_Dr. H Carrington Bolton._
_University Club, New York, N.Y._:
DEAR SIR--In response to your request I take pleasure in
giving you the following information regarding the past
accomplishments and plans for the future of the Scientific
Library in the matter of technological indexing.
The work of indexing periodicals has been carried on in the
library for some years in a somewhat desultory fashion, taking
up one journal after another, the object being, apparently, more
to supply clerks with work than the pursuance of any well
defined plan. However, one important work has been substantially
completed, viz., a general index to the whole set of the
SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN and SUPPLEMENT from 1846 to date.
It is unnecessary for me to point out to you the importance of
this work, embracing a collection which has held the leading
place in the line of general information on invention and
progress, the labor of compiling which has been so formidable
that no movement in that direction has been attempted by the
publishers except in regard to the SUPPLEMENT only, and that
very imperfectly. This index embraces now 184,600 cards, not
punched, and at present stored in shallow drawers and fastened
by rubber bands, and of course they are at present unavailable
for use. There is little prospect of printing this index, and
I have been endeavoring for some time to throw the index open
to the public by punching the cards and fastening them with
guard rods, but as yet have made no perceptible impression
upon the authorities, although the expense of preparation
would be only about $70.
There has also been completed an index to the English journal
_Engineering_, comprising 84,000 cards, from the beginning to
date.
An index to Dingler's _Polytechnisches Journal_ was also
commenced as long ago as 1878, carried on for six or seven
years and then dropped. I hope, however, at no remote date, to
bring this forward to the present time.
On taking charge of the library I was at once impressed with
the immense value of the periodical literature on our shelves
and the great importance of making it more readily accessible,
and have had in contemplation for some time the beginning of a
card index to all our periodicals on the same general plan as
that of Rieth's Repertorium. I have, however, been unable to
obtain sufficient force to cover the whole ground, but have
selected about one hundred and fifty journals, notably those
upon the subjects of chemistry, electricity and engineering,
both in English and foreign languages, the indexing of which
has been in progress since the first of January. This number
includes substantially all the valuable material in our
possession in the English language, not only journals, but
transactions of societies, all the electrical journals and
nearly all the chemical in foreign languages. This index will
be kept open to the public as soon as sufficient material has
accumulated. In general plan it will be alphabetical,
following nearly the arrangement of the periodical portion of
the surgeon general's catalogue. I shall depart from the
strictly alphabetical plan sufficiently to group under such
important subjects as chemistry, electricity, engineering,
railroads, etc., all the subdivisions of the art, so that the
electrical investigator, for instance, will not be obliged to
travel from one end of the alphabet to the other to find the
divisions of generators, conductors, dynamos, telephones,
telegraphs, etc., and in the grouping of the classes of
applied science the office classification of inventions will,
as a rule, be adhered to, the subdivisions being, of course,
arranged in alphabetical order under their general head and
the title of the several articles also arranged alphabetically
by authors or principal words.
With many thanks for the kind interest and valuable
information afforded me, I remain, very truly yours,
HOWARD L. PRINCE,
Librarian Scientific Library.
The committee much prefers to record completed work than to mention
projects, as the latter sometimes fail. It is satisfactory, however,
to announce that the indefatigable indexer, Dr. Alfred Tuckerman, is
engaged on an extensive Bibliography of Mineral Waters. The chairman
of the committee expects to complete the MS. of a Select Bibliography
of Chemistry during the year, visiting the chief libraries of Europe
for the purpose this summer.
H. CARRINGTON BOLTON, Chairman.
F.W. CLARKE,
ALBERT R. LEEDS,
ALEXIS A. JULIEN,
JOHN W. LANGLEY,
ALBERT B. PRESCOTT.
[Dr. Alfred Tuckerman was added to the committee at the Washington
meeting to fill a vacancy.]
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