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 ROUTINE OPERATION
       OF THE
ARMY MEDICAL LIBRARY
Compiled by The Librarian.
 
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                    NATIONAL  LIBRARY  OF  MEDICINE
                         WASHINGTON,  D.  C.

    ROUTINE OPERATION OF THE ARMY MEDICAL
                         LIBRARY

                  Compiled by The Librarian

                 GENERAL INFORMATION

  The reader who comes to the Army Medical Library in person
may  consult the unbound journals,  documents  and  statistical
material in the first floor Reading Room or the bound volumes in
the second floor Reading Hall.  Many readers,  especially Army,
Navy and Public Health officers, and many physicians residing
elsewhere write for publications which are  loaned through Army
Posts or through libraries near the home of the  person sending
in the request.   They consult the Catalogue or the Quarterly
Cumulative Index for references, at home. Occasionally if neither
the Index Catalogue nor the  Cumulative Index  is available, lists
of references are compiled upon request, by members of the Lib-
rary  staff and also where the material in the files  has not been
printed it is sometimes made  available.    Generally much  of the
literature named in the  bibliography can  be obtained from the
larger libraries throughout the United  States.
  The Army Medical Library contained  a year ago about 400,000
volumes (about  346,000 bound)  and about  559,000 pamphlets,
with  a total of 952,619 differing items.   Different frcm other li-
braries it has references  on file to all journal articles dealing with
medicine or borderline  subjects.  These files  are  later incorp-
orated  in the Index Catalogue of the  Army  Medical Library.
Many of the sets  of journals are complete from their first appear-
ance.

        THE  INDEX CATALOGUE IN THE MAKING

  It may be said that the Library is inseparably bound up with
the Index Catalogue itself the key that unlocks  the  storehouse of
knowledge.   It is the Index  Catalogue  by  which the Library is
known throughout the world; it  is the  Catalogue for which the
Library gathers and classifies its books and journal articles, and
every member of the staff here gives his time and  labor daily to 
3
the end that the Catalogue shall be as complete and satisfactory as
it is  possible to make it.  In its printing of the Index Catalogue
then, this Library differs from other libraries and is never to be
considered, as some  are wont to regard it, a mere  repository of
printed matter in many languages.
  The  activities of the Library in  making and using the Index
Catalogue can be conveniently divided into the following groups:

     A. Collecting material  ("book  selection and purchase") ;
     B. Admission of collected material to the Library  ("enter-
         ing") ;
     C. Selection of  material for the Catalogue  ("checking") ;
     D. Making cards for selected material ("indexing") ;
     E. Preliminary classification of cards ("heading") ;
     F. Keeping the "manuscript"  Index  Catalogue ("filing") ;
     G. Medical, bibliographical, and clerical editing;
     H. Filing the "documents" used for the Index Catalogue;
     I.  Use of the Index Catalogue  ("information service') ;
     J. Production and Distribution of the  Catalogue.

A.   COLLECTING  MATERIAL.
     The Library  receives its  material partly by  purchase and
partly  by donation.  At present about 1800 journals come in cur-
rently, in 18 languages.  A few journals come free.  Many books
are  received from the  Library of  Congress  but not all medical
books  received under the Copyright Law in  that Library are  so
presented and many have to be purchased.  Many books are con-
tributed  direct by authors. Foreign books almost invariably have
to be purchased.  All the larger book-sellers send  us their cata-
logues, and books are selected  from these lists as well as from
book-trade journals.  Many official publications of the Govern-
ment and the several States are received free as are many publi-
cations of educational institutions throughout the world.
     The selection of books and journals  is the responsibility  of
the  Librarian assisted  by the  two  Assistant Librarians and  the
Junior Librarians.  Books  and journals purchased  abroad  are
paid for by our Military Attaches  in the several countries from
appropriated funds.  The necessity of keeping within appropria-
tions frequently dictates selections. 
4
B.  ADMISSION OF COLLECTED MATERIAL TO THE LIB-
     RARY, ROOMS 1 and 7.
    When books  and journals  arrive at the Library,  they  are
stamped, the journals going to Room 1 and the books to Room 7.
Current periodicals are registered on a file, which helps in com-
pleting sets  of periodicals, and compiling a mimeographed  list
of current  periodicals.   Periodicals  and pamphlets related to
statistics are separated from other journals.  Books received are
checked against the  order file.   They are stamped,  and, when-
ever possible, a printed card is ordered for the book from the Lib-
rary of Congress Card Division.  A bookplate is glued on the in-
side of the book-cover, and the book is accessioned and numbered.

C. SELECTION  OF MATERIAL,  FOR INDEXING,  ROOMS
     3 and  5.
    The  medical  members of the Library staff,  that is, the Li-
brarian and  the two  Assistant Librarians, select the material for
indexing.  The Assistant Librarian  in Room  3  examines every
journal, the transactions of societies, etc.  The Assistant Li-
brarian in Room  5 examines statistical journals  and documents,
as well as the books, which  are also checked in  some instances,
and analytical entries made  if the book is a  collection of several
works or of articles  of varying natures.  In the case of certain
journals every article is indexed and frequently  other matter as
well.  In some journals nothing is indexed because perhaps noth-
ing touching upon medicine appears in that  number.   Yet the
very next number may contain something of importance.

D.  INDEXING.
    The journals  which  have been checked are sent to the In-
dexers in Rooms  8  and  9.  They also make  cards for theses.
Books are sent to  Room 7 for analytical book  cards.  Statistical
publications and documents  of governments  are  sent to the  Sta-
tistical Section  (on first floor) for indexing.   Cards made by the
"Indexers"  are returned to the Assistant Librarians  (Room 3
and Room 5)  for  preliminary classification.
    The work of the Indexers  is not an easy  one.   For journal
articles they have to make one card  only, but for books  and
pamphlets three cards are required,  sometimes more, depending
on the number of necessary reference cards.  One of  the three
book cards,  a small one, is used  for the permanent card  catalogue 
5
in the Library Hall, while the other two are for the printed Index
Catalogue.
    The Indexers meet difficulties at every step in making their
cards.   Sometimes, the author's name is a very complicated one;
at other times the  title of the article or thesis is  very long, or it
is in  a  foreign language which needs translation.   Again, the
reference to  the journal must be uniform and  accurate to the
smallest comma or accent.   To insure  exactness, especially to
have the pagination of reference correct, the cards made by the
Indexers are  checked against the original article  in Room 4.
    The Scandinavian, Dutch,  Turkish,  Roumanian,  Finnish,
Russian and Polish titles are translated into English and go later
into the Catalogue in "Brackets" to indicate the fact of  trans-
lation.  The  Hungarian titles are translated in another room for
convenience.  The other journals are in English, French, German,
Italian,  Spanish, and Portuguese.   Fortunately  for  the readers
most of the Japanese journals are also published  in German.
E. HEADING.
    Subject  classification of the cards made by the Indexers is
called "heading" in the Library slang.   Heading is a very im-
portant phase of the Library work, and is done  by  the medical
members of the Library staff, that  is, by the Librarian, and the
two Assistant Librarians, who have  to keep themselves up-to-date
with the medical terminology.  Even so, the classification at this
phase of the work is only preliminary,  because  in a few  years,
when a particular  subject comes to editing, it may require a new
name and  new  aspects. Many are the arguments among the
staff on what classification should  be made.  Not infrequently
after  a  volume has been completed  it is realized  perhaps  that a
certain  choice was unfortunate.   However,  it must be under-
stood  that  perfection in arrangement and  complete agreement
with all of those who use the Index Catalogue is impossible.
F.  FILING  OF  MANUSCRIPT  FOR THE  INDEX  CATA-
     LOGUE.  ROOM 4.
    After the cards have been headed with the  proper medical
term  expressing the  main  idea of the author  of  the book  or
journal  article, they are sent to the filing room  (4) where they
are filed in  boxes  behind a  veritable regiment  of guide cards.
They  are now ready for the use of readers and patiently  await 
6
their turn for printing, which may be as long as  fifteen years.
Material filed under "A", for instance, will not be printed until
the 5th Series is begun, perhaps in 1950.  Once they have been
printed the cards are destroyed.
G.  EDITING.
    The editorial work on the printed Index Catalogue begins in
Room 5, where the Assistant Librarian in charge of editing  the
Catalogue prepares the final frame of subject  headings and sub-
headings according to the current medical nomenclature, collects
all cards available in the manuscript card file for a given subject,
makes  corrections of text or spelling or of transliteration of Rus-
sian names, and looks for the correct bibliographical form of each
entry.   Then, the cards are arranged under the chosen subhead-
ings, and cross  references made to  other related subjects.  In
doubtful cases of medical terminology, the Librarian himself  de-
cides what terms shall be used.
    Thereafter,  the cards are arranged in  alphabetical  order
under  the subheadings  (Room 6), and the abbreviations made
uniform according  to the present  style of the Index Catalogue.
Meanwhile, the socalled author cards and biography cards have
been prepared in Room 6,  and  the biographical data of authors
searched for.  These cards, together with the subject cards,  are
combined in one alphabet of authors and subjects, and sent to the
Government  Printing Office, where  the  type  is set up  directly
from the cards by a monotype  machine.
    The printing  office  sends  one galley-proof and three page
revisions.  They are corrected in Rooms 5 and 6.  The proof,
page revisions and a complete catalogue are exhibited in Room 6.
H.  FILING OF DOCUMENTS.
    After the material received by the Library has  been pro-
perly indexed and cards made, the current journals are sent to
the Reading Room  (1st floor), which has a special card file.  The
journals are  kept  on shelves until the completion of  a  volume.
Statistical material and Government publications are filed  in the
Statistical and Document Section, the foundation  of which is  a
generous gift of the Prudential Life Insurance Company.  Books
and theses are sent to the Library  Hall, where the  theses are  put
into boxes, and  the books  are placed according to their subject
matter  and a typewritten  shelf classification.  Here, the bound 
7
volumes of journals and transactions are also stored.   Duplicates
have been placed in the basement rooms.   Unbound material is
sent periodically to the Bindery of the Government Printing Of-
fice, and volumes  for binding are prepared in Room 11, where
much of the unbound and incomplete sets of journals is kept.

