Appendix VII. 



REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC 



LITERATURE. 



Sib: I have the honor to submit the following report on the operations of 

 the United States Bureau of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature 

 for the year ending June 30, 1911, together with a report of the proceedings 

 at the Second International Convention of the International Catalogue of 

 Scientific Literature held in London July 12 and 13, 1910, outlining the general 

 condition of the whole enterprise: 



The appropriation made by Congress for the maintenance of the bureau 

 during the year was $7,500, an increase of $1,500 over the appropriation for 

 the previous year. 



Five persons are regularly employed in the bureau, and the services of 

 temporary clerical assistants occasionally engaged. 



In order to properly analyze and classify the many scientific works now 

 being published in the United States it is not only desirable but necessary to 

 obtain the advice and assistance of scientific men who are specialists in the 

 several sciences included in the scope of the catalogue, and the increase of 

 $1,500 in the appropriation for the catalogue this year has made it possible to 

 have some of the more technical papers referred to such specialists. 



It is a matter of gratification to report that the utmost interest has been 

 shown by all the scientific men who have been approached for aid, and that for 

 a nominal sum classification citations are prepared and furnished to the bureau, 

 thus rendering it possible for the scientific publications of the United States 

 to be not only indexed in a thorough bibliographical manner, but also, when 

 necessary, classified by specialists. The classification numbers used in the 

 subject-catalogue refer to the subject-contents of the papers cited, and furnish 

 the equivalent of an abstract of each paper indexed. 

 During the year 26,020 cards were sent from this bureau, as follows : 

 Literature of — 



1901 3 



1902 26 



1903 28 



1904 21S 



1905 129 



1906 374 



1907 423 



1908 1, 301 



1909 8, 836 



1910 14, 682 



Total 26, 020 



Thirty-two regional bureaus are now cooperating in the preparation and 

 publication of the International Catalogue of Scientific Literature. The cata- 

 logue consists of 17 annual volumes published by a central bureau in London. 

 The regional bureaus are maintained by the countries they represent, usually 



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