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Professional Instruction 
 in Bibliography 
 
 i 
 
 I 
 
 Round Table Meeting held at the Waukesha 
 Conference of the American Library 
 
 'l Association, July lo, 1901 
 
 I 
 
 \ 
 
 AKSEL G. S. JOSEPHSON 
 
 ( Chairman 
 
 ( 
 
 i J. I. WYER, JR. 
 
 j Secretary 
 
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 \ 
 
 \ 
 
 f 
 
 Reprinted from 
 
 PROCEEDINGS, AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION 
 August, 1901 
 

 
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 INSTRUCTION IN BIBLIOGRAPHY: ROUND TABLE. 
 
 PROFESSIONAL INSTRUCTION IN BIBLIOGRAPHY : ROUND TABLE 
 
 MEETING. 
 
 N informal “round table” meeting for the 
 consideration of present and possible 
 methods of professional instruction in bibli- 
 ography, was held on the morning of Monday, 
 July 10, in one of the parlors of the Fotintain 
 Spring Flouse. A. G. S. Josephson was 
 chairman, and J. I. Wyer, Jr., acted as secre- 
 tary. 
 
 The meeting was called to order at 10.30 
 a.m. by Mr. Josephson, who opened the ses- 
 sion with a paper on 
 
 A POST-GRADUATE SCHOOL OF BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 In looking over the various definitions of 
 the word bibliography, I have found two n ain 
 groups, one narrow, one broad. 
 
 The narrow definition has been thus ex- 
 pressed by Prof. C. V. Langlois: “Bibliogra- 
 phy is the science of books. As library econo- 
 my treats of the classification, the exterior 
 description of books, of the organization and 
 history of libraries; as bibliography treats cf 
 the history of the book as a manufactured 
 product (printing, bookbinding, bookselling) ; 
 so bibliography in the precise meaning of the 
 word, is that particular part of the science of 
 the book which treats of the repertories and 
 which provides the means of finding, as 
 promptly and as completely as possible, infor- 
 mation in regard to sources.” 
 
 As an example of the broad definitions I 
 choose the one by M. E. Grand in “La grande 
 encyclopedie.” He defines bibliography as “the 
 science of books from the point of view of 
 their material and intellectual description and 
 classification,” and goes on to say that “there 
 are three principal things to be considered in 
 the study of bibliography: classification of 
 books, . . . (.bibliographical systems) ; descrip- 
 tion of books (bibliographical rules) ; and the 
 use of bibliographical repertories^ 
 
 If we compare these two definitions we see 
 that here the same word has been used for 
 two distinct subjects, the one of which in- 
 cludes the other. Without here going deeper 
 into the intricacies of these definitions, I will, 
 for the purpose of this discussion, accept the 
 broader of the two. 
 
 The question what instruction in bibliogra- 
 phy should contain is already answered in the 
 above definition itself. 
 
 The study of bibliographical systems for 
 classification of books presupposes the .-tudy 
 of the theoretical systems of classification of 
 knowledge and this presupposes the study of 
 the history of the sciences. 
 
 Bibliographical rules govern the practical 
 art of book description, what is technically 
 known as cataloging. There are various 
 codes of rules, more or less arbitrary, as they 
 are more or less the outcome of a compro- 
 mise. But under all arbitrariness one will dis- 
 cern some underlying theory as to what a 
 description of a book should contain. Such 
 theories are founded on the practice of print- 
 ing and publishing: thus the intelligent study 
 of bibliographical rules presupposes the study 
 of the history of printing and publishing. 
 
 Bibliographical repertories contain the sys- 
 tematic records of printed documents and the 
 study of these repertories is what is called 
 bibliography in the narrow sense. While the 
 branches of study previously referred to n^ay 
 by some be regarded as of less value to the 
 librarian there is surely none who will deny 
 the necessity of his being thoroughly familiar 
 with the literature of bibliographical reper- 
 tories. However, I do not think that I am 
 alone in the contention that all the different 
 branches of bibliography in the broader sense 
 are of the utmost importance to the librarian. 
 
 Dr. Dziatzko has pointed out that in such an 
 eminently practical occupation as that of the 
 librarian it is particularly important not to 
 neglect altogether some kind of theoretical 
 studies. There can be no studies of greater 
 importance to the librarian than those just 
 enumerated, namely, history of literature — 
 the word taken in its broadest sense — history 
 of the book in all its phases, and the study 
 of bibliographical literature. 
 
