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SCIENCE 



[N. S. Vol. XLVII. ^"o. 1216 



Chemical Society and gain first-hand ac- 

 quaintance with its journals. With a smaller 

 number of students, we find, usually, limited 

 library facilities, while, where more literature 

 is available instructors have less time for in- 

 dividual direction of men to the sources of 

 information. 



Three years ago a brief study of current 

 catalogs from about twenty institutions giving 

 chemical courses similar to those at Illinois 

 was made. Prom the data obtainable, the 

 amount of work varied greatly. Meetings are 

 held weekly, fortnightly, or monthly; attend- 

 ance is for "any one interested"; for "grad- 

 uate students and instructors"; meetings are 

 "open to advanced undergraduates"; or at- 

 tendance is "required of candidates for an 

 advanced degree." 



In only five of the institutions studied was 

 there a definite statement as to credit given 

 for the course. Case gave one hour, the 

 second semester of the senior year; Ohio had 

 a two-hour course second semester of junior 

 year, required for chemists, but elective for 

 chemical engineers. Michigan offered one to 

 three hours, credit for senior chemical en- 

 gineers, entrance to the course being by spe- 

 cial permission; no statement of it for chem- 

 ists was found. Massachusetts " Tech " re- 

 qiiired one hour a week the first semester for 

 senior chemists, and two hours for senior 

 chemical engineers. Chemists had to attend 

 the instructors' journal club. Worcester Poly- 

 technic Institute required a two-hour course 

 the second semester for sophomores and a one- 

 hour course all the junior year. None of 

 these specifically stated training in use of the 

 library as part of the course. 



At Illinois, the existing junior journal 

 course seemed to offer an opportunity for 

 definite instruction and training in the use 

 of reference books, abstract and review serials, 

 and collective indexes, without adding an ex- 

 tra course to the well-filled schedule. Some 

 account of the work so far and its results 

 may be of interest; since several who looked 

 it over at the April, 1916, meeting of the 

 American Chemical Society have since used 



the outline, readings, lectures and problems, 

 as a basis for similar courses elsewhere. 



The journal course began as reports on re- 

 cent numbers of foreign journals, at the first 

 meetings of the Chemical Club in November, 

 1892. It appeared in the university catalog 

 1893-94 as "Chemistry 19. Seminary. Re- 

 ports and discussions upon assigned topics 

 from current chemical literature," with credit, 

 and persisted as weekly or fortnightly meet- 

 ings, being a prescribed course for juniors, 

 seniors, and graduate students, with a few 

 minor changes, till 1910-11, when a separate 

 section for juniors was arranged, leaving sen- 

 iors, graduates and instructors in the other 

 section. 



The revised journal-library course, now, as 

 prescribed for all juniors in chemistry and 

 chemical engineering, gives one hour credit 

 each semester. It comprises study of the his- 

 tory of chemistry, chiefly biographical, based 

 on the first volume of Kopp's " Geschichte 

 der Chemie," with additional biographical 

 papers in German or French. This gives 

 opportunity for each student to make 'each 

 semester two translations of fifteen to twenty 

 pages, and two speeches. Then the twelve 

 half-hour library lectures in the year, with 

 problems for each one, give some practical 

 experience in the actual use of books and serial 

 publications. During the second semester the 

 topics for translation are from current chem- 

 ical serials, on recent important developments 

 of the science. In 1915, 1916 and 1917, a 

 summer school course was offered with lectures 

 briefly covering the history of chemistry, and 

 including class reports and all the library 

 lectures, being considered as equivalent to 

 either the first or second semester of the 

 regular course according to the problems 

 worked by the individuals. 



The library lectures attempt to compel use 

 of the books, works of reference and serials, 

 in the chemistry library, by the students, so 

 that they may at least know that such material 

 exists and be able if called upon to utilize it. 

 The lectures include explanation of the classi- 

 fication, catalog, and arrangement, of books; 

 and serials ; statements as to the fields covered 



