ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON BIBLIOGRAPHY 1 87 



will permit of distribution ; (6) a form which will admit of the pos- 

 sibility of use by an individual investigator without great expense 

 for accommodation and arrangement. 



III. Duplication of bibliographic work is to be avoided. Coopera- 

 tion is to be sought. 



IV. The above considerations render inadvisable aid by the Insti- 

 tution to an undertaking which is isolated or fragmentary, which is 

 not likely to be continuing nor practically exclusive within its field. 

 It must, for instance, render inexpedient grants for the compilation 

 or publication of a bibliography appended to a mere monograph on a 

 particular subject, published as a commercial venture. The purpose 

 of such an appendix can, as a rule, be better served by a selected list 

 with discriminating notes than by a bibliography. Its circulation 

 will be limited to that of the main work and controlled bj^ commer- 

 cial considerations, which are not controlling considerations with the 

 Institution. 



V. With the possibility of an undertaking which shall cover a 

 large subject matter of concern to research, the Institution would, I 

 think, be unwise to parcel its funds for bibliography by a number of 

 small grants in aid of bibliographies of special subjects. 



VI. A71 aid which the Institution may render, of prime importance 

 to all science, i?icluding the science of bibliography itself, would be to 

 coordinate and correlate existing bibliographic sources, 2mdertaki?igs, 

 and projects, to acquire and disseminate information which will exhibit 

 the character of each, and the relations between them, and will prevent 

 unnecessary duplication of effort and expenditure. 



I understand that the funds of the Institution available for bib- 

 liographic work during the coming year have been pledged in grants 

 already made. I refrain therefore from expanding the above sug- 

 gestions. I submit them now in explanation of the considerations 

 which I should have in view in reporting upon any particular appli- 

 cations referred to me for recommendation. 



Note. Sources for Research in History and Sociology. — These are 

 scattered in institutions and archive offices here and abroad. To 

 locate them with precision, to secure exact descriptions of them, and 

 information as to the means and methods of access to them, and to 

 publish these data for the information of investigators would be an 

 obvious and important service to research. To secure transcripts of 

 them and to concentrate these at some point most convenient to the 



