College and Research Libraries B y W Y L L I S E . W R I G H T The Recataloging Program of the Army Medical Library' WH E N D r . B i l l i n g s c r e a t e d t h e Index-Catalogue of t h e L i b r a r y of t h e S u r g e o n - G e n e r a l ' s O f f i c e he b r o u g h t i n t o b e i n g a m a g n i f i c e n t b i b l i o g r a p h y w h i c h f o r i n c l u s i v e n e s s a n d ease of use is w i t h o u t p a r a l l e l in a n y o t h e r s u b j e c t f i e l d . T h e c o m b i n a t i o n of a t y p i c a l l i b r a r y c a t a l o g in b o o k f o r m w i t h a d e t a i l e d s u b j e c t a n a l y s i s of p e r i o d i c a l s p r o v e d s u c h a n e f f i c i e n t t o o l t h a t it i n h i b i t e d t h e n o r m a l d e v e l o p m e n t of a c a r d c a t a l o g of t h e l i b r a r y . T h e r e s u l t h a s b e e n , as s t a t e d in t h e s u r v e y of t h e A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y , t h a t , w i t h t h e p a s s i n g of y e a r s a n d t h e s t e a d y g r o w t h i n t h e n u m b e r of v o l u m e s of t h e Index-Catalogue, " i t s v a l u e as a b i b l i o g r a p h y h a s i n c r e a s e d , w h i l e its v a l u e as a l i b r a r y c a t a l o g has s t e a d i l y d e c r e a s e d . " T h e Index-Catalogue w a s u n s a t i s f a c t o r y as a l i b r a r y c a t a l o g f o r t w o p r i n c i p a l r e a s o n s . I t d i d n o t g i v e a n y i n d i c a t i o n of t h e s h e l f - l o c a t i o n of t h e b o o k s l i s t e d a n d its m u l t i p l y i n g a l p h a b e t s m a d e c o n s u l t a t i o n t o see w h e t h e r a w o r k w a s in t h e l i b r a r y a t e d i o u s a f f a i r . T h e f i r s t of these d i f f i c u l t i e s w a s u n d o u b t e d l y a r e s u l t of t h e l i b r a r y ' s c o m p l e t e l a c k of a n y c l a s s i f i c a t i o n in t h e u s u a l sense. W h e n it b e c a m e n e c e s s a r y t o i n d i c a t e in s o m e w a y t h e l o c a t i o n of v o l u m e s in t h e g r o w i n g l i b r a r y , D r . B i l l i n g s i n s t i - t u t e d a s y s t e m of w r i t i n g o u t t h e c o m p l e t e n a m e of t h e s u b j e c t , w i t h o u t s y m b o l s or a b b r e v i a t i o n s . T h e c l a s s e s so c r e a t e d h a v e b e e n o c c a s i o n a l l y c o m b i n e d o r f u r t h e r s u b - d i v i d e d w i t h o u t a l t e r a t i o n of t h e c l a s s n a m e 1 Paper presented at the meeting of the Division of c a t a l o g i n g and Classification, American L i b r a r y Association, San Francisco, July i , 1947. as w r i t t e n o n t h e b o o k p l a t e a n d i n c o n - s i s t e n c i e s in the use of s u c h f o r m s as " M a - l a r i a , " " M a l a r i a l f e v e r , " a n d " F e v e r , M a l a r i a l " or " M e d i c a l a n e c d o t e s " a n d " A n e c d o t e s , M e d i c a l " h a v e f r e q u e n t l y o c - c u r r e d . S i n c e e v e n these u n s a t i s f a c t o r y s u b - s t i t u t e s f o r a c l a s s i f i c a t i o n a p p e a r e d n e i t h e r on t h e b a c k s of t h e b o o k s n o r i n t h e Index- Catalogue, d i f f i c u l t i e s a r o s e i n l o c a t i n g a n d s h e l v i n g b o o k s . I n 1 9 1 8 a n d 1 9 1 9 a d v a n t a g e w a s t a k e n of t h e a v a i l a b i l i t y of a s s i s t a n c e f r o m A r m y e n - l i s t e d p e r s o n n e l t o c l i p a n d m o u n t on c a r d s t h e a u t h o r e n t r i e s f r o m t h e f i r s t t w o series of t h e Index-Catalogue. T h e c l i p p i n g w a s d o n e so as t o s e c u r e as m a n y e n t r i e s as pos- s i b l e o n a s i n g l e c a r d . T h e r e f o r e , w h e n t h e t w o series w e r e i n t e r f i l e d , a l p h a b e t i c s e q u e n c e c o u l d n o t be m a i n t a i n e d . T h r o u g h o u t t h e 1 9 2 0 ' s a d e q u a t e a s s i s t a n c e w a s n o t a v a i l a b l e a n d n o w o r k w a s d o n e t o w a r d i n c l u d i n g in t h i s f i l e t h e e n t r i e s f r o m t h e t h i r d series. W i t h t h e b e g i n n i n g of t h e f o u r t h series, a c a r d f o r e a c h m o n o - g r a p h w a s p r e p a r e d a n d f i l e d in t h e c a t a l o g . A s t i m e w a s a v a i l a b l e , t h e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n w a s w r i t t e n on t h e v a r i o u s c a r d s , b u t t h i s w o r k h a s n e v e r been c o m p l e t e d a n d t h e c a t a l o g so c r e a t e d h a s n e v e r b e e n s a t i s f a c t o r y . T h i s w a s t h e p i c t u r e w h e n in 1 9 4 2 t h e s u r v e y c o m m i t t e e s p o n s o r e d b y t h e A m e r i - c a n L i b r a r y A s s o c i a t i o n r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t t h e e x i s t i n g c a t a l o g be t o t a l l y d o n e a w a y w i t h a n d a n e w c l a s s i f i c a t i o n a n d n e w c a t a - l o g p r e p a r e d in o r d e r t o m a k e a v a i l a b l e t h e s p l e n d i d r e s o u r c e s of t h i s l i b r a r y . I n a c c o r d a n c e w i t h these r e c o m m e n d a - JANUARY, 1948 41 tions, a c o m m i t t e e u n d e r the c h a i r m a n s h i p of M a r y L o u i s e M a r s h a l l , l i b r a r i a n , R u - d o l p h M a t a s M e d i c a l L i b r a r y , T u l a n e U n i v e r s i t y , N e w O r l e a n s , b e g a n w o r k on a c o m p l e t e l y n e w m e d i c a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n . T h i s classification has been b u i l t u p w i t h the a d v i c e of e x p e r t s in v a r i o u s f i e l d s of m e d i c i n e a n d w a s f i n a l l y c o m p l e t e d in the s p r i n g of 1 9 4 6 . I t is a v e r y d e t a i l e d classi- f i c a t i o n , p e r h a p s e v e n too d e t a i l e d f o r the l a r g e c o l l e c t i o n of the A r m y M e d i c a l L i - b r a r y . T h e c o m m i t t e e b e l i e v e d , h o w e v e r , t h a t it is b e t t e r p o l i c y to p r e p a r e a classifi- c a t i o n t h a t w o u l d be t o o m i n u t e b u t c o u l d be s i m p l i f i e d if desired, r a t h e r t h a n one w h i c h w o u l d be f o u n d , a f t e r a c t u a l t r i a l , t o need f u r t h e r e x p a n s i o n . B y a g r e e m e n t w i t h the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s , w h i c h w a s represented on t h e c o m m i t t e e , the classifi- c a t i o n , a f t e r it has been tested in the A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y , w i l l be p r i n t e d as a v o l u m e in the series of L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s classification s c h e d u l e s a n d w i l l serve as a revision of the present class " R . " I n o r d e r t o p r e v e n t c o n f u s i o n a n d to e n a b l e those l i b r a r i e s w h i c h are a l r e a d y u s i n g the L i - b r a r y of C o n g r e s s m e d i c a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n t o c o n t i n u e t o use it, if t h e y do n o t f e e l able t o r e c l a s s i f y , the n e w c l a s s i f i c a t i o n has been based on the l e t t e r " W , " p r e v i o u s l y u n u s e d b y the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s . Photostated Shelf list W h i l e the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n w a s b e i n g pre- p a r e d a special staff w a s r e c r u i t e d to push t h r o u g h t h e m a k i n g of a s h e l f l i s t , w h i c h had n e v e r e x i s t e d in the l i b r a r y . T h i s g r o u p t o o k each class in t u r n a n d m a d e , w o r k i n g f r o m t h e t i t l e p a g e o n l y , a r o u g h s h e l f l i s t of all the m o n o g r a p h s . W h e n this p r o j e c t w a s c o m p l e t e d , e a r l y in 1 9 4 6 , t h e g r o u p t u r n e d to the b i n d i n g of t h e c o l l e c t i o n of u n b o u n d p a m p h l e t s . A l l p a m p h l e t s in d e c e n t p h y s i c a l c o n d i t i o n h a v e n o w been b o u n d a n d the v o l u m e s , p r o p e r l y s h e l f - listed, a d d e d to the p e r m a n e n t c o l l e c t i o n s . W h i l e w o r k w a s b e i n g done on the p a m p h - lets, the s h e l f l i s t w a s d u p l i c a t e d b y m e a n s of p h o t o s t a t a n d the p h o t o s t a t e d cards, b e a r i n g c o r r e c t class m a r k s , f i l e d in the c a r d c a t a l o g . S i n c e the s h e l f l i s t c a r d s w e r e m a d e f r o m t i t l e p a g e s o n l y , it w a s r e c o g n i z e d t h a t t h e r e w o u l d be m a n y discrepancies in f o r m a n d f u l n e s s of entries. S i n c e the p u r p o s e of these c a r d s w a s t o serve as a c h e c k l i s t of the v o l u m e s a c t u a l l y f o u n d in the l i b r a r y a n d n o t as an e x a c t b i b l i o g r a - p h y , a l l entries u n d e r a s u r n a m e w e r e f i l e d a l p h a b e t i c a l l y by t i t l e and n o t by f o r e n a m e or i n i t i a l s . W h i l e this is n o t a s a t i s f a c t o r y c a t a l o g , it does e n a b l e the a c q u i s i t i o n d i v i - sion t o state w i t h some c o n f i d e n c e t h a t a b o o k is or is n o t in the l i b r a r y , a n d helps the r e f e r e n c e d i v i s i o n to p r o d u c e a definite v o l u m e w h e n c a l l e d f o r . Catalog Division Created I n the a u t u m n of 1 9 4 4 p l a n s w e r e l a i d f o r the c r e a t i o n of a c a t a l o g d i v i s i o n to u n d e r t a k e t h e r e c a t a l o g i n g of some h a l f - m i l l i o n v o l u m e s and an e q u a l n u m b e r of p a m p h l e t s a n d theses. T h e r e w a s g e n e r a l a g r e e m e n t t h a t the c a t a l o g i n g s h o u l d be s i m p l e and w e hoped f o r a rate of descrip- t i v e c a t a l o g i n g of o n e v o l u m e e v e r y f i f t e e n m i n u t e s . T o h a n d l e a m i l l i o n items in ten years, w h i c h w a s the period set f o r c o m p l e t i o n of the r e c a t a l o g i n g , this c a l l e d f o r a d o z e n d e s c r i p t i v e c a t a l o g e r s , w i t h e n o u g h a d d i t i o n a l w o r k e r s to c a r r y the c u r - r e n t acquisitions. W i t h a s u i t a b l e p r o p o r - t i o n of s u b j e c t c a t a l o g e r s a n d w i t h c l e r i c a l w o r k e r s f o r the m a n y c l e r i c a l o p e r a t i o n s of c a t a l o g i n g , a staff of f o r t y - f i v e w a s p l a n - ned f o r the c a t a l o g d i v i s i o n . U n f o r t u - n a t e l y this f i g u r e has n e v e r been reached so t h a t the r e c a t a l o g i n g has n o t g o n e f o r w a r d w i t h the speed o r i g i n a l l y e x p e c t e d . W h e n the c r e a t i o n of a separate c a t a l o g d i v i s i o n w a s a p p r o v e d , t h e w o r k of c a t a l o g - i n g w a s r e m o v e d f r o m the Index-Catalogue d i v i s i o n , w h i c h had p r e v i o u s l y been respon- 42 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES sible f o r the c a r d c a t a l o g as w e l l as f o r t h e Index-Catalogue. T o h e a d the n e w di- vision the l i b r a r y w a s f o r t u n a t e to secure M . R u t h M a c D o n a l d , then chief of the c a t a l o g d e p a r t m e n t at the D e t r o i t P u b l i c L i b r a r y . M i s s M a c D o n a l d , w i t h c h a r a c - teristic e n e r g y , t a c k l e d a t h r e e f o l d p r o b l e m — t h e r e c r u i t i n g of a s t a f f , the p r e p a r a t i o n of a m a n u a l of procedures, and the d r a w - i n g up of a code of simplified c a t a l o g i n g rules. W i t h the s t r u g g l e to secure a staff in the past t w o years y o u are all too f a m i l i a r . I t is e n o u g h to say t h a t , w h i l e the A r m y M e d i - c a l L i b r a r y has secured some of the best c a t a l o g i n g t a l e n t in the c o u n t r y , it n e v e r has had the size staff it needs. I n the o t h e r t w o u n d e r t a k i n g s success w a s real- i z e d . T h e c a t a l o g division has a set of p r o c e d u r e s and a m a n u a l to c o d i f y t h e m and to i n s t r u c t n e w m e m b e r s of the s t a f f , c r e a t e d f r o m n o t h i n g in a y e a r ' s time, t h a t c a n serve as a m o d e l f o r a n y l i b r a r y . I f the staff w e r e b u i l t up to the p r o p o r t i o n s o r i g i n a l l y i n t e n d e d , there is no d o u b t t h a t the l o a d of one h u n d r e d t h o u s a n d r e c a t a - l o g e d items a n d s i x t y t h o u s a n d n e w items c o u l d be h a n d l e d s m o o t h l y , e f f i c i e n t l y , and r a p i d l y . Simplified Treatment Followed T h e c a t a l o g i n g rules c a l l f o r a simplified t r e a t m e n t of d e s c r i p t i v e c a t a l o g i n g t h a t is still sufficient to i d e n t i f y a n y i t e m in this g r e a t c o l l e c t i o n of m e d i c a l l i t e r a t u r e . P r o - per names w i l l be established on the basis of a l i m i t e d n u m b e r of r e f e r e n c e w o r k s o n l y , chief reliance b e i n g p l a c e d on the L i - b r a r y of C o n g r e s s c a t a l o g and the Index- Catalogue. I f a n a m e is n o t f o u n d in either of these sources, and there is n o con- flict w i t h a n o t h e r n a m e , the f o r m in the book w i l l be f o l l o w e d . T i t l e s w i l l be brief and w i l l n o t i n c l u d e t h e a u t h o r ' s n a m e u n - less this is n e e d e d f o r sense or g r a m m a r . P a g i n a t i o n is r e d u c e d to a s t a t e m e n t of the f i n a l R o m a n and A r a b i c n u m b e r s . T h e simple s t a t e m e n t " i l l u s . " w i l l serve f o r all t y p e s of i l l u s t r a t i o n e x c e p t p o r t r a i t s , w h i c h w i l l be n o t e d because of the l i b r a r y ' s in- terest in m e d i c a l p o r t r a i t u r e . S i z e w i l l be g i v e n at the p a r t i c u l a r request of the L i - b r a r y of C o n g r e s s . N o t e s are used as spar- i n g l y as possible. T h e s e rules w e r e a d o p t e d b e f o r e the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s m o v e d ac- t i v e l y to s i m p l i f y its o w n rules f o r descrip- tion and w i l l u n d o u b t e d l y be m o d i f i e d in d e t a i l to c o n f o r m to the n e w L . C . rules w h e n these are p u b l i s h e d . T h e s u b j e c t h e a d i n g s used in the Index- Catalogue h a v e been e x t e n s i v e l y c r i t i c i z e d a m o n g m e d i c a l l i b r a r i a n s and b i b l i o g r a p h e r s because of a h e a v y use of f o r e i g n and t e c h - nical t e r m s w h e n a d e q u a t e specific E n g l i s h t e r m s are in c o m m o n use. T h e Index-Cata- logue has also s h i f t e d back and f o r t h be- t w e e n s y n o n y m o u s t e r m s in an e n d e a v o r to p u b l i s h its a c c u m u l a t i n g entries as e a r l y as possible. F o r these reasons it w a s decided to i n s t i t u t e a n e w list of s u b j e c t h e a d i n g s f o r the c a r d c a t a l o g . T h i s list is b u i l t on the list of s u b j e c t s used in the c a t a l o g of the N e w Y o r k A c a d e m y of M e d i c i n e w h i c h w a s , in t u r n , based on the h e a d i n g s of the Quarterly Cumulative Index Medicus and the o r i g i n a l series of the Index-Catalogue. L i t t l e h e l p w a s secured f r o m the m e d i c a l s u b j e c t s of the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s , w h i c h w e r e w h o l l y i n a d e q u a t e f o r a special c o l - l e c t i o n . T h e r e has been a l a r g e a m o u n t of dis- cussion a m o n g l i b r a r i a n s in recent years r e g a r d i n g t h e possibility of r e l y i n g on bibli- o g r a p h i e s f o r a s u b j e c t a p p r o a c h to books and t h u s of r e l i e v i n g the c a t a l o g d e p a r t - m e n t of the necessity of c r e a t i n g a list of s u b j e c t h e a d i n g s and a s u b j e c t c a t a l o g . O n e g r e a t d i f f i c u l t y w i t h such an a r r a n g e - m e n t has been the l a c k , in m a n y fields, of a d e q u a t e b i b l i o g r a p h i e s . I n the field of JANUARY, 1948 43 m e d i c i n e the b i b l i o g r a p h i c a p p r o a c h has been m a d e easy t h r o u g h the e x i s t e n c e of the Quarterly Cumulative Index Me die us a n d the Index-Catalogue. If b i b l i o g r a p h i e s c a n replace s u b j e c t c a t a l o g s a n y w h e r e , the l i b r a r y w h i c h , f r o m its o w n resources, creates one of the s t a n d a r d b i b l i o g r a p h i e s in its field s h o u l d p r o v i d e a s u i t a b l e spot f o r p u t t i n g the t h e o r y i n t o o p e r a t i o n . T h u s it w a s decided n o t to a t t e m p t a c o m p l e t e sub- ject c a t a l o g of the l i b r a r y . T h e a u t h o r c a t a l o g w i l l c o n t a i n a record of e v e r y i t e m in the l i b r a r y . T h e s u b j e c t c a t a l o g w i l l list, in a separate a l p h a b e t , the m o n o g r a p h s of the past t w e n t y - f i v e y e a r s , plus entries f o r histories, b i b l i o g r a p h i e s , and o t h e r s t a n d a r d r e f e r e n c e w o r k s w h i c h do n o t be- c o m e o u t - o f - d a t e . T h e period of t w e n t y - five years w a s a g r e e d on since it is e x p e c t e d t h a t , in the n e w b u i l d i n g f o r the l i b r a r y , these m o n o g r a p h s w i l l be k e p t in an open stack accessible to readers, a n d because the Index-Catalogue requires a p p r o x i m a t e l y t h a t a m o u n t of t i m e to c o m p l e t e its progress t h r o u g h the a l p h a b e t . I t is p r o b a b l e t h a t in the f u t u r e the Index-Catalogue w i l l be p u b - lished m o r e r a p i d l y , and the period d u r i n g w h i c h the s u b j e c t c a r d s w i l l r e m a i n in the s u b j e c t c a t a l o g w i l l be c o r r e s p o n d i n g l y r e d u c e d . A National Medical Library T h e A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y , a l t h o u g h a division of the O f f i c e of the S u r g e o n - G e n - eral of the A r m y , is in f a c t a n a t i o n a l m e d i c a l l i b r a r y and m a k e s its services a v a i l a b l e n o t o n l y to o t h e r d e p a r t m e n t s of the g o v e r n m e n t b u t to p h y s i c i a n s and s t u - d e n t s t h r o u g h o u t the c o u n t r y . O n e of the services w h i c h A m e r i c a n libraries h a v e c o m e to e x p e c t f r o m t h e i r n a t i o n a l libraries is the service of c e n t r a l i z e d c a t a l o g i n g a n d the d i s t r i b u t i o n of p r i n t e d c a t a l o g cards. A s soon as the c a t a l o g d e p a r t m e n t w a s set up the possibility of f u r n i s h i n g c a r d s to o t h e r libraries w a s i n v e s t i g a t e d . M i s s M a c D o n a l d and the l i b r a r i a n w e r e in f u l l a g r e e m e n t t h a t such service s h o u l d be g i v e n , b u t t h a t the e l a b o r a t e c a t a l o g i n g practices insisted on by the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s as essential to the usual c o o p e r a t i v e c a t a l o g i n g p r o c e d u r e s w e r e p r o h i b i t i v e in cost if the r e c a t a l o g i n g of the A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y w a s ever to be a c c o m p l i s h e d . O n the other h a n d , a d u p l i c a t i o n of the f a c i l i t i e s of the card division of the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s w o u l d be e x t r a v a g a n t . C o n f e r e n c e s w e r e held w i t h the a u t h o r i t i e s at the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s to d i s c o v e r h o w this d i l e m m a c o u l d best be m e t . T h e L i b r a r y of C o n - gress a g r e e d t h a t the A r m y M e d i c a l L i - b r a r y c o u l d be g i v e n f u l l a u t h o r i t y and responsibility f o r the c a t a l o g i n g represented by the c a r d s issued in its n a m e . T h e c a t a - l o g e r s of the A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y are g i v e n f u l l access to the official c a t a l o g of the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s and are responsible f o r seeing t h a t all n a m e s used a g r e e w i t h the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s a u t h o r i t y c a r d s if such n a m e s are present in the L i b r a r y of C o n - gress c a t a l o g s . T h e s i m p l e f o r m s of de- s c r i p t i v e c a t a l o g i n g w h i c h w e r e desired b y the A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y w i l l be f o l l o w e d on its cards. T h e s u b j e c t h e a d - i n g s of b o t h libraries are g i v e n , and the c l a s s i f i c a t i o n of the A r m y M e d i c a l L i b r a r y is a c c o m p a n i e d by t h a t of the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s w h e n the t i t l e is in b o t h libraries. T h e L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s a g r e e d t h a t it w o u l d restrict its a c t i v i t i e s to the a d d i t i o n of c o p y r i g h t i n f o r m a t i o n a n d its class m a r k w h e n it o w n e d a c o p y of t h e v o l u m e . O t h e r w i s e , it serves solely as a p r i n t i n g and d i s t r i b u t i n g a g e n c y f o r these c a r d s . MED Series Begun T o s i g n a l i z e t h e a d o p t i o n of simpler f o r m s of c a t a l o g i n g and the a s s u m p t i o n of f u l l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y by the A r m y M e d i c a l (Continued on page S3) 44 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES an e x c e l l e n t w a y to m a i n t a i n , by a d d i t i o n of n e w sheets or editions, m a p series w h i c h m a y a l r e a d y be on h a n d . T h e k n o w l e d g e a c q u i r e d of m a p sources and of the scope of m a p m a t e r i a l s a v a i l a b l e w i l l be of con- siderable v a l u e in p l a n n i n g a n d m a k i n g purchases to c o v e r specific areas. T h e d e v e l o p m e n t and m a i n t e n a n c e of a c o l l e g e m a p l i b r a r y of modest size c a n n o t be l e f t to i n c i d e n t a l purchases based on s u g g e s t i o n s by f a c u l t y m e m b e r s o v e r a period of t i m e . T h e p r e v i o u s discussion of m a p sources w h i c h i l l u s t r a t e d their d o c u - m e n t a r y and f u g i t i v e n a t u r e s h o w s t h a t an a d e q u a t e and b a l a n c e d w o r k i n g c o l l e c t i o n can be o b t a i n e d o n l y if a definite plan as to its n a t u r e and scope is f o r m u l a t e d and o n l y if t h a t plan is a d m i n i s t e r e d by an i n d i v i d - ual w h o is interested in a n d responsible f o r it. T h e p e c u l i a r i t i e s of m a p p u b l i c a t i o n s are such t h a t the a d e q u a c y of a g i v e n m a p c o l l e c t i o n is l a r g e l y a measure of the a b i l i t y of the l i b r a r i a n responsible f o r it. A li- brarian w i t h c o n s i d e r a b l e g e o g r a p h i c t r a i n - i n g w i l l u s u a l l y be m o r e s u c c e s s f u l than one w i t h o u t such a b a c k g r o u n d . T r a i n i n g in g e o g r a p h y helps to p r o v i d e a k n o w l e d g e of spatial relationships w h i c h is necessary to an e v a l u a t i o n of m a p m a t e r i a l s . I t de- v e l o p s an a p p r e c i a t i o n of the d i s t r i b u t i o n a l p a t t e r n s of p h e n o m e n a f o r w h i c h m a p c o v - e r a g e is desirable and it supplies an i n t r o - d u c t i o n to the g e o g r a p h i c a l m a t e r i a l s f r o m w h i c h m a p i n f o r m a t i o n is o b t a i n e d . The Recataloging Program of the A r m y Medical Library (Continued from page 44) L i b r a r y , the f o r m e r series of S G c a r d s w a s d i s c o n t i n u e d , and a n e w series w i t h n u m - bers preceded b y M E D w a s b e g u n . I n order t h a t m e d i c a l libraries w h i c h m i g h t desire t o place a subscription to the w h o l e series c o u l d o b t a i n c a r d s f o r all m e d i c a l books a d d e d to the n a t i o n a l libraries, the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s asked t h a t its o w n c a t a l o g i n g of m e d i c a l titles be i n c l u d e d in the same series. T h e first c o p y f o r this n e w d e p a r t u r e in c o o p e r a t i v e c a t a l o g i n g w a s sent to the L i b r a r y of C o n g r e s s , O c t . 1, 1 9 4 6 . S i n c e then cards of the M E D series h a v e appeared in i n c r e a s i n g n u m b e r s . JANUARY, 1948 53