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  LIBRA, 
  

  

  JOURNAL 
  X>,.!^^^" 
  

  

  OF 
  THE 
  

  

  WASHINGTON 
  ACADEMY 
  OF 
  SCIENCES 
  

  

  Vol,. 
  12 
  December 
  19, 
  1922 
  No. 
  21 
  

  

  GENERAL 
  SCIENCE. 
  — 
  A 
  first 
  revised 
  edition 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  s 
  list 
  

   of 
  one 
  hundred 
  popular 
  hooks 
  in 
  science} 
  Robert 
  B. 
  Sosman, 
  

   Chairman 
  of 
  the 
  Committee 
  on 
  Popular 
  Books 
  in 
  Science. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  1920 
  Dr. 
  George 
  F. 
  Bowerman, 
  Librarian 
  of 
  

   the 
  Public 
  Library 
  of 
  the 
  District 
  of 
  Columbia, 
  suggested 
  to 
  the 
  

   Board 
  of 
  Managers 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  the 
  desirability 
  of 
  having 
  an 
  

   authorized 
  list 
  of 
  popular 
  and 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time 
  reliable 
  books 
  in 
  

   science 
  which 
  he 
  could 
  recommend 
  to 
  his 
  readers. 
  The 
  Board 
  thought 
  

   well 
  of 
  the 
  suggestion 
  and 
  appointed 
  the 
  President 
  and 
  resident 
  

   Vice-Presidents, 
  representing 
  the 
  fourteen 
  affiliated 
  societies, 
  as 
  

   a 
  committee 
  to 
  prepare 
  such 
  a 
  list. 
  The 
  writer, 
  at 
  that 
  time 
  Secre- 
  

   tary 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  and 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  editors 
  of 
  its 
  Journal, 
  was 
  ap- 
  

   pointed 
  editor 
  of 
  the 
  list. 
  

  

  Part 
  of 
  the 
  work 
  was 
  assigned 
  to 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  Committee, 
  

   and 
  the 
  assistance 
  of 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  other 
  resident 
  and 
  non-resident 
  

   members 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  was 
  also 
  requested. 
  The 
  material 
  thus 
  com- 
  

   piled 
  was 
  prepared 
  in 
  the 
  form 
  of 
  a 
  preliminary 
  report 
  and 
  distributed 
  

   in 
  July, 
  1921 
  for 
  criticism. 
  Between 
  fifty 
  and 
  sixty 
  persons 
  cooperated, 
  

   through 
  correspondence 
  or 
  by 
  personal 
  interview, 
  in 
  revising 
  this 
  

   preliminary 
  list. 
  

  

  The 
  list, 
  which 
  then 
  numbered 
  somewhat 
  over 
  one 
  hundred, 
  was 
  

   reduced 
  to 
  an 
  even 
  hundred 
  by 
  elimination 
  of 
  the 
  titles 
  which 
  were 
  

   most 
  in 
  doubt, 
  and 
  the 
  books 
  were 
  grouped 
  with 
  accompanying 
  notes 
  

   so 
  as 
  to 
  make 
  of 
  the 
  whole 
  a 
  continuous-reading 
  unit. 
  This 
  was 
  

   published 
  in 
  the 
  Journal,- 
  and 
  the 
  books 
  themselves 
  were 
  placed 
  on 
  

   view 
  at 
  a 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  Academy 
  at 
  the 
  Public 
  Library 
  on 
  October 
  20, 
  

   1921, 
  at 
  which 
  additional 
  criticisms 
  and 
  suggestions 
  were 
  received. 
  

  

  Offprints 
  of 
  this 
  preliminary 
  publication 
  were 
  distributed 
  to 
  many 
  

   libraries 
  by 
  Dr. 
  Bowerman, 
  and 
  some 
  useful 
  comments 
  and 
  sug- 
  

   gestions 
  were 
  received. 
  It 
  was 
  also 
  reprinted 
  in 
  the 
  Public 
  Library's 
  

  

  1 
  Received 
  November 
  23, 
  1922. 
  

  

  2 
  This 
  Journal 
  11: 
  353-366. 
  September 
  19, 
  1921. 
  

  

  469 
  

  

  