information from insecticide tests and included features of the General Biological Code as well as 

 symbols for details of insecticide tests, utilizing the entire space allotted to biology information on 

 the IBM punched card (Columns 55 through 76). At this point, it was resolved to test the three systems, 

 the single card system, the multiple card system, and the code designed especially for entomological 

 data which was a modification of the multiple card system. This test was accomplished by coding the 

 same data by all three systems and attempting retrieval of information from each of the three sets of 

 IBM punched cards. The results of this test led to the decision that the CBCC Biology Code should be 

 a detailed code using multiple cards and that the coding of biological details should be expanded. 



Consequently, in the spring of 1950, Dr. Beard visited the CBCC for two weeks at the invitation 

 of the National Research Council and, with the cooperation of the 1950 staff members, guided the revi- 

 sion to provide the coding detail needed. Most of the present coding "fields" were established 

 and, within each field, lists of items were compiled to which code symbols were assigned. A 

 further modification was the separation of the specific information about the test compound and the 

 information about the biological test onto separate IBM punched cards so that the card on which was 

 punched the biological information had only a serial number reference to the chemical used, the infor- 

 mation about the chemical being on a special IBM punched card filed separately by that reference 

 number. Thus, many more columns were made available for punching biological information on the 

 special biology card. This code revision was duplicated and distributed internally as the second edition 

 of the CBCC Biology Code. 



The Biology Code underwent two revisions within the same year and the fifth edition appeared 

 in 1951. The revisions consisted mostly of changing the sequence of the coding fields as they ap- 

 peared on the IBM card, adding new fields and new items in each field. It was during 1951 that the 

 intricate procedure was established for the actual selection, coding, punching on IBM cards, and filing 

 of chemical-biological information. 



By the end of 1951, a number of coders had been trained and information was being processed 

 into the files. It had become apparent by 1952, from the innumerable problems encountered by the 

 coders, that the Code itself, merely as a list of items and their symbols, was insufficient and that a 

 manual for the use of the symbols under specific situations was essential. 



Early in 1952, the Code was revised again and, accompanying this revision, a manual for its 

 use was prepared. The Code was distributed as the sixth edition and the manual, entitled The Key to 

 the Detailed Biology Code, was distributed shortly thereafter. The same edition of the Code was used 

 until the Center was closed in 1957, though a new edition of the Key was issued in 1953. During the 

 years following 1952, a number of supplements to both the Code and Key were prepared notifying coders 

 of changes and additions and by 1957 a revision was actually long overdue. 



Mechanical Equipment Used by the CBCC 



Before describing and commenting on the Code itself, it is necessary to explain briefly the 

 equipment used for handling the coded information, since only by understanding this background will 

 the design of the Code be appreciated. It is suggested also that the reader refer to the section of the 

 Appendix describing the special procedures used by the CBCC, including description of the special 

 IBM punched cards, the Code Sheets, and the Center's files. 



In recent years, research and development of machines for storage and retrieval of information 

 has progressed at a remarkable rate. However, it can safely be said that development of new equip- 

 ment and methods for greater speed and capacity does not necessarily mean total obsolescence for 

 earlier equipment of lower capacity, since documentation programs differ widely in their needs. 



In the case of the CBCC, it was long recognized that the mechanical equipment at its disposal 

 was inadequate for its purposes. It must be pointed out, however, that when the Center's program 

 began, the equipment its information collection eventually demanded did not exist and commissioning 

 the special design and construction of equipment was beyond the Center's resources. 



Nevertheless, while the equipment used bears no special design, it does represent an electronic 

 mechanization for handling information which is far superior in speed to any comparable manual method. 

 The CBCC Biology Code and coding methods have been patterned for this mechanized handling, but they 

 are by no means dependent on the machines used and the coding done by use of the Code could be placed 



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