College and Research Libraries Cornell's Reclassification Program BY F E L I X R E I C H M A N N CO R N E L L ' S first president, Andrew D. White, was a scholar, a bibliophile, and a man of independent means—an ideal combination for a university presi- dent. Under his patronage the library of the young institution grew quickly to eminence. By 1890, Cornell University library ranked fourth in size among American university libraries. With the beginning of the twentieth century, how- ever, the halcyon days of the library had passed and the two storm clouds gathered —inadequate financial support and in- sufficient shelving space—clouds that would darken the life of the institution for the next half-century. Because of these adverse circumstances, the library could not make the necessary adjustments, keep up with the rapid development of her more fortunate sister institutions, and adopt modern methods of library admin- istration, but struggled instead in the quagmire of an obsolete building and an- tiquated procedures. T h e biggest stumbling block to the modernization of the library's technical operations was its outdated classification system. What is locally known as the "Harris classification" is a system of shelf numbers which follows a loose systematic arrangement satisfactory for a closed- shelf library. First adopted by the British Museum in 1836, it had the nimbus of scholarly respectability and had been ap- plied to the Cornell University holdings by the librarian, George W. Harris, in 1891. Maurice T a u b e r has succinctly characterized this shelf scheme: T h e H a r r i s scheme is n o t a g e n u i n e s u b j e c t classification, b u t a fixed l o c a t i o n device. I t has n o t b e e n revised and Mr. Reiclnnann is Assistant Director, Cor- nell University Libraries. a d a p t e d to fit m o d e r n needs as have o t h e r systems such as that of the L i - brary o f Congress. I t is n o t taught in library schools and it is n o t used in any o t h e r m a j o r A m e r i c a n library. O n l y a f t e r considerable study a n d e x p e r i e n c e is it possible to gain some insight i n t o the p e c u l i a r characteristics o f t h e com- p l e x system b u t even then consistency is not possible, since the classification, l o n g o u t d a t e d and inflexible, c o n t a i n s too m a n y i n h e r e n t inconsistencies. Before the first World War, Cornell librarians realized the necessity of replac- ing the "Harris classification" with a modern scheme. I n 1916 the Annual Re- port mentions the "few changes which are necessary to make the [card catalog] conform to the latest practice in library economy." T h e report clearly indicates the intention of the administration to modernize the procedures, although at a slow pace: C o r n e l l University L i b r a r y was begun b e f o r e the days of m o d e r n library econ- omy a n d as m u c h of the work in such a library is cumulative in characteris- tic, it is n o t possible to suddenly p u t i n t o o p e r a t i o n more m o d e r n methods. F o r this reason only such changes have b e e n a t t e m p t e d as could easily be made w i t h o u t disturbing the working efficiency o f the library. In 1918 (no report was issued for 1917) the "few changes of 1916" were specified: T h e work o f reclassifying the Spanish a n d Portuguese languages a n d l i t e r a t u r e S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 2 3 6 9 in a c c o r d a n c e w i t h the L i b r a r y o f Con- gress system of classification (modified) has b e e n c o m p l e t e d . From this date on, year after year the Annual Report identifies the slow steps taken to reclassify the collection. In 1919 the report reads: D u r i n g the year the books d e a l i n g with the E u r o p e a n war have b e e n reclassified according to the L i b r a r y of Congress system, thus providing f o r a m o r e com- prehensive c o l l e c t i o n than could have b e e n i n c l u d e d u n d e r the old system. T h e Scaife c o l l e c t i o n (Civil W a r litera- ture) has also b e e n classified by the L i - brary o f Congress system a n d the works d e a l i n g with the same s u b j e c t s that were already in the library will be reclassified a n d shelved with t h e m . In 1920 the reclassification of the Pru- dence Risley Hall library (a small library in a girls' dormitory) is mentioned. In 1921 the periodicals of the Wason collec- tion (books in Western European lan- guages on China) were classified, and in 1922 a new head of the catalog depart- ment, Emma Runner, was brought from the Library of Congress probably with the intention of speeding up the reclassi- fication. In 1927 the library proudly re- ports: T h e L i b r a r y o f Congress system o f classi- c a t i o n is b e i n g gradually substituted f o r the old m e t h o d o f m a r k i n g books to a definite place, in use since occupying the present b u i l d i n g . At the present time, the L i b r a r y o f Congress system is b e i n g used for the o p e n shelf books, g e n e r a l periodicals, encyclopedias, Spanish liter- ature, V a n C l e e f (zoology), G r a y L i b r a r y (electrical e n g i n e e r i n g ) , A g r i c u l t u r e Col- lege L i b r a r y , W a s o n C h i n e s e C o l l e c t i o n a n d F r e e Masonry. In 1929, Mr. Austin's last report as li- brarian, the reclassification work is summed up: T h e n e x t step a f t e r accessions in m a k i n g l i b r a r y materials available f o r use is classification. I n 1891 when the books were moved to the present b u i l d i n g a n d some system of n u m b e r i n g was neces- sary to keep t h e m in o r d e r on the shelves, n o scholarly o r really a d e q u a t e system of classification a d a p t e d to the needs of a large university l i b r a r y h a d b e e n worked out. A modified B r i t i s h Mu- seum system o f n o t a t i o n was a d o p t e d as t h e best m e a n s o f k e e p i n g materials in order, a l t h o u g h it could n o t in any sense b e said to classify the books. T h e i n h e r e n t weaknesses of this system have b e e n m o r e a n d m o r e in evidence with the growth of the library. T h e l a b o r o f re-marking the accumu- lated materials according to a l a t e r and b e t t e r system was too great to u n d e r t a k e all at once. T h e n e e d f o r working space a n d funds for a d d i t i o n a l workers was so great i n 1915 t h a t i t did n o t seem feasi- b l e to u n d e r t a k e it. T h e r e f o r e , additions to the groups o f books already in the li- brary were c o n t i n u e d with the same sys- tem o f m a r k i n g , because it was feared t h a t confusion a n d therefore some inter- f e r e n c e with the use o f books m i g h t re- sult from the use o f two systems in the same g r o u p . All new groups, however, a n d some smaller units already in the library, h a v e b e e n classified by the sys- tem devised by the L i b r a r y o f Congress which is t h e best system of classification k n o w n to the l i b r a r y world. T h e o p e n shelf a n d r e f e r e n c e books were the first to b e thus classified. T h e n the cyclope- dias a n d g e n e r a l p e r i o d i c a l l i t e r a t u r e were dealt with a n d b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r in a m o r e c o n v e n i e n t l o c a t i o n f o r ready c o n s u l t a t i o n . T h e most i m p o r t a n t step in a d o p t i n g a new system o f classification has b e e n made in c o n n e c t i o n with the new dis- t i n c t collections added d u r i n g this pe- riod. T h e A g r i c u l t u r a l College L i b r a r y books, when removed from the general l i b r a r y were classified by the L i b r a r y o f Congress m e t h o d . T h e division o f Span- ish L i t e r a t u r e , the Scaife C o l l e c t i o n o f A m e r i c a n History, the V a n C l e e f Medi- cal L i b r a r y , and the G r a y M e m o r i a l L i - brary have all b e e n classified by the L i - brary o f Congress system, with certain modifications. T h e large W a s o n collec- 3 7 0 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 tion, d e a l i n g with C h i n a a n d the Chi- nese, the L o e w y C o l l e c t i o n o f F r e e Masonry, a n d the m a t h e m a t i c a l books deposited i n W h i t e H a l l , h a v i n g b e e n b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r w i t h i n r e c e n t years, h a v e all b e e n classified by the L i b r a r y o f Congress system. A r r a n g e m e n t s are u n d e r way to reclassify the B a r n e s Li- brary of R e l i g i o u s L i t e r a t u r e to b r i n g it in l i n e with m o d e r n system. T h i s was the swan song of Cornell's first attempt at reclassification. It was not successful because it was too cautious. It never gathered enough momentum to get off the ground; it just faded out, and the great problems of the 1930's buried it under the sand of oblivion. Moreover, it did not break resolutely with the old system. T h e Library of Congress classifi- cation was accepted with important homemade adaptations, changes which nullified almost all the advantages which could have been gained. Fortunately, some college libraries which were not at that time under the administration of the university library had accepted (or did accept shortly) the correct Library of Congress classification (Agriculture, En- gineering, Architecture); also, the classifi- cation and