Marcy 22, 1912] 
for the college library without first seeing the 
book. So the only way left me is to ask pub- 
lishers for a desk copy, however humiliating 
this may be. 
Here is the publishers’ point of view: 
We consider it a good business policy to 
send a desk copy to the professor in charge of 
a course where a considerable number of our 
books are used. We also send copies of new 
books to professors prominent in their re- 
spective fields, hoping for returns on account 
of their recommendation. But the privilege 
of free books is greatly abused by some teach- 
ers, who finally succeed in accumulating fair- 
sized libraries of free books. Again, fre- 
quently we get requests for desk copies not 
only from the professor in charge, but also 
from all the instructors who assist him in his 
classes. Moreover, these requests come from 
the same schools year after year, showing that 
the instructors are allowed to appropriate the 
books. This we consider an unnecessary and 
unjust burden upon the retail price of tech- 
nical books. At the same time we hesitate to 
refuse such requests, for obvious reasons. 
One of the worst features of the situation is 
that requests for desk copies come from col- 
leges from which only two or three copies are 
ordered later on. 
Here is the writer’s point of view: 
The question raised is one of equity and 
justice to both the teachers and the publishers. 
Moreover, the dignity of colleges of engineer- 
ing is to be considered. Since this is a matter 
of ethics, equally applicable to practically all 
engineering colleges, it ought to be decided 
by the Society for the Promotion of Engineer- 
ing Education. Other national engineering 
societies have committees on professional 
ethics, and this is evidently a problem for 
such a committee. A resolution approved by 
the society will have a great moral effect with 
both teachers and publishers, and would be 
an important step towards the solution of this 
vexed problem. 
I feel rather strongly that all requests for 
free copies of books should be pronounced un- 
professional and undignified. Jf a teacher 
does not care or can not afford to buy a book, 
SCIENCE 
‘453 
the college ought to buy a copy and place it at 
his disposal as long as he needs it in his 
teaching, the book remaining the college prop- 
erty. The college provides the teacher with 
an office and its furniture, heat, light, station- 
ery, lantern slides, lecture apparatus, ete. To 
provide text-books when requested would be 
but a small additional expense, but it would 
mean a great deal for the teachers, and would 
put the whole matter upon a dignified busi- 
ness-like basis. As it is now, the situation re- 
minds one of the railroad passes, now fortu- 
nately prohibited by law. 
As to new engineering books, it is to the 
advantage of colleges, publishers and teachers 
that an opportunity should be given to those 
engaged in teaching to see and to inspect all 
noteworthy new books relating to their respec- 
tive subjects. This end can be attained easily 
without sending out complimentary copies. 
The publishers of engineering books could ar- 
range to move a few copies of new books along 
definite “ circuits,’ each comprising several 
colleges. In each college it would be the duty 
of the dean or of the head of the respective 
department to bring the new book to the at- 
tention of the faculty and to consider the ad- 
visability of ordering a copy for the college 
library. There is nothing compulsory in this 
scheme; it would be a privilege offered by the 
publishers, and if certain teachers should not 
care to avail themselves of this advantage that 
would be their own business. 
As stated before, in my opinion it would be 
to the best advantage of all concerned if a dis- 
tribution of complimentary books were done 
away with altogether, except perhaps as vol- 
untary and unsolicited gifts from authors and 
publishers to their friends. However, with 
the above scheme of “circuit books” even 
these gifts would become less and less neces- 
sary, because in most cases a person merely 
wishes to know that a certain book has been 
issued and also likes to know its scope and 
plan. After that, it mostly becomes a dead 
weight in his library. 
Should the suggestions made above be 
deemed too radical in view of the established 
custom and the conditions of the trade, I 
