54 THE SHORTER SCIENTIFIC PAPERS 



made out, one set being filed numerically as a 'Register,' 

 the other according to the arrangement of the specimens 

 in the museum (each museum case being given a number, 

 and each gallery a letter, e. g. 17F) as a 'Catalogue.' The 

 'Register' evidently corresponds to that which I have 

 designated the 'Department Catalogue,' lacking the 

 method of cross indexing by departments, marginal tabs, 

 and colored cards (when desirable). The 3x5 inch 

 cards used by Wray are too small, while the writing of 

 two sets for each specimen nearly doubles the clerical 

 work involved in the use of an Accession, Department, 

 and Reference catalogue as noted in the following pages, 

 since by the latter method a large number of specimens 

 are usually transcribed on a single department and refer- 

 ence card. Space for certain valuable data is likewise 

 omitted by Wray, something unavoidable however with 

 the small card. 



From the first it seemed evident that the card catalogue 

 arranged in unit cabinet sections would furnish the most 

 satisfactory solution of the problem. The value of such 

 a system had long ago been recognized in connection with 

 library and general business methods, where it rapidly 

 displaced the bulky volumes formerly considered neces- 

 sary to contain various records. The advantages resulting 

 from the use of the card system are obvious, since ( 1 ) the 

 required data are presented in a compact and easily acces- 

 sible form; (2) the capacity is unlimited, useless records 

 can be taken out or new ones added; (3) by varying the 

 position of the tab^ on the upper margin of the card, as 

 well as by using cards of different colors, a variety of cross 

 reference systems may be employed; furthermore, (4) the 

 form of the card allows the condensation of matter which 

 would extend across one or more pages in a catalogue. 



The standard sizes of cards^ manufactured in America, 

 are 3 x 5, 4 x 6, and 5x8, inches, and although other 

 sizes could be made and used, it is well to adopt one of 

 these, inasmuch as the regular card cabinet section can 



The word 'tab' is the term applied to the projecting portion of the upper margin 

 of the card. 



'The 'standard size' (No. 33), adopted by the American Library Association in 

 1878 for library use, is 125 x 75 mm. (2^%4 x 4^%4 in.). 



