/Joy ^.i C 6 '>0\ SO Z I The Relation of the Bound Volumes to Library of Technology The Committee in their selection of this subject evidently- had in mind the tendency displayed by some of the Principals to allow the requirements of the Library of Technology to influence them in the preparation of the Courses. Assuming, therefore, that the ultimate purpose of those naming the subject was to promote argument along this line, the article has been prepared with an end in view to indicate the extent to which the prepai"ation of the Instruction Papers should be influenced by the subsequent republication in the Library. In order to accomplish this analysis, it is necessary to first determine the status of both. Considering, therefore, the Bound Volumes, it is hardly necessary to state that they include the Instruction Papers of the several Courses. They are books written for self- instruction and their purpose is to form a review library for the student upon the completion of his Course. As they are an exact counterpart of the Instruction Papers, the conditions and factors influencing these must be obtained in the Bound Volumes. These conditions and factors are peculiar, because in the preparation of the Instruction Papers much must be considered. To comply exactly with the requirements, which are naturally suggested, is impossible, so that the best result is obtained only through a series of compromises. In the preparation of the Instruction Papers, it is unquestionably the purpose to attain accuracy of statement, sequence of thought, together with simplicity of construction and lan- guage, and with all, conciseness. The fulfilment of the last condition is the great obstacle that prevents the Copyright, 1904, by International Textbook Company All rights reserved U^- consummation of a perfect Instruction Paper, for the successful administration of the actual instruction work of the Schools compels a close adherence to the first three requirements which are not necessarily compatible with the last. As any technical Course prepared for correspondence in- struction develops, the tendency of the writer or editor is to enlarge both by adding to the matter contained in any one subject and by introducing additional subjects. This evolution of a Course develops with such rapidity that there is danger of making it of such a size as to be unprofitable to the Schools and unmanageable to the students. Consider, for instance, any of the three principal industrial professions, architecture, mechanical, or civil engineering. All of these, on account of modern influences, so overlap and interweave that it might be said that a Course in either would include in- struction in many of the subjects contained in the other two, and would likewise involve special studies in electricity, power installation, chemistry, and even in commercial law. In the preliminary survey of a Course of correspondence instruction the question naturally arises what should be included in the Course and this is a question which is not usually of ready answer. That certain definite subjects, always associated with the industrial arts or professions, which it is the purpose to teach, are necessary, is evident, but there is always a considerable number of associate and secondary subjects which suggest themselves. It is in the selection of these subjects that the difficulty lies and unless the writer has in mind some definite time for finishing the work and some substantial limit for the extent of the Course, he will be struggling with an immeasurable quantity of work in the production of a Course which may appeal to a few but will be tiresome and unprofitable to the mass of the students. Having made a short resume of the cardinal requirements and factors that are involved in the preparation of the Instruction Papers or Bound Volumes, it is now in order to consider the Library of Technology and endeavor to observe to what extent it influences the preparation of the Courses. The Library of Technology is primarily an industrial reference library. It is more in one way than an encyclopedia and 2 less in another. The number of subjects at present included in the Library of Technology is limited when compared with the subjects treated in a technical encyclopedia but on the other hand the thoroughness with which the several subjects are treated is far beyond the possibilities of any technical encyclopedia. In respect to the manner in which the several subjects are treated, the Library of Technology as at present laid out may be likened to an enlarged handbook of the principal industrial arts and sciences. It rather includes working information than research information and is sup- posed to contain valuable matter of reference to those inter- ested in the subjects of which it treats. Because of the thoroughness with which each subject is discussed in the Library and on account of the practicability of the matter and superiority of the illustrations, it forms about the only library that is not out of place among the equipment of the business or technical ofhce and can but occupy the place so long unsuccessfullv filled by the handbooks and technical encyclo- pedias. The Library of Technology because of its cost and evident adaptability for reference purposes finds its demands among a class of people undoubtedly superior in training and educa- tion to those who enroll in the Courses. These reference books are used in the majority of