 The library schools have done much to en - 
 courage the professional spirit of librarians 
 and to develop the technical side of their 
 work. It is, however, felt that something 
 more is needed, something that a professional 
 school or a training class cannot give, namely, 
 solid bibliographical scholarship. This can, in 
 my opinion, not be acquired except at a uni- 
 versity with a faculty of specialists and an 
 extensive equipment of bibliographical litera- 
 ture as a part of a large university library. 
 
198 
 
 'WAUKESHA CONFERENCE. 
 
 A post-graduate school of bibliography, such 
 as I have in mind should offer instruction to 
 two classes of students. The one class would 
 be students in the other branches of msti’uc- 
 tion who would select as a minor one of the 
 subjects offered by the school, and who should 
 be required to pursue in the school the bib- 
 liographical study of their main topics and the 
 preparation of the bibliographies that should 
 be required as a necessary accompaniment to 
 every dissertation. The other class would 
 consist of persons wishing to prepare them- 
 selves for the professional work of the li- 
 brarian and bibliographer. They would choose 
 as their majors the studies offered at this 
 school, and could choose as a minor any other 
 scholastic subject. It would be of great im- 
 portance to the would-be librarian, could he, 
 while pursuing his special studies, be allowed 
 to do university work in some other subject 
 of his choice, such as literary history, phil- 
 osophy, American history, mathematics, or the 
 like. 
 
 As thorough bibliographical knowledge is 
 the foundation for the work of the librarian, 
 the central subject of instruction in the school 
 should be the study of bibliographical re- 
 pertories and of the record literature. This 
 study should include seminar work in the 
 handling of literary tools, in hunting up ref- 
 erences on special questions, and in the prep- 
 aration of bibliographical lists. This leads to 
 the study of bibliographical methods. The 
 principles of book description should be dis- 
 cussed, the leading codes of rules studied 
 comparatively, their merits and defects dis- 
 cussed, but none should be taught as the one 
 to be absolutely followed. 
 
 History of printing and bookselling comes 
 next, preceded by an introductory considera- 
 tion of palaeography, particularly that of the 
 15th century. The steps leading to the dis- 
 covery of printing with movable types, and 
 the spread of the art over the world should 
 be followed. Examples of the products of the 
 first printing presses should be studied and 
 described. Of later periods in the history of 
 the book the most important seem to be the 
 later i6th and the 17th centuries in England, 
 and the 19th century in Germany. 
 
 A parallel study with that of the history 
 of printing might be classification of knowl- 
 edge and of books, with the history of sci- 
 ence. The student might well be given his 
 choice between these two topics, while that of 
 bibliography in its narrower sense should be 
 
 required of everyone. The history and in- 
 terrelation of the various sciences is a sub- 
 ject of great importance not only to the clas- 
 sifier, but to the library administrator in gen- 
 eral. It should be covered by special lectures 
 by the representatives of the various scirtiices, 
 connected by a theoretical course in the the- 
 ory of classification, and followed by seminar 
 work in classification of books. 
 
 A course preparing for the professional 
 work of librarianship cannot be complete with- 
 out the study of library administration. While 
 we are not particularly concerned with this 
 to-day, it should be said that this subject 
 would naturally be a required one, and would 
 cover particularly the history of libraries and 
 of the methods of library administration. The 
 technical training in the minor topics of libra- 
 ry economy would not have any place in a 
 school of this description. 
 
 I had hoped to be able to present at this 
 meeting some statements from university au- 
 thorities in regard to the establishment of a 
 post-graduate school of bibliography at some 
 university. I have not, however, succeeded in 
 getting any statement of such definitene.ss that 
 I can present it here. I can only say that ihe 
 president of one of the larger western univer- 
 sities seems to look with some interest on the 
 proposition. A letter from Dr. W. T. Harris, 
 Commissioner of Education, says : 
 
 “It is very easy for me to say that I believe 
 post-graduate courses in bibliography to be a 
 most excellent thing, but whether there should 
 be such a school established in Washington — 
 I have no conviction on this question. I am 
 not in a condition to say whether it would not 
 be a most excellent thing to establish such a 
 school in connection with the Library of Con- 
 gress. Mr. Putnam is proceeding in a very 
 intelligent manner to make the Congressional 
 Library of use to the whole country. Would 
 not a school of bibliography here in Washing 
 ton have the best opportunity to do, so to 
 speak, laboratory work in bibliography, and 
 this in connection with the national library? 
 I am not able to affirm an opinion on this 
 question. The subject is very important and 
 your letter was a letter which I wished to 
 answer to some purpose, but I have not bem 
 able to do it, and this is merely an explanation 
 of why I have not been able to do ft. 
 
 “You very well name the studies of such a 
 school: The literature of the subject; the use 
 and handling of books as literary aids; bib- 
 liographical methodology ; comparative ^ his- 
 tory of literature and the sciences; classifica- 
 tion of knowledge accompanied by the study 
 of the various systems of classification of 
 books; palaeography, history of printing. 
 
 “It seems to me that one-tenth of all the 
 
INSTRUCTION IN BIBLIOGRAPHY: ROUND TABLE. 
 
 199 
 
 librarians educated for the purpose of working 
 in a library should take just such a course 
 of instruction as this. This would give them 
 directive power in the most important part 
 of the librarian’s duty.” 
 
 The secretary read a paper by Dr. Joh. 
 Leche describing the 
 
 COURSES IN BIBLIOGRAPHY OFFERED BY PROF. 
 DZIATZKO AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GOTTINGEN. 
 
 The first and so far the only professorship 
 in the auxiliary sciences of librarianship in 
 Prussia was founded in 1886 in Gottingen as 
 a consequence of the growing importance of 
 libraries. This professorship has been filled 
 since its foundation by Professor Dr, Carl 
 Dziatzko. 
 
 The courses of lectures given have so far 
 been as follows : 
 
 Library administration. 
 
 The laws of authors and publishers in the 
 history of bookselling. 
 
 Books in the Middle Ages. 
 
 (The above courses have not been given 
 in later years.) 
 
 Books and writing in ancient times. 
 
 History of printing and bookselling : 
 
 (a) previous to the Reformation. 
 
 .{b) since the Reformation. 
 
 History and development of modern libra- 
 rianship. 
 
 The lectures are held three times a week 
 and have the same strictly scientific character 
 as other university studies. 
 
 They demand therefore real co-operation 
 between lecturer and students, putting before 
 the latter, as they do, a rich and critically 
 sifted material which gives them, in a way, 
 a sharp outline only which they will fill out 
 more or less fully according to their diligence 
 in carrying on their studies. The lectures are 
 made particularly attractive and stimulating 
 through the exhibition of important examples 
 of printing, if possible original works re- 
 ferred to or quoted in the lectures, etc. 
 
 Beside these public lectures, Prof Dziatzko 
 gives once a week a bibliographical seminar 
 for a smaller circle. The majority cf the 
 members of this seminar are the library vol- 
 unteers who naturally are more numerous in 
 Gottingen than at other Prussian university 
 libraries. If it is true of the public lectures 
 that valuable results are gained only by real 
 co-operation of the students, these seminars 
 directly demand independent work of the 
 
 members. A considerable part, in fact half 
 of the allotted time, is given to description of 
 incunabula according to the rules formulated 
 by Prof. Dziatzko and published in no. 10 of 
 his “Sammlung bibliothekswissenschaftlicher 
 Arbeiten.” Apart from the importance of in- 
 cunabula for the history of printing, they arc 
 particularly suited to bring out questions of 
 various kinds relating to bibliography and 
 librarianship. The remaining seminar hours 
 are given up to reviews and papers by the 
 members. In most cases the subjects are se- 
 lected at the suggestion of Prof. Dziatzko, but 
 it is preferred that the members should select 
 their own topics. The papers deal with the 
 most varied subjects: questions of a purely 
 practical nature alternate with scientific and 
 historical investigations of bibliographical 
 topics. (Several of these papers have after- 
 wards been prepared for publication in Prof. 
 Dziatzko’s “Sammlung bibliothekswissen- 
 schaftlicher Arbeiten.”) The papers arc fol- 
 lowed by judicious criticism by Prof. Dziatz- 
 ko and discussion by the members of the sem- 
 inar. Whatever time is left is devoted to 
 reading of old manuscripts, exhibition of bib- 
 liographical rarities and curiosities, important 
 new publications, etc. 
 
 In connection with the palseographical 
 studies just mentioned it should be noted that 
 a special seminar in palaeography, given by 
 another professor, Dr. Wilhelm Meyer, is 
 attended by many as a supplement to their 
 bibliographical studies. 
 
 A. S. Root, librarian of Oberlin College, 
 supplemented this letter with a description of 
 his work with Dr. Dziatzko, stating that the 
 real strength and power of the work consisted 
 in the bibliographical seminar and the work 
 v;ith incunabula. In this work each student 
 has assigned to him the work of a special city 
 or a special press. He studies the books, 
 catalogs them, and submits his work to Prof. 
 Dziatzko for review. These papers are then 
 discussed by the members of the seminar and 
 sharply criticised by Prof. Dziatzko. The 
 new literature of bibliography added to the 
 library is periodically examined and discussed 
 by the class. 
 
 G. W. Harris, librarian of Cornell (Jni'/er- 
 sity, gave in outline, the substance of a course 
 of 15 lectures on bibliography, delivered one 
 each week during a half year at Cornell. The 
 nature of these lectures is general because in 
 each department more or less stress is based 
 
200 
 
 WAUKESHA CONFERENCE. 
 
 on the use of special bibliographies, and each 
 thesis for an advanced degree at Cornell must 
 be accompanied by a satisfactory bibliography 
 of the subject treated. The large collection 
 of early imprints representing many of the 
 different presses affords excellent opportunity 
 to inspect and study examples of early print- 
 ing. Mr. Harris was of the opinion that work 
 in the bibliography of special subjects should 
 be given by the heads of the departments 
 concerned. Mr. Harris gave the following 
 
 SYNOPSIS OF LECTURES ON BIBLIOGRAPHY, COR- 
 NELL UNIVERSITY. 
 
 LECTURE. 
 
 I. Definition — Advantages of knowledge 
 of bibliography; Range of bibliogra- 
 phy; Antiquity of books. Ancient 
 materials — Clay tablets of Assyria, 
 Assyrian libraries — Palm leaf books 
 of India — Birch bark books of Cash- 
 mere — Maya books and mss. 
 
 H. Papyrus and its importance, prepara- 
 tion, grades, roll form of books — 
 Papyrus mss. and Egyptian litera- 
 ture. 
 
 HI. Papyrus paper among Greeks and Ro- 
 mans — Methods of bookmaking and 
 publishing in Greece and Rome. 
 Writing instruments and inks — Mss. 
 of Herculaneum — Public libraries of 
 the ancients — Alexandrian and Ro- 
 man libraries. 
 
 IV. Wax tablets of the Romans — Introduc- 
 tion of parchment — Change from 
 roll form to square form of books — 
 Results of this change — Palimp- 
 sests. 
 
 V. Latin palaeography and various styles — 
 Bookmaking in the Middle Ages — 
 Schools of calligraphy — Scriptorium 
 and its rules — Colophons — Monas- 
 tic libraries. 
 
 VI. Secular scribes of Middle Ages ; Gilds. 
 Art of illumination with examples of 
 illuminated mss. — Changes resulting 
 from introduction of paper — Cotton 
 vs. linen paper — Block printing in 
 China and Europe — Block books. 
 
 VH. Invention of printing — Career of Gu- 
 tenberg — Earliest printed books 
 Spread of the art in Germany, Italy, 
 France, England — Printing in Amer- 
 ica. 
 
 VHI. Incunabula — Characteristics — Types, 
 
 abbreviations, signatures, colophons 
 with examples. 
 
 IX. Technical terms for sizes of books — 
 Confusion of size and form — Signa- 
 tures, water-marks, size notation. 
 
 X. Bindings of books — Historical sketch — 
 Processes of book binding — Exam- 
 ples. 
 
 XI. Rare books — Fashions in books — Fa- 
 mous presses — Famous editions. 
 
 XH. Illustrated books — Methods of illustra- 
 tion — Manuals for collectors. 
 
 XHI. Classification of books in libraries ; 
 
 various systems briefly described, 
 with examples. 
 
 XIV. Catalogs and cataloging ; various kinds 
 
 of catalogs briefly described, with ex- 
 amples. 
 
 XV. Aids in use of the library — Reference 
 
 lists — Bibliographies, national and 
 special, with examples. 
 
 Prof. Charles H. Haskins, professor of 
 European history in the University of Wis- 
 consin, presented an outline of his 
 
 COURSE IN HISTORICAL bibliography, UNIVER- 
 SITY OF WISCONSIN. 
 
 My standpoint is that of the user, not the 
 custodian, of books, and of the user of his- 
 torical books in particular. There is no 
 branch of knowledge more dependent upon 
 bibliography than is history. The natural 
 sciences, for example, get their bibliographies 
 through current journals and their original 
 materials in the laboratory, while the student 
 of history must not only cover current lit- 
 erature thoroughly but is entirely dependent 
 upon bibliographies to guide him to the pri- 
 mary sources of his subject of study. There 
 is not as yet enough definite instruction in 
 historical bibliography offered in American 
 universities; indeed, there is some vagueness 
 as to just what historical bibliography is. In 
 the work at Wisconsin the course is divided 
 into two broad sections. The first half of the 
 course is taken up with a general account of 
 the manuscript and printed collections of his- 
 torical material in Europe and America. The 
 second half begins with a description of the 
 bibliographical tools which all students alike 
 use, the national bibliographies, and the trade 
 bibliographies of all the important countries, 
 and goes on to consider the bibliographical 
 materials peculiar to history and of prime 
 
INSTRUCTION IN BIBLIOGRAPHY: ROUND TABLE. 
 
