l e to m a k e these i n q u i r i e s a m o n g t h e m e m b e r s of my staff. A m e r i c a n l i b r a r i a n - ship has b e e n firmly c o m m i t t e d to t h e con- cept a n d to t h e c o o p e r a t i v e s u p p o r t of t h e u n i o n catalog idea for several decades. Reso- l u t i o n s calling f o r t h e " c o m p l e t i o n " of t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g h a v e b e e n n u m e r - ous a n d they h a v e been u n c h a l l e n g e d . M o r e recently t h e d e m a n d has been g r o w i n g f o r t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g n o t only to be " c o m p l e t e d " b u t to be p r o p e r l y e d i t e d a n d legibly p u b l i s h e d f o r wide d i s t r i b u t i o n a n d use. T h e p r o p o s e d e x p a n s i o n of t h e Books: Authors Catalog i n t o a c u r r e n t c u m u l a t i v e u n i o n catalog will certainly n o t wholly m e e t these d e m a n d s , b u t my own c o n v i c t i o n is t h a t it will c o n s t i t u t e so great a f o r w a r d step towards t h e desired goal t h a t it o u g h t h a r d - ly to be necessary to a r g u e t h e case in its favor, p r o v i d e d a p l a n can be devised w h i c h offers g o o d h o p e of its b e i n g financially self-supporting. A n d h e r e I w o u l d also p o i n t o u t t h a t past e x p e r i e n c e w i t h such coopera- tive e n t e r p r i s e s seems to i n d i c a t e t h a t o n c e they h a v e been got u n d e r way o u r ca- pacity to sustain t h e m is likely to be g r e a t e r t h a n was at first t h o u g h t possible. Lest w h a t I h a v e so f a r said s h o u l d seem to some of you a n u n b l u s h i n g piece of pro- m o t i o n , let m e a d d a final w o r d of c a u t i o n . I will n o t claim t h a t t h e p l a n as n o w f o r m u - l a t e d a n d a b o u t to be laid b e f o r e you is be- y o n d criticism or t h a t it will give us truly t h e c u r r e n t u n i o n catalog of o u r d r e a m s . T h e r e will inevitably be blemishes a n d in- JANUARY, 1956 27- consistencies in it. T h e r e may be difficulties a b o u t p r o m p t r e p o r t i n g a n d e d i t i n g . M o r e serious, as it seems to me, may b e t h e in- a d e q u a c y of t h e r e p o r t i n g by c o o p e r a t i n g l i b r a r i e s across t h e c o u n t r y . I n t h e i n i t i a l stages I a m c o n v i n c e d t h a t t h e catalog's cov- erage of o u r t o t a l resources a n d its r e p r e - s e n t a t i o n of t h e i r g e o g r a p h i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n will be i n a d e q u a t e . B u t h e r e I believe t h a t t h e r e is n e e d f o r a n act of c o u r a g e a n d f a i t h . J u s t as in t h e m a t t e r of f i n a n c i n g , so h e r e in t h e m a t t e r of coverage a n d geo- g r a p h i c a l d i s t r i b u t i o n , if we can get t h e e n t e r p r i s e u n d e r way, I believe t h a t im- p r o v e m e n t s can b e m a d e a n d t h e blemishes be r e m o v e d as we go f o r w a r d . By G E O R G E A. S C H W E G M A N N , J R . and R O B E R T D. STEVENS The Proposal for a Current A u t h o r Catalog of American Library Resources Mr. Schwegmann is chief and Mr. Stevens is assistant chief of the Union Catalog Divi- sion, Library of Congress. As Y O U H A V E H E A R D f r o m t h e p r e c e d i n g s p e a k e r , t h e p r o p o s a l of t h e A L A B o a r d o n R e s o u r c e s t h a t t h e Library of Congress Catalog—Books: Authors be ex- p a n d e d to i n c l u d e t h e catalog e n t r i e s of o t h e r l i b r a r i e s f o r 1956 a n d l a t e r i m p r i n t s is t h e f r u i t i o n of several decades of serious c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e p r o b l e m of p r o v i d i n g l i b r a r i a n s a n d scholars w i t h a p r i n t e d a n d widely d i s t r i b u t e d r e c o r d of c u r r e n t Ameri- can library resources a n d r e p r e s e n t s t h e first c o n c r e t e step t o w a r d p u b l i c a t i o n of t h e Na- t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g in b o o k f o r m . Because of t h e e x t r e m e i m p o r t a n c e of such a p u b - lished r e c o r d , t h e L i b r a r y of Congress wel- c o m e d t h e suggestion of t h e b o a r d t h a t a q u e s t i o n n a i r e b e sent to all p r e s e n t subscrib- ers to Books: Authors a s k i n g if they w o u l d c o n t i n u e t h e i r s u b s c r i p t i o n s to t h e Catalog if t h e r e c o m m e n d e d c h a n g e i n scope, w h i c h w o u l d e n t a i l a n increase i n s u b s c r i p t i o n price, was a d o p t e d . T h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n of t h e b o a r d was m a d e o n F e b r u a r y 1, 1955. O n A p r i l 18, 1955, letters d e s c r i b i n g t h e p r o j e c t a n d q u e s t i o n n a i r e s were sent to 650 subscribers. By J u n e 15 r e s p o n s e s were received f r o m 515 subscribers i n d i c a t i n g t h a t they w o u l d sub- scribe to a m i n i m u m of 700 copies. The Responses to the Questionnaire T h e p r o m p t n e s s of answer a n d t h e h i g h p e r c e n t a g e of responses to t h e q u e s t i o n n a i r e were c o n v i n c i n g e v i d e n c e of t h e w i d e s p r e a d i n t e r e s t i n this p r o p o s a l . A l t h o u g h t h e ques- t i o n n a i r e d i d n o t specifically p r o v i d e f o r c o m m e n t s , m a n y of t h e 451 l i b r a r i a n s w h o a n s w e r e d in t h e affirmative took t h e o p p o r - t u n i t y to p r a i s e this step. I n this g r o u p of affirmative answers, 421 l i b r a r i a n s i n d i c a t e d they w o u l d c o n t i n u e t h e i r s u b s c r i p t i o n s at t h e p r e s e n t level, a n d 30 w e r e e n t h u s i a s t i c e n o u g h a b o u t this c o o p e r a t i v e v e n t u r e to i n d i c a t e t h a t they w o u l d subscribe to e x t r a copies if necessary to assure its f i n a n c i a l suc- cess. Some of t h e 64 r e s p o n d e n t s w h o indi- c a t e d t h a t they w o u l d cancel o r decrease t h e n u m b e r of t h e i r s u b s c r i p t i o n s also com- m e n t e d o n t h e p r o p o s a l . I n t h e m a i n t h e adverse c o m m e n t s fall i n t o t h r e e categories: (1) a n o b j e c t i o n to t h e increase in p r i c e in view of a l i m i t e d b u d g e t f o r t h e p u r c h a s e of books; (2) t h e o p i n i o n t h a t cards o t h e r t h a n L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d cards w o u l d b e of n o use to t h e p a r t i c u l a r library; a n d (3) a f e a r t h a t t h e increased size of t h e c a t a l o g w o u l d r e s u l t i n a slowed-down p u b - l i c a t i o n schedule. O n this last p o i n t we has- ten to reassure you. T h e increase in size of t h e catalog will n o t c h a n g e t h e e d i t o r i a l d e a d l i n e s n o r will it m e a n t h a t t h e issues o n c e e d i t e d will be a n y l o n g e r a t t h e p r i n t - ers t h a n at p r e s e n t . 28 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES In summary, 75% of the present subscrib- ers to the Library of Congress Catalog have responded to the questionnaire a n d nearly 90% of the responses have been favorable. Historical Background Dr. David's resumd of the previous dis- cussions a n d proposals makes it clear that prior to last fall when the presently con- stituted Committee on the U n i o n Catalog of the ALA Board on Resources first met, all aspects of the problem of publication of the National U n i o n Catalog h a d been thor- oughly discussed a n d all that was lacking was a catalytic agent to p r o m p t action. T h e catalytic element introduced late in 1954 was the concept that a start toward solving the problem of publication of the National U n i o n Catalog might best be made by first publishing a current supplement to a pro- jected main work which could be published when feasible in the f u t u r e . T h i s is not to say that n o thought had previously been given to the possibility of e x p a n d i n g the Library of Congress Catalog by the inclusion of catalog cards p r e p a r e d by other libraries, for, as many present will remember, this possibility was discussed by C. Sumner Spald- ing at an open meeting of the ALA Board on Resources on J u n e 25, 1953.1 It was in October 1954, however, that Dr. Frederick H . W a g m a n first introduced the concept that publication in the Library of Congress Cata- log of all i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t current im- prints would relieve the staff of the Na- tional U n i o n Catalog of the considerable b u r d e n of arranging, filing, maintaining, a n d answering reference queries a b o u t cur- r e n t books. In effect, Dr. W a g m a n p o i n t e d out, relief from these duties would gradu- ally increase the p r o p o r t i o n of the staff of the National U n i o n Catalog left free to concentrate on the problems of completing, editing, a n d p r e p a r i n g for eventual publi- cation of the National U n i o n Catalog rec- ord of holdings of books published prior to 1956 a n d at the same time would make available a reference tool for c u r r e n t im- prints of considerable immediate value. It is expected that this step will relieve 1 C. S u m n e r S p a l d i n g , " L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s Book C a t a l o g s : P r o p o s e d E x p a n s i o n i n t o C u r r e n t A u t h o r a n d S u b j e c t C a t a l o g s of A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y R e s o u r c e s , " C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S , X V ( 1 9 5 4 ) , 1 5 - 2 2 . the pressure on the staff of the U n i o n Cata- log Division in two ways: first, on the basis of detailed statistical studies it can be pre- dicted that by 1958 the division will find its arranging a n d filing operations reduced by at least 200,000 cards per year or by one- third of the present work load; second, it is anticipated that publication of location in- formation about current imprints will light- en the b u r d e n of searching since samplings of requests to the division have indicated that as high as 20% of the searching load is for imprints of the past ten years. Provided the staff of the U n i o n Catalog Division can be m a i n t a i n e d at its present level, relief from these duties should leave available man-hours urgently needed for the comple- tion a n d editing of the older p o r t i o n of the National U n i o n Catalog. T h e first step which led to the present proposal was taken on October 20, 1954, when the ALA Board on Resources Com- mittee on the U n i o n Catalog, having re- viewed its previous decision not to recom- m e n d publication of the National U n i o n Catalog in microcard or microprint form, requested the Library of Congress to pro- vide it with detailed i n f o r m a t i o n concerning the cost of p r e p a r i n g a n d publishing a Cur- rent Author Catalog of American Library Resources. T h e U n i o n Catalog Division possessed basic data in the form of statistics of receipts of cards for current imprints since 1952. T h e effort of translating these statistics into estimates of cost for publishing current im- prints in alternative formats required sev- eral h u n d r e d hours of staff time of members of the Processing D e p a r t m e n t . By the time of the next meeting of the Committee on J a n u a r y 14, 1955, the staff of the Library of Congress had p r e p a r e d a n d distributed to the committee members a working p a p e r 2 consisting of 24 pages of text a n d 32 pages of statistical tables. A f t e r the committee's meeting of J a n u a r y 14, 1955, a summary of the decisions taken to date was sent for i n f o r m a t i o n to members of the Board on Resources a n d to all mem- 2 T h e w o r k i n g p a p e r b o r e t h e h e a d i n g " A L A B o a r d on Resources C o m m i t t e e on t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n Catalog Proposal to E x p a n d the L.C. Author- Catalog [ s i c ! ] t o I n c l u d e Union Catalog Cards f o r E n t r i e s f o r 1952 a n d Post-1952 I m p r i n t s . December 27, 1954." JANUARY, 1956 29 bers of the Association of Research Li- braries.3 The Alternative Proposals Considered Once the decision had been reached that a book catalog p r i n t e d by conventional photo-offset techniques would provide the most usable form of publication and with the committee unanimously agreed that the most feasible approach to the matter would be to concentrate on the problem of cur- r e n t additions to the National U n i o n Cata- log, it remained only to identify, define, a n d compare alternatives as to the beginning im- p r i n t date of works to be represented, pat- tern of issuance, a n d types of materials to be included. W i t h the working p a p e r in h a n d the committee was able to base its ultimate recommendations on factors both of usefulness and cost to the consumer. T h e years from 1952 through 1956 were considered as alternative b e g i n n i n g i m p r i n t dates for works to be represented in the Catalog. T h e idea of using 1952 as the be- g i n n i n g i m p r i n t date was considered simply because it was in that year that the U n i o n Catalog Division had started to segregate a n d file separately cards for current imprints as they were received. Serious consideration was given to beginning with 1953 imprints on the g r o u n d that use of this year as a cut- off date would have made the 1953-1957 q u i n q u e n n i a l cumulation of Books: Authors a complete, published u n i o n catalog for current imprints cataloged d u r i n g the pe- riod. T h e difficulty with either of these dates was financial since, if 1953 were used there would have been an estimated 440,000 main entries, added entries, a n d cross references to be edited, retyped, a n d p r i n t e d d u r i n g 1956 a n d 1957. T h e cost of p r e p a r i n g these entries accumulated over a period of five years would have had to be met from the 1956 a n d 1957 subscription fees which would have come to $350 per year for each of the two years. U n d e r normal circumstances, of course, the cost of p r e p a r i n g entries for any five-year period will be spread over the sub- scription fees for the entire five years. These same considerations of cost applied, though 3 " P r o p o s a l to E x p a n d the Library of Congress Catalog—Books: Authors to I n c l u d e National U n i o n C a t a l o g C a r d s R e p r e s e n t i n g I m p r i n t s of 1956 a n d L a t e r , " w i t h a c c o m p a n y i n g l e t t e r d a t e d J a n u a r y 21, 1955. 2 p p . processed. in lesser degree, to any of the years between 1953 a n d 1956. O n the basis of these cost figures the committee concluded that it would be best to get a fresh start in 1956 with the cataloging reports for current im- prints. T h e use of 1956 as a beginning im- p r i n t date as finally decided will mean that approximately 112,000 entries from sources other than Library of Congress p r i n t e d cards a n d an estimated 64,000 reports of addition- al locations will be p r e p a r e d a n d published d u r i n g the b i e n n i u m . T h e cost u n d e r this proposal will a m o u n t to $170 per year for each subscription d u r i n g 1956 a n d 1957. T h e question of p a t t e r n of publication, that is, of frequency of issue, of frequency of cumulation, a n d of whether entries from all libraries would be included in all issues, was also decided on the basis of cost a n d convenience to the users. Basically, it was decided that it will be essential to retain the present p a t t e r n of publication a n d cum- ulation so far as the Library of Congress p o r t i o n of the catalog is concerned on the grounds that subscribers have come to de- p e n d on .monthly issues for speed in secur- ing cataloging a n d card ordering informa- tion and on f r e q u e n t cumulations for con- venience of use. T h e question then re- mained of whether cards a n d reports of holdings f r o m libraries other than the Li- brary of Congress would be included in all issues or only in the larger cumulations. Six alternative patterns of publication were discussed a n d evaluated. T h e first plan discussed was that of a d d i n g entries a n d reports of holdings from libraries other than the Library of Congress only to the a n n u a l a n d q u i n q u e n n i a l cumulations a n d omit- ting them entirely from the monthly a n d quarterly issues. T h e savings u n d e r this plan would have been in p r i n t i n g costs only since it will be necessary to p r e p a r e and edit copy f u r n i s h e d by other libraries for inclusion in the a n n u a l volumes. These po- tential savings of p r i n t i n g costs would have a m o u n t e d to a m a x i m u m of $15 per sub- scription. T h e second plan considered a n d that finally adopted was to c o n t i n u e the present p a t t e r n of publication of Library of Con- gress entries a n d to add to all issues cards from other libraries, representing works pub- lished in 1956 a n d later as they are received 30 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES by t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n Catalog. U n d e r this p l a n t h e p a t t e r n of issuance a n d c o n t e n t s of t h e issues of t h e catalog will be as follows: 1. Monthly issues: L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d cards a n d N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g cards f o r t h e c u r r e n t a n d past two i m p r i n t years. (In 1956 a n d 1957 t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g cards will be f o r only 1956 a n d 1957 i m p r i n t s b u t in 1960, f o r e x a m p l e , t h e m o n t h l y is- sues will c o n t a i n U n i o n C a t a l o g cards f o r 1958, 1959, a n d 1960 i m p r i n t s . ) 2. Quarterly, annual, and quinquennial issues: L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d cards f o r all i m p r i n t dates a n d N a t i o n - al U n i o n C a t a l o g cards f o r i m p r i n t s of 1956 a n d later. 