"Reference books are the clearing-houses of knowledge. They are libraries in miniature, focusing into a single book information scattered through a thousand volumes. They are short-cuts to learning, pass-keys to the accumulated wisdom of the ages. The ordinary reader knows little of them, and realizes but slightly the great help they would be to him in his daily reading and daily living." W: G: Jordan in Literary era, 8:52. "A selection of the best works of reference should be the corner-stone of every library collection." A. R. Spofford in his Book for all readers. "... For I have long known how much books of reference fail of all the good which they might accomplish, simply from ignorance of them, or inability to use them intelligently.” Justin Winsor in Lib. j. 3:159. "It is quite possible for a person of ordinary memory and ability, by careful study of reference books, by familiarity with the arrangement of his library, and by attention to the aids which his fellow librarians have put in print, to gain that respectable amount of information about a great many things essential to work at the information desk." George T. Little in Lib. j. 20 : C 20. "We all agree in lamenting that there are so many houses—even some of considerable social position where you will not find a good atlas, a good dictionary, or a good cyclopædia of reference. What is still more lamentable, in a good many more houses where these books are, they are never referred to or opened. That is a very discreditable fact, because I defy anybody to take up a single copy of the Times newspaper and not come upon something in it, upon which, if their interest in the affairs of the day were active, intelligent, and alert as it ought to be, they would consult an atlas, dictionary, or cyclopædia of reference." John Morley in his Studies in literature, p. 205. "It [a public library] should be rich in books of reference, in encyclopædias, where one may learn without cost of research what things are generally known. For it is far more useful to know these than to know those that are not generally known." James Russell Lowell in his Books and libraries. BOOKS AND ARTICLES ON REFERENCE BOOKS AND REFERENCE WORK Lists of the principal articles in English on reference books, reference work and methods, instruction in the use of reference books, legislative reference work, etc., will be found in Cannons' Bibliography of library economy (Lond., 1910), Library work, cumulated, 1905-11 (White Plains, N. Y., 1912), in the department entitled "Library work" which is now a regular feature of the Library journal and in the annual cumulation of this department which is included, beginning 1915, in the American library annual. For a general description of the work of a reference department consult E. C. Richardson's The reference department (A. L. A. Manual of library economy, chapter 22, Preprint 1911). The following books are also useful: practical use of books and libraries. Bost. Wiswell, Leon Orlando. How to use LISTS OF REFERENCE BOOKS Berlin. Königliche bibliothek. Verzeichnis der im grossen lesesaale aufgestellten handbibliothek. 4. ausg. Berlin, Königliche bibliothek [1909] 263 p. 21cm. Berlin. Universität. Bibliothek. Verzeichnis der lesesaal-und handbibliothek der Königlichen universitäts-bibliothek zu Berlin. 5. ausg. Berlin, 1906. 251 p. 23cm. New York. State Library. Selection of cataloguers reference books in the New York state library. 1903. p. 235-416. (Bulletin, 84, bibliography, 36.) Paris. Bibliothèque nationale. Répertoire alphabétique des livres mis à la disposition des lecteurs dans la salle de travail du Département des imprimés. Paris, Impr. nationale, 1910. 316 p. 25cm. First issued 1906. Posen. Kaiser Wilhelm bibliothek. Verzeichnis der handbibliotheken des lesesaales und des katalogzimmers. Posen, 1910. 238 p. 21cm. 30 pf. PERIODICALS, ESSAYS, DEBATES, DISSERTATIONS PERIODICALS Periodicals form a very important element in reference work in any library, supplementing the book collections in several important ways. They are especially useful for the following purposes: 1. For subjects where it is of first importance to have the latest information available in print, periodicals often furnish articles that are later than any book on the subject. This use of periodicals is of special importance in the sciences, in technology, and in political, economic, and industrial questions of current interest. 2. Periodicals often contain articles on subjects about which the library has no books, or even about which no books have yet been written. This is especially true in the case of small or obscure subjects, or subjects of purely local or temporary interest. 3. Periodical articles are often very useful as showing contemporary opinion on any given event, subject, person, book, etc. Periodicals, newspapers, and contemporary memoirs are the three main sources for such information, and of these three sources, periodical files are the most easily used and most serviceable in the ordinary library. To make the best use of periodical literature and to answer the ordinary questions about periodicals the reference worker needs three types of reference aids. These are: 1. The index to periodicals, which furnishes a guide to the contents of files of periodicals, serving the same purpose for articles in periodicals that the library card catalog does for the books in the library. 