instances by minds more mature than those possessed by the great percentage of correspondence students. They are referred to not as a series of exercises or studies, but in order to obtain some item, data, or information valuable at the particular moment to the referee. This information must be in such a form that its practical application may be made immediately and it is usually demanded that it shall be empirical and represent current practice. The Library of Technology, in order to gain the confidence of those who use it, must not be found wanting in the information which the referee requires. There is nothing so damaging from the standpoint of the business man as the failure of a handbook or reference library to give information upon the particular subject in which he wishes to be informed. Several unsuccessful and successive attempts to obtain information in such a library would cause it to be 3 relegated to the position of a mere ornament or to the space already overcrowded with last year's industrial periodicals. Again, the Library of Technology must be compact. Need- less material introduced into these books only tends to bury the valuable information which forms their basis as books of reference. An unpardonable defect in any reference library exists in the system of cross-references so frequently adopted. Nothing so discourages an attempt to obtain an item of information as to be referred from one section to another in what soinetimes proves to be a fruitless search for some fact or formula of instant value and of great practical utility. Not only must the Library of Technology fulfil these several requirements, but it must contain the current practice of the industrial world, that is, the information given must be according to the usage and recent practice. It is now assumed that the general requirements of both the Bound Volumes and Library of Technology have been established and it is therefore logical to attempt to draw conclusions which it is hoped will show to some extent the relation of the one to the other, and how this relationship should influence the writer or editor of the Instruction Papers. The qualification of accuracy is necessary to both the Instruction Papers and the Library of Technology. A mis- statement or false representation of facts or insufficient and obscure data not thoroughly proved nor well substantiated is dangerous to the success of either. While in all of the Instruction Papers it is the effort to show the best practice, the writer, bearing in mind the requirements of the Library of Technology, should not fail to explain the usual practice. Though rules and formulas, such as those instituted by the general government, municipalities, or insurance companies may not be the best and may not give results entirely satis- factory, nevertheless, these should be given in our Instruction Papers, not because they are of great value to the student but primarily because they will form most valuable sections in the Library of Technology. In the introduction of such data, the writer or editor must not be entirely influenced by the course of instruction upon the one hand nor the Library 4 of Technology upon the other. There must not be included in the Instruction Papers c^uantities of matter unimportant to the student, but probably valuable as reference matter to the business or professional man. On the other hand the Library of Technology would lose much of its value if the marine engineer could find nothing relative to the govern- mental inspection, the architect nothing relating to the build- ing ordinances of New York City, or if the mechanical engineer looked in vain for the rules and regulations of the Hartford Steam Boiler Inspection and Insurance Co., and if the textile mill owner fails to find data furnished and approved by the Underwriters. It is therefore undoubtedly of benefit to the Library of Technology and little or no detriment to the Course of instruction if the writer in selecting material for his subjects introduces material and data of importance and value required in the administration of industrial establish- ments or professions, though probably of secondary value to the student. The Library of Technology gains much from the logical arrangement and sequence of thought expressed, in our Instruction Papers. It would, however, be deleterious to the Library if language was introduced containing vulgar technicalities and including idioms and similes not purely explanatory but relevant and intended by the writer to appeal to the illiterate class of students. Having in mind the Library of Technology and the class of people which it reaches, the writer should cultivate a dignity of expression and diction which does not loose any of its simplicity or clearness. As conciseness is a more important qualification in the Library of Technology than in the Instruction Papers, an effort should be made in the preparation of the latter to introduce as few explanatory examples as is consistent with the demonstration of the text. In many cases one or two examples for practice can be made to serve the purpose of a half dozen or more, and extensive solutions including much detail and many explanatory remarks should be most care- fully written with a view to condensing without affecting its clearness. In the several instances cited above, the existence of the Library of Technology should exert a certain modifying influence in the preparation of