REPORT OF THE A. L. A. PUBLISHING BOARD It is a quarter of a century since the Publishing board came into existence, though in the words of an early chairman, Mr. W. I. Fletcher, "its existence was prefigured in the arrangements made ten years earlier for the production of the new edition of Poole's Index." In noting this twenty fifth anniversary date, the present board may fittingly record their appreciation of the great service rendered under difficult and discouraging conditions by that able and far-seeing pioneer group who constituted the initial membership. That they planned wisely and builded enduringly is attested by the fact that the work to-day practically follows the scope and direction outlined by them. Perhaps even helpful in the development of librarianship than the printed aids which their efforts supplied the workers of their generation and of those who have followed, has been the fine spirit of co-operation and united effort which has made for greatest power, and permanency of results achieved. In a record of accomplishment during the earlier period of the Publishing board, the names of Justin Winsor, W. F. Poole, Melvil Dewey, W. I. Fletcher, W. C. Lane, R. R. Bowker, S. S. Green, C. A. Cutter, J. L. Whitney and others are inseparably associated. more In 1902, Mr. Carnegie made possible by his gift of $100,000 bibliographical undertakings of great importance to the library world. In announcing the gift in his presidential address at the Magnolia conference, Dr. Billings said: "In considering the questions as to the kinds of bibliographical work the results of which would be most useful to the great majority of the public libraries of this country and as to the means of doing such work, it appears to me that it is best that it should be done under the direction of the Publishing board of this Association, which has had practical experience in this line, and will always be well informed as to the needs of such libraries. "This opinion was brought to the attention of Mr. Carnegie, with the suggestion that he should give to the American library association a special fund, the income of which should be applied to the preparation and publication of such reading lists, indexes, and other bibliographical and library aids as would be specially useful in the circulating libraries of this country. The main part of the income would be expended in employing competent persons to prepare the lists, indexes, etc., and to read proofs, The cost of paper and printing would be met by sales to the libraries. It was represented that such a gift would be wisely administered by the Publishing board of the Association, and that the results would be of great value in promoting the circulation of the best books. "In response to this suggestion a check for $100,000 was sent to me as 'a donation for the preparation and publication of reading lists, indexes, and other bibliographical and literary aids as per (your) letter of March 14.' I shall take great pleasure in turning over this money if the Association accepts it for the purposes and under the conditions stated. It is a unique gift from a unique man, who deserves our best thanks." The Board think it desirable to place on record for the information of the members of the Association a statement as to their general policy. No such statement appears to have been made for some time. The income of the Board is derived from two principal sources, the interest on the Carnegie Fund and the receipts from the sales of publications. The Board feel that under the terms of the Carnegie gift, the income should be spent for the preparation of more popular lists, and in fact by far the larger part is spent for the preparation of the A. L. A. Booklist. It is intended to sell publications at a price which will just cover the cost of printing and distribution. The price of others than the Booklist must be placed sufficiently high to pay for the cost of preparation and editing as well, but in no case is it intended to secure any considerable profit. The readjustment of the business affairs of the Association has enabled the Board to arrange a similar adjustment of its affairs. The Secretary of the Association serves as acting Treasurer of the Publishing board, and his accounts are audited by the Chairman of the Board monthly. All payments are turned over to the Treasurer of the Association at least once a month, and the accounts of the Treasurer as Treasurer of the Publishing board have been made identical in form with those of the Association. The board have adopted a definite schedule of appropriations, and have based these appropriations upon estimated income, approved by the Finance committee. Supplementing the reports of progress as to important publications in preparation, as noted by their respective editors and hereto appended, it may not be amiss at this time to call attention to certain suggested policies which seem to be vital as to future procedure. Observation of the magnitude of the task of the revision of subject headings after a long interval; of the importance to a great majority of the profession of a competent list for this purpose; of the difficulty of finding a well-equipped, experienced, practical person able and willing to take up such a piece of work as a temporary employment, forces upon the Board the opinion that the time is not far distant-if it is not already comewhen it will be necessary to add a person able to cope with this problem to the permanent staff at Headquarters. Constant development in the philosophy, sciences, arts, employments, productions and distributions of civilization involve constant changes and additions to the terminology used in the literature of these almost infinite activities. The task of collecting, ordering and connecting this vast terminology into an intelligent and intelligible scheme for practical use cannot be successfully disposed of by a mind new to the undertaking once in ten years. If the tool is to be fit and worthy for its use, it should be under constant consideration and improvement by an able, disciplined mind familiar with the task. A mind fit for this task would, moreover, be of value in aiding and strengthening other enterprises of the Board. For example, the Booklist attempts to cover far more than book selection, as it indicates classification, subject headings and author forms for its chosen books, and correct work in these matters is a severe addition to the labors of the editor. It is quite too much to expect of one human mind that it should be equal to the survey of the book out-put of each month, to choose wisely from