2. The bibliography or catalog of periodicals which is a list of the periodicals themselves, not an index to their contents, and which furnishes information about the periodicals listed, their correct titles, history, character, editors, prices, publishers, etc. 3. The union list of periodicals, which supplies information as to where sets of the periodicals included in the list may be found. Such lists are usually regional, i. e. for a given city, or larger area. tinued, still the most important index to American and English periodicals, since it covers the longest period, 105 years, and indexes the large total of about 590,000 articles in 12,241 volumes of 470 different American and English periodicals. A subject index only, includes no author entries; authors' names appear frequently as entries, but only as subject entries for biographical or critical articles about such authors. To make intelligent use of the index the student should remember the following points: (1) no author entries; (2) all articles having a distinct subject are entered under that subject; (3) articles having no subject, i. e. fiction, poems, plays, are entered under the first word of the title not an article; (4) book reviews are entered in two different ways: (a) reviews of a book which has a definite subject are entered under subject of the book; (b) reviews of a book which does not have a distinct subject, i. e. a novel, a work R of poetry, a drama, are entered under the name of the author reviewed. Approximately complete for the periodicals covered, except in the following respects: (1) very brief articles, notes, etc. generally omitted; (2) minor book reviews not included; (3) some English periodicals included in volume 1 are incompletely indexed because of failure in collaboration between the English and American indexers. Information given about each article includes its title, author's name in curves when it was known or could be ascertained, abbreviated title of periodical, volume and page reference. Neither inclusive paging nor date is given, but the date (year only) can be worked out from the "Chronological conspectus," an ingenious table at the beginning of each volume. The list of periodicals indexed comprises principally periodicals of a general nature but a few selected periodicals on special subjects are included. In general the work of both indexing and printing is very accurate and there are comparatively few typographical errors. A list of errata has been published in the Bulletin of bibliography as follows-2:24-25, 40-41, 56-58, 75-76, 133-134; 3:25; 4:11-12, 72. Poole's index to periodical literature. Abridged ed. ed. by W. I. Fletcher and Mary Poole. Bost. Houghton, 1901. 843 p. 27cm. $12. 050 - First supplement, 1900-04. Bost. Houghton, 1905. 260 p. 27cm. $5. 050 A condensation of Poole's Index, including all references to 37 popular periodicals still published, to the end of 1899. Designed especially for the small library, but of value to all libraries, large or small, on account of its one alphabet and the fact that it gives references enough for all ordinary work. Annual literary index. 1892-1904. Including periodicals, American and English; essays, book-chapters, etc.; with author-index, bibliographies, necrology, and index to dates of principal events. N. Y. Publishers' weekly, 1893-1905. 13 v. 27cm. $3.50 per vol. 050 Ed. by W. I. Fletcher and R. R. Bowker. Continued 1905-10 by the Annual library index. Contents of each volume: (1) Subject index to periodicals; (2) Subject index to general literature; (3) Author index to (1) and (2); (4) Bibliographies; (5) Necrology; (6) Index to dates of principal events. A composite annual index containing among the six sections of the contents noted above four distinct indexes: (1) a subject index which was an annual continuation of Poole, indexing the same periodicals in the same way and forming the basis for the five-yearly Poole supplements; (2) a sub. ject index to essays, which continued the A. L. A. index; (3) a much needed author index, never in Editors: 1905, W. I. Fletcher, H. E. Haines; 1906-09, W. I. Fletcher; 1910, W. I. Fletcher and others. Preceded by the Annual literary index (18921904) Contents of each volume: (1) Index of periodicals, author, title and subject in one alphabet; (2) Index to general literature; (3) Bibliographies; (4) Necrology; (5) Index to dates of principal events; (6) Selected list of public libraries in the U. S. and Canada; (7) Selected list of private collectors of books. Of the above contents (1)-(5) are found in all volumes, (6) in 1908-10 only, and (7) in 1910 only. As an index the Annual library index differed from its predecessor, the Annual literary index, principally in the fact that its index to periodicals contained authors, titles and subjects in one alphabet instead of two separate subject and author lists. Now partly superseded, although it must still be used for many author entries for 1905-06; for subject entries it is now practically superseded by the cumulated volumes of the Readers' guide and Readers' guide supplement. (see below, p. 7) The other lists are still useful. Readers' guide to periodical literature (cumulated), 1900-1914. White Plains, N. Y. Wilson, 1905–15. v. 1-3. 27cm. v. 1. $16. v. 2, $24. v. 3, $36. 050 [annual] 1915-. White Plains, N. Y. Wilson, 1915- . 26cm. $6. 050 |