A Public Documents Round Table was held on July 1, Mr. George S.
Godard, State librarian of Connecticut, in the chair. Miss Elizabeth M.
Smith of New York state library was appointed secretary.
The preliminary report of the Committee on public documents already
printed was read, in order to bring briefly before the session the
status of the bills now before Congress relating to the printing,
binding and distribution of public documents.
The chairman reported his efforts to bring to the conference the
Superintendent of Documents, Mr. August Donath, to present in person a
paper on the new printing bill. A failure of Congress to provide in the
appropriations for traveling expenses for this and similar purposes,
made this impossible. The chairman, Mr. Godard, reported that he had
laid before the Senate Committee on appropriations the advisability
of appropriating funds to pay expenses of the Superintendent of
Documents, or some other competent official, while trying to get into
closer relations with the depository and other document libraries.
The secretary read a letter from the clerk of the Committee on
appropriations reporting that Mr. Godard's letter would be called to
the attention of the committee at the proper time. The following letter
from Mr. Donath on the subject of public documents, dealing especially
with the new printing bill, was read by Mr. Geo. N. Cheney of the Court
of Appeals library, Syracuse, N. Y.
Office of Superintendent of Documents,
Washington June 8, 1912.
My dear Mr. Godard:
Complying with your kind invitation to send to your committee a paper
dealing with the subject of public documents from a standpoint of
interest mutual to your association and to this office, I herewith
submit a few words covering the subject as briefly as its intelligent
discussion will permit. I deem it a privilege to be able to address
those to whom this is a live subject, and regret all the more that
Congress does not seem inclined to endorse recommendations, repeatedly
made, that would bring the members of your association and the official
in charge of this branch of the public service into more intimate
intercourse. This would surely be in the interest of better service on
the part of this office and a clearer interchange of expert opinion
that could not be otherwise than beneficial to the cause which the law
creating our connection was intended to serve.
The idea underlying the legislation that created "designated depository
libraries" was undoubtedly the intent to create five or six hundred
places throughout this broad land where the history of the country,
as expressed in the printed page, should be accessible to the public.
A very good intention, and one very largely impractical. When it
is remembered that the yearly output of public documents is nearly
a thousand, and that a steadily increasing amount of shelf room is
required to make all these accessible, even those who only have a
superficial acquaintance with the subject will see that to live up to
the requirement which accompanies the designation is beyond the ability
of perhaps the major number of the libraries now regularly supplied.
Only in the larger cities and the most prosperous communities are
there libraries able to cope with this "contract." Added to this cause
for failure to carry out the intent of thus creating permanent places
accessible to the student of the history of his country has been the
right of a Senator or Representative to change the designation at the
beginning of a Congress, thus leaving the discarded institution with
a partial supply of public documents, and starting the new selection
with a void that is never filled. Poor business, surely. And it is
this condition that the official now in charge of the Public Documents
Division has worked very hard to have amended.
I am glad to be able to state that light seems to have broken on this
matter. After repeated searching inquiries on the part of the Printing
Investigation Commission the true situation seems to be understood,
and the measure popularly known as the New Printing Bill, which deals
with the whole subject of the public printing, promises to establish a
connection between the libraries of the land and this office that shall
be of more benefit to the public and at much less expense than the
operation of the law of January 12, 1895, permitted. At present writing
this bill has passed the Senate, has been favorably reported, with
amendments, to the House, and appears to be in shape for speedy final
action. It contains many provisions that make for economy in the public
printing, but I will only mention what is of more immediate interest to
the libraries of the country.
To begin with, the law will permit selection, at stated intervals, of
the class of publications that a designated library is able or desirous
to handle. What a relief that will be can best be appreciated by the
officials in charge of the smaller libraries. It will serve them, and
it will likewise save money to the Government. The volume of literature
sent out from here that later is returned can only be realized from
personal observation. My personal acquaintance with it began on the day
I took charge of this office. There were mountains of it, and in a few
months, so the Public Printer informed me, he desired to lay before
the Committee on Printing his report recommending how much of the
accumulation seemed worth returning into stock, and how much should be
sold as waste paper. However, the subject has become so familiar to the
law-making body that remedial action is now apparently in sight.
The bill likewise assures that permanency to a designated library
without which the original intent, above fully stated, is defeated.
