Information Bureaux and Special Libraries
- Date:
- 25 September - 28 September 1926
- Reference:
- WA/HMM/CM/Sal/37/2
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Information Bureaux and Special Libraries. Source: Wellcome Collection.
39/232 page 17
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Information Bureaux and Special Libraries. Source: Wellcome Collection.
![economic information. J] should, however, like to know at what point the line is drawn, and for what reasons. Does, for example, the subject of Logic come in as one of the sciences? Does Psychology come in? If they are excluded, why are they excluded, and what of the great company of outsiders who cannot claim entry to this Palladium of science ? Dr. CHALMERS MITCHELL: The definition of science which we followed fairly closely was the one which was drawn up by an international council some years ago; it was this international council, composed of delegates from every country in the world, which originally started the “International Catalogue of Scientific Literature.’’ Obviously, if you are going to include economics as such it would be very difficult to exclude politics, to exclude education, and a very large number of other subjects. As for the definition of “ periodical,’’ here again we have had to refrain from attempting any logical classification. We have included in a separate list at the end the reports of congresses, annual, biennial or triennial: but when you have to decide whether things produced monthly or quarterly are periodicals, you are in great difficulties, because you have to remember that the bulk of these scientific periodicals are not commercial productions ; they are nearly always produced at a loss. The more prosperous societies try to bring them out monthly or quarterly, but even they have bad breaks sometimes, and a very large number of very important journals come out intermittently. Mr. FOSTER SPROXTON (British Xylonite Co. Ltd., Manningtree) : T think the part of Dr. Chalmers Mitchell’s address on which there would be the greatest difference of opinion would be that portion regarding the ad- visability of having all the periodicals under one roof. Most of us when we want to consult, say, a chemical journal, would prefer to go to the Chemical Society, and we should lke to feel sure that all the journals containing chemical information which are in the “‘ List’ of periodicals would be found in the library of the Chemical Society. Then I think the size of the building would be enormous. I do not know whether it would be fair to say that the average shelf space for a periodical would be 6 inches; but 24,000 would mean 12,000 feet, which is over two miles of shelf room every year. Dr. CHALMERS MITCHELL: I do not think that is quite conclusive criticism. In the library of the Zoological Society we have something lke 50,000 books, and the library is not nearly so big as this hall. My idea was that the periodicals would be kept only for two years, and certainly not that this library should displace any of the specialised libraries hke that of the Chemical Society and our own, where readers go to read on special sub- jects, but that this should really be the place where abstracters and indexers could always be at work and could always find the material available. Readers would not go to this library, but to the specialised lbraries. Mr. G. S. DUNCAN, M.A.; B.Sc., F.C.I.S. (Society of Glass Technology Shefheld) (Communicated): The value of the information contained in Volume I. of the “‘ World List ’’ would have been enhanced by some details as to the year of foundation and size of each periodical mentioned. This would not have needed much additional space. It would also have been very useful if brief translations had been added of the titles of periodicals printed in languages other than, say, English, French and German. At the Conference, Dr. Chalmers Mitchell, in reply to my query, was unable to say offhand how many of the periodicals cited in the ‘ World List’? were not now published. Possibly some indication as to defunct publications may be made in the Second Volume.](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b33161628_0039.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