3. Locations of additional copies will be shown in all issues, b u t m a i n entries will n o t be r e p r i n t e d o u t s i d e of t h e n o r m a l p a t t e r n of c u m u l a t i o n simply to show r e p o r t s of h o l d i n g s received since p u b l i c a t i o n of t h e e n t r y . If a m a i n e n t r y h a d a p p e a r e d in t h e J a n u - ary-March q u a r t e r l y c u m u l a t i o n , re- p o r t s of a d d i t i o n a l locations received in A p r i l a n d May or l a t e r w o u l d be h e l d f o r p r i n t i n g w h e n t h e a p p r o p r i - ate m a i n e n t r y is n e x t c u m u l a t e d in t h e a n n u a l v o l u m e . T h e estimated cost of i n d i v i d u a l a n n u a l s u b s c r i p t i o n s u n d e r this p l a n is $170 d u r i n g 1956 a n d 1957 a n d $245 a n n u a l l y in l a t e r years. T h e t h i r d p l a n c o n t e m p l a t e d d r o p p i n g L i b r a r y of Congress cards f o r i m p r i n t s ear- lier t h a n 1956 f r o m t h e m o n t h l y , q u a r t e r l y , a n d a n n u a l issues a n d i n c l u d i n g L i b r a r y of Congress cards f o r all i m p r i n t s only in t h e q u i n q u e n n i a l c u m u l a t i o n s . T h i s p l a n w o u l d h a v e r e d u c e d t h e a n n u a l s u b s c r i p t i o n by $25 b u t w o u l d h a v e seriously i m p a i r e d t h e u s e f u l n e s s of t h e catalog. Plans 4, 5, a n d 6 r e p r e s e n t e d less a c c e p t a b l e v a r i a t i o n s of P l a n 2 a n d n e e d n o t be discussed in detail. T h e i n d i v i d u a l a n n u a l s u b s c r i p t i o n costs d u r i n g 1956 a n d 1957 u n d e r any of t h e p l a n s considered w o u l d have b e e n in t h e n a r r o w r a n g e of $145-$ 175. U n d e r t h e p l a n of p u b l i c a t i o n a d o p t e d , L i b r a r y of Congress m a i n entries, a d d e d entries, a n d cross r e f e r e n c e s will be in- c l u d e d at a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h e p r e s e n t r a t e of 120,000 p e r year while similar e n t r i e s f r o m o t h e r libraries will be i n c l u d e d at t h e r a t e of 31,000 d u r i n g t h e first year a n d increased to 130,000 or m o r e entries p e r year d u r i n g t h e 1960's. T h e estimates of t h e n u m b e r of cards f o r i m p r i n t s of 1956 a n d l a t e r to be received by t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n Catalog over t h e n e x t d e c a d e a n d a half a r e based o n a strict a c c o u n t i n g of t h e cards received f o r 1952 a n d l a t e r i m p r i n t s a n d o n extensive sam- plings of c u r r e n t receipts of cards r e p r e s e n t - ing earlier i m p r i n t s . T h e s e figures f o r m e d t h e basis for all estimates of cost; they a r e as a c c u r a t e as we can m a k e t h e m , b u t they a r e subject to c h a n g e as t h e size of catalog- ing staffs, c a t a l o g i n g policies, or a c q u i s i t i o n s policies of t h e c o n t r i b u t i n g libraries may c h a n g e . W e v e n t u r e to p r e d i c t t h a t t h e p u b l i c a t i o n of cards f r o m o t h e r l i b r a r i e s may e n c o u r a g e a d d i t i o n a l l i b r a r i e s to con- t r i b u t e , which in t u r n w o u l d lead to a n up- w a r d revision of t h e p r e s e n t estimates. O t h e r lesser decisions as to scope of t h e catalog c o n c e r n e d a n u m b e r of types of materials. For t h e p r e s e n t , entries f o r serial p u b l i c a t i o n s will be i n c l u d e d — t h i s will r e p r e s e n t some d u p l i c a t i o n w i t h New Serial Titles, b u t it s h o u l d be r e m e m b e r e d t h a t these will be f u l l c a t a l o g i n g e n t r i e s a n d n o t t h e a b b r e v i a t e d accessions list type of e n t r y f o u n d in New Serial Titles. E n t r i e s in non- R o m a n a l p h a b e t s , except those o n L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d cards, will n o t be in- c l u d e d because of technical difficulties of t r a n s l i t e r a t i o n o r r e p r o d u c t i o n . Such entries in t h e n o n - R o m a n a l p h a b e t s as a r e received by t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g will b e sent as h e r e t o f o r e to t h e special l a n g u a g e u n i o n catalogs in t h e L i b r a r y of Congress f o r re- t e n t i o n a n d possible later p u b l i c a t i o n . I n t h e case of t h e Cyrillic a l p h a b e t m a t e r i a l t h e r e is t h e possibility t h a t t h e r e will be a p u b l i s h e d u n i o n catalog s o m e t i m e in 1956 w i t h t h e Monthly List of Russian Accessions serving as a k i n d of s u p p l e m e n t . T h e p r o b l e m of w h a t l i m i t a t i o n s should be p l a c e d on t h e n u m b e r of locations re- p o r t e d f o r any o n e item is a t h o r n y o n e f o r which only a t e m p o r a r y s o l u t i o n has been r e a c h e d . T h e p r e s e n t p l a n is to p u b l i s h all r e p o r t s of locations received e x c e p t those f o r U n i t e d States g o v e r n m e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s d i s t r i b u t e d to depository libraries, f o r U n i t e d JANUARY, 1956 31- N a t i o n s p u b l i c a t i o n s w h i c h a r e also widely h e l d by depositories, a n d f o r t h e p u b l i c a - tions of t h e states of t h e U n i t e d States w h i c h m a y n o r m a l l y b e f o u n d in t h e respective state libraries. T h e q u e s t i o n of h o w m a n y l o c a t i o n s s h o u l d b e s h o w n f o r c o m m o n p l a c e books in t h e A m e r i c a n b o o k t r a d e has n o t yet b e e n f u l l y a n s w e r e d , b u t we w o u l d d o well a t this t i m e to take steps to assure t h a t a d e q u a t e r e p o r t i n g is o b t a i n e d f r o m all re- gions of t h e U n i t e d States. T h i s is a q u e s t i o n on w h i c h advice a n d h e l p f r o m t h e l i b r a r y p r o f e s s i o n at large will be n e e d e d . D a v i d a n d H i r s c h , in a r e c e n t a r t i c l e 4 in Library Trends, p o i n t e d o u t p r e s e n t deficiencies in t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g r e c o r d of b o o k h o l d i n g s in several regions, b u t in connec- t i o n w i t h any a t t e m p t to assure f u l l r e g i o n a l coverage t h e cost of h a n d l i n g t h e increased n u m b e r of r e p o r t s m u s t always b e k e p t in m i n d . T h e e d i t o r i a l policy to b e a p p l i e d to t h e e n t r i e s s u p p l i e d by o t h e r l i b r a r i e s m a y b e stated briefly. W h e r e v e r a L i b r a r y of Con- gress p r i n t e d card is a v a i l a b l e it will b e used. If a n e n t r y is first f u r n i s h e d by a n o t h e r l i b r a r y a n d a L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d card becomes a v a i l a b l e t h e L i b r a r y of Con- gress card will be s u b s t i t u t e d in t h e n e x t issue of t h e Catalog. If t h e e n t r y is n o t t h e same a cross r e f e r e n c e will b e p r o v i d e d . E n t r i e s f r o m o t h e r libraries will b e searched i n t h e L i b r a r y of Congress official catalog a n d e d i t e d f o r consistency in f o r m of m a i n a n d a d d e d entries. All o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n o n t h e card will be p r i n t e d in t h e catalog as s u p p l i e d by t h e c o n t r i b u t i n g l i b r a r y . N o decision as t o t h e i n c l u s i o n of class a n d b o o k n u m b e r s s u p p l i e d by o t h e r l i b r a r i e s has yet b e e n r e a c h e d . T h e e n t r i e s f r o m o t h e r l i b r a r i e s will be r e t y p e d o n C o x h e a d c o m p o s i n g m a c h i n e s o r o t h e r c o p y i n g e q u i p m e n t in a type face a n d f o r m a t similar to t h a t of L i b r a r y of Con- gress p r i n t e d cards. As a result, e x c e p t f o r t h e a d d i t i o n of l o c a t i o n symbols, t h e p r i n t e d catalog will h a v e t h e same t y p o g r a p h i c a l a p p e a r a n c e as t h e p r e s e n t Books: Authors. The Basis for Pricing the C u r r e n t A u t h o r C a t a l o g of A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y R e s o u r c e s T h e task of e s t i m a t i n g t h e cost of t h e 4 C h a r l e s W . D a v i d a n d R u d o l f H i r s c h , " C o o p e r a - t i o n a n d P l a n n i n g f r o m t h e R e g i o n a l V i e w p o i n t , " Library Trends, I I I ( 1 9 5 5 ) , 356-375. e x p a n d e d catalog was t e d i o u s b u t clear-cut e n o u g h o n c e t h e policy decisions m e n t i o n e d a b o v e h a d b e e n m a d e . T h e o p e r a t i o n s nec- essary to t h e r e c e i p t , segregation, checking, filing, e d i t i n g , a n d p r e p a r a t i o n of copy f o r p r i n t i n g were listed step by step in m i n u t e d e t a i l . T h e n u m b e r of m a n - h o u r s necessary to accomplish t h e o p e r a t i o n s was d e t e r m i n e d by a p p l y i n g t h e p r o d u c t i o n r a t e s o b t a i n i n g f o r similar tasks n o w p e r f o r m e d in t h e vari- ous divisions of t h e Processing D e p a r t m e n t of t h e L i b r a r y of Congress. W i t h these fig- ures in h a n d it was possible to a r r i v e a t staffing r e q u i r e m e n t s . Estimates of t h e p r o p - er pay g r a d e s a n d salaries were based o n those f o r c o m p a r a b l e p o s i t i o n s in t h e Li- b r a r y of Congress. F i g u r e s o n p r i n t i n g costs were based o n those f o r t h e p r e s e n t Library of Congress Catalog f o r w h i c h we h a v e statistics g o i n g back to 1948 o n t h e average