Once designated, no change in the political representation in Congress
from that particular locality will affect the library's status. Thus
the two causes that have operated to nullify the intent to create
permanent depositories of the country's history will be removed.
And while the question of selection may at first seem somewhat of a
problem to many librarians, I feel confident that this matter will
soon work smoothly and satisfactorily. I should not forget to mention
that besides the privilege of thus curtailing their receipts from this
office, libraries may also, in certain cases, receive duplicates that
they find desirable.
Among other provisions of the new bill that will appeal to your
committee I may mention that it goes a long distance in carrying out
the slogan, "one edition for one book," by taking out of the numbered
Congressional series all annual and serial publications and those of
which a Departmental edition has been printed, the only exception being
the Messages of the Presidents and the Annual Reports of the heads of
the nine Executive Departments. This elimination of document numbers
will materially reduce the size of what is commonly known as the "sheep
set," and I also expect that it will enable a speedier delivery of this
class of publications, besides permitting a return to the old custom of
placing the serial number on each volume.
I believe the foregoing covers in as condensed a form as the subject
admits the matters just now of greatest interest in the discussion of
the subject of public documents. I need not assure you, and through you
your associates, of the earnest desire on the part of this office to
co-operate to the fullest possible extent with the good work that the
libraries of the country are doing in advancing the intelligence of a
people whose will is the foundation of our Government. The greatest
menace to a government of the people is ignorance, and no agency is
superior to the libraries of the land in combating this foe of free
institutions.
In the hope that these remarks will be kindly received, and assuring
you of my personal regard, I have the honor to be,
Very respectfully,
AUGUST DONATH,
Superintendent of Documents.
GEO. S. GODARD, Esq., Chairman,
Committee on Public Documents,
American Library Association.
Before discussion was opened, the secretary of the meeting read a
courteous letter from Hon. Reed Smoot, Chairman of the Senate Committee
on Printing, expressing regret at his inability to deliver at the
Conference an address on the general topic of printing, binding
and distribution of Government publications, and referring with
appreciation to the intention of the A. L. A. Committee to deliver
to him a concise report of the suggestions made by the librarians
interested in Government publications. Discussions followed.
Mr. Henry J. Carr, a former president of the A. L. A. and a veteran
document librarian, advocated concentrating the efforts of the
association on getting the bill through in its present form, on the
ground that it was now so nearly satisfactory, and had already been so
long in preparation, that further delay would be unfortunate.
Mr. J. D. Thompson, formerly chief of the Department of Documents in
the Library of Congress, now librarian of the Columbia University Law
library, introduced the question of a limited distribution of bills.
The following suggestions were made:
By Mr. Thompson (1) that public and private bills form separate
numbered series, the former to be distributed to libraries requesting,
or, if necessary, subscribing through the Superintendent of Documents,
or (2) that the text of any bill under consideration should be included
in the printed report on the same.
By Mr. Thorvald Solberg, United States Registrar of Copyrights, that
every bill which has passed one house should be printed in a permanent
form convenient for library use.
By Mr. Clement W. Andrews, librarian of the John Crerar library of
Chicago, that bills not favorably acted upon should also be included in
any scheme to be suggested; that better provision be at the same time
recommended for supplying reports of hearings to interested libraries.
By Mr. William R. Reinick, chief of the Public Documents Department of
the Philadelphia Free library, in favor of Mr. Thompson's suggestion
of separate series for public and private bills, and of better
distribution of reports of hearings.
By Mr. Herbert S. Hirshberg, reference librarian, Cleveland public
library, that bills be printed in the Congressional Record.
By Miss Edith E. Clarke, now chief cataloger in the library of
Syracuse university and formerly on the staff of the Superintendent
of Documents, that the Superintendent of Documents be given a certain
specified number of copies of bills to be distributed to libraries on
request.
By Mr. R. R. Bowker, editor and publisher of the Publishers' weekly
and the Library journal, that bills favorably reported be included in
Committee reports; that reports of hearings be included in the document
series; that the Superintendent of Documents be given the power to
distribute, on request, copies of individual bills.
By Mr. Solberg, that texts of bills be included in committee reports
whether reported favorably or not.
In conclusion the following resolution was introduced by Mr. Thompson:
RESOLVED, that the Committee on Public Documents recommend to the
proper Congressional authorities that there be appended to each
Committee report on a public bill, when printed (1) the text of
the bill and (2) the testimony taken if stenographically reported
and not confidential.