most of the cataloging of the Wason Collection could be interfiled without changes when eighteen years later the second—and this time, success- ful—effort was made to modernize Cor- nell University library's technical pro- cedures. T h e space problem was the reason that the question of reclassification disap- peared from the Annual Reports of the library after 1929. T h e library building was so overcrowded that there was not enough space for books, readers, or staff. T h e very usefulness of the library was in jeopardy. Even as a dead storage build- ing it would not have been acceptable as the closely packed shelves did consid- erable damage to bindings. T h e building with its tower, a landmark for the Cor- nell campus, had been erected in 1891 and had been justly considered one of the S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 2 best library structures at that time. T h e capacity was calculated to be four hun- dred thousand volumes, (later experience proved that this figure was too optimistic and that three hundred forty thousand was more nearly correct) a generous size for a collection of about one hundred thousand volumes. Under the impact of rapid increase in library holdings, both by purchase and by gift, (the Fiske gift embracing three world-famous collec- tions—Petrarch, Dante, and Icelandica— was received in 1893 and 1905) the avail- able shelf space shrank swiftly, and reached a dangerous low in 1910. T h e Annual Report for that year mentions that the growth of the library had re- sulted in congestion in many places: "79 per cent of the space is actually filled, and in the Andrew D. White Library (history) 88 per cent is filled." Mr. Harris concludes his report with the statement: T h e overcrowding of the shelves has be- gun to be felt . . . thus decreasing the usefulness o f the library. I, therefore, respectfully urge that i m m e d i a t e provi- sion be made for a d d i t i o n a l shelf room to relieve the congestion. Only some patchwork had been done twenty years later. In the meantime, the situation had become unbearable because holdings exceeded the calculated capac- ity by about 75 per cent. T h e r e was sim- ply no space anywhere for anything. T h e Faculty Library Committee, which was in charge before the new librarian, Otto Kinkeldey, could take over, discussed the problem and came to the following con- clusion: All plans m e n t i o n e d are mere make- shifts a n d palliatives. T h e C o m m i t t e e has at every p o i n t b e e n b r o u g h t face to face with the fact that it is n o t in such fashion that the L i b r a r y can fulfill its duty to the University. W e t h i n k that the time for p a t c h i n g u p t h e L i b r a r y b u i l d i n g has gone by, a n d t h a t the trus- tees a n d the faculty ought at o n c e to rec- ognize the L i b r a r y ' s p r o b l e m as o n e de- m a n d i n g h e r o i c t r e a t m e n t . 3 7 1 Dr. Kinkeldey took the lead from this prologue to his administration, and in sixteen long and frustrating years he hammered into trustees, administration, and faculty the need for a new building. His annual reports form the most pa- thetic pages in American library history and testify to his understanding of the problems which confronted him and to the courage and tenacity with which he tried to solve them. Skillfully, he used all the means which his keen intelligence and vast erudition had put at his dis- posal. In fifteen variations upon the cen- tral theme "inadequate," he cajoled, im- plored, and threatened; he was factual, ironical, sophisticated, and blunt. Like the "eloquent peasant" he found new mu- tations to his leitmotiv. T h e Egyptian story of the eloquent peasant had a happy ending. T h e Pharaoh was so pleased with the eloquence of the peasant's first com- plaint that he postponed his decision to elicit further epistles but finally granted the reward; for Dr. Kinkeldey, however, the authorities remained mute. T h e "compression nightmare," as he called the library building, is well illus- trated in the Annual Report of 1933: I n the m e a n t i m e we may console our- selves with the thought that the L i b r a r y has proved itself e n t i r e l y m o d e r n in its failure to c o n f o r m to the a c c e p t e d laws o f physics. I n these days of non-Euclid- ean geometry, n o n - A r i s t o t e l i a n logic a n d n o n - N e w t o n i a n physics it is n o t sur- prising to find that a space fully occu- p i e d could a b s o r b a substantial addition to its c o n t e n t s . L o c a t e d in the C o r n e l l University L i b r a r y K i n g J a m e s ' full t u b of water will n o t overflow u p o n the ad- d i t i o n o f t h e fish. I n the c o m i n g year the absolutely filled b u i l d i n g will have to a c c o m m o d a t e t h e n e x t i n c r e m e n t in the same way. T h e relativity theorists will have to find a place in t h e i r system f o r the c o n c e p t o f c o m p l e t e fullness. W e are d e m o n s t r a t i n g the theorem that two bodies, when they take the form o f books o r o f library workers, can occupy the same space. Aside f r o m the compression n i g h t m a r e , a n d with due allowance f o r the preva- lent shrinkage o f incomes, the L i b r a r y has flourished a n d f u n c t i o n e d as well as m i g h t reasonably be e x p e c t e d in its pres- e n t c o n d i t i o n . I n 1935 he recapitulated briefly the story of the building and compared the estimate of the builder with the actual holdings and concluded: [ W e were forced to resort] to a system o f compression a n d congestion which, as has been repeatedly p o i n t e d o u t in Li- b r a r i a n s ' reports, n o t only h a m p e r s the p r o p e r f u n c t i o n i n g o f a library with re- spect to its users b u t is actually harm- ful to the b o o k a n d b i n d i n g s e n t r u s t e d to o u r care. F o r this c o n d i t i o n there is b u t o n e r e a l r e m e d y — a new library building, which would also provide p r o p e r working space for the t e c h n i c a l staff r e q u i r e d f o r a c o l l e c t i o n of this size. I n 1936 he acknowledges "with joyous gratitude" the plan of a small annex in the southwest corner of the building (holding about one hundred ten-thous- and volumes) but concludes: T h e L i b r a r i a n ventures to r e p e a t a state- m e n t made in his last r e p o r t . A n ade- q u a t e provision for b o o k space a n d work space r e q u i r e d by a c o l l e c t i o n as large as ours, with facilities c o m m e n s u r a t e with the size a n d i m p o r t a n c e o f the U n i - versity, can be m a d e o n l y in a new, mod- e r n library b u i l d i n g . Year for year the story is repeated. Thus, in 1941 Dr. Kinkeldey burst out: As has b e e n p o i n t e d o u t in all reports of r e c e n t years, the p r o b l e m o f housing a n d h a n d l i n g the growing b o o k collec- tion becomes m o r e a n d m o r e serious. I t is the L i b r a r i a n ' s f e r v e n t h o p e a n d prayer that the consideration o f in- creased space . . . will n o t be delayed . . . a n d t h a t the even m o r e pressing prob- lem o f working space f o r a harassed staff will be solved in the n o t too distant fu- ture. In 1944 another approach is attempted 3 7 2 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 u s i n g t h e t e r m i n o l o g y o f t h e s e c o n d W o r l d W a r : T h e G e r m a n s have m a d e us f a m i l i a r with the p r o b l e m o f the l e b e n s r a u m b u t they have n o m o n o p o l y o r vested r i g h t i n this idea. . . . W e at C o r n e l l come close to a d e m o n s t r a t i o n that two o r m o r e stalf m e m b e r s can subsist a n d work in the lebensraum that would nor- mally b e assigned to o n e o f them alone, b u t it is n o t a happy d e m o n s t r a t i o n . In his last report in 1945, he predicted utter chaos unless a new library build- ing were soon provided: T h e jigsaw puzzle is a m o d e r n inven- t i o n . Sir J a m e s M u r r a y in his well known d i c t i o n a r y tells us that the word jigsaw came f r o m the U n i t e d States . . . this should surely m i n i s t e r to o u r n a t i o n a l p r i d e . . . T h e L a b y r i n t h a n d maze, from M i n o a n C r e t e to H a m p t o n C o u r t , have cast t h e i r fateful o r t h e i r comical shadows over the whole race o f m a n . Such a sinister shadow, with n o comi- cal aspect to soften its threat of woe, is b e g i n n i n g to rest u p o n C o r n e l l Univer- sity L i b r a r y . A n o r i g i n a l logical a n d in- t e l l i g i b l e o r d e r in the housing o f its books is b e i n g gradually t u r n e d i n t o a jigsaw puzzle a n d a l a b y r i n t h by the dire pressure of d w i n d l i n g and exhausted housing and working space. . . . O n l y the m o r e refined jigsaw i n t e l l i g e n c e can suc- ceed in k e e p i n g track of the incongru- ously j u m b l e d shelving system. . . . I t matters n o t how m a n y y o u n g m e n and library maidens are sacrificed to propi- t i a t e the monster. T h e M i n o t a u r will e v e n t u a l l y crush us all o r drive us i n t o the mad house. T h e situation was incredibly bad, and it is understandable that the administra- tion and staff of the library, tired out by the many years of unsuccessful struggle, would not spend their meager resources on reclassification. It was a miracle that the