College and Research Libraries


Another compromise with the desirable is 
that the circulation file contains cards, not 
only for all books on loan, but also for books 
not yet due which have already been re-
turned. The file is of value for reference 
only after the shelves and all possible way 
stations for newly returned books have been 
checked. 

Despite these limitations, the Brooklyn 
College system is probably the most effective 
mechanized system devised for a medium 
sized university or college library situation. 
It is certainly not the ultimate, and newer 
technological developments will in time re-
duce the compromises between expediency 
and desirability. Perhaps the ultimate system 
can achieve the advantages of the former 
book card systems, using simpler procedures 
and requiring the borrower to write nothing. 
-Ralph H. Parker, University of Missouri 
Library. 

Cataloging-in-Source 

The Cataloging-in-Source Experiment; a 
Report to the Librarian of Congress by 
the Director of the Processing Department. 
Washington, Library of Congress, 1960. 
xxiv, 199 p. 

This well-organized, well-written document 
will surely earn a permanent place on the 
shelves of most libraries throughout the coun-
try and undoubtedly in a good many of the 
large foreign libraries. It makes one wish 
that it had been printed instead of dupli-
cated by offset lithography, as it may very 
well stand for a good many years as the 
record of the second major, unsucessful at-
tempt to print full cataloging information 
in books. This is not a progress report, but 
the final statement by the Library of Con-
gress on an experiment which led to the con-
clusion that Cataloging-in-Source should not 
be continued-at least as presently conceived. 

L. Quincy Mumford, Librarian of Con-
gress, describes the experiment in the pre-
face in this way: "The immediate purpose of 
the experiment was to test once more, under 
modern conditions, the feasibility of a pro-
posal which was first advanced, and tested, 
during the 1870's and 1880's. The present-

NOVEMBER 1960 

day phase of the proposal, denominated as 
"Cataloging-in-Source," envisaged the print-
ing by publishers in their current publica-
tions of facsimiles of Library of Congress 
cards. This would be made possible by hav-
ing the Library of Congress catalog these 
titles in advance of publication from page 
proofs and data sheets supplied by the pub-
lishers." After stating that the experiment 
proved that it is possible for the Library of 
Congress to catalog some books from page 
proofs before they are published, that it is 
possible for a selected number of publishers 
to print catalog entries in a considerable 
number of their publications, and that a 
representative group of libraries would wel- · 
come having cataloging information printed 
in the books, Mr. Mumford goes on to say: 
"The underlying purpose of the experiment, 
however, was to ascertain whether a perma-
nent, full-scale program of Cataloging-in-
Source could be justified in terms of financ-
ing, technical considerations, and utility. As 
regards this, the answer must be a regretful 
negative." The two basic problems tested 
were: (1) the financial and technical prob-
ler:ns and the practicability of the proposal 
from the viewpoint of the Library of Con-
gress and the publishers, and (2) what actual 
use could libraries and other consumers 
make of the catalog entries appearing in the 
publications. 

Among the reasons given for the decision, 
the rna jor determining factors were: (1) the 
very high cost to both the publishers and the 
Library of Congress, (2) the disruptions of 
publishing schedules, (3) the high degree of 
unreliability of catalog entries based on texts 
not in their final form, and (4) the difficulty 
libraries would have in using this unreliable 
information and adapting it to their indi-
vidual requirements. The criticisms to Cata-
loging-in-Source that are reported are very 
interesting to note. Some of the major ones 
are: ( l) en try of a book under the original 
author when published as the original au-
thor's work but largely rewritten by an edi-
tor, (2) entry under the first named author 
when the editors consider a later-named au-
thor as being principally responsible, (3) 
the publishers' strong objections to real 
name entries for pseudonymous works (and 
none were printed in the books that way), 
(4) the authors' objection to the use of their 
birthdates in the headings, (5) even the 

493 



catalogers found the work "unrewarding and 
taxing" because of the inevitable inaccura-
cies in the cataloging and the rushing pres-
sure. Of the cataloging entries printed 48 % 
had some discrepancy with the book as pub-
lished. 

