APPENDIX 7. 



REPORT ON THE INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF 

 SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report on the opera- 

 tions of the United States Bureau of the International Catalogue of 

 Scientific Literature for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1918. 



The war in Europe, which has now lasted four years, is throwing 

 ever-increasing difficulties in the way of satisfactorily carrying on 

 the work of the International Catalogue. A number of the countries 

 now engaged in hostilities are falling behind in their subscriptions 

 and the Central Bureau and all of the regional bureaus are having 

 difficulty in obtaining suitable aid to compile and publish the index. 

 The Governments of the countries taking part in the enterprise ob- 

 viously have prior claims on all services needed in carrying on the 

 war and on this account the Catalogue work has fallen somewhat in 

 arrears. However, it is gratifying to be able to state that approxi- 

 mately two-thirds of the normal number of volumes, which would 

 have been published in time of peace, have been published since the 

 war broke out. 



When hostilities began in 1914 the tenth annual issue of the Cata- 

 logue had just been completed and in addition 10 volumes of the 

 eleventh issue and one of the twelfth issue. Since the outbreak of 

 war the eleventh and twelfth issues have been completed together 

 with the greater part of the thirteenth issue and part of the four- 

 teenth issue, the actual figures being as follows : 



Volumes. 



Eleventh issue 7 



Twelfth issue 16 



Thirteenth issue 11 



Fourteenth issue — 4 



Total 41 



The London Central Bureau of the Catalogue, whose duty it is to 

 edit and publish the references sent in from the various regional bu- 

 reaus, is dependent entirely for its support on the receipts derived 

 from the subscribers to the Catalogue throughout the world, and as 

 six of the regional bureaus, namely, Germany, Austria, Hungary, 

 Poland, Belgium, and Russia, are in arrears to the extent of almost 

 94 