n u m b e r of e n t r i e s p e r p a g e a n d t h e a c t u a l charges f o r t h e p r i n t i n g a n d b i n d i n g of t h e m o n t h l y , q u a r t e r l y , a n d a n n u a l issues. T h e a b o v e cost estimates were t o t a l e d a n d t h e a m o u n t of 10% was a d d e d as r e q u i r e d by t h e Act of J u n e 28, 1902, w h i c h m a k e s it m a n d a t o r y t h a t card i n d e x e s a n d t h e o t h e r p u b l i c a t i o n s of t h e L i b r a r y of Congress b e sold at cost p l u s 10%. T h e a n n u a l subscrip- t i o n r a t e d u r i n g each five-year p e r i o d was t h e n a r r i v e d at by a v e r a g i n g a n n u a l costs f o r t h e p e r i o d a n d d i v i d i n g by t h e antici- p a t e d n u m b e r of subscribers. Since 1956 a n d 1957 a r e t h e last two years of a q u i n q u e n - n i a l p e r i o d t h e t o t a l costs f o r these two years were a v e r a g e d a t t h e r a t e of $170. Similarly, t h e r a t e of $245 p e r year was established f o r s u b s c r i p t i o n s a f t e r 1957. T h e p r o j e c t e d sub- s c r i p t i o n r a t e s were w o r k e d o u t as c a r e f u l l y as possible a n d we feel t h a t these e s t i m a t e d s u b s c r i p t i o n rates will s t a n d u p unless f u r - t h e r affected by v a r i a b l e s over w h i c h we h a v e n o c o n t r o l , such as increased salary a n d p r i n t i n g costs or a c o n s i d e r a b l e increase in t h e n u m b e r of e n t r i e s sent by c o n t r i b u t - ing libraries. Several of t h e r e s p o n d e n t s to t h e ques- t i o n n a i r e h a v e asked if t h e r e w o u l d b e a r e d u c t i o n in p r i c e f o r copies b e y o n d t h e first p u r c h a s e d by a n y single subscriber as at p r e s e n t . O t h e r l i b r a r i e s h a v e asked why a service basis f o r s u b s c r i p t i o n charges w o u l d n o t be possible. Aside f r o m t h e fact t h a t we d o n o t believe t h a t t h e L i b r a r y of Congress 32 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES c o u l d legally sell this catalog o n a service basis, t h e p l a i n facts a r e t h a t a service basis charge is to t h e a d v a n t a g e of t h e smaller l i b r a r i e s while t h e larger libraries w o u l d p r e f e r to see a r e d u c t i o n i n charge f o r copies b e y o n d t h e first. T h e p r e s e n t decision of t h e L i b r a r y of Congress to charge t h e same p r i c e f o r a d d i t i o n a l s u b s c r i p t i o n s results f r o m t h e fact t h a t we a r e n o t aware of a n y feasible a l t e r n a t i v e w h i c h w o u l d p r o v i d e t h e neces- sary f u n d s a n d it actually t e n d s to f a v o r t h e smaller l i b r a r i e s w h i c h take only o n e copy because u n d e r t h e p r o p o s e d p r i c e schedule those l i b r a r i e s w h i c h subscribe to m u l t i p l e copies will b e a r a n increased p r o p o r t i o n of t h e cost. F o r e x a m p l e , a large l i b r a r y n o w p a y i n g $200 f o r t h r e e s u b s c r i p t i o n s to all issues of Books: Authors will pay $510 f o r t h r e e copies of t h e n e w catalog. T h i s is a 150% increase i n cost as o p p o s e d to t h e 7 0 % increase in cost to t h e smaller institu- t i o n s u b s c r i b i n g to o n l y a single copy. H o w - ever, even a t $510 o r $735 t h e large l i b r a r y will b e s p e n d i n g less t h a n it w o u l d if it were t o u n d e r t a k e to file a n d m a i n t a i n a d e p o s i t o r y set of L i b r a r y of Congress cards o r a file of proof sheet entries. T h i s p r i c i n g policy is in effect a reversal of t h e p r e s e n t policy u n d e r w h i c h t h e a d d i t i o n a l copies a r e sold at half t h e price of t h e first copy, b u t it will be recalled t h a t this p r i c i n g policy was a d o p t e d only a f t e r t h e financial success of t h e Library of Congress Catalog was as- s u r e d . As to t h e relative benefits to be g a i n e d f r o m t h e catalog by t h e smaller libraries, we t h i n k it safe to say t h a t b e n e f i t s will n o t b e so m u c h a f u n c t i o n of size of t h e i n s t i t u t i o n as of t h e i m a g i n a t i o n a n d r e s o u r c e f u l n e s s of t h e l i b r a r i a n s w h o will use this tool. T h e p r i c e of a single s u b s c r i p t i o n w h i c h a m o u n t s to o n l y 47 cents a day d u r i n g t h e first two years a n d to 67 cents p e r day t h e r e a f t e r is a small p r i c e i n d e e d to pay f o r t h e most com- p r e h e n s i v e b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l service t h a t t h e w o r l d has ever k n o w n . The Implications of the Publication of the C u r r e n t A u t h o r C a t a l o g of A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y Resources W e a r e c o n v i n c e d , as a r e t h e m e m b e r s of t h e c o m m i t t e e , t h a t t h e decision at this t i m e to p u b l i s h t h e p r o p o s e d e x p a n d e d catalog b e g i n n i n g in J a n u a r y 1956 is c o m p a r a b l e in i m p o r t a n c e to t h e decision t h a t was m a d e i n 1901 to d i s t r i b u t e L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t - ed catalog cards o n a w i d e basis. J u s t as t h e 1901 decision w i d e n e d t h e horizons of A m e r i c a n l i b r a r i a n s h i p by m a k i n g readily a v a i l a b l e in m a n y locations t h r o u g h deposi- tory catalogs a n d otherwise i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e resources of a single g r e a t library, t h e p r e s e n t decision will b r o a d e n h o r i z o n s by d i s s e m i n a t i n g i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e re- sources of t h e m a j o r l i b r a r i e s of N o r t h America. T h e f u l l p o t e n t i a l i t i e s of this n e w catalog r e m a i n to be discovered a n d ex- p l o i t e d . T h e most we can d o n o w is to pre- dict t h a t t h e availability of this tool will radically c h a n g e some of t h e t r a d i t i o n a l p a t t e r n s of A m e r i c a n l i b r a r i a n s h i p . I n t h e field of i n t e r l i b r a r y l e n d i n g we may e x p e c t to see a s h i f t f r o m t h e p r e s e n t b u r d e n o n a few of t h e largest l i b r a r i e s to a m o r e e q u i t - a b l e d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e l e n d i n g b u r d e n . T h e p r e s e n t t r e n d t o w a r d b o r r o w i n g closer a t h o m e , w h i c h d e p e n d s n o w on t h e i n f o r m a - t i o n f u r n i s h e d by r e g i o n a l u n i o n catalogs w h e r e they a r e available, will u n d o u b t e d l y b e i n t e n s i f i e d . M o r e o v e r , since i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t t h e l o c a t i o n of v a r i o u s works will be readily available, it seems p r o b a b l e t h a t t h e catalog will b e used m o r e a n d m o r e as t h e basis f o r t h e r e g i o n a l o r n a t i o n a l p l a n n i n g of acquisitions. C e r t a i n l y t h e l i b r a r i a n of t h e f u t u r e w h o is c o n s i d e r i n g t h e a c q u i s i t i o n of a n e x p e n s i v e work will c o n s u l t t h e p r i n t e d catalog to d e t e r m i n e w h e t h e r a copy is already close at h a n d . T h e r e a d y availability of a mass of b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l in- f o r m a t i o n s h o u l d be reflected in lowered costs of acquisition, cataloging, a n d refer- ence work. As a b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l tool t h e catalog will be of g r e a t v a l u e f r o m t h e very b e g i n n i n g a n d as t h e years go o n its v a l u e will steadily increase because t h e c o m p l e t e literary o u t p u t of most of t h e a u t h o r s of t h e l a t t e r half of t h e t w e n t i e t h c e n t u r y will be b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r in it. The Need for an Advisory Committee T h e i m p o r t a n c e of t h e step we w o u l d t a k e in p u b l i s h i n g this catalog w h i c h will affect every aspect of A m e r i c a n library econ- omy m a k e s it i m p e r a t i v e t h a t it be m a d e as u s e f u l a tool as is possible. It is a b u n d a n t l y clear t h a t t h e r e a r e m a n y p r o b l e m s yet t o be settled a n d t h a t t h e L i b r a r y of Congress JANUARY, 1956 33- will n e e d a g r e a t deal of c o o p e r a t i o n a n d advice in c a r r y i n g o u t this e n t e r p r i s e . F o r this reason we a r e asking t h e B o a r d o n Re- sources to establish a n advisory c o m m i t t e e to aid us in r e a c h i n g t h e decisions t h a t m u s t be m a d e . T h e L i b r a r y of Congress has f o u n d t h e advice of t h e J o i n t C o m m i t t e e o n t h e Union List of Serials e x t r e m e l y h e l p f u l i n its efforts to i m p r o v e t h e p u b l i c a t i o n New Serial Titles. Similarly, a n o t h e r c o m m i t t e e w o u l d h e l p us to m a k e this c u r r e n t a u t h o r catalog of N o r t h A m e r i c a n l i b r a r y resources a work of m a x i m u m u s e f u l n e s s to all users. T h e w i d e s p r e a d a c c e p t a n c e of t h e pro- posal t h a t we h a v e o u t l i n e d is as g r a t i f y i n g to t h e a d m i n i s t r a t i v e officers of t h e L i b r a r y of Congress as it is to t h e C o m m i t t e e on t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g of t h e A L A B o a r d on Re- sources a n d gives us c o n f i d e n c e to p u r s u e t h e p l a n n i n g to c o m m e n c e e x p a n s i o n in J a n u - ary 1956 if t h e B o a r d o n Resources will rec- o m m e n d t h a t we d o so. W e m i g h t a d d , t h a t t h e s e n t i m e n t of t h e Association of R e s e a r c h L i b r a r i e s in con- n e c t i o n w i t h t h e m a t t e r s u n d e r discussion h e r e a r e reflected in t h e text of t h e follow- ing two actions w h i c h were t a k e n by t h e Association on J a n u a r y 31, 1955: 1. " T h a t t h e A R L e n d o r s e in p r i n c i p l e t h e p r o p o s a l to e x p a n d t h e Library of Con- gress Catalog—Books: Authors." 