the Instruction Papers, and while it is a question whether it should determine in any way the selection of the subjects in a Course of instruction, its influence should certainly be felt in the arrangement of those subjects. An inspection of the Library of Technology reveals the fact that certain peculiarities in the arrangement of the Instruction Papers have caused ambiguities and repetitions that are far from desirable. While it is not the intention to deal specifically with these in this article, several instances might be mentioned, which tend to show, now that the Library of Technology is an accomplished fact, where writers and editors may in the production of the Instruction Papers avoid difficulties encountered in the arrangement of the Library of Technology. An example in illustration of this is contained in the volume of the Library entitled "Sheet-Metal Pattern Drafting." In this book there is a section denoted as Architectural Pro- portion. Many of the cuts in this work and much of the text matter are taken from papers upon Architectural History, Architectural Design and Masonry construction included in the Architectural Course. It is therefore evident that a purchaser of certain volumes of the Library of Technology will have in his possession duplicate information, a condition which is opposed to conciseness. Again, consider the volumes on Marine Engineering, Steam Engines, and Steam Boilers. In these books it is found that there is much information repeated so that if the papers of which these volumes are compiled had been differently arranged to suit the require- ments of the Library of Technology, the matter contained in them might have been materially decreased. Relative to the matter of cross-references, it is observed that a certain paper on Architectural Design included in the Library contains many references to drawing plates not pub- lished with the Library. While such cross-references work no particular hardship in the Instruction Papers, they are a decided detriment to the Library of Technology, as the objections received already would indicate. 6 Presupposing that there is a tendency for some of the writers and editors to enlarge the scope of their Courses, in order to supply material in the Library of Technology, soine- thing may be said upon this score. But for commercial considerations it might be well to make many of our principal Courses most thorough, covering all of the primary as well as the secondary subjects likely to be required by one prac- ticing the industrial arts and professions. The length of a Course, however, should be governed to a certain extent by the market price that can be conveniently obtained for such a Course among the people comprising the clientage of the Schools. If the Course is very extensive, the prices must be high, in order to give adequate remuneration for the material furnished and the instructions given, when the enrolment may be correspondingly low and the cost of instruction and administration great. It might be said, also, that students lose interest in lengthy Courses and fail to appreciate the purpose of many of the subjects introduced. As the Library of Technology must, from the very nature of things, be subordinate to the Bound Volumes or Instruc- tion Papers, it does not seem that a principal or writer should be governed in the least in his selection of the subjects to be included in the Course by the requirements of the Library of Technology, though here a distinction is made between the subjects themselves and the matter included in the subject. If the Library urgently needs a subject which is not advisable to include in any Course, it would seem far better to prepare separate and distinct matter upon the particular subject than to include it in the Course already of sufficient length and adapted to its purpose. In summation of the arguments advanced relative to this subject, it is well to reiterate that the Library of Technology must be necessarily subordinate to the Bound Volumes or Instruction Papers, but that regardless of this insubordination they exert a modifying influence. This influence is felt particularly in the arrangement of the subjects in the Courses, as care in this respect will avoid repetition in the Library. Only such language and diction should be used in the Instruc- tion Papers as will be suitable for the higher requirements of 7 029 944 060 6 the reference library. Examples for practice and explanatory solutions to problems should be reduced to the smallest compass possible, consistent with a thorough demonstration of the text. All cross-references should be studiously avoided, for though they may even be an advantage in the Instruction Papers , they are a decided detriment to the Library. Such data and formulas, as are in demand, should be given in the Instruction Papers, and they should illustrate current practice. The inclination to give only one formula or rule when there are several that are favored with equal approval should not be allowed to dominate to the detriment of the Library. In general, the writer or editor should study carefully the require- ments of the Library with the end in view of making the Instruction Papers suitable for republication as a reference book, bearing in mind that as these volumes increase in scope and popularity, the burden of proof may lie with the Course of instruction. 7909 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 029 944 060 t