Monthly Catalogue

United States Public Documents

No. 152

August, 1907

ISSUED BY THE

SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS

WASHINGTON

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE

1907

Common abbreviations for names of States and months are also used.

When size is not given, octavo is to be understood. Size of maps is measured from outer edge of border, excluding margin.

The July issue of the Monthly Catalogue, in its new arrangement and more attractive dress, was received by those to whom it is sent gratuitously with scarcely a word of either condemnation or praise. The letters of commendation received are so few that they are conspicuous. It would have been much more satisfactory to this Office had it received several hundred complaints, as it would have indicated that the librarians and others profiting by the generosity of the Government took at least enough interest in the publications they were receiving to protest against any change which they deemed unwise.

We are not asking for compliments, but a candid expression of opinion, favorable or otherwise, would be appreciated; whereas silence indicates a marked indifference as to what changes are made or what is attempted.

One of the criticisms which we received related to the omission of titles of publications not available, the writer fearing that their omission would seriously affect the librarians' knowledge of what publications should be received by designated depositories. Such fears are groundless, because of the fact that with each shipment sent to a designated depository a carefully prepared printed invoice is forwarded, which can now be relied upon as listing every publication printed at the Government Printing Office and "made for distribution" since the date of the previous invoice.

Prior to the carefully planned campaign which this Office has carried on in order to secure everything possible for the libraries, there was no one with any say in the matter who appreciated the advantages of printing everything possible for the libraries, and consequently many omissions occurred.

Such a state of affairs no longer exists. The officials of the Government Printing Office are earnestly working with us to supply everything which the law contemplates shall be sent to depositories, and it will be seldom that anything is overlooked in the future. Careful checking of these invoices and the filing of them for reference will insure first-class information as to the output of the Government Printing Office.

Not long ago a pamphlet was sent out to the depositories showing what annual and serial publications should regularly be sent them.

To quote from a note in the invoice under which this pamphlet was distributed: "The list is arranged by Departments and publishing offices with the series stated briefly thereunder. No attempt was made to give exact titles, but their popular designations are entered with references to their position, either in the sheep-bound Congressional set or in the annual report volumes."

In order to make this list serve a double purpose, an explanation was attented in the same invoice showing how it could be used in determining which publications would be, in the future, under the provisions of the new law of March 1, 1907, sent out unnumbered, although Congressional in character. The printer made the sentence read "numbered" instead of "unnumbered," and thereby lost the whole point of the paragraph. It is here reprinted in its correct form:

Commencing with the publications of the Sixtieth Congress, first session, the titles designated as "in the sheep-bound set" will be received unnumbered and bound in a manner. "as directed by the Joint Committee on Printing." (Public No. 153, 59th Congress, 2d session, Session Laws, p. 1012.)

In this same invoice attention was called to the lack of interest in the publications of the Superintendent of Documents' Office manifested by the librarians, as follows:

"I am reminded that the returns from our question circulars would indicate that the librarians, and especially those of depository libraries, find the catalogues of this Office of no benefit to them, as not half of the libraries questioned reported, even though they were threatened with being dropped from the list if they failed to do so.

"None of the depositories were held under this ruling and all are still receiving catalogues, but it is a question as to whether the Government should continue to print and distribute, at an enormous expense, library aids which are not appreciated or desired."

The following able editorial, referring to the above, appears in the August number of the Library Journal:

"We were obliged last month to confess to ingratitude or carelessness on the part of librarians in failing, to order certain books reprinted at A. L. A. request. We regret to record a still more discouraging instance. The new Superintendent of Documents, Mr. Post, is doing his best to give libraries what they need and want, and he has wisely asked that those librarians who wish the public documents catalogs should answer the circular inquiry which he has sent to the depositories. So large a proportion have failed to make any reply that he would be justified in inferring that the valuable catalogs of his Office are neither needed nor wanted. This would be far from the truth. Such lack of courtesy and appreciation is not creditable to librarians, and we hope this hint, in connection with Mr. Merrill's article elsewhere, will be a sufficient word to the wise."

The article by Mr. William Stetson Merrill referred to is entitled "Utilizing Government Documents," and mentions this lack of interest on the part of librarians and gives some good advice relative to the relations between the libraries and the Government.

In the course of his article he says:

"I can not conceive that any library should wish to have the Government catalogs of public documents discontinued or made less comprehensive than they are now, and it seems probable that the neglect of certain libraries to reply to the Superintendent's circulars was due rather to oversight than to deliberate disregard. None the less, many did not reply, and the Superintendent has drawn his own conclusions from that fact."

"At the Newberry Library we have found public documents of the utmost use in nearly every line of reference work, and the Government indexes to them are indispensable. The work which the Government is doing in indexing these publications is just so much labor and money saved to the libraries of this country. If there are librarians who find the Government indexes and catalogs of no use to them, this fact of itself proves that these librarians know little of the valuable matter that is contained in the Government publications or have never learned to use the guides which we now have to it. The time will come when they or their successors will appreciate what they are now neglecting. Should the work of the Government in this direction be discontinued or retrenched, we shall find it difficult to have it resumed after its loss has come to be appreciated, as it surely will be."

* * * * *

"The neglect of the Government indexes referred to by the Superintendent discloses the fact that apparently librarians have not waked up to the value of public documents or have not bestirred themselves to render their contents available to the public."

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"Libraries in the past have been educational and recreational in their scope. Their function in the future is destined to embrace commerce, statesmanship, and applied science to a far greater degree than they have heretofore done, and in performing this service they can not afford to overlook the official publications of our country and of other countries."

It is very necessary that the librarians understand that the Government is not anxious to develop a subject unless it is desirable, nor will the ignorant or careless disregard of its efforts to make public documents useful, discourage or deter it from pursuing the course mapped out for its educational endeavors relative to the usefulness of public documents. But even Government officials, equipped with an extended knowledge of the subject of public documents and possessed of deadened sensibilities so that indifference and ingratitude go unnoticed, can accomplish little unless they have the cooperation of those through whom the work must be done to reach the general public.

The day is not far distant when librarians who now refuse to receive Government publications will follow in the lead of the progressive few and demand and retain all the Government literature they can procure; but in the meantime it would be well for the library world if they paid closer heed to what is transpiring in the Office of the Superintendent of Documents in Washington.

If you do not like the Monthly Catalogue, say so and say why; and if you are pleased with it in its new form, an expression of your opinion would be appreciated.

It is the privilege of every librarian to aid in popularizing Government publications in order to make available the facts and figures which annually cost over $5,000,000 to publish, and possibly three times that amount to compile.

Through an error of judgment in the bindery, the July catalogues were stitched with a very fine wire which cut the paper and allowed the pages to drop out of the center. The mistake was discovered too late to make any change, but it will not occur again.

The Government Printing Office is turning out work which compares favorably with that of the best commercial shops, and it is the desire of the Public Printer that, with superior equipment and expert labor, the output may become a standard.

Such errors as the poor registration and uneven printing in the July catalogue, as well as the unfortunate mistake in stitching, are usually carefully guarded against and seldom occur.

The Government Printing Office employs at present in the work of actual printing and binding three thousand one hundred and eight (3,108) persons, and in the administrative divisions, including clerks, messengers, watchmen, etc., five hundred and seventy-one (571) persons. Of the latter number one hundred and twenty-six (126) are connected with the Office of the Superintendent of Documents, engaged in cataloguing, indexing, selling, shipping, and compiling public documents.

Ever since the issue, in 1903, of the "List of Publications of the Agriculture Department, 1862-1902," there has been a constant demand for the other departmental lists, of which series the Agriculture list was No. 1. Had it not been for the necessary reorganization of the Office of the Superintendent of Documents some of the other lists would have been issued before now, but as it is they are in comparatively the same incomplete state as they were a year and a half ago.

The work as outlined for these departmental lists involves the careful listing and indexing of all the publications of each of the Executive Departments and independent publishing offices, and the compilation and issuance of this information, arranged by Departments, and uniform in every respect with the Agriculture issue.

This plan will some day be carried out, and by degrees the necessary statistics are being gathered, but it is work of such magnitude that considerable time will be spent in the mere collection of material before it can be edited or published.

To satisfy the repeated demands of those interested in public documents for some sort of a list which will indicate what completes a certain set or what constitutes a collection of a given publishing office, it has been decided to issue a "Checklist" which shall contain entries in the simplest form for all the publications of the United States Government, arranged by (1) Departments, (2) bureaus, (3) series.

The old Checklist, issued in 1895, proved one of the most popular works ever published by this Office, and the edition was soon exhausted. A reprint would have been made but for the fact that a revised and elaborate edition was in contemplation.

It has been further determined to issue the Checklist in advance sheets, and their publication will begin in the near future. Each, publishing office will be separately treated, and space will be left on the sheets to allow for corrections or additions. These sheets will be sent out to the libraries and publishing offices with the request that they give this Office the benefit of their criticism and supply it with any additional information which they may possess.

In this way a list should be evolved which, when finally issued, will be an authentic and complete bibliography of United States Government publications.

That the United States Government lacks a comprehensive catalogue of its many valuable publications is indeed deplorable, but that it does not possess anything like a complete collection of these records is certainly culpable.

The library in this Office, which contains the largest collection of United States Government publications in the world, lacks many volumes known to have been printed and doubtless many more which are unknown. Day by day, however, additions are being made, gathered from the enormous returns of the Departments and some libraries. This library is, of course, the basis of all the work connected with the compilation of catalogues and the distribution of public documents, and its collection and careful classification have made a comparatively complete list a possibility. It is hoped that all librarians will take up this matter and cooperate in an effort to compile a genuine "Checklist" of United States Government publications.

It has been supposed that Senate Document No. 119 of the Sixteenth Congress, second session, being a "Report of the Secretary of State on Weights and Measures," was never printed, and a statement to that effect was made on page 17 of the "Tables of, and Annotated Index to, the Congressional Series of United States Public Documents," issued by this Office in 1902.

A copy has since been found, dated February 22, 1821, and this Office has had it bound with Senate Document No. 118 of that session, which is assigned to Serial No. 45. Reference is also made to this document in the 1895 edition of the Checklist on page 20.

Several other important corrections to the "Tables and Index" have been found, notice of which will be published in the future.