The Cataloging-in-Source experiment was 
begun in May 1958. Many publishers of 
varying sizes and types were contacted; 157 
of them were willing and able to cooperate 
and sent in proof for cataloging. The goal 
was to catalog 1,000 titles, and by the end of 
February 1959, 1,203 publications had been 
cataloged by the Library of Congress, 100 of 
which were cataloged cooperatively by the 

· Department of Agriculture Library. After 
the cataloging phase more than 200 libraries 
were visited by the consumer reaction team. 
Consumer reaction was sought from libraries 
of various sizes and degrees of specialization. 

This report is very complete in including 
all of the procedures followed. This does not 
have to detract from the ease of reading it 
by those who wish to skim over these details. 
However, if anyone has difficulty in under-
standing the complications of the special 
cataloging routines involved for the Library 
of Congress, let him be sure to read pp. 5-7 
where the basic routines are outlined. The 
make-up of the report involves first twenty-
four pages of introductory remarks and ac-
knowledgements-including a chronology of 
events. Then follows the main text for 
ninety-nine pages. Here the experiment is 
described step by step along with the Library 
of Congress' viewpoint, the publishers' ex-
perience and attitude, the report on the con-
sumer reaction survey, the report of the ALA 
Cataloging Policy and Research Committee, 
as well as the final considerations and pos-
sible alternatives. The rest of the report is 
taken up with fourteen appendixes which in-
clude among others: samples from a similar 
experiment in the late nineteenth century, 
the forms, procedures, and other material 
sent to the publishers, the report on Cata-
loging-in-Source in the Department of Agri-
culture Library, the tables of statistics that 
were accumulated, the libraries that were 
visited during the Consumer Reaction Sur-
vey and the questionnaire used, and even a 
bibliography entitled "A Chronological De-
scription of the More Important Published 
Accounts of the Experiment." 

The library world is grateful to the Coun-

494 

cil on Liprary Resources, Inc. for the grants 
which made this experiment possible, to the 
publishers who cooperated in it, and to the 
Library qf Congress for carrying it out. This 
fine report records in one convenient place 
all that has been involved in the experiment, 
the results, the conclusions drawn, and the 
possible future alternatives. Librarians every-
where will certainly want to read it.-Ken-
neth W. Sod erland, University of Chicago 
Library. 

Studies in Microforms 
Production of Micro -Forms. By Reginald 

Hawkins. (The State of the Library Art, 
edited by Ralph R. Shaw, Vol. 5, Pt. 1.) 
New Brunswick, N. J.: Rutgers University 
Press, 1960. 208p. $5.00. 

Reading Devices for Micro-Ima ges. By Jean 
Stewart and others. (The State of the Li-
brary Art, edited by Ralph R. Shaw, Vol. 5, 
Pt. 2.) New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers Uni-
versity Press, 1960. 205p. $5.00. 

These two volumes are the first to appear 
out of the Rutgers project on "Targets for 
Research in Library Work" sponsored by a 
grant from the Council on Library Re-
sources, and directed by Ralph R. Shaw. 
Part three on the "Production of Full-Size 
Copies," due shortly, will complete the por-
tion devoted to "Reproduction of Materials." 
The purpose of these volumes is to show 
what has been done in the past, evaluate 
those previous studies, and point out direc-
tions for future work. 

The arrangement of materials is somewhat 
different in each book. Hawkins starts out 
with the review of what has been written on 
the production pf microforms. This covers 
the history of microcopying, equipment in 
general, types and characteristics of micro-
copies, quality factors, production costs, and 
storage. This 149-page review is based on a 
list of some 439 references. It is followed by a 
thirteen · page summary and suggestions for 
future study. Hawkins lays out five research 
projects ranging from a study to determine 
which types of microforms are necessary to 
one on information retrieval based on micro-
forms. 

COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES