College and Research Libraries Regional Library' Centers Tomorrow: A Symposium · I N THE January 1947 issue of College and Research Libraries a group of papers con-sidered the current state of regional library centers in the United States. The follow- ing papers, prepared for the Buffalo Conference~ were abridged and edited by John Van- Male, assistant director of libraries, University of Denver. Eugene H. Wilson, director of libraries, University of Colorado, summarized the four papers. Photocopy Service in the Development of a Bibliographic Center The establishment and operation of a bib- liographic center can be greatly facilitated by good photocopy service. Our experience in the Pacific Northwest indicates that good copying facilities are an essential part of a bibliographic center-almost as essential, in fact, as a union catalog. Establishment At the very beginning, we made use of the photostat to copy the charts and maps ac- companying our Memorandum to the Car- negie Corporation on behalf of a foundation grant. When planning for the union catalog, var- ious methods of copying cards were con- sidered. First we ruled out the suggestion that all cards be typed, for such a procedure would be cumbersome, slow, and subject to error. We next eliminated the proposal that the cards be Dexigraphed. This method obviates typographical errors but is expensive and produces an unsatisfactory product. In 1940 when our project first got under way there was no simple, speedy equipment which would enlarge microfilm negatives to cards of normal size. Another possibility was the use of microfilm in combination with a microfilm reader involving the typing of cards from a projected image. This method was subject to the normal . human equation of error plus errors involved in deciphering indistinct im- ages resulting from poor copy. After careful investigation we 2.dopted the use of Duophoto contact printers with re- flex paper. The main entries of the catalogs of the contributing libraries were thus photo- JULYJ 1947 printed. The Duophoto machine is a modi- fied print box, using extra strong lights, a filter, and an automatic timing switch. The reproduction of cards is done by contact of the cards and the sensitized paper. Thirteen cards can be printed at one time to produce one negative sheet. The exposed paper is then developed. The next step is the com- parison of these negatives with the master file. For this purpose our operator devised a viewing box which simplified the reading of negatives. After reading the main entry card on the negative, the worker looks in the mas- ter file for a duplicate entry. If he finds one he stamps the master card with a symbol which represents the library whose file he is checking. Entries not found in the catalog are so marked and positives are later printed from those negatives only. Positive cards when printed are interfiled in the catalog and become a part of the master file. We found this method speedy, economical, and 100 per cent accurate. If we were con- sidering another huge copying job, however, we would investigate the possibilities of mi- . crofilm and filmstat enlargements, as we un- derstand microfilm cameras have been greatly improved during the past few years. After the .initial assembling of a union cata- log there are apt to be additional libraries wishing to be included. It is a simple proce- dure· to incorporate their holdings by using some photocopy method. Odd bunches of cards come in from contributing libraries and it is sometimes necessary that the&e be returned promptly. By copying them photographically they can be rushed back by return mail. The 243 I ' photoduplication of cards for other special collections in the bibliographic center can be done speedily and accurately. It is possible for the center to pull out cards for short bib- liographies (marking the place of withdrawal by inserts) and have them photographed rather than typed. Operation A bibliographic center is an agency set up for all kinds of cooperative library work. As yet, many people regard the center as little more than a huge union catalog constructed as a basis for interlibrary loans. Interlibrary loans are indeed important and they have done a great deal to equalize opportunity. The actual ownership of books is not impera- tive if these books can be made available to those who can profit by them. The chief furict.ion of librarianship is to organize knowl- edge and to encourage its use. Photography has become one of the chief aids in tht; diffu- sion of knowledge. Our photographic service has done a great deal to supplement interlibrary loans. During the war we had frequent long-distance calls from engineers and research workers at the Hanford project requesting articles from journals and other publications. Usually these were copied by film or photostat and sent out by return mail so that our peaceful labora- tory had its small part .in atomic warfare. The scientists and engineers preferred copies to the originals because they could thus keep the information as long as wished and did not have to send it back to some library at the end of a week or two. A collection of per- tinent materials was thus built up right at the factory. Shortly after Pearl Harbor both the Navy and the Boeing Aircraft Company drew heav- ily on the University of Washington photo- graphic staff as to both time and knowledge. Our staff was used on stopgap microfilming and the training of personnel until these or- ganizations could secure technicians of their own. This service, supplied just as the bib- liographic center was being organized, greatly raised our prestige among the scientists of the region. The success of much of our work was due to the proximity of the photographic laboratory to the bibliographic center. One example may be cited: our department of fisheries and our hydraulics department were doi~g important research for the International Fisheries Commission. This was completed too late to persuade any commercial firm to make photographic copies of their charts to in- clude in the report which had to be submitted to a Congressional committee .in Washington and to the Canadian Parliament. By doing a night-and-day job we were able to get out the work in time. The result of these reports was the appropriation of four million dollars for the building of fish ladders at Hell's Gate in the Fraser River to save the important salmon industry. One of our orders was the duplication of Harvard's Gray Herbarium Index, now for the most part out of print. By use of the Duophoto we made negatives of some 68o,ooo cards. Positives will be prepared as soon as card stock can be secured. Most of the work is done for patrons within the limits of the Pacific Northwest, but we have occasional orders from various parts of the United States. For example, we furnished microfilm copies of early American period.icals for the University of Missouri Library to the extent of some $450. We have aided in completing a number of serials and reference books for libraries both within and without the Pacific Northwest. One of the most important projects of the Pacific Northwest Bibliographic Center re- lates to a division of responsibility for library book resources. In this connection the uni- versity library is making a collection of micro- film records for the Pacific Northwest. Except where copyright laws forbid, the films are available for other libraries at the cost of reproduction. The advantage 0f this , ar- rangement is shown in the case of "Books Printed in English before 16oo." We have paid Edwards Brothers $500 per year for mi- crofilm copies of these publications. The higher educational institutions in the state of Oregon have decided not to subscr.ibe to the series but instead to secure reels on inter- · library loan through the center or film copies of the particular portions needed. Here is a tidy saving for Oregon amounting to date to $4500. The filming of certain newspapers published within the Pacific Northwest has often been requested. The new Recordak oscillating newspaper camera has just been installed, and it is our hope in the near future 244 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES to begin a cooperative plan of micro-filming newspapers for libraries of the P.N.B.C. In closing this informal paper, I wish only to express my belief that the proponents of new bibliographic centers should well consider the question of location. Our experience would indicate that it is of great importance to have close at hand and if possible within the same building as the bibliographic center up- to-date facilities for the use of photography. -Charles W. Smith, librarian, University of Washington. Future Bibliographic Centers The major portion of this discussion will in- . evitably be concerned with the regional union catalog rather than w~th the bibliographic center, not because the .caption above is a mis- nomer, but because the union catalog is basic to the conception of a true bibliographic cen- ter. The union catalog can exist separately from a bibliographic center. Most of them do, .in fact, but the bibliographic center, in the broad and important sense signified by those at Philadelphia, Denver, and Seattle, cannot exist without the regional union catalog. Definition of the word "region' is not per- tinent to a discussion of union catalogs, for it may be a city, a county, a state, several states, or a combination of all or portions of any of these. But "regional union .catalog" is a fairly restricted concept which implies that all of the cataloged holdings of all the libraries in the region are included in the catalog. "Cataloged holdings" is a loophole through which many library mater.ials slip from the grasp of th~ union catalog, partly because of cataloging arrears, partly b~cause of specialized materials which do not lend themselves to identification through a familiar and reasonably universal main entry. The regional union catalog-and the biblio- graphiC center it supports-is here considered as an entity in itself, with no reference to other regional catalogs or to the National Union Catalog in Washington. The regional catalog, if .it is to be the supremely effective instrument it can be, must look first to its own region for support, for guidance, and for op- portunities to develop the many useful and in- dispensable services it, and it alone, can per- form. Its usefulness as a tool for locating needed books within the region is obviously the man- ner in which it is most used and is the least important. Too much stress on location serv- ice leads to statements such as: JULYj 1947 Except for local use, the writer cannot see the reason - for union catalogs, outside of the Library of Congress, in the regions east of the Mississippi. An air-mail letter can reach the Library of Congress in twenty-four hours. We can obtain information as to the location of a book more satisfactorily from the National Union Catalog of the Library of Congress than from any other source. Why write a center in Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati, or even Phil- adelphia, when more information can be ob- tained from the Library of Congress than from any of these cities? For the benefit of libraries in the immediate neighborhood of Chicago, a union catalog at Chicago might be of assistance, although it would be expensive. For most librarians, the union catalog of the Library of Congress will be the final recourse no matter what other union catalogs may be set up.1 Pat and easy answers can eadily be made. Books do not travel by airmail, for example, but the fundamental harm to the union cata- log idea lies in the fact that the remarks ignore the spirit of the regional concept, ignore the fact that the union catalog and the biblio- graphic center are primarily concerned with the development of library resources within their region, with making the regi~n as self- sufficient in its book needs as possible-before appealing to the National Union Catalog and the libraries it represents for help. More important than its location service is the union catalog's usefulness in showing the need for specialization agreements and in per- forming the necessary and time-consuming work involved in placing them into effect. Surveys of resources, conducted without the benefit of a union catalog, are useful only in outlining the broader, more obvious areas for possible specialization. Specific and continu- ing research in much narrower fields by the union catalog will reveal many smaller, 1 Brown, Charles H. "Union Catalogs. and .Problems of Collecting." College and Research L~branes 6:417, September ·x945, pt. 2. 245 though just as significant areas, where special- ization is .important and necessary to the full and proper development of library resources in the region. Once the specialization agreements are in effect, the union catalog retains its usefulness in maintaining them. Librarians who have given up responsibility and perhaps important collections in certain fields to other librarians, will want to be sure that collections in those fields are being properly augmented, may want to suggest titles for purchase, or may even purchase them if the need seems urgent. Only through the union catalog can such maintenance be accomplished with the least amount of effort and with reasonable effective- ness. Even apart from specific specialization agreements, the union catalog may be used to prevent excessive and expensive duplication of library materials in its region. Library growth is becoming a serious problem, even if it is not proceeding as rapidly as Fremont Rider would have us believe. Greater selec- tivity in book selection will soon be forced on many librarians by their sheer inability to provide shelf space as fast as they are able to buy books. Such selectivity will be much easier to administer and justify if the librarian can easily and quickly determine that titles he is considering for purchase are already in the region and easily available to him. Librarians in regions blessed with union catalogs will one day consider the checking of book orders with the union catalog a necessary part of their order-searching routine. From there it is but a step to centralized acquisition and cen- tralized cataloging--.ideas which are admit- tedly long on merit and short on effective execution. Discarding Libraries, being crowded for shelf space, face an ever-increasing problem of discarding books which are no longer needed. But ex- perience with storage libraries has shown that it is extremely d.ifficult for the librarian to de- cide which books are little used, seldom used, or never used, and it is little wonder that he shrinks from discarding the "never-used" book which may be called for tomorrow. The regional union catalog can help him here, too. A routine check of all titles · he con- siders discarding with the union catalog will reveal those which are held by other li- braries in the region and may therefore be safely discarded. "Last copies in the region" may then be retained on the shelves or of- fered to other libraries in the region which may have greater need for them. Presently existing regional union catalogs which are reasonably capable of performing the