library continued to operate as a liv- ing institution which wTas giving valua- ble service to the Cornell community. T h i s achievement was possible only be- cause of the almost unbelievable loyalty of the staff. It had been Cornell's great fortune to be served by a number of li- brarians whose utmost devotion to their beloved institution has rarely been equalled in the history of American uni- versity libraries. T h e associate librarian, E. R . Willis; Emma R . Speed, catalog de- partment; Elizabeth Ingersoll, acquisi- tions department; Lillian Leland, peri- odicals and binding, and others equally devoted, kept the library going. T h e y were not successful in obtaining a new building, but they had not fought in vain. Without their heroic resist- ance we, their successors, could not have gained victory. Dr. Kinkeldey and his loyal coworkers may well take conso- lation in the Latin adage, "Victrix causa diis placuit, victa Catoni." In the fall of 1946 a new and more felicitous era started for the Cornell Uni- versity libraries. S. A. McCarthy took over the directorship, and under his ad- ministration the library has regained the eminence it enjoyed in the nineteenth century. Dr. McCarthy received many promises from the university administra- tion—and a little help; it was not too much, but it was enough to enable him to increase the staff slightly, allowing him to make a few new key appointments— for instance, the first full-time reference librarian Cornell has ever had. Of cardi- nal importance for the question of re- classification was the library survey which the trustees authorized for the fall of 1947. Louis R . Wilson, R . B. Downs, and M. F. T a u b e r studied the Cornell Uni- versity libraries in every detail and sub- mitted an exhaustive report of their find- ings and recommendations. Dr. Tauber, America's foremost au- thority in the field of cataloging and class- ification, was requested to make a special study of Cornell's classification. His ad- verse opinion of the Harris classification has been quoted here, and he strongly advised discontinuing forthwith this old- fashioned procedure which was not only totally inadequate but also very expen- sive. In order to be prepared for all ar- S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 2 3 7 3 guments, T a u b e r discussed briefly the possibilities of "modernizing" the Harris classification and making its application less cumbersome. Such a patchwork would entail at least five steps: 1. E d i t a n d r e p r o d u c e the 117-page man- uscript classification schedules 2. P r e p a r e a d e t a i l e d s u b j e c t i n d e x to these schedules 3. I n t r o d u c e an effective a u t h o r - n u m b e r - ing system 4. P r e p a r e a card shelf-list r e c o r d from the existing b o o k records 5. M a k e necessary a d a p t a t i o n s o f schedules He estimated that these preliminary procedures would cost at least $90,000. Very little would be accomplished by the expenditure of this large sum of money; operational costs would remain high, and the many inconsistencies of the classifica- tion would not be remedied. Thus, to say it bluntly, it would have been money down the drain. T h e second choice to be considered was that of restricting Library of Con- gress classification to all new acquisitions and leaving all books bought before De- cember 1947 in the old arrangement. T a u b e r did not favor this solution (nei- ther did we) because it would have rele- gated more than eight hundred thousand valuable publications into a limbo, at least as far as use was concerned. It would have destroyed the unity of the subject collection, impaired browsing in the stacks, and caused continuous processing difficulties and delays with monographs in series, with continuations, and with added copies. Not everyone, however, agrees with our viewpoint. Many years later, when our reclassification was in full operation, a German librarian visited Cornell. I showed him with great pride what we had done, but our colleague from over- seas put ice-cold water on my enthusiasm by remarking that most German librari- ans would have preferred the second so- lution, which both the surveyors and the library staff had rejected almost out of hand. His argument was that we had missed an almost ideal opportunity to make a clear chronological break be- tween the old and the new collections. It was not his belief that these two col- lections should be integrated, but rather that they should be shelved and cata- logued as separate entities. Although I can see the many valuable points in his argument, I still believe, many years post factum, that we have made the right de- cision. As we are continuously acquiring older publications, the purchase date would not have given us a distinctive chronological division unless we were prepared to classify the older material under the Harris classification and thus, continued to process two classifications ad infinitum. I readily consent to have a separate collection in a compact storage arrangement (most larger libraries have accepted this by now), but in this case the division is based on value (or fre- quency-of-use) judgment and not on the imprint or purchase date. In all circum- stances, I would be very lukewarm about giving up the unifying function of the catalog unless the size of the catalog reaches such proportion that it becomes unmanageable. However, regardless of whether these arguments are right, the decision in 1947 was unanimous in disapproving such an arrangement as outlined above, and we turned with much greater interest to T a u - ber's third alternative. He proposed us- ing the Library of Congress classification for all new purchases, combined with a limited reclassification and reeataloging program involving about two hundred thousand volumes at an estimated cost of approximately $150,000. H e suggested the following subject areas for reclassifi- cation: SUB JECT AREAS NUMBER OF VOLUMES I t a l i a n L i t e r a t u r e 4 , 0 0 0 S p a n i s h L i t e r a t u r e 3 , 0 0 0 F r e n c h L i t e r a t u r e 5 , 0 0 0 A m e r i c a n L i t e r a t u r e 9 , 0 0 0 (Continued on page 440) 3 7 4 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 C o r n e l l ' s R e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . . . (Continued from page 374) E n g l i s h L i t e r a t u r e 3 5 , 0 0 0 G e n e r a l L i t e r a t u r e 5 , 0 0 0 G e r m a n L i t e r a t u r e 9 , 0 0 0 S l a v i c L i t e r a t u r e 1,000 M u s i c 3 , 5 0 0 F i n e A r t s 1 0 , 0 0 0 A g r i c u l t u r e 4 , 0 0 0 B i b l i o g r a p h y a n d L i b r a r y S c i e n c e . . . . 4 , 0 0 0 A n t h r o p o l o g y 1,000 S o c i o l o g y 6 , 0 0 0 E c o n o m i c s 3 0 , 0 0 0 E n g i n e e r i n g ( I n d u s t r i a l A r t s , M i l i t a r y S c i e n c e ) 1 4 , 0 0 0 A m e r i c a n H i s t o r y 16,000 P h i l o l o g y 2 2 , 5 0 0 W o r l d W a r I I 1,000 L o c a l H i s t o r y 2 0 , 0 0 0 F a r E a s t e r n ( e x c e p t W a s o n ) 3 , 0 0 0 U n i t e d N a t i o n s ( i n c l u d e s p a r t o f I n t e r n a t i o n a l L a w ) 2 , 0 0 0 P s y c h o l o g y 2 , 0 0 0 T o t a l (est.) 2 0 0 , 0 0 0 T h e fourth proposal envisaged the reclass- ification of the e n t i r e c o l l e c t i o n of slightly over eight h u n d r e d thousand volumes at an estimated cost of a b o u t $ 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 , to be achieved in a period of twenty years. D r . T a u b e r favored this p l a n because a c o m p l e t e reclassification a n d r e c a t a l o g i n g of the col- l e c t i o n would modernize the card catalog, re- p l a c e lost and soiled cards (many were still h a n d w r i t t e n ) , a n d provide an up-to-date in- ventory. H e realized, however, that the uni- versity m i g h t n o t be able to provide such a large sum of money. T h e survey, therefore, r e c o m m e n d e d : T h a t t h e L i b r a r y o f G o n g r e s s m e t h o d of c l a s s i f i c a t i o n b e a d o p t e d f o r a l l n e w b o o k s a d d e d t o t h e c o l l e c t i o n o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r y . T h a t t h e r e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f c e r t a i n s e l e c t e d s e c t i o n s o f t h e p r e s e n t c o l l e c t i o n as l i s t e d b e a c c o m p l i s h e d o v e r a p e r i o d o f y e a r s ; a n d t h a t a s u m o f a p p r o x i m a t e l y $ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 b e p r o v i d e d f o r t h i s w o r k . T h a t s u c h r e c a t a l o g i n g b e d o n e as is neces- sary t o c o r r e c t t h e i n a c c u r a c i e s a n d i n c o n - s i s t e n c i e s w h i c h n o w a p p e a r i n t h e g e n e r a l c a t a l o g o f t h e U n i v e r s i t y L i b r a r y . T h e library b o a r d voted approval of the change to L i b r a r y of Congress classification to be effective J a n u a r y 1, 1948. W i t h regard to reclassification, it was decided that the o p e r a t i o n should be started at a l a t e r (not specified) date, a n d that every effort should be made to p r o c u r e $ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 e i t h e r from the university a d m i n i s t r a t i o n o r from some foun- d a t i o n . T h i s decision h a d to b e a m e n d e d as classi- fication is o n l y o n e p a r t of the c a t a l o g i n g procedure. I n o r d e r to take full advantage of the c a t a l o g i