This resolution was adopted.
Further suggestions regarding other provisions of the printing bill
were made as follows:
By Mr. Thompson: That unbound numbered documents be distributed in
advance of the bound volumes, and that librarians be given option as to
the form they prefer.
By Mr. Andrews: That some provision be introduced which should place in
the hands of some one higher in authority than the blanket clerk, the
power to place documents in the confidential non-distributable class
and thus keep out of that class documents of general library interest
which are not confidential.
The chairman then introduced the subject of daily lists of documents,
with a suggestion that lists be prepared in the Senate and Assembly
Document Room and printed daily in the Congressional Record, of all
documents received the day previous in the document rooms. Such a
list should meet with favor from Congress because prompt notice of
publication would be valuable to Congressmen as well as to libraries.
Doubts of its practicability were raised by Mr. Solberg and Mr.
Andrews. The latter referred to the difficulty rising from the fact
that the Congressional Record was published only during the sessions,
and suggested that the public printer furnish the lists. Miss Laura A.
Thompson considered the difficulty raised by Mr. Andrews a small one
because fewer documents and documents of less immediate interest were
issued when Congress was not in session.
Miss Clarke stated her opinion that the Superintendent of Documents
should issue the list as a daily bulletin. Mr. Ernest Bruncken of the
office of the United States Register of Copyrights, by letter advocated
this plan. Mr. Godard stated that the Superintendent of Documents was
unwilling to undertake it. Mr. Thompson stated that the necessity of
sending it out by mail daily made it impracticable. It was decided to
take no action on this particular matter. The following resolution,
however, was moved by Miss Clarke and carried:
WHEREAS: The reading public of the United States are looking
more and more to the libraries and especially to the depository
libraries, to supply to them and advise them about all the
publications of the United States Government, and
WHEREAS: The librarians must of necessity largely depend for
information as to these publications, upon the catalogs and
bibliographical aids issued by the office of the Superintendent of
Documents, and
WHEREAS: Promptness in the printing of these bibliographical
aids is most essential to the timely use of current government
material. Therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the librarians of the American Library Association
assembled at Ottawa, respectfully urge the Superintendent of
Documents to use all reasonable haste in the compilation, printing
and distribution to libraries, of the Monthly Catalog of United
States Public Documents and of the Document Catalog, so that
they may be available in libraries as soon as possible after the
periods covered by the same.
Mr. James I. Wyer, Jr., director of the New York state library,
Albany, called attention to the withdrawal of free distribution of the
specifications and drawings of United States patents, and moved the
following resolution, which was carried:
RESOLVED: That the librarians of the for a limited free
distribution of the bound volumes (or less desirable, the unbound
volumes) of the Specifications and Drawings of the United States
Patents, the Superintendent of Documents, perhaps, to designate or
determine such libraries upon presentation of good reasons.
Mr. Charles H. Hastings, chief of the card section in the Library of
Congress, expressed regret at the impossibility of printing on Library
of Congress printed cards the volume numbers of the documents in the
Congressional series, since the documents were not assigned to volumes
until some time after publication.
The following resolution, proposed by Mr. Thompson, was adopted;
RESOLVED: That the Committee on Public Documents recommend that
arrangements be made at the Government Printing office for the
assignment of bulletin or document numbers at a later stage than
at present, in order that they may correspond more nearly with the
order of publication, and that wherever possible, documents be
assigned to their volumes in the Congressional series at the time
of publication in order that the volume numbers may be used in
cataloging.
Mr. Solberg called attention to the unsatisfactory method of numbering
Treasury decisions and decisions of the Attorney General.
Attention was called to the House amendment making centralization
of distributors in the office of the Superintendent of Documents
obligatory to all departments. A similar provision was stricken out of
the Senate appropriation bill.
Mr. Thompson and Mr. Solberg opposed obligatory centralization and
suggested that the association register with the Senate Committee
on Printing its disapproval on the grounds both of economy and of
promptness of service.
Mr. Bowker expressed a hope that the association would strongly endorse
the attempt now being made to establish a legislative reference
department at the national capital.
Mr. Wyer moved that the Committee on Public Documents send a resolution
of thanks to the Senate and House Committees on Printing and to the
Superintendent of Documents, for their uniform courtesy and careful
consideration of the several suggestions made.
This motion was carried. The meeting then adjourned.