2. " T h a t t h e A R L u r g e t h e L i b r a r y of Congress to p r o c e e d , a f t e r h a v i n g e x p a n d e d t h e Library of Congress Catalog, to consider t h e possibility of r e p r o d u c i n g t h e basic U n i o n C a t a l o g in photo-offset f o r m , w i t h such r e - e d i t i n g a n d r e - t y p i n g of titles as necessary." By H E L E N M. B R O W N The Proposal from the College Library Viewpoint Miss Brown is librarian, Wellesley Col- lege. CO L L E G E L I B R A R I A N S h a v e b e e n greatly dis-t u r b e d by t h e t r e a t m e n t of t h e college l i b r a r y in t h e 1952 R e p o r t of t h e Commis- sion o n F i n a n c i n g H i g h e r E d u c a t i o n . I n at- t e m p t i n g to suggest possible e c o n o m i e s f o r t h e a d m i t t e d l y financially h a r d - p r e s s e d in- s t i t u t i o n s t h e r e p o r t states t h a t g e n e r a l a g r e e m e n t was f o u n d t h a t a " g o o d " l i b e r a l arts college o u g h t to o p e r a t e w i t h a b o o k collection of u n d e r 100,000 volumes, m a n y of w h i c h w o u l d be d u p l i c a t e s . W h a t h a s t r o u b l e d t h e college l i b r a r i a n s is t h e a p p a r - e n t n e g a t i o n of t h e essential d i f f e r e n c e s a m o n g college libraries s h a p e d as they a r e by t h e p r o g r a m s of t h e i r p a r e n t i n s t i t u t i o n s . T h e r e c o g n i t i o n of these differences is perti- n e n t to this discussion. L e t us pose t h e hypo- t h e t i c a l q u e s t i o n , " W h y s h o u l d t h e college l i b r a r i a n whose b u d g e t a n d b u i l d i n g n e e d s h a v e to c o m p e t e w i t h d e m a n d s f o r increased faculty salaries a n d h i g h e r m a i n t e n a n c e costs welcome t h e e x p a n s i o n of t h e L.C. a u t h o r catalog i n t o a c u r r e n t n a t i o n a l u n i o n cata- log costing twice as m u c h a n d r e q u i r i n g twice as m u c h shelf space?" I s u b m i t in answer t h a t t h e d e g r e e to w h i c h t h e college l i b r a r y will welcome t h e e x p a n s i o n is in d i r e c t r a t i o to t h e d e g r e e to w h i c h it accepts a research f u n c t i o n . M a n y of you will h a v e seen "A P l a n f o r M e e t i n g College L i b r a r y P r o b l e m s : A R e p o r t of t h e R e g e n t s ' C o m m i t t e e o n I n t e g r a t i o n of College a n d U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y R e s o u r c e s in N e w York S t a t e " or M r . R e u b e n F r o d i n ' s discussion of it in t h e O c t o b e r , 1954, Library Quarterly. In c o n s i d e r i n g t h e provision of m a t e r i a l f o r f a c u l t y use t h e r e p o r t m a k e s t h e p o i n t t h a t special m a t e r i a l of v a l u e in faculty t e a c h i n g a c q u i r e d by t h e college li- b r a r y "plays b a c k " i n t o t h e q u a l i t y of t h e t e a c h i n g a n d s h o u l d be b o u g h t as freely as possible. In r e g a r d to m a t e r i a l used by fac- ulty m e m b e r s in research which is less direct- ly r e l a t e d to t h e i r t e a c h i n g t h e r e p o r t sug- gests it s h o u l d be b o u g h t w h e n t h e p r o s p e c t s of its c o n t i n u e d u s e f u l n e s s seem to m e r i t t h e e x p e n d i t u r e . T h i s criterion of p o t e n t i a l use 34 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES is t h e o n e which most of us e m p l o y in de- c i d i n g w h a t shall be p u r c h a s e d f o r faculty research o u t s i d e t h e field of a n y special col- lections w h i c h o u r libraries may be develop- ing. B e y o n d this o u r responsibility f o r facul- ty research lies in t h e a r e a of m a i n t a i n i n g t h e best b i b l i o g r a p h i c e q u i p m e n t possible a n d a i d i n g t h e faculty m e m b e r to secure t h e desired m a t e r i a l t h r o u g h i n t e r l i b r a r y loan, microfilms o r o t h e r r e p r o d u c t i o n s or by in- t r o d u c t i o n to a research library o w n i n g t h e items. T h e l i b r a r y w i t h this view of its responsi- bility to faculty research will find t h e pro- posed u n i o n catalog of increasingly g r e a t e r v a l u e as t h e years pass. T h e e d i t i n g of n o n - L.C. entries f o r c o n f o r m i t y of m a i n entry, t h e provision of a d e q u a t e cross r e f e r e n c e s a n d t h e n o t i n g at t h e b o t t o m of t h e e n t r y of a p p r o p r i a t e a d d e d entries, b o t h a u t h o r a n d subject, will increase t h e u s e f u l n e s s of this already i n d i s p e n s a b l e c a t a l o g i n g tool. I n t h e a r e a of c a t a l o g i n g t h e a c t u a l r e t u r n to t h e i n d i v i d u a l college library f r o m t h e e x p a n s i o n will necessarily be c o n d i t i o n e d by t h e a m o u n t of m a t e r i a l t h e library acquires in t h e n o n - L . C . category. Of t h e greatest v a l u e to m o r e college libraries will be t h e use of t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g as a r e f e r e n c e tool f o r t h e verification a n d loca- tion of titles to be r e q u e s t e d o n i n t e r l i b r a r y l o a n . U l t i m a t e l y t h e catalog will p r o v i d e a series of c o m p r e h e n s i v e a u t h o r bibliogra- phies d e s c r i b i n g a n d l o c a t i n g t h e m a t e r i a l . T h e s e uses of t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g f o r college faculty research will n o t differ in k i n d f r o m such use in t h e university library. E q u a l l y i m p o r t a n t to t h e college library is t h e possible c o n t r i b u t i o n of t h e e x p a n d e d catalog to its services to t h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t . I a m n o w s p e a k i n g f r o m t h e view- p o i n t of a college (and t h e r e are m a n y such in t h e c o u n t r y ) w i t h a scholarly faculty, a s t u d e n t body l i m i t e d in n u m b e r so t h a t it has become highly selective, a m o d e r a t e t e a c h i n g load a n d a history of g o o d library s u p p o r t — a l l factors l e a d i n g to t h e g e n e r o u s use of t h e i n d i v i d u a l study p r o j e c t as a m e t h o d of teaching. Since t h e faculty mem- ber usually d e m a n d s t h a t t h e m a j o r p a r t of t h e p r o j e c t be based u p o n o r i g i n a l sources, this u n d e r g r a d u a t e work p r o v i d e s t h e stu- d e n t with an initial e x p e r i e n c e in research —a f o u n d a t i o n for t h e c o m p a r a t i v e l y few w h o will go i n t o scholarly careers; t h e sole e x p e r i e n c e of t h e m a n y . I t is m a n i f e s t l y t h e responsibility of t h e college library to pro- vide t h e basic m a t e r i a l f o r such special studies a n d h o n o r s work, seeking only to b o r r o w a d d i t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s which will be of little f u t u r e use in t h e library. I n m a n y of o u r college libraries, t h e r e f o r e , will b e f o u n d i m p o r t a n t collections of sources in t h e fields r e p r e s e n t e d in t h e c u r r i c u l u m a n d a s t u d e n t may, in t h e course of w r i t i n g a p a p e r o n B i s h o p Grossteste, use t h e Historia Anglo- rum of M a t t h e w Paris as r e p r i n t e d in t h e Rolls Series o r m a k e a study of e i g h t e e n t h - c e n t u r y literary criticism in t h e files of t h e Gentleman's Magazine. T h e layman m i g h t s u p p o s e t h a t in col- lege libraries of this k i n d t h e n u m b e r of requests f o r m a t e r i a l n o t in t h e l i b r a r y ' s o w n collection w o u l d be fewer t h a n in o t h e r college libraries. T o t h e c o n t r a r y , in t h e course of using t h e b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l tools in t h e field of his m a j o r interest, t h e s t u d e n t f r e q u e n t l y comes across titles w h i c h seem i m p o r t a n t to his p u r p o s e a n d are n o t avail- a b l e in t h e h o m e library. T h e s t u d e n t ' s sat- isfaction in his a c a d e m i c work d e m a n d s t h a t t h e library meet his n e e d . W e at Wellesley College h a n d l e m a n y such s t u d e n t requests, m e e t i n g some by b o r r o w i n g titles o n inter- library loan or by s e n d i n g