n g d o n e by the L i b r a r y of Congress, it was agreed to accept the descrip- tive a n d s u b j e c t c a t a l o g i n g of the L i b r a r y of Congress w i t h o u t any changes e x c e p t f o r the a u t h o r C u t t e r i n g . T h i s policy would in- crease the speed of o u r o p e r a t i o n s to a m a r k e d degree a n d b r i n g us in l i n e with m o d e r n procedures. I t would, however, cause almost i n s u r m o u n t a b l e difficulties in a n o t h e r aspect of o u r work; whereas we could easily interfile entries based o n two classification methods with different nota- tions, we could n o t c o m b i n e two subject- h e a d i n g systems with diverse terminologies. C o r n e l l ' s s u b j e c t headings were very schol- arly, with a distinct l e a n i n g toward L a t i n Herbert Lang & Cie Agents for Libraries BERNE — S W I T Z E R L A N D Cable address: Herbertbooks. Careful Service Swiss and European Continental Books and Periodicals • We are prepared to accept not only your current orders but also your "special cases" on new and second hand publications. Farmington Plan Agents for Switzerland HERBERT LANG 4 4 0 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 phraseology; the m o d e r n terms were fre- q u e n t l y in v e r n a c u l a r a n d gave p r e f e r e n c e to everyday usage. F o r instance, we were using "Unitas Fratrum" f o r the P r o t e s t a n t d e n o m i - n a t i o n c o m m o n l y k n o w n as " M o r a v i a n . " I t would have b e e n feasible to bridge the gap b e t w e e n the two terminologies by an elabo- r a t e system of d o u b l e cross references, b u t t h e n we would p e r p e t u a t e a clumsy catalog. Moreover, with respect to reclassification and o u r decision to modernize the catalog b o t h in system a n d in a p p e a r a n c e , it was much b e t t e r to distinguish clearly between the old a n d the new. T h e decision was m a d e to start a new catalog in 1948. M a n y of us were u n h a p p y a b o u t the idea of having two catalogs. W e could foresee that the necessity of h a v i n g to check two places would cause difficulties, a n n o y a n c e , a n d mistakes b o t h f o r the pa- trons a n d the staff. However, n o n e of us could come up with a b e t t e r proposal. D r . T a u b e r , who p a r t i c i p a t e d in o u r discussions, spoke very strongly in favor of a new catalog, a n d today we acknowledge gratefully that he was right. W e are happy that we followed his advice and were guided by his sage coun- sel. I n the m e a n t i m e , partly p r e c e d i n g the survey a n d i n d e p e n d e n t of it, great changes had taken place in the a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of C o r n e l l ' s technical o p e r a t i o n s . T h e purpose o f the reorganization was the e l i m i n a t i o n of d o u b l e h a n d l i n g (doing o n e o p e r a t i o n twice u n d e r slightly different aspects) and the in- tegration o f the a c q u i r i n g a n d recording processes. Every step was worked o u t in all details in o r d e r to g u a r a n t e e the smooth flow of books from selection to t h e i r place- m e n t on the shelves with all cards filed in the catalog. T h e final solution was graphically illustrated in a carefully designed flow chart. T h e c a r d i n a l e l e m e n t in o u r p l a n was the transfer of the pre-cataloging o p e r a t i o n s to the searching section of the Acquisitions De- p a r t m e n t . I t stands to reason that n o search is r e l i a b l e unless it follows the form of entry used in a given library. T h e searcher, there- fore, received clear instruction as to how to establish an entry a n d how to verify it. Al- most without loss of time, all the o t h e r in- f o r m a t i o n needed f o r pre-cataloging could b e added to the search slip: F u l l n a m e of a u t h o r , dates, L i b r a r y of Congress card num- ber, verification found in b i b l i o g r a p h i c a l tools, series—if any, C o r n e l l holdings f o r the a u t h o r or title with classification, etc. T h e search slip travelled with the b o o k a n d sup- plied practically all the i n f o r m a t i o n the cata- loger needed. T h e plan was theoretically a sound one, b u t we soon e n c o u n t e r e d a m a j o r difficulty. T h e professional cataloger was very r e l u c t a n t to accept the i n f o r m a t i o n provided by an " o u t s i d e r " and t o trust the j u d g m e n t of a n o n c a t a l o g e r . Such r e l u c t a n c e to accept the searching i n f o r m a t i o n at face value w i t h o u t r e c h e c k i n g it (a primary c o n d i t i o n f o r speed- ing u p the work) was partly based o n the fully justified r e c o g n i t i o n of the difficulty in- h e r e n t in good cataloging; partly, however, it was a defense of the i n t e l l e c t u a l status of the cataloger. A workable solution h a d to take b o t h aspects of the p r o b l e m i n t o ac- count. I t had to correct the factual short- comings and had to supply a psychological redress to what was, in part, a m o r a l e prob- l e m . O u r answer was to a p p o i n t a senior cataloger as associate acquisitions l i b r a r i a n in charge of all searchers, with t h e assignment to correct a n d revise all search-slips b e f o r e forwarding them to the catalog d e p a r t m e n t . T h i s solved most of o u r difficulties and u p to now, by u n w r i t t e n statute, the position of associate acquisitions l i b r a r i a n is reserved for a l i b r a r i a n who has b e e n a senior cata- loger at C o r n e l l . F o r all professional ap- p o i n t m e n t s in the acquisitions d e p a r t m e n t preference is given to a C o r n e l l cataloger, a n d an i n t i m a t e knowledge of the C o r n e l l cataloging m a n u a l and several m o n t h s train- ing in the catalog d e p a r t m e n t is obligatory for the e n t i r e professional staff in the four technical service d e p a r t m e n t s . T h i s reorganization c o n t r i b u t e d greatly to the speeding up of processing o p e r a t i o n s a n d to m a k i n g o u r reclassification program possible. Especially d u r i n g the first seven years when we had n o reclassification staff, the searching section verified all entries which h a d b e e n selected f o r reclassification a n d supplied the necessary 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 — L i b r a r y of Congress card num- b e r a n d C o r n e l l holdings. A n o t h e r i n n o v a t i o n was the abolish- m e n t of a separate classification division. T h e i n t r i c a t e system o f the H a r r i s classification h a d compelled the library to c o n c e n t r a t e this aspect of the work in the h a n d s of o n e per- son. I t would have been e x t r e m e l y difficult S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 2 4 4 1 to train the e n t i r e c a t a l o g i n g staff in the ap- p l i c a t i o n of a m e t h o d which came very n e a r to b e i n g u n t e a c h a b l e . M o r e o v e r , it would o n l y have c o m p o u n d e d e x i s t i n g c o n f u s i o n . W i t h the a c c e p t a n c e of the L i b r a r y of Con- gress classification, these c o n d i t i o n s n o l o n g e r existed. T h e r a t h e r i n c o n g r u o u s split be- tween s u b j e c t headings a n d classification could be avoided; o n l y o n e revision would be necessary and, therefore, the individual cataloger was made responsible f o r all phases of the work. As early as J u l y 1947, f o u r m o n t h s preced- ing the survey, a c o o r d i n a t o r of the technical services had b e e n a p p o i n t e d in o r d e r to work o u t a c o m p l e t e overhaul of the opera- tions. I n J a n u a r y 1948, following the survey r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s , the division of the techni- cal services was established with an assistant d i r e c t o r in charge. T h u s , we were all set to start a new chap- ter in the life o f C o r n e l l University library. However, b e f o r e we could t h i n k a b o u t this joyous event, a lot of p r e p a r a t o r y work had to b e d o n e . All c a t a l o g i n g was s t o p p e d for the last two weeks in D e c e m b e r a n d f o r the first few days in J a n u a r y , e x c e p t for a few rush titles, and all work which h a d b e e n in progress, i n c l u d i n g card p r o d u c t i o n a n d fil- ing, was cleared up. A b o u t forty thousand cards which h a d b e e n w i t h h e l d from the cata- log because a variety of c o r r e c t i o n s h a d to b e m a d e were filed. T h e e n t i r e staff of the library, regardless of administrative position or d e p a r t m e n t a l assignment, p a r t i c i p a t e d in the effort t o clear o u r decks b e f o r e the h a r d b a t t l e which we a n t i c i p a t e d . P u n c t u a l l y , according to o u r p l a n n i n g , the o p e r a t i o n s w e n t i n t o effect on o u r m i n i a t u r e " D D a y . " B o o k s were processed u n d e r the new rules a n d the new " b a b y " catalog was started. Reclassification was officially sched- uled to b e g i n at a l a t e r date when the funds necessary for this o p e r a t i o n would have b e e n provided. However, we just could n o t wait u n t i l this d a t e which seemed to be in the U t o p i a n future; circumstances of every day o p e r a t i o n s forced us i n t o a c t i o n , and we had to start reclassification willy nilly. F r o m a realistic p o i n t of view, it was ut- terly wrong to spend staff time on reclassifi- c a t i o n . O u r first priority was u n d o u b t e d l y H3BECTHH A K A ^ E M H H H A Y K C C C P O T / J E J I E H H E T E X H H ^ E C K H X H A y K M E T A J I J i y P T H H H T O I I J I H B O RUSSIAN METALLURGY AND FUELS A publication of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., Department of Technical Sciences, this journal presents the results of recent investigations at Soviet research institutes on the subjects of extraction metallurgy, ferrous and non- ferrous metallurgy, and solid and liquid fuels. English version of January/February 1962 issue now available. Annual subscription $68.00. From the publisher or through any subscription agent. Scientific Information Consultants Ltd., 661 Finchley Rd., London N.W. 2 England the processing o f the flood of new acquisi- tions which was the result of a rapidly in- creasing book budget. W e h a d n o elbow r o o m in the stacks which would take care of a voluminous reclassification, we h a d n o money to h i r e n e w staff—and we did n o t have the place where we could p u t them to work. T h e deadlock of the reclassification program only m i r r o r e d the difficulties o f the library as a whole. W e did n o t have the full-hearted a n d enthusiastic support of the C o r n e l l com- m u n i t y because we had n o t given all the service it wanted; we could not give the serv- ice unless we had more money, a n d we could not get financial support unless we satisfied the demands. S h o u l d we s p e n d o u r best years j u s t waiting f o r someone to m a k e the first move? T h i s seemed pretty hopeless. T h u s , we decided to take the first step. I n o t h e r words, we decided to deliver the goods; we would satisfy the demands a n d h o p e that s o o n e r o r l a t e r we would receive the support we needed. T h i s was the right decision, al- though it m e a n t some hardship, a n d it took l o n g e r to get the f u l l support that we had e x p e c t e d in J a n u a r y 1948. Some figures will illustrate o u r difficulties. T h i r t e e n years later, J a n u a r y 1961, before we moved i n t o the new O l i n R e s e a r c h L i - brary, the harassed c i r c u l a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t h a d to find space f o r a b o o k collection which more than tripled the full capacity of the old library, the b o o k budget was ten times the a m o u n t available in 1947, we had greatly increased the staff, a n d the reclassi- fication p r o g r a m was in full course. I t had n o t b e e n easy; there were times when we seriously considered w o r k i n g in night shifts, a n d we j o k i n g l y stipulated maxi- m u m weight and r o t u n d i t y f o r the staff in o r d e r to pass through the aisles which be- came n a r r o w e r a n d narrower. However, we all survived in good h e a l t h a n d did n o t go m a d as D r . K i n k e l d e y predicted. Surely, we worked h a r d a n d in rare circumstances tem- pers were short, b u t we did n o t p u l l knives and, in spite of b e i n g in western New Y o r k , we did n o t live in a f r o n t i e r atmosphere. W e could n o t avoid reclassification in case of added copies a n d added volumes f o r titles in c o n t i n u a t i o n . Even if we h a d w a n t e d to a d h e r e strictly to the decision of the library board, n e i t h e r the state of o u r c a t a l o g i n g records, especially the shelf list in b o o k form, nor the overcrowded shelves would have per- m i t t e d us to add thousands of volumes to the " H a r r i s classification. B u t q u i t e frankly, we did n o t want to; we were most eager to get o n with the reclassification; the small size of the new catalog served as a c o n t i n u a l chal- lenge and almost as a reproach. New ac- quisitions were processed promptly, and no backlog was permitted to a c c u m u l a t e ; but every staff m e m b e r who could be spared even f o r a short time was put i n t o reclassification. W e would have liked to reclassify simul- taneously all editions of a given title or even, if possible, all works of a multi-volumed au- thor. T h i s , however, was n o t possible for m a n y years to come and caused m u c h annoy- a n c e a n d justified criticism. W e reclassified selected volumes which were b e i n g sent to be r e b o u n d in o r d e r to avoid a second han- d l i n g of the volumes at a l a t e r date and the erasing of the H a r r i s n o t a t i o n . W e could n o t do everything, especially in the first seven years, not even all one-volume m o n o g r a p h i c titles, n o t to speak of volumes which were parts of a larger set. As it always is in life, lack of money forced us to policies which were more expensive in the long r u n . T h e reclassification of periodicals was a case in p o i n t . T h e library had at t h a t time a little over three thousand subscriptions, b u t even this n u m b e r (much too small f o r a research library) was f a r t o o big for a reclassification p r o g r a m w i t h o u t staff. W e had n o choice b u t to add the c o m p l e t e volumes to the old Har- ris n u m b e r s a l t h o u g h every effort was made to diminish the n u m b e r of " H a r r i s v o l u m e s . " A similar " e x p e n s i v e e c o n o m y " was ap- plied to the reclassification of large periodi- cal sets. O u t of reasons of economy, we had decided n o t to reclassify larger sets of period- icals a n d we established an arbitrary limit of five, l a t e r ten, volumes which would m a k e a set eligible for reclassification. F o r the larger sets, we did t h e necessary r e c a t a l o g i n g and i n c l u d e d the titles in the serials catalog b u t did n o t touch the classification. I n all these cases, some d u p l i c a t i o n of work h a d to b e p e r f o r m e d when we decided years l a t e r to reclassify the e n t i r e c o l l e c t i o n . Reclassification, even at its earliest stage, could n o t be l i m i t e d to a r a n d o m selection. Some collections had b e c o m e so u n u s a b l e u n d e r the old system that an i m m e d i a t e re- classification had to be d o n e lest we i m p a i r S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 2 443 The Definitive Index of the entire aerospace field T H E P A C I F I C A E R O S P A C E L I B R A R Y UNITERM I N D E X finds the exact technical material you want from more than 300 Eng- lish language scientific periodicals covering: aerodynamics • missile design • rock- etry • astronautics • nuclear physics • metallurgy • communications • data acquisition and processing • mathe- matics • radar • computers • physics • automation • electronics • physical chemistry • aviation medicine • plas- tics • ceramics • ordnance • produc- tion • management Material is located rapidly with pin-point accuracy. Sources include translations of Russian journals and other publications of world- wide scope. T h e U N I T E R M I N D E X is unique in its field; more than 5 0 % of the periodicals indexed do not appear in any other cumulative index. It is not bulky, complete in its binder it weighs only S1/2 pounds. One Year's service—cumulated by- monthly $250.00 obtainable from P A C I F I C A E R O S P A C E L I B R A R Y O F T H E INSTITUTE O F T H E A E R O S P A C E S C I E N C E S 7 6 6 0 Beverly Blvd. Los A n g e l e s 36, C a l i f o r n i a some of the most i m p o r t a n t service f u n c t i o n s of the library. T h e r e f e r e n c e c o l l e c t i o n was chosen as first target because its a r r a n g e m e n t was most unsatisfactory from every p o i n t of view. T h e c o l l e c t i o n h a d originally b e e n clas- sified u n d e r t h e H a r r i s system like the rest of t h e library. I n the late 1 9 2 0 s the L i b r a r y of Congress classification, greatly modified a n d generally l i m i t e d to the m a i n classifica- tion letters, was superimposed o n the old no- t a t i o n . T h i s d o u b l e classification caused great difficulty when titles were transferred b a c k to the stacks. T h u s , fifteen years later, part of the " s c h i s m a t i c " L i b r a r y of Congress n o t a t i o n was removed with the result that the a r r a n g e m e n t followed n o discernible system. A n d so the first years passed with n o fi- n a n c i a l support in sight a l t h o u g h a n n u a l reports r e i t e r a t e d the w a r n i n g that n o sig- nificant progress could be e x p e c t e d unless budgetary h e l p were given. T h r o w n back on o u r own resources we tried to substitute s t r e a m l i n e d o p e r a t i o n s for a d d i t i o n a l staff. W e h a d e n c o u n t e r e d some difficulty in dis- charging reclassified volumes f r o m the circu- l a t i o n record. T h e c i r c u l a t i o n file was k e p t u n d e r the old H a r r i s n u m b e r a n d the cata- loger h a d to insert a flier in the reclassified volume a n d p e n c i l o n it the old H a r r i s no- t a t i o n . T h i s was time c o n s u m i n g a n d led to errors. W e developed a d o u b l e c i r c u l a t i o n re- quest with an inset c a r b o n p a p e r ; o n e part was interfiled in the c i r c u l a t i o n record and the second part traveled with the book, fa- c i l i t a t i n g the discharge. A device which b o r e directly on the speed- ing u p of processing was an a r r a n g e m e n t for storage by size. I t h a d occurred to us that some of the titles which we had to reclassify did n o t n e e d a d o u b l e s u b j e c t a p p r o a c h , by classification and through s u b j e c t headings. M o r e o v e r , we did n o t want to c l u t t e r up o u r new shelves with books which would only impede browsing a n d which, if needed, would p r o b a b l y b e requested by a u t h o r a n d title. S o m e e x a m p l e s of this category of books are: older editions, obsolete monographs, the m a j o r i t y of dissertations, etc. W e r e f r a i n e d from giving a rigid definition based on date of p u b l i c a t i o n b u t insisted t h a t every title be j u d g e d according to its t e x t u a l o r typo- g r a p h i c a l merits. O n l y as g u i d a n c e f o r the selector (senior staff m e m b e r o r s u b j e c t spe- cialist f r o m the teaching faculty) we specified 1920 for science a n d technology, and 1850 f o r t h e h u m a n i t i e s a n d social sciences. T h e re- search o b l i g a t i o n of the library i n d u c e d us to preserve all works of possible historical significance, b u t d u p l i c a t e copies were dis- carded. T h u s , as an unforeseen f r i n g e benefit of reclassification, we accomplished a long- overdue weeding of the c o l l e c t i o n . B o o k s chosen f o r c o m p a c t storage were ar- r a n g e d according to six sizes a n d C u t t e r e d with c u r r e n t numbers. R u l e s f o r descriptive c a t a l o g i n g were strictly adhered to, b u t es- pecially l o n g titles were a b b r e v i a t e d . Great- est economy was applied f o r s u b j e c t headings a n d added entries. T h e greatest advantage f o r o u r task was the establishment of a serials d e p a r t m e n t . T h e g r o u p was charged with the u p k e e p of the serials catalog and with the processing of all c o m m e r c i a l serials. L a t e r on, docu- m e n t serials were added to its responsibilities. U n d e r an energetic a n d resourceful head, the d e p a r t m e n t reclassified w i t h i n a few years all active serials which fell u n d e r o u r re- stricted reclassification program. T h e great increase of o u t p u t in the cata- log d e p a r t m e n t caused difficulties for card r e p r o d u c t i o n . W h e r e a s in the ancien regime we h a d processed a l i t t l e over ten thousand titles annually, we r e a c h e d in the early 1950's an average of thirty thousand titles, six thous- a n d of which were due to reclassification. W e used L i b r a r y of Congress p r i n t e d cards when- ever readily available, b u t more t h a n h a l f of t h e cards were locally produced. T h e com- b i n a t i o n of x e r o g r a p h y and m u l t i l i t h ma- chines ( N o v e m b e r 1954) gave us the tools to produce the needed q u a n t i t y . T h u s , like J a c o b , we had f a i t h f u l l y served seven years in the h o p e of g e t t i n g a special a p p r o p r i a t i o n f o r reclassification. B y the end of the fiscal year 1 9 5 4 / 5 5 , we had reclassified 102,789 volumes or a l i t t l e over fifty thou- sand titles. So, w i t h o u t any h e l p whatsoever, we h a d carried out o n e h a l f of the l i m i t e d reclassification p r o g r a m suggested by the survey in 1947. M e r e figures, to b e sure, are somewhat misleading, as we h a d n o t really fulfilled 50 p e r cent of the assignment. D r . T a u b e r h a d chosen the most i m p o r t a n t and widely used classes of p u b l i c a t i o n s , whereas we had b e e n forced to deviate from his wise p l a n a n d to reclassify a m u c h m o r e diversi- fied, sometimes r a n d o m , and at times less im- p o r t a n t selection. Still, o u r p e r f o r m a n c e was n o t h i n g to b e sneered at, especially consider- i n g the fact that by now the c a t a l o g i n g of new titles had tripled the a n n u a l p r o d u c t i o n of the old H a r r i s days. L i k e J a c o b we did n o t receive R a c h e l (an a p p r o p r i a t i o n com- m e n s u r a t e with o u r goal) b u t h a d t o be sat- isfied with h e r less attractive sister L e a h . D r . M c C a r t h y ' s persistent a t t e m p t s to ob- tain financial support f o r o u r p r o g r a m finally resulted i n a special a p p r o p r i a t i o n of $10,- 000. T h i s i t e m first a p p e a r e d in the budget for 1955-56, was renewed a n d slightly in- creased in the general rise of salaries that followed, a n d represents today a financial value of $ 1 3 , 0 0 0 . W e decided to a p p o i n t a reclassification team of o n e professional a n d two clerks, the professional to be a cataloger of senior s t a n d i n g who c o u l d work, unre- vised, assisted by a subprofessional who would pull the cards f r o m the old catalog a n d do easy cataloging. T h e third m e m b e r of the team was u n d e r the administrative supervision of the o t h e r sections of the tech- nical services a n d assigned to p e r f o r m various auxiliary o p e r a t i o n s such as m a r k i n g , typing, alphabetizing, a n d filing. T h i s organization proved to be q u i t e a satisfactory one, a n d we m a i n t a i n e d it t h r o u g h o u t the second seven years of o u r program. Reclassification, how- ever, was n o t confined t o the work of the team, and the regular staff of the catalog d e p a r t m e n t reclassified, as b e f o r e , all the titles of which we a c q u i r e d added copies, added volumes, o r new editions. I n all these cases, the acquisitions d e p a r t m e n t pulled the old cards and established the new e n t r y a n d the L i b r a r y of Congress card n u m b e r . T h e financial support we were receiving a n d the increased confidence in o u r own po- tentialities c h a n g e d o u r o u t l o o k toward the program, altered its goal, and modified some of o u r procedures. I f I may revert a m o m e n t to my analogy of J a c o b ' s labors, we h a d n o i n t e n t i o n of giving u p R a c h e l regardless of how m a n y years o f hard work L a b a n should d e m a n d . W e were convinced that p a r t i a l re- classification was n o t the answer. N o t h i n g less t h a n a c o m p l e t e m o d e r n i z a t i o n , w i t h o u t ex- ceptions, w i t h o u t islands of obsolescence, would satisfy us. I n o u r flight towards the goal of total reclassification, from a realistic p o i n t of view (still a U t o p i a n one), we had r e a c h e d a p o i n t of n o r e t u r n . I t was n o t pos- sible for us to go b a c k ; the a r g u m e n t s o f D r . T a u b e r presented to us in the fall of 1947 were still r e l e v a n t . T h e two catalogs could S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 2 4 4 5 never be c o m b i n e d ; the H a r r i s classification was still utterly unsatisfactory a n d should n o t b e m a i n t a i n e d . W e had b e e n a b l e to com- p l e t e h a l f of the l i m i t e d p r o g r a m w i t h o u t any h e l p , we were t h e r e f o r e c o n v i n c e d t h a t we c o u l d finish the e n t i r e p r o j e c t with some assistance. T h e e x p e r i e n c e of the last years h a d b o r n e out o u r b e l i e f that we were o n the r i g h t way a n d t h a t the university was p r e p a r e d to give us the s u p p o r t we n e e d e d after we h a d made the first steps u n a i d e d . W e decided, t h e r e f o r e , to a c c e p t as o u r goal the reclassification of the e n t i r e c o l l e c t i o n , even i n c l u d i n g periodicals a n d documents; this m e a n t , of course, t h a t the old catalog would be e l i m i n a t e d in due course a n d that t h e library would again have only o n e cata- log. T h i s decision h a d several i m p l i c a t i o n s . F o r instance, the b a n of reclassifying l a r g e r serial sets (more t h a n ten volumes) was rescinded. T h e work d o n e by the serials d e p a r t m e n t d u r i n g the last years could now be used ad- vantageously. M a n y sets h a d b e e n r e c a t a l o g e d a n d h a d b e e n e n t e r e d in the new serials catalog. T h e L i b r a r y of Congress classifica- tion h a d to b e established, b u t otherwise n o changes had to b e made in the entries, cross references, a n d checking-in cards. I n a skill- fully p l a n n e d o p e r a t i o n j o i n t l y administered by the serials l i b r a r i a n a n d the periodicals l i b r a r i a n , using e v e n i n g hours a n d student help, m a n y thousand volumes were speedily re-marked. T h e a d d i t i o n a l m a n p o w e r available en- a b l e d us to apply m o r e efficient procedures a n d to follow m o r e closely D r . T a u b e r ' s selection of classes. I t is f a r more advanta- geous t o select a h o m o g e n e o u s n u m b e r of books from the stacks t h a n to reclassify the diversified groups of titles chosen because of t h e r a n d o m acquisition of added volumes. T h e c a t a l o g e r r e m a i n e d w i t h i n a narrow classification a n d could o f t e n , especially in the l i t e r a t u r e classes, c o n c e n t r a t e o n o n e au- thor. T h e c i r c u l a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t was noti- fied of a b l o c k of H a r r i s n u m b e r s which were b e i n g reclassified and i n d i v i d u a l reclas- sification slips could be o m i t t e d . U n f o r t u - nately, t h e crowded stacks a n d f r e q u e n t — To Facilitate Your Research Annual Legal Bibliography A w o r l d - w i d e s u b j e c t i n d e x t o b o o k s a n d a r t i c l e s Current Legal Bibliography A s e l e c t i v e m o n t h l y s u p p l e m e n t , O c t o b e r t o J u n e A m e r i c a n L a w F o r e i g n L a w C o m p a r a t i v e L a w also P o l i t i c a l S c i e n c e History E c o n o m i c s G o v e r n m e n t Subscription to complete service, $15.00 annually. Order through your agent or directly from: H A R V A R D L A W S C H O O L LIBRARY Langdell Hall Cambridge 38, Massachusetts shifting of sections would not p e r m i t us to stay t o o l o n g with a given class of books. T h e selection f o r reclassification could n o t b e m a d e solely f r o m the p o i n t o f view of i m p o r t a n c e a n d use but h a d to yield t o a frequently-crazy system of shelving which in- a d e q u a t e space forced on a suffocating cir- c u l a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t . I n the case of r a n d o m reclassification, too, we could now r e d u c e the heavy pressure the reclassification program h a d p u t o n the c i r c u l a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t a n d could cut down o n a n n o y i n g delays. I n m a n y cases the cir- c u l a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t h a d n o t been a b l e t o supply p r o m p t l y all the titles requested f o r reclassification as m a n y volumes h a d b e e n lost d u r i n g the last scores of years a n d some h a d b e e n mis-shelved. Previously, the circula- tion d e p a r t m e n t h a d e m b a r k e d o n a labori- ous a n d time-consuming searching p r o c e d u r e which took at least three to six m o n t h s u n t i l a b o o k was declared " l o s t . " T h e new regu- l a t i o n simplified this procedure. T h e r e p o r t that a b o o k was n o t o n the shelves and did n o t a p p e a r in the c i r c u l a t i o n r e c o r d was checked o n c e by a senior m e m b e r of the shelving staff; a c o r r e s p o n d i n g n o t e was m a d e in the ' H a r r i s shelf list' a n d the cataloger was advised to proceed with t h e volumes at h a n d . T h e u n d e r l y i n g assumption was that in the total reclassification the mis-shelved v o l u m e would turn u p s o o n e r o r later. I n spite of this possibility, we r e p l a c e d impor- t a n t titles as soon as possible. T h i s m e a n t , of course, t h a t we might a c q u i r e d u p l i c a t e vol- umes in a few cases, b u t as we confined re- p l a c e m e n t to i m p o r t a n t a n d much-needed titles such d u p l i c a t i o n would n o t be harm- ful. W e also e l i m i n a t e d copying the accession n u m b e r which, u n d e r o u r old procedure, had b e e n n o t e d on t h e verso of the m a i n entry a n d on the shelf list. I n the case of serials, we h a d dispensed with this o p e r a t i o n l o n g before. W e now d r o p p e d it f o r the e n t i r e p r o j e c t . W e realized that the accession num- b e r could b e very h e l p f u l f o r the identifica- t i o n of a given copy, b u t this petty benefit did n o t justify m a i n t a i n i n g a time-consum- ing a n d obsolete procedure. A f t e r three a n d one-half years of work- i n g w i t h o n e reclassification team, we h a d made a significant d e n t in the old holdings. T h e c o m p l e t i o n of the p r o j e c t , however, was n o t even in sight and we did not cherish the prospect of h a v i n g the H a r r i s classification conspicuously represented i n the stacks of the new O l i n R e s e a r c h L i b r a r y , the con- struction of which h a d j u s t started. I n a cas- ual l u n c h conversation o u r d i l e m m a was m e n t i o n e d to P a u l M c K e e g a n , the d i r e c t o r of the budget of the university; in a d d i t i o n , the i n f o r m a t i o n was v o l u n t e e r e d that an- o t h e r university library h a d j u s t received a considerable a p p r o p r i a t i o n f o r its reclassifi- c a t i o n p r o j e c t . M r . M c K e e g a n understood the h i n t a n d r e c o m m e n d e d t o the president that the library be g r a n t e d financial assist- a n c e to speed up reclassification. T o o u r de- lighted surprise, the b o a r d of trustees ap- proved an a l l o c a t i o n of $ 1 0 5 , 0 0 0 o n J a n u a r y 21, 1959. $ 1 0 0 , 0 0 0 was a l l o t t e d f o r three years' salaries for three reclassification teams, a n d $ 5 , 0 0 0 was e a r m a r k e d f o r the purchase of f u r n i t u r e and e q u i p m e n t . A small b u t smoothly working reclassifica- tion section was established, h e a d e d by a c a p a b l e senior staff m e m b e r o f the regular catalog d e p a r t m e n t . H e r staff consisted of f o u r catalogers—only o n e h a d senior r a n k , two were r e c e n t library-school graduates, the f o u r t h a f o r m e r subprofessional in the Cor- n e l l catalog d e p a r t m e n t who was p r o m o t e d to professional s t a n d i n g because of h e r abil- ity. T h e group was most efficiently assisted by f o u r subprofessionals, y o u n g ladies w h o h a d h a d n o f o r m a l library t r a i n i n g a n d l i t t l e library e x p e r i e n c e , b u t who h a d b e e n selected because o f t h e i r i n t e l l i g e n c e , willingness to work, a n d g e n e r a l aptitude. T h r e e a d d i t i o n a l clerical staff m e m b e r s , w h o could be paid from the reclassification p r o j e c t , were as- signed to the regular catalog d e p a r t m e n t to perform the many auxiliary o p e r a t i o n s made necessary by reclassification. Because of salary savings we could aug- m e n t the staff with five college graduates d u r i n g the two s u m m e r m o n t h s . A l t h o u g h n o n e of this delightful group of young w o m e n h a d any library e x e r i e n c e whatsoever, they made a substantial c o n t r i b u t i o n t o o u r effort because o f their eagerness to work, will- ingness to l e a r n , and g e n e r a l high intelli- gence. I t was n o t possible to find w o r k i n g space for the reclassification section in the over- crowded c a t a l o g i n g room. A small a d j a c e n t stack space had to be converted i n t o a work S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 2 4 4 7 area, although this, of course, c o m p o u n d e d difficulties for c i r c u l a t i o n . T h e r e were a few c o m p l a i n t s a b o u t t e m p e r a t u r e a n d ventila- tion, but o n the whole this makeshift ar- r a n g e m e n t worked well for the two years we o c c u p i e d it. I n the p l a n of o p e r a t i o n s s u b m i t t e d to D r . M c C a r t h y the a n n u a l p r o d u c t i o n goal was set as fifty t h o u s a n d titles o r seventy thous- a n d volumes. T h e e x p e c t a t i o n was that every o n e of the f o u r teams would reclassify ten thousand titles a n d that the r e g u l a r catalog d e p a r t m e n t would a c c o u n t for the rest. Alas, like o t h e r n o t e d five-year plans, o u r modest three-year p l a n did n o t q u i t e reach its goal. W e h a d b e e n too o p t i m i s t i c in o u r estimate a n d never r e a c h e d the fifty thousand m a r k but hovered a r o u n d forty t h o u s a n d titles o r sixty thousand volumes a n n u a l l y . T h e f o u r reclassification teams made t h e i r quotas, b u t the g e n e r a l catalog d e p a r t m e n t could reclas- sify o n l y a couple of thousand titles a n n u a l l y , as it was critically w e a k e n e d by delegating o n e of its best staff m e m b e r s t o a d m i n i s t e r the reclassification section. I t h a d to struggle hard to k e e p up with the increased n u m b e r of new acquisitions. ( T h e p r o d u c t i o n of new titles in 1958-59 was thirty-two thousand. T h e n u m b e r c l i m b e d to forty thousand the following year, to forty-four thousand the n e x t year, a n d will n o t be f a r below sixty thousand d u r i n g the c u r r e n t fiscal year.) T h e staff of the processing d e p a r t m e n t s was fully conscious of the fact that every ef- fort h a d t o be made to increase the speed of reclassification as m u c h as possible. W e were, therefore, l o o k i n g o u t f o r shortcuts which would h e l p us in o u r endeavor. O n e of o u r most annoying a n d partly surprising s t u m b l i n g blocks h a d been the removal of cards f r o m t h e old catalog. C a r d removal is a tedious o p e r a t i o n u n d e r the best circum- stances; we l a b o r e d u n d e r three a d d i t i o n a l difficulties. M a n y o l d e r e n t r i e s h a d n o trac- ing a n d we h a d to guess the s u b j e c t entries which h a d b e e n made; different editions were c o m b i n e d o n o n e s u b j e c t card, a n d t h e cards were filed t o o tightly. A c c o r d i n g to o u r ex- p e r i e n c e , it took b e t w e e n five a n d twenty minutes to remove a full set of cards. T h r e e C U S H I N G - M A L L O Y , I N C . 1350 North Main Street P.O. Box 1187 Ann Arbor, Michigan Printers of A C R L Monographs L I T H O P R I N T E R S Known for Q U A L I T Y — E C O N O M Y — S E R V I C E Let us quote on your next printing cards were of i m m e d i a t e use: o n e was filed as " i n process c a r d " in the new catalog, the second o n e was treated as a temporary shelf card a n d the third o n e was utilized as the basis f o r the new entry; the rest o f the set was discarded. D r . M c C a r t h y was strongly in favor o f a radical solution to this prob- lem. H e suggested that f o r the time b e i n g only three cards p e r title b e removed from the old catalog a n d that the discarding of the rest of the set be postponed t o a final mop- ping-up o p e r a t i o n a f t e r the t e r m i n a t i o n of the reclassification p r o j e c t . W e all agreed that the crash p r o g r a m called f o r a reconsid- e r a t i o n a n d r e d e f i n i t i o n of all o u r opera- tions, b u t there was some r e l u c t a n c e to weaken so drastically the r e l i a b i l i t y of the old catalog. T h e new r e g u l a t i o n s set a limit of five m i n u t e s of card removal per title. T h e rest of the set (if any) r e m a i n e d in the old catalog. Every shortcut causes slight difficul- ties at times b u t e x p e r i e n c e over the last year has proved that o u r fears h a d b e e n ground- less. N e i t h e r t e c h n i c a l o p e r a t i o n s n o r r e a d e r services were h a m p e r e d by i n c o m p l e t e with- drawal of cards f r o m the old catalog. W e d i s c o n t i n u e d m a r k i n g the H a r r i s shelf list w i t h t h e new L i b r a r y of Congress num- ber b u t used a r u b b e r stamp to i n d i c a t e that t h e title h a d b e e n reclassified. T h e L i b r a r y of Congress depository catalog was placed in t h e reclassification work r o o m so that the cards c o u l d be used w i t h o u t delay. I n the case of analyzed series, however, we f o u n d it m o r e advantageous to disregard the deposi- tory cards a n d to o r d e r full analytics f r o m the L i b r a r y of Congress C a r d Division. Reclassification was c o n c e n t r a t e d o n those classes of books which were most heavily in d e m a n d . T h e first target was A m e r i c a n a n d E n g l i s h l i t e r a t u r e , a n d over forty thousand volumes were reclassified in the first eight m o n t h s of the new program. T h e work was c o o r d i n a t e d with the assignments given to t h e r a r e b o o k cataloger a n d to t h e serials de- p a r t m e n t in o r d e r to cover all o u r old hold- ings in these fields. T h e n a t t e n t i o n was shifted to A m e r i c a n history, i n c l u d i n g b o t h C a n a d a a n d L a t i n A m e r i c a . D u r i n g the rest of t h e period, most of the social sciences a n d the h u m a n i t i e s , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of classi- cal philology, was cleared. Special care was taken t h a t t h e assignments to the f o u r teams would n o t overlap, so that every staff mem- b e r h a d sufficient elbow room. T w o groups of titles were reclassified w i t h o u t regard to the s u b j e c t field, the work with analyzed series c o n t i n u e d , a n d every b o o k in " H a r r i s " was reclassified which fell u n d e r o n e of the three categories: 1) r e t u r n e d by reader; 2) selected for r e b i n d i n g o r r e p a i r ; 3) needed because a n added volume or an added copy had been acquired. T w o - t h i r d s of the time envisaged by D r . T a u b e r f o r total reclassification has passed. D u r i n g this period, the catalog and serials d e p a r t m e n t s have reclassified a n d recataloged six h u n d r e d thousand volumes r e p r e s e n t i n g two h u n d r e d twenty-two thousand titles. Ac- cording to a physical c o u n t made by the cir- c u l a t i o n d e p a r t m e n t , two h u n d r e d twenty- five thousand volumes are still in the old classification. T h e present-day c i r c u l a t i o n sta- tistic mirrors the fact that more t h a n two m i l l i o n volumes (the b u l k o f the c o l l e c t i o n ) are in L i b r a r y of Congress classification. I n t h e O l i n R e s e a r c h L i b r a r y , the use of H a r r i s books (shelved in a part of the b a s e m e n t stacks) has dwindled to 11 p e r c e n t o f total c i r c u l a t i o n , a n d in the d e p a r t m e n t a n d col- lege libraries it is zero, for these collections do n o t have books in H a r r i s any longer. T h e new card catalog has 5,740 drawers whereas the o l d is filed in 770. T h i s s t a t e m e n t , how- ever, does n o t represent the true story; there are m o r e cards in the old drawers t h a n in the new ones; o n the o t h e r h a n d , m a n y of the older cards are b l i n d cross references o r s u b j e c t cards which will be discarded in the final m o p p i n g - u p o p e r a t i o n . D r . T a u b e r had suggested the n e e d of a special a p p r o p r i a t i o n of $ 6 0 0 , 0 0 0 to d o the j o b . T h i s was f o u r t e e n years ago; consider- ing the g e n e r a l rise in costs, this sum would b e m u c h higher if c a l c u l a t e d today. W e have spent a special a p p r o p r i a t i o n of $ 1 8 0 , 0 0 0 to date, a n d with a n o t h e r $ 1 5 0 , 0 0 0 we could easily finish the j o b within the period speci- fied by D r . T a u b e r . T h e s e figures obviously do n o t represent o u r real costs. T h e differ- e n c e lies in the "surplus v a l u e " produced by a loyal a n d devoted staff. F r o m the very outset, reclassification was a p r o j e c t f o r the e n t i r e staff of the C o r n e l l University library, a n d all d e p a r t m e n t s have most generously s u p p o r t e d the c o m p l e x ac- tivities. I t is impossible to n a m e all those whose efforts have been essential f o r t h e S E P T E M B E R 1 9 6 2 4 4 9 E V E R Y L I B R A R Y should have at least one L a r g e R e f e r e n c e G l o b e 24" diameter 75" circumference Cosmopolite N a v i g a t o r • F o u r times t h e s u r f a c e a r e a o f a 1 2 " g l o b e • S c a l e 333 m i l e s to t h e i n c h • O v e r 4 7 0 0 n a m e s • P h y s i c a l - P o l i t i c a l c o l o r i n g • Shows w a r m a n d cold o c e a n c u r r e n t s • T r u s t t e r r i t o r i e s a r e d e l i n e a t e d • N a t i o n a l a n d s t a t e b o u n d a r i e s i n p u r p l e Write for beautiful colored brochure G63, with descriptive information and prices. D E N O Y E R - G E P P E R T C O M P A N Y Maps • Globes • Charts • Atlases • Pictures 5 2 3 5 R a v e n s w o o d A v e . , C h i c a g o 4 0 p r o j e c t ; l i k e t h e U n k n o w n S o l d i e r o f o u r w a r m e m o r i a l , t h e y c a n b e h o n o r e d o n l y i n a n o n y m i t y . F o u r p e r s o n s , h o w e v e r , m u s t b e n a m e d b e c a u s e o f t h e g r e a t c o n t r i b u t i o n s t h e y h a v e m a d e : A . E l i z a b e t h C r o s b y , h e a d o f t h e s e r i a l s a n d b i n d i n g d e p a r t m e n t , re- s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e r e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n o f all serials; R o s a m o n d D a n i e l s o n , s u p e r v i s o r o f t h e re- c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s e c t i o n ; L a u r a J e n n i n g s , h e a d o f t h e c a t a l o g d e p a r t m e n t , a n d lastly, E m m a R . S p e e d , t h e m o s t f a i t h f u l o f a l l — a staff m e m b e r o f C o r n e l l f o r f o r t y - t h r e e y e a r s a n d h e a d o f t h e c a t a l o g d e p a r t m e n t f r o m 1 9 2 5 t o 1 9 5 4 . T r a i n e d i n t h e o l d ways, she ac- c e p t e d loyally t h e n e w r e g u l a t i o n s , m a n y o f w h i c h m u s t h a v e b e e n i r k s o m e t o h e r . I t was t h e g o o d f o r t u n e o f C o r n e l l U n i - versity l i b r a r y t h a t d u r i n g t h e t h i r d p h a s e o f its i n s t i t u t i o n a l l i f e it e n j o y e d t h e p a t r o n - age o f t h e p r e s i d e n t o f the u n i v e r s i t y . D e a n e M a l o t t is k e e n l y i n t e r e s t e d i n l i b r a r y de- v e l o p m e n t s a n d h a s s u p p o r t e d D r . M c C a r t h y ' s p l a n s a n d r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . T h e C o r n e l l U n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i e s , h a v i n g s u r v i v e d t h e d a r k m i d d l e ages o f insufficient s u p p o r t , c a n n o w e n j o y t h e s p l e n d o r o f t h e R e n a i s - s a n c e . N E W - Q U A L I T Y A P E X P A P E R B O U N D REPRINTS The Ethics of Paul Morton Scott Enslin. A b r i l l i a n t analysis o f t h e e t h i c s o f P a u l — t h e m a n w h o p r o b a b l y d i d m o r e t h a n any o t h e r to s h a p e t h e m o r a l s t a n d a r d s of C h r i s t i a n i t y . 368 pages. $2.25 Self-Understanding S e w a r d Hiltner. A n o b j e c t i v e study of p e r s o n a l i t y develop- m e n t . " A s u p e r i o r book . . . o n e o f t h e best i n t h e field."— Pulpit Digest. 2 4 0 pages. $1.75 The Story of America's Religions H a r t z e l l Spence. H e r e is t h e story o f f o u r t e e n g r e a t r e l i g i o u s f a i t h s t h a t h a v e h a d a m a j o r i m p a c t on t h e A m e r i c a n scene. F i r s t a p p e a r e d i n LOOK M a g a z i n e . 2 7 2 pages. $1.50 The Mastery of Sex Through Psychology and Religion Leslie D. W e a t h e r h e a d . T h i s b o o k deals w i t h sex p r o b l e m s of m e n a n d w o m e n by l o o k i n g a t these p r o b l e m s i n t h e light of a p p l i e d psychology a n d r e l i g i o n . 192 pages. $1 A B I N G D O N P R E S S N A S H V I L L E 2 , T E N N E S S E E In C a n a d a : G . R. Welch C o m p a n y , Ltd., Toronto In A u s t r a l a s i a : T h o m a s C . Lothian, Melbourne