services outlined above include those at Atlanta, Cleveland, Columbus, Denver, Lin- coln, Montpelier, Nashville, Philadelphia, Providence, Salem, and Seattle. Those at Denver, Philadelphia, and Seattle have de- veloped their services to become bibliographic centers and are so known .in name also. None of them have undertaken extensive and de- tailed study of their catalogs toward the d.iscovery of likely areas of specialization within their regions. Such studies should be undertaken at once by all of the union cata- logs as a preliminary step to much more in- tensive development of library resources .in the regions they serve. The specific location of other union catalogs to complete a pattern of regional union cata- logs covering the whole nation is not especially important. The pattern suggested in 19422 is as good or as bad as any other pattern which might be determined in the same a priori manner. Important consideration is the creation and development of regional union catalogs in places strate_gically located to serve the region from which they draw their sup- port. • Important too is full regional realiza- tion of the need for the union catalog and of the many services it can render in developing library resources, especially .in areas less well- supplied with books than the northeast quad- rant of the United States. Southern Califor- nia, where Willis H. Kerr would "rational- ize" the library resources of the region, 3 is a good example, but he would be the first to insist that the fully-fledged bibliographic cen- ter he envisages would be a much more positive force than the apt phrase "rationaliz- ing our library resources" suggests. But large centers of book resources need the union catalog and bibliographic center as well. Librarians of Boston, New York, and 2 Downs, Robert B. Union Catalogs in the United States. Chicago, American Library Association, 1942, p. 97·125. 8 "Regional Library Resources of Southern Cali- fornia." Library Journal 70:208-xo, Mar. 1, 1945. COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Chicago could develop intelligent and eco- nomical acquisition policies much more easily if a regional union catalog were at hand for the checking of duplication in the region. And it is these libraries which are most greatly pressed for storage space and could use the union catalog most successfully as a guide to the proper discarding of titles duplicated m the region. Catalog for Discarding A union catalog useful for intelligent dis- carding is even now being developed in Boston as a subsidiary activity of the New England Deposit Library. A catalog is being main- tained in the deposit library of the books which have been sent to it by the several co- operating libraries. Arrangement is by main entry, which brings together cards for the same books from different libraries. It is planned to work out an arrangement whereby the best copy of each title duplicated in the deposit library would be retained on special shelving at the deposit library on a rent-free basis, while all other copies would be returned to the owning libraries for disposition. Each library could then discard its copy of all such titles with the assurance that a copy is avail- able in the region, should the need for it arise. The ample supply of cheap labor which made possible the union catalogs we now have is not apt to be available again. Without it, the cost of creating new regional union cata- logs may well be considered too much to pay for a whistle which no one has yet had the courage to blow at its loudest. But mechani- cal aids, particularly electronic facsimile du- plication, may soon be expected which will decimate the cost of compiling a union cata- log. When that occurs, libraries and regions wishing to rationalize their resources, their acquisition, cataloging, and storage problems need no longer be deterred by considerations of cost. The time will come when it will be much more costly, regionally, not to have a regional union catalog.-LeRoy Charles M er- ritt, associate professor, School of Librarian- ship, University of California. A Union Catalog.-Bibliographic Center for California It may be said with confidence that the pros- pects for some effective form of union catalog- bibliographic center in California, both north and south , together or separately, are better than at any time in the past. The important service to be rendered, something of the mag- nitude of the job, and possibly first steps are now pretty well appreciated in all parts of tqe " Golden State ," certainly by the academic and research libraries and institutions. The agitation and discussion began nine years ago ( 1937) in the Southern California Conference of College and University Li- braries and in the Southern District of Cali- fornia Library Association (ten counties in the Los Angeles area). The net result was inability to recommend a procedure for organ- ization or support of a union catalog in the Los Angeles area. A bibliographic center was only dimly visioned. The committee disbanded in 1939. However, in 1940, independent of the li- brary group, the then Association of Colleges and Universities of the Pacific Southwest (now the Western College Association, com- JULY, 1947 prising the whole of California and parts of Arizona and Nevada) authorized the ap- pointment of a committee on union library catalog; the academic and research people in the region refused to believe a union catalog was beyond realization. The committee was composed of representative librarians and faculty members of several southern Califor- nia institutions , including the Huntington and the Los Angeles public libraries, both of which are associated members of the Western Col- lege Association-so sensibly do we interpret educational forces in California! The war came on, and members of the committee be- came immersed in the duties of the times, but had a meeting or two, conducted considerable correspondence, reported to the executive committee and the open meetings of the West- ern College Association, and kept the idea alive. During one of these years, the presi- dent of the University of California became president of the Western College Association and took a definite stand in support of the purpose of the committee to achieve a survey of resources and some form of bibliographic 247 center for both northern and southern Cali- fornia~ Another year, the president of Mills College (in the San Francisco-Oakland area) became president of the Western Col- lege Association and came out strongly for a union catalog, particularly in the Bay Area. In October 1944, at the Los Angeles meet- ing of the California Library Association, a morning general session was devoted to pa- pers on the library resources of northern and southern California, to specialization agree- ments, to microphotography, union catalog methods, exchange of duplicates, interlibrary lending, and such-like bibliographic center ideas. A resolution was passed by the C.L.A. author.izing the appointment of ' a state com- mittee on bibliographic planning. However, this committee was not appointed, in the thought that the C.L.A. Committee on Li- brary Co-operation might accomplish part or all of the planning purpose and might get starte·d on the project itself. Meanwhile sub- committees, north and south, of the Commit- tee on Co-operation were appointed to push the regional possibilities. The Western Col- lege Association Committee on Union Catalog was continued, with membership now statewide. The C.L.A. Committee on Co- operation, in cooperation with the Special Libraries Association group in the Los An- geles area, conducted a panel discussion in January 1946 on union catalog andjor , bibli- ographic centers. It was apparent that there is still some inertia or failure to realize the vast potentialities at stake. It began to be suggested, and the sugges- tion met with consideration and some favor, that the libraries of the University of Cali- fornia at Berkeley and of the Unive~sity of California at Los Angeles might take on the , operation of the California equivalent of bibliographic center service. It is realized that a union catalog of the eight million vol- umes in the Los Angeles area, on the tradi- tional lines, might cost three hundred thousand to produce; and that a union cata- log of the five million volumes in the Bay Area might cost another two hundred thousand dollars. Such sums do not grow on bushes, even in California! The thought .is that by the expansion of the two univet;sity library reference services to include the exploita- tion of regional resources, by the use of re- gional union lists and existing union catalogs and such means as Teletype communication, we may begin to lift ourselves by our own bootstraps! The university libraries are at least considering this possibility in the plan- ning of their services and budgets. Another , suggestion for immediate action was the cir- culation of the book-form Library of Con- gress catalog, a volume at a time, among 'the larger libraries, to be checked in the margins, thus to provide in due time a union checklist. Obviously, there are difficulties and inade- quacies in this scheme. The point is that we are considering all means, like Paul, trusting that by some means we may be saved. The Way To Begin Meanwhile, as further bootstrap-lifting, the suggestion is made that the way to begin is to begin: that at relatively very small expense (perhaps about forty thousand dollars, paid pro rata by sixteen college, university, and in- stitutional libraries, the Los Angeles Public Library, and the state library union catalog at Sacramento), card catalogs may be micro- filmed and deposited at a central service point, and some use, even though cumbersome, be developed. An alternative would be to )llicro- film the shelflists, for a possible subject ap- proach. Another possibility here is to reduce these microfilm catalogs to microcards, about one hundred cards on the back of each 3 x 5 card, so that, for example, you might have, in four or five card trays, the whole author catalog of the University of California Li- brary. By bringing together the respective alphabetic sections of all these microprint cards, one might have a cumbersome, but better than none-at-all, quick view of re- sources. It is realized that these may be imprac- tical or naive suggestions, but they are men- tioned to show the determination that exists to begin by beginning to do something about it, to find out how and what as we go along. We are fully expecting some of the startling new possibilities of photography or electronics or mechanization to help us on our way. It may be said that the two University of Cali- fornia librar.ies are planning to exchange microfilm catalogs as soon as their microfilm facilities can be enlarged a bit. At least one other library is considering the microfilming of its catalog for exchange in the region. 248 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES A step for which definite plans are now un- der way is a survey of the library resources of California in book form. The permanent utility of such a volume is doubted in some quarters, but it is believed that the reflex in- fluence of making a cooperative · survey and of discussing and applying its meaning when made, is worth the cost of effort and time and money involved. The survey of the book re- sources of the eight branches of the U ni- versity of California, now nearly completed, may be a part or a supplement of the all- California survey. Meanwhile, the continuing interest -of the Western College Association deserves an- other mention. It is becqming the western. affiliate of the American Council of Learned Societies, and a joint committee, of which the writer is a member, is to consider a library program. That may have distinct possibilities. In all this agitation and education, the un- failing courtesy and help of the bibliographic centers and union catalogs at Philadelphia, Cleveland, Denver, and Seattle are cordially recognized. The writer and others have made repeated visits since 1936, always with profit and stimulation. In sum, we have faith that we shall suc- ceed, and we have reasonable assurance that our faith is "the evidence of things hoped for, the substance of things not seen."-Willis H. Kerr, librarian, Claremont Colleges. Subject Approach to the Union Catalog In this paper an effort is made to cull from the many articles on union catalogs the state- ments that relate to a subject approach; that is, the possibility of giving service to research workers who wish information by subject even though the union catalog is an author list only. Arthur B. Berthold was among the first writers to be concerned with this problem. In 1939 in an article1 on "Increasing the Ref- erence Value of the Union Catalog," he said: When the general advantages of, a subject ap- proach are considered, it may appear strange at first that, with a few exceptions, whenever a union catalog is contemplated, the subject approach is usually abandoned. There are ... _very grave practical reasons for this ...• The subject matter of a book permits of endless variety of points of view and interpretation . . . . Compilers of union catalogs, seeking for the least variable elements of the book, have gen- erally decided in favor of the author. Mr. Berthold then suggested ways and means for a subject approach which, in sum- mary, are: the segregation of certain types of entries into separate alphabets, keeping a large file of subject bibliographies and check- ing them against the author file for locations, having information on special collections and reference resources kept in a systematic man- ner; also keeping on file reports of the con- tents and services of all other union catalogs. 1 Catalogers and Classifiers' Yearbook, no. 8, 1939, p. 35·J8. JULY~ 1947 In 1940 Mr. Berthold mentioned2 subject union catalogs but qualified the term by say- ing: Subject union catalogs such as we have are so in name only . . . in actuality they provide scarcely any subject approach to the cards in ' their files. The fact that they are compiled along very broad aspects of human knowledge reproduced in books hardly qualifies them as subject union catalogs. For ·instance, a union catalog of medical books is perhaps more cor- rectly described as a select union catalog of books which have both direct and partial bear- ing on medical subjects . . . . The desired sub- ject approach may be provided for by the sys- tematic collection of subject bibliographies, the preparation of classed indexes by utilizing dupli- cate cards; and by the indexing of special col- lections, sources of information, specialists in various fields, etc. In 1941 Mr. Berthold said :3 Perhaps we may s~y the most important step toward a true bibliographical center is the ade- quate provision for a subject approach to the existing resource. . . . The true subject union catalog does not yet exist. When it comes, it should be a file as inclusive as a regional union catalog and it should be either arranged under subject headings or in classified order. Most important of all, it should take the form of a subject index to the already existing regional union catalogs. In the meantime the subject 2 "The Union Catalog Idea." In The A cquisition and Cataloging of Books, ed. by William M. Randall. Chi· cago, 1940, p. 251-52. 8 "Some As{>ects of the Union Catalog Situations." Special Libranes 3 2 :48 -50, February r 941. 249 approach is being developed by some of the regional union catalogs. Some of them have maintained supplementary files for certain types of literature, such as bibliographies, periodicals, genealogical material, local history, imprints, and so forth. Others have undertaken to collect printed subject lists and bibliographies by means of which a subject field may be inventoried. Still others have made intensive studies of spe- cial collections and information files in their respective libraries and have recorded this in- formation in a systematic manner.. At least one union catalog is experimenting with the com- pilation of a classified index to its main author file which, if successful, may present the best answer to the whole problem of subject ap- proach. In 1942 Mr. Berthold was again saying :4 One of the first concerns of the bibliographical center as contrasted to the union catalog proper is to find ways and means of providing . a subject approach. . . . Philadelphia began an experiment in this direction, but decided to abandon it. The National Union Catalog in the Li- brary of Congress does not at present offer any service from the subject angle, but the possibility of a future development is being kept in mind. In storage are duplicate cards from the New York Public Library and the universities of Chicago, Illinois, and Michi- gan, held for possible use in a subject catalog. Experiments are being made with punch cards to be used to develop either a subject or classified catalog. Mr. Schwegmann dreams of an international classified catalog based on a universal classification-thus avoiding lan- guage difficulties in subject headings-with duplicate records for research workers made by photo-electric facsimile reproduction, but funds to develop such a project would have to be enormous. During the war years apparently little ad- vance was made anywhere in the development of subject facilities. Probably curtailment of funds and depletion of union catalog staffs made it difficult to maintain even the most es- sential work. As it is again possible to think of improving services, careful consideration 4 Union Catalogs in ~he United States, ed. by Robert B. Downs. Chicago, A .L.A., p . JIJ-14. should be given to choosing the best methods of development. Union catalogs now face much the same dilemma as did the librarians of some fifty years ago when they were debat- ing the relative usefulness of bibliographies and subject catalogs. To this question, ]. C. M. Hanson of the Library of Congress replied :5 My conclusion ... would be that while a sub- ject catalog might possibly be dispensed with by a specialist who is thoroughly familiar with his subject, it will nevertheless prove also to him a convenience and an economy of sufficient value to justify its compilation. To the ordin- ary user of the library who cannot lay claim to special knowledge, and to the specialist when his investigations ·carry him into fields which are not strictly within his particular domain, it is a prime necessity. Mr. Swank shows that more recently the value of bibliographies has been extolled and says :6 The question arose then, whether the union author catalog-in fact, the whole movement toward the integration and co-ordination of library services and resources-should be im- plemented by developing entirely new union sub- ject catalogs analogous to the present library catalog or by developing further the field of sub- ject bibliography. Both sides of this far-reach- ing question-the implications of which do not yet seem to be fully realized-have had their champions in recent years. The crux of the whole controversy can be stated briefly: which kind of bibliographical organization reveals most conveniently and economically the ma- terials needed by the reader on particular sub- jects? The answer to this question involves a variety of factors: the degree of completeness or selectivity required, generality and modernity of the classifications used, the amount of analysis undertaken, and many others. . . . When . . . a [general] solution is found, it will doubtless be a compromise; there are jobs enough for sub- ject catalogs, classifications, and bibliographies -all three-in the complex libraries of this day. Clara Beetle, Descriptive Cataloging Division, Library of Congress. 5 "Subject Catalogs or Bibliographies for Large Li- braries?" Library Journal 29:472-74, September 1904. 6 "Subject Catalogs, Classifications, or Bibliographies?" Library Quarterly 14:316-32, October 1044. 250 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Summary The four papers dealing with regional library centers tomorrow have two major points in common: ( 1) the importance of duplication processes and machines and ( 2) the desirability of developing subject ap- proaches to union catalogs. The importance of a photocopying service in