t h e s t u d e n t w i t h a l e t t e r of i n t r o d u c t i o n to a n o t h e r library. (It has n o t been statistically d e t e r m i n e d h o w m a n y of o u r s t u d e n t s take a d v a n t a g e of t h e g r e a t research library in n e a r b y Cam- bridge, n o t u n d e r t h e auspices of t h e library b u t t h r o u g h f r i e n d s h i p w i t h a H a r v a r d un- d e r g r a d u a t e . ) It is my guess t h a t u l t i m a t e l y t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n Catalog, because it will be easy to use a n d will locate copies, will r e m o v e a psychological b a r r i e r b e t w e e n t h e s t u d e n t a n d t h e book a n d will result in in- creased u n d e r g r a d u a t e d e m a n d s f o r m a t e r i a l in o t h e r libraries. I t h i n k this will be espe- cially t r u e in fields such as literary studies in which t h e a u t h o r a p p r o a c h is so im- p o r t a n t . I f u r t h e r p r o p h e s y t h a t t h e increased u n - d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t d e m a n d f o r m a t e r i a l o u t s i d e t h e h o m e college library will serve to i n t e n s i f y two t r e n d s n o w p r e s e n t in col- lege-university r e l a t i o n s h i p s . T h e first of these is t h e g r o w i n g r e l u c t a n c e of t h e uni- versity libraries f o r good a n d sufficient rea- JANUARY, 1956 35- sons to m e e t a n y a n d all r e q u e s t s f o r inter- l i b r a r y l o a n s f r o m n e i g h b o r i n g colleges. Some of these larger i n s t i t u t i o n s in self de- f e n s e h a v e h a d recourse to l i m i t i n g t h e n u m - b e r of loans to o n e college or h a v e r e q u i r e d t h e p a y m e n t of a n o m i n a l f e e f o r l i b r a r y use by outsiders. N e i t h e r of these p a r t i c u l a r s o l u t i o n s is d e s i r a b l e f r o m t h e s t a n d p o i n t of t h e b o r r o w i n g l i b r a r y f o r while t h e individ- u a l u n d e r g r a d u a t e s t u d e n t ' s n e e d f o r ma- terial o u t s i d e his o w n l i b r a r y collection is a p t to b e l i m i t e d in t i m e to a few weeks a n d in scope to o n e o r a f e w volumes, t h e t o t a l n u m b e r of such r e q u e s t s is a p t to s n o w b a l l at times of a c a d e m i c pressure. I believe t h a t as t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g becomes a m o r e a n d m o r e effective interli- b r a r y l o a n tool, it will b e c o m e necessary to regularize t h e r e l a t i o n s b e t w e e n t h e l i b r a r i e s of colleges a n d n e a r b y universities, p e r h a p s a l o n g t h e lines of c o n t r a c t u a l a g r e e m e n t s . T h e second t r e n d w h i c h I e x p e c t to see intensified as t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g increases in years is t h a t t o w a r d c o o p e r a t i o n a m o n g t h e colleges themselves. T h e o u t s t a n d i n g e x a m p l e of t h e H a m p s h i r e I n t e r - L i b r a r y C e n - ter has b e e n possible, of course, because of t h e close g e o g r a p h i c a l l o c a t i o n of colleges w i t h a like a c a d e m i c a t m o s p h e r e . I k n o w p e r s o n a l l y of a n o t h e r a t t e m p t by several m o r e s c a t t e r e d colleges to f o r m a k i n d of i n t e r l i b r a r y l o a n u n i o n w h i c h d i e d a-born- i n g because of t h e o b v i o u s difficulty of lo- c a t i n g m a t e r i a l s w i t h i n t h e g r o u p quickly e n o u g h . T h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g will at least p u t i n t o o u r h a n d s a tool f o r locat- i n g m a t e r i a l s h e l d a m o n g colleges w h i c h by r e a s o n of n e a r l o c a t i o n o r some i n s t i t u t i o n a l association h a v e a r e a s o n a b l e claim u p o n o n e a n o t h e r . T h e c r e a t i o n of such a g r e e m e n t s poses weighty p r o b l e m s of p r o g r a m analysis a n d o r g a n i z a t i o n . If they can b e satisfactorily effected, however, t h e n e x t step w o u l d b e t o use t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g as a tool f o r c o o p e r a t i v e a c q u i s i t i o n p r o g r a m s . I n my o p i n i o n t h e p r o p o s e d e x p a n s i o n of t h e L.C. a u t h o r catalog has almost i n c a l c u l a b l e sig- nificance f o r t h e college l i b r a r y . By KEYES D. M E T C A L F a n d A N D R E W D. O S B O R N Proposal for Publishing the National Union Catalog Dr. Metcalf is professor, Graduate School of Library Service, Rutgers University; Dr. Osborn is assistant librarian, Harvard Uni- versity Library. MANY OF THE most i m p o r t a n t decisions r e a c h e d by l i b r a r i a n s m u s t be m a d e o n a n a p p r a i s a l of r e l a t i v e values. As a r u l e we m u s t m a k e a choice, n o t b e t w e e n g o o d a n d b a d , o r black a n d w h i t e , b u t b e t w e e n ways by w h i c h we can o b t a i n t h e best r e t u r n s f r o m t h e l i m i t e d f u n d s a v a i l a b l e . T h i s ob- s e r v a t i o n is, I t h i n k , a c o m m o n p l a c e in day-to-day a d m i n i s t r a t i o n . I t a p p l i e s also to r e l a t e d l i b r a r y e n t e r p r i s e s , a g o o d e x a m p l e of w h i c h is o n e t h a t is n o t very d i f f e r e n t f r o m t h e p r o b l e m u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n — t h e Union List of Serials—the first e d i t i o n of w h i c h was successfully c o m p i l e d a n d p u b - lished t h i r t y years ago. D e s p i t e its n a m e , t h e Union List of Serials d i d n o t a t t e m p t to r e c o r d all serial p u b l i - cations; i n s t e a d it c o n c e n t r a t e d o n selected g r o u p s . T h e s e g r o u p s c o m p r i s e d w h a t c a n r a t h e r loosely b e called p e r i o d i c a l s a n d socie- ty p u b l i c a t i o n s w h i c h w e r e recognized as t h e serials whose listing w o u l d b e m o s t p r o f i t a b l e to all c o n c e r n e d . I n t h e c o m p i l i n g a n d e d i t i n g of t h e Union List of Serials its e d i t o r , W i n i f r e d Gregory, a i m e d a t t h e best p r a c t i c a l results, n o t at a p o l i s h e d a n d defini- tive b i b l i o g r a p h y . W i t h these l i m i t e d aims she was a b l e to p u s h t h e w o r k to a con- clusion. Its success can b e g a u g e d by t h e s t a t e m e n t of a British colleague w h o last year h a i l e d t h e Union List of Serials as " t h e greatest u n i o n list ever p u b l i s h e d . " T h e p r e c e d e n t p r o v i d e d by t h e Union List of Serials may well h e l p in t h e some- w h a t similar p r o j e c t , t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n 36 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Catalog, w h i c h m a n y of us h a v e l o n g h o p e d c o u l d be p u b l i s h e d , b u t w h i c h w h e n con- sidered realistically seemed almost impossi- ble f o r two reasons: First, t h e t r e m e n d o u s size a n d cost of t h e u n d e r t a k i n g was a p p a r e n t l y so g r e a t as to m a k e t h e task impossible w i t h o u t a very large subsidy. Second, t h e r e seemed to b e n o p r o s p e c t of a n a d e q u a t e subsidy if t h e p u b l i c a t i o n was to be m a i n t a i n e d o n a c u r r e n t basis. E x p e r i - ence has shown t h a t a catalog of this k i n d is o u t of d a t e b e f o r e p u b l i c a t i o n ; its day of u s e f u l n e s s is short unless ways a n d m e a n s can be f o u n d f o r c o n t i n u a t i o n s or s u p p l e - m e n t s ; a n d f o u n d a t i o n s a r e n o t i n t e r e s t e d in subsidizing p r o j e c t s t h a t m u s t be c o n t i n u e d i n d e f i n i t e l y . R e c e n t events h a v e p u t a n e w aspect o n t h e second of these p r o b l e m s . I t n o w seems likely t h a t , b e g i n n i n g w i t h J a n u a r y 1956, t h e c u r r e n t l y p u b l i s h e d L i b r a r y of Congress a u t h o r catalog will i n c l u d e in its c u m u l a - tions, a n d possibly in its m o n t h l y issues, a r e c o r d of t h e m o r e i m p o r t a n t h o l d i n g s of a large g r o u p of c o o p e r a t i n g l i b r a r i e s in addi- t i o n to those of t h e L i b r a r y of Congress. If this h o p e becomes a reality, t h e task of p u b - l i s h i n g t h e m a t e r i a l in t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g as it n o w s t a n d s has a m u c h m o r e d e f i n i t e l i m i t a n d may b e c o m e sufficiently m a n a g e a b l e in size so t h e t h o u g h t of p u b l i - c a t i o n s h o u l d be c o n s i d e r e d a f r e s h . A study of t h e s i t u a t i o n , however, seems to i n d i c a t e t h a t even so p u b l i c a t i o n of t h e c o m p l e t e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g w o u l d still b e too large a task to be u n d e r t a k e n as a self-sup- p o r t i n g p r o j e c t , a n d p r o b a b l y too large f o r us to h o p e to h a v e it m a d e possible by a subsidy. T h i s is t h e p o i n t at w h i c h t h e p r e c e d e n t of t h e Union List of Serials comes in. I t h a s seemed to some of us t h a t c o n s i d e r a b l e por- tions of