I.   INFORMATION SERVICE.
    The routine requirements of the Library necessitate a set of
the Index Catalogue in almost every department.  Information
of the most diverse character is requested from persons in all
parts  of America and from many countries of Europe and South
America.  While the  Library does not maintain  a  department
of research  as such, members of the staff  are generally able to
give the information required or to state where it may be secured.
Frequently, as a result of inquiry, book loans are arranged, photo-
static copies of certain pages in books  or journals are made, and
many concrete questions are answered direct.   In addition,  for
the benefit of the Library and the general public, a very  consider-
able amount of research goes on by the staff here,  in the field of
biography and medical history.
J.  PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION.
    The  Index Catalogue is actually printed at the Government
Printing Office  in Washington.  It takes  about ten months to
produce a single volume of approximately 1000 pages.  The edi-
ton is limited to 1000 copies in addition to  those printed for sale
at a price of about $2.50 a volume.  A volume of the Index Cata-
logue ("B"  volume is now in press) is of  course printed by de-
gres.   The printing is done in batches  of say 2000 cards or more,
and the type is set up directly from the cards in boxes,  the cards
being numbered consecutively to avoid their being printed in the
wrong order.   A  volume contains from 75,000 to 100,000 ref-
erences and a series considerably over one million.   Some sub-
jects, as "Blood" for instance, will contain  15,000 cards or refer-
ences and will occupy  one-eighth of an entire volume.   It costs
about $33,000.00 to publish  an edition of 1000 copies of a single
volume.  Complete sets of all the Index Catalogue volumes of the
1st, 2d, 3d,  and 4th Series and  the  Specimen Fasciculus, or ex-
perimental first volume, are on a shelf in the corridor.
    The  Library maintains a file of those institutions  receiving
the Index Catalogue as a gift.   Necessarily the qualifications of 
8
those desiring it are carefully examined and considered, for if an
institution is  marked  for  receiving the publication, it  will   of
course have to continue as each volume appears.  As a  general
rule the use that is proposed to be made of it is the gauge employ-
ed.   Some institutions are supplied  with more than  one copy
where  the demand is very large.  Other institutions, when it is
found that the Catalogue appears in several libraries in the same
locality, are not placed on the list for obvious reasons of economy.
The Catalogue is sent to the important libraries of foreign count-
ries, as well as those in America.   About 250 are  sent abroad and
approximately 500 to institutions  in this country.   The remain-
ing copies are held as  a reserve for future distribution as needs
arise.
Carlisle Barracks, Pa., 12-1-36—500. 
 


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