it, and give attention to expert professional details of this kind as well, especially, when the whole task is done in a race with time. Many worthy pieces of work are offered to the Board of value to the profession, and, therefore, desirable for the Board to publish; but, almost without exception, they need editing in some particulars before it is possible to send them to the printer. A part of the salary of a new expert person could be saved by eliminating printers' bills for authors' corrections. There are also opportunities for original work in the compilation of aids which are not attacked by outside persons. So that, taken all in all, the lines of possible activity for a permanent editor would very easily occupy the time to advantage. Difficulties encountered in resuming work where dropped when the A. L. A. Catalog was issued in 1904 suggest the need for continuity of service in planning five-yearly supplements. That work was made possible then through the good offices of the New York State library and the Library of Congress. This work ought to be organized with relation to the editorial necessities of the A. L. A. Booklist. When the initial number of the Booklist was issued in the beginning of 1905, the purpose sought was to furnish to the smaller libraries a suggestive list of books for current purchases, evaluated with such authority as to inspire confidence of librarians and book committees. It was also the aim to supply information as to classification, and subject headings for cataloging the books listed. Due to the pressure from the medium sized and larger libraries for the inclusion of more books, the little leaflet has grown to considerably larger proportions. Many suggestions have come to the members of the Board for enlargement, for change of form, for change of name, for modification of character, for enlarged usefulness by appeal to the public through elimination of technical aids and inclusion of popular features of various kinds. While many of these suggestions contain merit, the members of the Board have for reasons which seem to them good, consistently maintained the title, character and form as first projected. They have borne constantly in mind the terms of the trust contained in Mr. Carnegie's deed of gift, and would deem it a violation thereof to divert the funds to finance a publication for the general public, much as they might be in sympathy with the motive behind the suggestion. More than 80 per cent of the entire edition of the Booklist is distributed through the state commissions, and goes to the small libraries. Under these circumstances, were other reasons lacking, there would be no justification for a change of the general policy outlined. New Publications-Since the last report of the Board new publications have appeared as follows: Subject index to the A. L. A. Booklist, vols. 1-6; January 1905 to June 1910. The index was published in the fall and is having a very good sale. List of editions selected for economy in bookbuying, by LeRoy Jeffers, of the order department of the New York public library. 550 Children's books; a purchase list for public libraries, compiled by Miss Harriet H. Stanley. Supplement, 1909-10, to Miss Kroeger's Guide to the study and use of reference books, compiled by Isadore G. Mudge, of the Columbia university library. This Supplement is now in the press and will probably be published before this report appears. It will contain about twenty pages. Hints to small libraries, by Mary W. Plummer, has been thoroughly revised by the author, and a new edition published by the Board, who will have charge of its sale. Reprints-During the year the following publications have been reprinted: A. L. A. Catalog rules; the second edition, revised, of the List of subject headings; Kroeger's Guide to reference books; Handbook No. 1, Essentials in library administration, by L. E. Stearns; No. 5, Binding for small libraries, suggestions by the A. L. A. Committee on bookbinding; No. 6, Mending and repair of books, by Margaret W. Brown; No. 7, U. S. Government documents in small libraries, by J. I. Wyer, Jr.; and Tract No. 10, Why do we need a public library, compiled by Chalmers Hadley. League of Library Commissions publications By arrangement with the League of library commissions, the Board at the beginning of the calendar year undertook the sale of the publications issued by this organization, including the following: Magazines for the small library, Graded list of stories for reading aloud and Anniversaries and holidays. The officers of the League have turned over to the Board their entire available stock of these publications, with the generous stipulation that all proceeds from sales shall be added to the funds of the Publishing board. Sales-Sales of most publications show an increase, gratifyingly large, over the previous year's business. This is attributive in large measure to aggressive methods of advertising, special efforts having been made by the Secretary to bring to the attention of librarians the tools of service obtainable at nominal cost. Exhibits of publications were sent to several state library associations, and 3,000 copies of printed lists of publications were distributed. Manual of library economy-Manuscript for the following chapters approved by the Editorial committee, comprising Mr. J. I. Wyer, Jr., Miss Mary W. Plummer and Mr. P. L. Windsor has been sent to the printers, and the work will probably be ready for distribution before the Pasadena conference. I. American library history, by C. K. Bolton. II. Library of Congress, by W. W. Bishop. IV. The college and university library, by J. I. Wyer, Jr. XVII. Order and accessions department, by F. F. Hopper. XXII. Reference department, by E. C. Richardson. XXVI. Bookbinding, by A. L. Bailey. These chapters will be printed as separate pamphlets until the completion of the entire work, when they will be assembled in book form. The separates will be sold at ten cents each. List of Subject headings-It is now the expectation that the end of the year will see the completion in printed form of the compilation which has been in progress for several years. Concerning her work Miss Mary J. Briggs reports: "I had hoped to be able at this time to report the manuscript for the third edition of the List of subject headings as complete. The headings, for the most part, were decided upon more than six months ago, but the necessary, connecting references have proved to be the time-consuming part of the work. I expect now that the list of headings and references will be practically completed in about three weeks from date, or