t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g m i g h t be o m i t t e d w i t h o u t d o i n g serious h a r m j u s t as t h e r e a r e m a n y types of serial p u b l i c a t i o n s whose omission d i d n o t seriously i m p a i r t h e v a l u e of t h e Union List of Serials. If these p o r t i o n s a r e o m i t t e d a n d t h e e d i t o r i a l work is c a r r i e d o n a l o n g practical lines, it m i g h t well b e possible to p u b l i s h t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g successfully a n d still i n c l u d e i n it a very l a r g e ' p e r c e n t a g e of all t h e in- f o r m a t i o n desired by l i b r a r i a n s a n d bibliog- r a p h e r s if a c o m p a r a t i v e l y small subsidy were m a d e available. U n d e r these circum- stances we s h o u l d s t a n d a b e t t e r c h a n c e of securing t h e subsidy. W i t h all this in m i n d a study has b e e n m a d e of g r o u p s of titles w h i c h m i g h t be c o n s i d e r e d f o r exclusion. A discussion of t h e m follows. Titles in the Library of Congress Printed Catalog F a r a n d away t h e biggest saving can come f r o m o m i t t i n g all items in t h e L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d catalog. Vast n u m b e r s of L i b r a r y of Congress e n t r i e s r e p r e s e n t e i t h e r u n i q u e h o l d i n g s o r p o p u l a r titles w h i c h can be f o u n d in t h o u s a n d s of libraries. T h e r e is little p o i n t in listing e i t h e r type i n t h e p u b - lished N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g whose pri- m a r y objectives a r e to p r o v i d e titles a n d locations n o t given in t h e L i b r a r y of Con- gress p r i n t e d catalog. H o w e v e r , it m u s t be a d m i t t e d t h a t t h e omission of t h e n o n - u n i q u e titles will at times conceal m u l t i p l e locations w h i c h c o u l d p r o f i t a b l y be disclosed a n d t h a t t h e r e m a y be a s o m e w h a t h e a v i e r b u r d e n of i n t e r l i b r a r y l o a n r e q u e s t s o n t h e L i b r a r y of Congress. B u t some of these re- q u e s t s can be passed o n to o t h e r l i b r a r i e s t h r o u g h t h e existing records of m u l t i p l e h o l d i n g s at t h e L i b r a r y of Congress. All things c o n s i d e r e d , it seems wise to suggest t h a t t h e L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d catalog a n d t h e p u b l i s h e d N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g be considered c o m p l e m e n t a r y works; or, in o t h e r words, to p r o p o s e t h a t publica- t i o n s listed in t h e L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d catalog be o m i t t e d f r o m t h e p u b - lished N a t i o n a l U n i o n Catalog. Serials T h e m a j o r reason f o r r e c o m m e n d i n g t h e exclusion of serials is t h a t h o l d i n g s c a n n o t be satisfactorily given in t h e p r o p o s e d p u b - lication, e x c e p t f o r titles w h i c h a r e c o m p l e t e a n d d e a d . W i t h o u t holdings, t h e listing of serials w o u l d n o t be satisfactory. I n addi- t i o n , it m u s t be r e m e m b e r e d t h a t t h e Union List of Serials a n d t h e New Serial Titles list go a l o n g way i n c a r i n g f o r n e e d s in this field. Accordingly, it seems d e s i r a b l e to sug- gest t h a t lists of serial h o l d i n g s b e l e f t f o r t h e Union List of Serials in w h a t e v e r f o r m t h a t m a y take f r o m n o w o n , a n d to o m i t t h e JANUARY, 1956 37- serials f r o m t h e p u b l i s h e d N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g . Non-Book Materials A l t h o u g h e n t r i e s f o r n o n - b o o k m a t e r i a l s a r e n o t n u m e r o u s , it will s i m p l i f y compila- t i o n a n d e d i t i n g of t h e p u b l i s h e d N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g if they a r e o m i t t e d . T h e y i n c l u d e broadsides, m a p s ( b u t n o t atlases), m a n u s c r i p t s , etc. P o p u l a r sheet music m i g h t be classed w i t h t h e n o n - b o o k m a t e r i a l s f o r omission. M i c r o r e p r o d u c t i o n s of books a n d p a m p h l e t s m i g h t be i n c l u d e d , e x c e p t w h e n these a r e p a r t of a large-scale p u b l i c a t i o n p r o g r a m such as t h e E n g l i s h short-title list a n d Evans, f o r e x a m p l e . Early Printings I n c u n a b u l a d o n o t n e e d to b e i n c l u d e d , since they a r e covered by t h e Stillwell census. Likewise, early British i m p r i n t s can be l e f t to t h e Short Title Catalogue a n d W i n g , a n d early A m e r i c a n titles to t h e A m e r i c a n A n t i q u a r i a n Society p r o j e c t to r e p r o d u c e on m i c r o p r i n t cards A m e r i c a n p u b l i c a t i o n s b e f o r e 1801. Offprints and Paged Analyticals A l t h o u g h p e r i o d i c a l articles a r e n o t in- f r e q u e n t l y r e q u e s t e d as t h o u g h they were books, it is suggested t h a t o f f p r i n t s a n d p a g e d analyticals be o m i t t e d . Public Documents Published in the United States Since t h e vast mass of A m e r i c a n govern- m e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s , , i n c l u d i n g those at t h e f e d e r a l , state a n d local levels, a r e i n c l u d e d in t h e L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d catalog, it is r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t A m e r i c a n govern- m e n t p u b l i c a t i o n s be o m i t t e d . Locally p u b - lished d o c u m e n t s n o t r e c o r d e d in t h e Li- brary of Congress p r i n t e d catalog w o u l d n a t u r a l l y be r e q u e s t e d f r o m state libraries or state u n i v e r s i t y libraries. United Nations Documents Since d e p o s i t o r y l i b r a r i e s a r e listed in t h e United Nations Documents Index a n d since t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s L i b r a r y in N e w York City is a v a i l a b l e lor special help, t h e r e seems to be little n e e d to i n c l u d e p u b l i c a t i o n s of t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s or its affiliated agencies. I n a n y e v e n t , t h e L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t - ed catalog covers most of these p u b l i c a t i o n s . T h e p u b l i c a t i o n s of t h e various g o v e r n m e n - tal i n t e r n a t i o n a l o r g a n i z a t i o n s (e.g., t h e L e a g u e of N a t i o n s a n d t h e O r g a n i z a t i o n of A m e r i c a n States) can be e x c l u d e d o n t h e score t h a t t h e g r e a t mass of t h e i r publica- tions can be f o u n d in t h e L i b r a r y of Con- gress p r i n t e d catalog. Dissertations Since A m e r i c a n dissertations s h o u l d be a v a i l a b l e in t h e i n s t i t u t i o n s w h i c h g r a n t e d t h e degree, o n e l o c a t i o n in a d d i t i o n to t h e L i b r a r y of Congress is always k n o w n , a n d they m i g h t be o m i t t e d . Other Items T h e r e are u n d o u b t e d l y a n u m b e r of o t h e r small g r o u p s w h i c h m i g h t be o m i t t e d be- cause they a r e covered elsewhere or because t h e r e is slight d e m a n d f o r t h e m . T y p i c a l of these m i g h t be congressional speeches which a r e really r e p r i n t s , o r h y m n books which a r e q u i t e n u m e r o u s b u t in relatively small d e m a n d , a n d w h e r e t h e location of t h e most i m p o r t a n t collections in t h e c o u n t r y a r e k n o w n , or books o n o t h e r subjects w h e r e t h e r e a r e satisfactory p r i n t e d b i b l i o g r a p h i e s available. D E B A T A B L E I T E M S T h e classes of m a t e r i a l so far considered may result in some i n c o n v e n i e n c e if they a r e o m i t t e d , b u t in g e n e r a l it seems reason- a b l e to suggest t h e i r omission in o r d e r to r e d u c e t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g to m a n - ageable p r o p o r t i o n s f o r e d i t i n g a n d publi- c a t i o n . T h e r e r e m a i n a n u m b e r of classes which s h o u l d be c o n s i d e r e d b u t w h e r e ex- clusion is m o r e d e b a t a b l e . T h e s e i n c l u d e secondary school textbooks, p u b l i c a t i o n s of large c o r p o r a t e bodies, e n t r i e s f o r certain v o l u m i n o u s a u t h o r s , a n d f o r e i g n disserta- tions. A brief discussion of these may be p r o f i t a b l e . American Secondary School Textbooks H a r v a r d has a special collection of over 50,000 secondary school t e x t b o o k s , m a i n l y n i n e t e e n t h - c e n t u r y A m e r i c a n p u b l i c a t i o n s . 38 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES T h i s n u m b e r could be m u l t i p l i e d several times over to give a r e a s o n a b l e e s t i m a t e of t h e total o u t p u t r e c o r d e d in t h e U n i o n Catalog, b u t with certain n o t a b l e e x c e p t i o n s these p u b l i c a t i o n s a r e n o t r e q u i r e d f o r schol- arly research. M o r e o v e r , t h e i r listing in m a n y cases is t r o u b l e s o m e because of t h e p u b l i s h i n g custom of listing n u m e r o u s places in t h e i m p r i n t a n d of c h a n g i n g t h e s e q u e n c e of these place n a m e s t o suit local exigencies. F o r t h e few scholars w h o a r e i n t e r e s t e d in this m a t e r i a l , a list of t h e larger collections in t h e c o u n t r y m i g h t be sufficient. Some items h a v e special i n t e r e s t (e.g., t h e works of L i n d l e y M u r r a y a n d t h e McGuffey R e a d - ers), a n d m i g h t be i n c l u d e d . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , f o r e i g n t e x t b o o k s m i g h t be i n c l u d e d because they will be c o m p a r a t i v e l y few in n u m b e r a n d in some cases w o u l d be m o r e difficult to recognize as secondary school t e x t b o o k s a n d w o u l d certainly be m o r e difficult to find in libraries in this c o u n t r y . Voluminous Authors H a r v a r d has some 8,000 a u t h o r entries u n d e r Shakespeare. M a n y p r o b l e m s in Shakespeare b i b l i o g r a p h y w o u l d have to be faced or glossed over if all t h e 8,000 e n t r i e s — p l u s t h e a d d i t i o n a l t h o u s a n d s which o t h e r l i b r a r i e s could a d d — w e r e i n c l u d e d . S h o u l d n o t such a n a u t h o r be e x c l u d e d a n d l e f t f o r a special b i b l i o g r a p h y to be c o m p i l e d by a c o m p e t e n t b i b l i o g r a p h e r ? P e r h a p s a r u l i n g could be set u p so t h a t e n t r i e s with m o r e t h a n a t h o u s a n d titles w o u l d be o m i t t e d : t h e p r i n c i p a l libraries b e i n g m e n t i o n e d in- stead as well as any p u b l i s h e d b i b l i o g r a p h i e s which r e p r e s e n t location. If this were d o n e , t h e b u l k of t h e U n i o n C a t a l o g could be re- d u c e d by a m i l l i o n e n t r i e s or m o r e . T h e t h o u s a n d s of e n t r i e s for t h e Bible a n d its p a r t s c o u l d come u n d e r this r u l i n g . Likewise, t h e p u b l i c a t i o n s of m a j o r Ameri- can i n s t i t u t i o n s with extensive p u b l i s h i n g p r o g r a m s can be o m i t t e d on this score. T h e 3,000 entries which t h e W i d e n e r L i b r a r y has u n d e r H a r v a r d University a r e a case in p o i n t . A n y o n e seeking a H a r v a r d publica- tion c o u l d p r o p e r l y a p p l y to t h e H a r v a r d University L i b r a r y , a n d t h e same w o u l d h o l d t r u e w i t h o t h e r universities. A p p e a l s f o r University of Chicago p u b l i c a t i o n s c o u l d go to t h e U n i v e r s i t y of Chicago, a n d so o n . Foreign Dissertations In a class by themselves a r e t h e very nu- m e r o u s f o r e i g n dissertations. T h e L i b r a r y of Congress a l o n e has u p w a r d s of a t h i r d of a million theses f r o m o t h e r countries, few of w h i c h a r e r e p r e s e n t e d in its p r i n t e d catalog, t h o u g h all of t h e m a r e listed in t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n Catalog. F o r f o r e i g n dissertations t h e m a t t e r to d e b a t e is w h e t h e r they s h o u l d be i n c l u d e d in t h e p u b l i s h e d N a t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g or w h e t h e r they s h o u l d be l e f t f o r a sepa- r a t e b i b l i o g r a p h y . Obviously, t h e disserta- tions of n o t e d a u t h o r s s h o u l d be i n c l u d e d , e.g., Bergson. T h e greatest q u e s t i o n comes w i t h t h e t h o u s a n d s of medical a n d legal dis- s e r t a t i o n s which can be sought in o b v i o u s places: f o r e x a m p l e ( a p a r t f r o m t h e L i b r a r y of Congress) t h e H a r v a r d L a w School Li- brary a n d t h e A r m e d Forces Medical Li- brary. N o t e in this c o n n e c t i o n t h a t t h e r e is a small b u t steady d e m a n d f o r f o r e i g n theses a n d a n u m b e r of requests f o r t h e m may reg- ularly be f o u n d in t h e Weekly List of Un- located Research Books. W o u l d a g o o d com- promise be to list all n o n - m e d i c a l a n d non- legal foreign dissertations? T H E P U B L I C A T I O N P R O G R A M W e estimate t h a t t h e n u m b e r of entries w o u l d be r e d u c e d by at least a half if t h e suggestions just discussed are a p p r o v e d . It w o u l d t h e n seem possible to envisage a successful e d i t i o n of t h e N a t i o n a l U n i o n Catalog. T h i s e d i t i o n w o u l d be p r i n t e d by offset f r o m t y p e w r i t t e n copy. I t w o u l d con- t a i n brief entries designed p r i m a r i l y f o r lo- cation p u r p o s e s . M a j o r e d i t i n g p r o b l e m s w o u l d r e m a i n to be faced. T h e s e r e l a t e p r i m a r i l y to v a r i a n t p r i n t i n g s , cross references, a n d e n t r i e s u n d e r two or m o r e forms of h e a d i n g . T h e s e edit- ing p r o b l e m s should be faced realistically, just as W i n i f r e d Gregory faced t h e some- w h a t similar p r o b l e m s in c o m p i l i n g a n d e d i t i n g t h e Union List of Serials. V a r i a n t p r i n t i n g s m i g h t be i g n o r e d w h e n t h e r e is n o good reason f o r recognizing t h e m as i n d e p e n d e n t b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l entries. Cross r e f e r e n c e s s h o u l d to a large e x t e n t be ig- n o r e d w h e n they are o b v i o u s or w h e n t h e L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d catalog covers t h e m . It s h o u l d be n o t e d in this c o n n e c t i o n JANUARY, 1956 39- that the Library of Congress p r i n t e d catalog does not by any m a n n e r of means include all the references in the Library of Congress card catalogs, a precedent which might well hold for the published National U n i o n Catalog. And for entries u n d e r a variety of forms, the editors must do their best a n d allowance must be made in the published work for a certain a m o u n t of inconsistency. I t would be easy to spend millions of dollars in editing the catalog, b u t this must be avoided. A bird in the h a n d is worth two in the bush. T h e i n t e n t of this p a p e r is to urge the acceptance of a limited program for the publication of the National U n i o n Catalog. I n essence the publication would be com- plementary to the Library of Congress print- ed catalog, as well as to the various other accepted bibliographies. It would not be a complete a n d perfect bibliography, but it would be a tremendously valuable biblio- graphical tool, both for the location of copies a n d for the compilation of bibliogra- phies of various kinds. W i t h the proposed expansion of the Library of Congress Au- thor Catalog into a u n i o n catalog, b e g i n n i n g next year, the time has come to reproduce the retrospective National U n i o n Catalog to the best of o u r ability. If general agree- m e n t can be reached on this proposal, we could ask the Library of Congress to study the costs involved, to estimate the size of the subsidy, if any, that would be required, to make possible a publication at a low enough price so that the whole project would be- come feasible. Future Program (Continued from page 12) provide readers with information on de- velopments in the audio-visual field. A number of readers have already ex- pressed favorable comments on this new feature. Librarians in practice can assist in improving the journal by writing and by encouraging their staff members to write. If there is any single criterion to guide writers, it is to present new ideas. Contributors should follow the basic style of the journal in presentation, foot- note citations, and tabular organization. We are counting on your full coopera- tion.—Maurice F. Tauber, Editor. Faculty Service (Continued from page 13) ject specialists, but the functions of the specialist might well be performed im- mediately under the office of the direc- tor, or out of a subject divisional li- brary, or out of a departmental library. It is believed, however, that once the service is created the confidence and sup- port necessary to its success would soon be established in sufficient degree to make the innovation successful. Certainly the librarian convinced of the efficacy of his calling will not cringe at improving or increasing services. Let the faint-hearted but look back over the progress of the last half-century and see how far he has come already. He should note also that special libraries have al- ways given most of the services discussed above. Indeed, the coordination of fac- ulty services entails little more than the adaptation of certain special library practices to an academic situation. Use of TAAB (Continued from page 18) which TAAB service provides. In conclusion, it might be said that the TAAB method has the virtue of be- ing cooperative, comprehensive and competitive. It is cooperative in the sense that libraries and booksellers derive mu- tual benefit in a new and imaginative way. Comprehensiveness is achieved by the large-scale attention given by book- sellers to an individual library's wants. It is competitive because of the number of dealers involved and this tends to en- courage low quoting on items desired. T h e method has much to recommend it. 40 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES