College and Research Libraries By HUGH PRITCHARD Does Continuous Revision Require Continuous Replacement? T HE POLICY OF THE continuOUS revi-sion of encyclopedias makes it neces- sary for the librarian to decide how often his library should replace a multi-volume encyclopedia. A conscientious librarian is likely to feel that an encyclopedia should be as current as the budget will allow, even if other reference books have to be passed over. The pace at which knowl- edge is increasing in most fields would seem to make the continuous revision and continuous purchase of encyclopedias ob- ligatory. Unless an encyclopedia is new, how can the latest, or even the recent, de- velopments be made readily available? The logic seems inescapable: (1) an en- cyclopedia is usually the first source one turns to for an authoritative discussion on an unfamiliar topic; (2) human knowl- edge is increasing at a dizzy and bewilder- ing pace; (3) encyclopedias summarizing human knowledge are now continuously altered so as to keep up with these de- velopments. Therefore, in order to make the latest facts available, libraries should keep their encyclopedias as up to date as possible. Despite the argument just outlined, I believe it can be shown that from a prac- tical standpoint the latest revision of an encyclopedia is not essential for good ref- erence service. In the first place, it is ob- vious that an encyclopedia is not the proper source for current or near-current information, because research and events develop far too fast for such a ponderous instrument to keep pace with them. Al- manacs, handbooks, periodicals, and even Mr. Pritchard is reference librarian, University of New Hampshire. encyclopedia yearbooks can be expect- ed to supply up-to-date information not available in an encyclopedia. Sometimes more recent facts can also be found in an official or a primary source, such as a government document or a scientist's re- port in a learned journal. Considering that encyclopedia replace- ment is such a practical subject, it is curi- ous that so little discussion of it can be found. A search of Library Literature re- vealed only one article, which will be quoted later. In the prefaces to Encyclo- pedia Americana and Collier's Encyclo- p edia oblique references appear, but in Britannica the issue is faced squarely. The writer of the preface to the Amer- icana (1953) makes incidental mention of the preponderance of closed material but does not go into detail. 1 The publisher of Collier's Encyclopedia (1954) refers to ob- solescence indirectly by repeating three times on one page that Collier's is "en- tirely new." He then adds that as a re- sult of this it has not been necessary to resort ''to the standard encyclopedia prac- tice in revision of cutting existing articles to make room for sketchy recordings of recent developments. 2 Walter Yust, the editor of the Encyclopedia Britannica., is more precise. He declares that about 75 per cent of the material in an encyclope- dia receives very infrequent revision. It is perhaps worth emphasizing that .Yust al- so makes it clear that by no means all the 1 "When one considers that the greater part of a general reference encyclopedia necessarily comprises articles on closed subjects, such as biographieal sketches of historical personages, records of epochal events of pa st tim es, histories of philosophies and religions, de- scriptions of vanished civilizations and pioneer mech· anisms, it will be realized the revisions of The Ameri- cana have been mainly concentrated on subjects of continuin g development." Vol. 1, p. iv. 2Vol.l,p.v. 144 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES remaining 25 per cent requires or re- ceives revision every year or even every three years. s Is there reason to assume that the revi- s~on policy of other encyclopedias is more ngorous than that of Britannica? The outstanding example of the durability of the material in an encyclopedia is per- haps the fact that articles on literature in the lith edition of the Britannica (1911) are still recommended to students. The material that does not soon become out of da.te.is what .we value in encyclopedias, and It IS for this type of information that the public should be encouraged to con- sult them. It does, however, seem unecon- omical to buy frequent reprints of the nearly permanent material found in en- ~yclopedi.as just to obtain the transitory InformatiOn which can be supplied at much less cost and usually in more cur- rent form in other reference books. Why then do reputable makers of en- cyclopedias bring out annual revisions if they do not expect to sell them an- ~ually, or a~ least as frequently as pos- sible, to their customers? Yust explains that the purpose of continuous revision is primarily to keep a set at a constant value. 4 Under the previous system of in- frequent new editions, the value of an en- cyclopedia was high when it first ap- peared, after which it would decline at an accelerating rate. Then, when word got ?ut that a new edition was in prep- aratiOn, the value of the current edition became almost nil. Continuous revision corrects this situation, but it creates the danger of a librarian's assuming that an encyclopedia must be up to the minute in order to do its work. In an age when many products appear in a new model every year, it is easy to assume that en- cyclopedias also are not built to last. Al- though salesmen may encourage this 3 "Experience d_owt;t the years indicates that 75 per cent of the m.atenal m an encyclopedia needs changing only. at long n~t~rvals. The other 25 per cent requires contmuous revtston, some every year, some every two year~, SOfl!e ev.ery three years, and so on." Encyclo- Pafdta Bntanmca ,P95?)., Vol. 1, "Editor's Preface." Walter Yust, Revtston of Encyclopedias" CRL I (1940), 148. ' I MARCH~ 1957 view, the editor of the Britannica as noted above does not do so. He says further, "It is, I believe, a most unfortunate develop- ment in the distribution of encyclopedias that the question of constant timeliness should enter so much into the sale and purchase." 5 Continuous revision, it would appear, does not require continuous re- placement. Turning from the makers to the users, one should ask who consults an encyclo- pedia? Certainly not the specialist. Rather, as mentioned above, the person who wants an introduction to an unfamiliar topic or perhaps one who wants to re- fresh his memory about something he has forgotten. Such a person seldom has need of the latest statistic or the most recent ?evelopment on a rapidly changing sub- Ject, and he will probably be disappoint- ed if he looks for this kind of informa- tion in even the most recent encyclopedia. If it is accepted that the latest encyclo- pedia is not essential for good reference service, there remains the question raised at the beginning of this discussion: how often should an encyclopedia be replaced? No precise answer will be given here, but it has been my experience that, if it is used intelligently for basic and introduc- tory information, a good encyclopedia will provide excellent reference service for five years and beyond that if need be. To the objection that a five-vear-old encyclopedia will not be used int~lligent­ ly by some readers, with the result that out-of-date and inaccurate information will be disseminated, the response must be that almost every book is susceptible to some kind of misuse and that even the most recent encyclopedia will contain some obsolete information. Providing the latest encyclopedia will not guarantee that it will be used intelligently. Whether it is old or new the librarian must still supply adequate sources for recent in- formation, and he must always guard against improper use of encyclopedias. 6 Ibid., p. 149. 145 The training of patrons in the proper use of encyclopedias is a closely related sub- ject, but one not pertinent to the present discussion. It ought, however, to be point- ed out that, on the basis of the facts brought out above, a recent encyclopedia does not materially affect the educative role and responsibility of the librarian to see that the books in his care are used to the best advantage. The Subject Ph.D. and Librarianship (Continued from page 126) lem of vital importance. Some urgent needs in documentation research are: truly flexible classification schemes, suit- able for subject headings and mechanical selection codes as well as for classifica- tion per se; 10 a new approach to subject headings, possibly with points of access in classified index proportions; machines for literature searching based on some principle other than the dichotomy; and studies in language engineering, linguist- ics and semantics to provide a basis for reduction of the ambiguity in terminol- ogy, especially in subject headings and in machine language codes. The place of the subject Ph.D. has been discussed, mainly from the point of view of the holder of this kind of doc- torate. The provision of library training to potential librarians with such a back- ground offers an opportunity for the 10 The essential unity of problems in these three areas has been pointed out in Brian C. Vickery, "Develop- ments in Subject Indexing," Journal of Documentation, XI (1955), 1-11. schools to develop fl.exi hili ty in their pro- grams. On the other hand, the core cur- riculum in librarianship is a necessity for work in any aspect of library science, in- cluding subject specialties. The Ph.D. who becomes a subject specialist librarian may still maintain his paramount interest in his subject field, whether in an ac- ademic or a special library. Those more interested in professional librarianship will find positions in administration, ref- erence, bibliography and cataloging for which the doctorate has a distinct advan- tage. The whole new science of docu- mentation practically requires advanced study in subject fields as a prerequisite to accomplishment. The problems which must be solved before the library can reach its greatest fulfillment as a func- tioning storehouse of information pose a real challenge to every branch of the li- brary profession. In this respect, the sub- ject Ph.D. has an important contribution to make, whether as a conventional li- brarian, a subject specialist or a docu- mentalist. Second Annual Midwest Academic Libraries Conference 146 The second annual Midwest Academic Libraries Conference will be held at Marquette University in Milwaukee, May 10 and 11, Friday and Saturday. Three speakers have already been engaged, Robert Downs, Ralph ·Esterquest, and the Academic Vice President of Marquette Univer- sity. Invitations will be sent to all academic libraries in the Middle West after March l. 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