San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Special Libraries, 1939 Special Libraries, 1930s 4-1-1939 Special Libraries, April 1939 Special Libraries Association Follow this and additional works at: http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1939 Part of the Cataloging and Metadata Commons, Collection Development and Management Commons, Information Literacy Commons, and the Scholarly Communication Commons Recommended Citation Special Libraries Association, "Special Libraries, April 1939" (1939). Special Libraries, 1939. Book 4. http://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/sla_sl_1939/4 This Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Special Libraries, 1930s at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Special Libraries, 1939 by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Official Organ of the Specral Libraries Association Special Libraries "Putting Knowledge to Work" Tools for Library Cooperation in the United States (To be Continued) Linda H. Morley The Place of the Museum Library . Lee Ash, Jr. Financial Group Memorabilia ..Alta B. ClafEin Professional School and Departmental Libraries (To be Continued) Walter Hausdorfer An Advertisement File for Marketing Students . Marcella Hasselberg Library Magazine Articles of Interest. S. Richard Giovine Tentative Conference Program ........... Board Meeting Notes .............. S.L.A. Is the Entire Membership ..Alma C. Mitchill Making Up the Magazine ...Marian C. Manley IV. Minor Complications in the Editor's Life The Nominating Committee Report .......... Notice of Annual Meeting ............. News Notes ................. Letters to the Editor . ........ A Move for Community understanding - S. Richard Giovine; Publications Available - Emerson Ross; S.L.A. Student Loan Fund - Rose Boots; One more "Letter to the Editor'' - Char- lotte N. Taylor; Library of Congress "Refer-from" References - Esther A. Smith; Glossary on Binding - Louis N. Feipel; Soil Conservation Literature - Mildred Benton; Cooperation for Special Libraries - Elizabeth C. Madden; Appeal to Members - Laura A. Woodward. Publications of Special Interest ........... Indexed in Industrial Arts Index and Public Affairs Information Service APRIL 1939 VOLUME 30 NUMBER 4 SPECIAL LIBRARIES MARIANC. MANLEY,Editor Vol. 30, No. 4 April, 1939 Tools for Library Cooperation in the United States * By Linda H. Morhy, Librarian Industrial Relations Counselors, Inc., New York HIS symposium, participated in by coiiperation between libraries and other Trepresentatives of different countries organizations concerned in research and and presenting reports on the tools for co- in the distribution of knowledge. operation within the several countries, is a The information on hand concerning welcome indication of the trend toward a directories and union lists is not the result world viewpoint in intellectual activities of an exhaustive search and is doubtless and of the forward-looking policies of not complete even for the period from such organizations as the Association of 1900 to 1937, but limited as it is, it never- Special Libraries and Information Bu- theless provides proof that approximately reaux and of the International Federation fifty-five library directories, twenty-six of for Documentation. It is thought that a which are revised editions, and over a survey of the tools for library coliperation hundred union lists and catalogs of vary- evolved or projected in the United States ing kinds, have been compiled and made since the beginning of the present cen- available to librarians during these years. tury would present the best picture of the These figures exclude international and status and trend of facilities for coijpera- other directories of educational institu- tion in this country and that the mem- tions that list some libraries. bers of this conference are interested pri- marily in obtaining such a broad overview rather than a knowledge of specific publi- There are three library directories cov- cations or projects, however important ering the United States as a whole. One of some of these may be individually. the first projects of the official journal of The obvious tools specifically designed the Special Libraries Association, organ- for coijperation between libraries are the ized in 1909, was the compilation of a Di- several kinds of directories of libraries recfory of Special Librariesll which in- and special collections, union lists and cat- cluded a subject index to the 108 special alogs indicating the holdings of groups of libraries listed. The first separate direc- libraries, and a few other guides to library tory was not published until 1921. A sec- resources. In addition there aredirectories ond edition appeared in 1925, and the and other handbooks to sources of special- latest one in 1935. This latest directory,' ized information which serve as tools of I SPBCULLIBMPIES. VoI. I, pp. 27-32, 1910. *Rpared for the hrociatlon of Spclal Llbrarlu and fi Speclol Llbrarien Ammlntlon, SPrld Librnrirr Diwday InformatLon Bureaux of Grmt Britain. September. 1938. oj lhr Unilul Skila and Cannda. New York. 1935. 108 SPECIAL LIBRARIES Vol. 30, No. 4 which covers nearly 1,500 libraries, is ar- Local directories have been sponsored ranged geographically in order to facili- by at least eight chapters of S.L.A. and tate local cooperation between libraries, seventeen other local professional asso- and a detailed index provides an ap- ciations. In all, at least eight states and proach through the 3,700 subjects which eight of the largest cities have separate these libraries cited as of importance in directories to their library resources. The their collections. lists sponsored by the S.L.A. chapters, The American Library Directory is and several of the others, give detailed probably the one best known to the information with respect to subject spe- library profession as a whole. First issued cialization of both s~eciallibraries and in 1923, it has appeared in four editions special collections. The recognized value and a fifth is now in process. The present of such guides as these is evidenced by edition lists nearly 10,000 public, college the fact that as manv as five editions and university, reference, governmental have been compiled for one city, and that and institutional libraries and their spe- six other revisions were published be- cial collections, with some statistical tween 1920 and 1937. In many special data for most of these. As a guide to libraries the local library directory is sources of specialized material it is not re~ortedto be one of the most valued as valuable as the S@ecial Libraries Direc- reference tools and is kept on the desk of tory4 because it includes few s~ecial the librarian for frequent consultation. libraries and its subject index covers Special types of libraries have been only collections of outstanding impor- listed in many library periodicals and tance. The forthcoming edition is to have other professional journals as well as in the same coverage. books on library and research methods in The United States Office of Education particular subject fields, and a few lists began the publication of its Statistics of have been separately published, mostly Public, Society, and School Libraries in in mimeographed form. Such lists are 1875, although a list of libraries which available, among others, for: chemistry, probably constitutes one of the earliest business, law, agriculture, history, medi- library directories, had appeared in its cine, music, insurance, public adminis- annual report ' as early as 1870. Issued at tration, municipal reference, state and intervals of from three to ten years from legislative reference libraries. It is in- 1900 to date, this compilation is valuable teresting to note also that in some re- from the point of view of library coopera- cently published directories of organiza- tion primarily for statistics indicating tions in certain fields, such as public ad- the size of libraries and those that lend ministration, science, etc., one of the material for use outside of the building. items of information given for each or- There are two other national direc- ganization listed concerns the library and tories that list special libraries and its resources. Where such organization special collections, but no recent editions directories have a detailed subject index of these have been published. they serve as guides to libraries in spe- cialized fields and also afford a means of New York: Bowker, 1935. 4 09. at. discovering libraries very rich in material 'Washington. D. C.: Government Prlnunn Office. 09.crt. within their particular fields of interest 'W D. Johnston and I. G. Mudgc, SPrcbl Cdkclious in but not listed in the librarv directories be- L~brariesin the United States. Washington, D. C.: Govern- ment Pnntlnn Office. 1912 (Unfted States Bureau of Educa- cause they are not fully organized or un- tion Dulletin. 1912. No. 23). der the direction of a librarian. E. C. Richardson, An Index Direclay lo Specrd Cdlrc- lums in Nmrh American Libmrirr. Yardley. Pa.. 1927. When the need to discover libraries and April, 1939 SPECIAL LIBRARIES 109 collections in very specific fields occasions with " Regional Union Catalogs" having intensive search, Library Literature and author cards for all important books in other bibliographies act as tools of coop- the libraries of each region in about ten eration in directing one to extended de- sections of the country. No countrywide scriptions of individual libraries that may plan such as exists in Great Britain has as yield positive or contributing evidence of yet evolved, but a survey of library re- the libraries that will be of greatest serv- sources in thirteen Southern states g has ice on the particular problem. just been completed. This is the only study of its kind but it will doubtless be followed by similar surveys for other sec- A survey of the literature of this sub- tions of the country. Such surveys are ject reveals more than one hundred union desirable in advance of regional planning lists or catalogs compiled or in process on a national scale for a country as large since the turn of the present century.