a month at most. There will then remain a few subjects which I have left for further consideration, the preparation of the preface; the marking of copy for the printer, and the final checking of refer ences. The new edition will probably be about three times the size of the second edition, as, in addition to many new headings in the classes included in the former edition, the scope has been enlarged by the inclusion of the more important wars and historical events, the chief languages, literatures, and ethnic races, and a few important buildings and similar headings. Subdivisions of many of the larger subjects are also included. Geographical names are omitted, except for a few regions not having a political existence, and several countries for which historical period subdivisions are given. Country and other subheads will be included in the main alphabet instead of the appendix. In order to simplify the alphabetical arrangement, following the latest available authority, Webster's New international dictionary, I have eliminated hyphenated words as far as possible. The International omits the hyphen from many words compounded in the Century dictionary, the authority followed in former editions. It has seemed wise to follow the International, as recording the latest practice, and as being much more widely used." A. L. A. Booklist-Miss Elva L. Bascom has prepared the following report: The eight numbers of this volume that are now published (September-April) have contained 1296 titles, as follows: General literature, 828 titles; New editions, 157 titles; Government documents, 59 titles; Fiction, 135 titles; Children's books, 117 titles. The whole number represents an increase of 246 titles over the number included for the same period in volume 6. The number of volumes examined has been about 2260, 340 less than were examined for the whole of the preceding volume. Owing to an increase of subscriptions the edition was raised from 4600 to 5000 with the September number. This was, however, reduced to 4600 again with the April number, the increased rate for the bulk orders subscribed for by the state commissions having caused a material change in the size of their orders. By action of the Publishing board at their January meeting some changes were made in the price of the Booklist in quantities. Additional copies up to ten to a single address are furnished at fifty cents a year; ten or more copies, at forty cents. These rates were partly made to enable libraries wishing extra copies for clipping and mounting to obtain them at the same cost as that for which the press proofs were provided. The latter were discontinued with the March number owing to a decision of the Post office Department that they could not be mailed at second class rates. The Board voted that subscribers to these proofs should receive finished copies of the Booklist till their subscriptions expired. The former rate of $2.50 per one hundred copies of the Booklist was withdrawn since that rate no longer covers actual cost of printing. There has been no change worthy of comment in the assistance received from the University of Wisconsin faculty, individual readers or library workers. I very much regret the comparatively small amount of assistance from the latter source. The "tentative list" sent out the first of each month is faithfully checked by about fifty librarians, with occasional comments. Three large libraries-two public and one state-contribute duplicates of notes written by their staffs. The assistance from this source is, however, very slight during the months January, February and March-the busiest period in the library year. The Booklist would certainly profit from the aid of individual librarians who find time to read some of the books of the hour, or who have readers on whose judgment they can rely. The time required to write down an opinion and forward it would be slight. The claims of the Booklist to such assistance are presented whenever possible, but my range of acquaintance and opportunity is comparatively small. I would appreciate the asistance of the members of the Publishing board in securing more of this valuable co-operation. The source of the largest amount of assistance has been cut off, doubtless for several months, through the destruction by fire of the New York State library. From fifty to one hundred and fifty notes were sent to the Booklist each month from the annotation division. These were duplicates of notes written for the large "Notes file" maintained by that division for many years, which was used very extensively in preparing notes for the A. L. A. Catalog. These duplicates comprise over one half of the notes file in the Booklist office. Subject Index to Booklist-The Subject Index was completed in August 1910 and distributed to the subscribers the following month. The first annual supplement, for which the Board gave authority at their January meeting, will be printed immediately after the entries in the June number are available. The material for it is prepared from month to month, and is in constant use, in card form, in assigning subject headings. Supplement to A. L. A. Catalog-All the work preliminary to the actual selection of titles from the large number on file has been done, a provisional list of critics has been made up, and the routine established. Periodical Card Work-In the ten months since the last report, nine shipments have been printed, containing 1984 titles and 122,578 cards. These figures do not include titles that have been reprinted because of errors. This work has called for a considerable amount of correspondence, and is not yet in a satisfactory condition. It should be put on a more business-like basis, the records should be revised and rewritten, and if possible the routine simplified. The length of time between the receipt of copy and the printed cards should be greatly decreased. Since the list of periodicals indexed is under revision, no attempt has been made to do more than carry on the current work. The increased amount of work has made it necessary to relieve the Editor of the Booklist from the editing of the periodical cards, and the whole question of the issue of these cards has been placed in the hands of a special committee. No complete report can be made at this time, but it may be said that the new editor, Mr. William Stetson Merrill of the Newberry library, has already secured through this Committee authority to make the subject headings agree with those of the Library of Congress, and that correspondence has been undertaken in the hope that some agreement may be reached as to general |