110 AXISTUAL REPOET SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1922. 



time arrives the stock of complete sets already published should be advertised 

 for sale at a price within the reach of the smaller libraries and institutions, 

 many of whom, although desiring this unique reference work, were prevented 

 from subscribing on account of the high original cost. 



Were the price reduced even to one-fourth of the original, stock on hand 

 at that figure represents a sufficient sum to meet all outstanding obligations 

 and leave a surplus for working capital. 



The intention in preparing this statement was to take into con- 

 sideration all existing conditions, and it is believed that if the 

 suggestions are indorsed by the convention, the organization may be 

 kept in being through the continued activities of the various re- 

 gional bureaus and that when international conditions become more 

 stable the central bureau will be able to meet its financial obligations 

 and resume publication. 



When in 1896, 1898, and 1900, the representatives of practically 

 all the civilized nations and foremost scientific institutions met in 

 London to consider and formulate organic rules making possible 

 cooperation between all nations recording scientific investigations, 

 it was their intention not only to produce a catalogue and index of 

 published records as an aid to investigators and bibliographers, 

 but also to establish international cooperation to aid in developing 

 and making available to all those in any way concerned in scientific 

 matters the world's output of scientific records. The material for 

 the 17 annual volumes of the International Catalogue of Scientific 

 Literature issued for the years 1901 to 1914, inclusive, was col- 

 lected by some 33 regional bureaus and published by the central 

 bureau in London. This unique international cooperative organiza- 

 tion, in the main, still exists and although actual publication has, for 

 financial reasons, been suspended pending a more nearly normal con- 

 dition in international finance and politics, the work of collecting 

 and preparing for publication the records of scientific research is 

 still going on. It would now seem advisable to consider how, until 

 the catalogue can be again published, these records may be made 

 available and to plan for the future improvement and extension of 

 the catalogue service. 



The principal methods of furnishing information of the published 

 records of scientific investigations are : Card indexes and periodical 

 bibliographies; abstract journals; year books, cumulative cata- 

 logues, and indexes. 



To prepare any of these, a complete list of journals is needed 

 but unfortunately no such complete current list now exists. One 

 of the first needs of the catalogue organization, when publication is 

 resumed, will be to bring its own list of journals up to date, the 

 last supplement to the original list having been published in 1904, 

 making the total number of journals listed at that time, 5,627. Since 



