METHODS 199 



Other than that of the Zoological Society that has the book, and, since 

 the ecologist must be continually working in other sciences, it will often 

 happen that he must use other libraries. The occasional use of private 

 libraries is not usually difficult, but it should be borne in mind that 

 the library of a scientific society is one of the main reasons for its 

 existence and absorbs a large proportion of the subscriptions of its 

 members. It is unreasonable to expect that facilities will be afforded 

 to outsiders for an indefinite period. Any access on one or two oc- 

 casions is a privilege that must not be abused and indeed may not be 

 granted at all in some libraries. 



There are a few libraries open to the public. The British Museum 

 Library is one. Access is by ticket from the Director, but, once he has 

 been satisfied that there is a serious reason for the use of the hbrary, 

 there is no other qualification. The Science Museum also has a useful 

 hbrary. The drawback of both these hbraries is that the worker does 

 not have access to the shelves, but must depend on the attendants to 

 bring requisitioned books to the reader's place. This takes much longer 

 than finding them for oneself. It is, however, possible to requisition 

 books in advance by post, if one knows the catalogue references, and 

 the books will then be ready to read at once. The Meteorological 

 Office Library is available to readers and borrowers who satisfy the 

 Director that they are proper persons to be allowed these facilities, and 

 the books can be sent by post. The proper use of hbraries is an art, 

 only to be acquired by practice and perseverance, but it is remarkable 

 how quickly a piece of information can be found by using the right 

 methods. The bibliographies at the ends of papers provide short cuts, 

 for in them the author lists the papers he has foimd usefid, and so the 

 process branches out, each paper giving a new set of clues. 



One advantage of specializing in one animal is that, once the early 

 work has been found, much of the later searching can be confined to 

 going tlirough the yearly part of the Zoological Record, and following 

 up the recent pubhcations, although it is usually necessary to keep a 

 watch on other relevant topics. A completely new topic may take 

 months of searching before its background becomes familiar. It must 

 not be thought that all this work is drudgery. On the contrary, it is 

 interesting to see what other people have done on one's own subject, 

 or on one related to it. It often happens that on turning over the pages 

 of a journal to find the papers one wants, others attract attention, and 

 may throw unexpected hght on the subject. 