 201 
 
 importance only to the historical student. In 
 this connection especial stress is laid upon the 
 historical periodicals. The aim throughout 
 the whole course is to indicate the nature and 
 the range oi historical material, where it is 
 to be found, what and where are the sources, 
 so that the student will come to know what he 
 wants and where to find it. The course is 
 given one hour each week through a half year 
 and is taken entirely by graduate students. 
 The registration is usually from 8 to 12. 
 The work in the lectures is supplemented by 
 many references to articles and books. In the 
 latter part of the course the “Manuel de 
 bibliographie historique” of Langlois is used 
 as a text in the hands of the students. The 
 second edition of this book, which is just out, 
 forms an exceedingly satisfactory book for 
 this purpose, and is supplemented by informal 
 comment and mention of additional material. 
 In this admirable little volume nothing of 
 importance is omitted and very little indeed 
 which is unimportant is included. Very much 
 is made of the actual handling of the books 
 by the students. No regular system of prac- 
 tical exercises in connection with this course 
 has yet been worked out, but progress is be- 
 ing made in this direction. The object is pri- 
 marily to impress students with the impor- 
 tance of the use of bibliographical tools. Con- 
 siderable practice in the use of bibliographies 
 is also given in all the advanced courses in 
 history. 
 
 In general I have found that much incon- 
 venience both to students and instructors re- 
 sults from the habit of secluding all the most 
 important bibliographies in the catalog room. 
 If it be true that these bibliographies are 
 constantly needed in the catalog room, they 
 should be duplicated for the use of the stu- 
 dents. This practice of seclusion would not 
 be worth mention did it not seem to be habit- 
 ual in almost all libraries, and I wish here 
 to register a special plea that bibliographies 
 may be shelved just as publicly as any other 
 section of the library. 
 
 I am much interested in Mr. Josephson’s 
 proposals for developing bibliographical in- 
 struction in universities. It seems to me 
 he has taken, hold of the matter by the 
 right end, and the establishment of a course 
 similar to that he suggests would not only be 
 of value to future librarians by giving them 
 wider opportunities for general training than 
 they can get in special schools, but would also 
 
 prove helpful to advanced students in all de- 
 partments of study. I hope some university 
 will take the matter up. I am in sympathy 
 with any instruction, formal or informal, 
 which brings instructors and students to a bet- 
 ter knowledge of how to use the library and 
 the books. 
 
 COURSES AT OTHER COLLEGES. 
 
 Mr. Root gave in detail the work he is do- 
 ing at Oberlin in this line. He said : 
 
 We offer at Oberlin a course in bibliogra- 
 phy in each college year. The first year the 
 work has to do with the use of libraries, with 
 questions of classification and cataloging, and 
 is designed to aid the new students in becom- 
 ing familiar with the methods in use in our 
 own library and also with accepted methods 
 in all well-conducted libraries. The course 
 in the second year has to do with the history 
 of books and of printing. This work is al- 
 most entirely historical. Some study is given 
 to the process and history of binding, with 
 examples of famous bindings. The third year 
 work deals with palaeography and the history 
 and development of handwriting, illumination, 
 and work with manuscripts in general. The 
 fourth year work is in the nature of a seminar 
 and is devoted to instruction in bibliography. 
 After an outline of the leading national and 
 trade bibliographies, problems in bibliography 
 are handled and discussed. The courses fill 
 half of the college year, one lecture per week 
 being given. The work is entirely elective 
 and the completion of all of it enables a stu- 
 dent to elect one-eighth of his course in this 
 subject. I should be glad to see recognition 
 by the leading library schools of this work, 
 perhaps giving students advanced credit when 
 work has been satisfactorily done at any rep- 
 utable college. 
 
 Walter M. Smith, librarian of the Univer- 
 sity of Wisconsin, briefly outlined the ele- 
 mentary work done there with new students, 
 and maintained that formal lectures were not 
 so good as practical instruction in the use of 
 the library both from the librarian’s desk and 
 from the reference desk. 
 
 Miss Sharp, librarian of the University of 
 Illinois, stated that a one-hour course was 
 given there for the general student body in the 
 use of the library. Regular university credit 
 is given, but students may attend these lec- 
 tures optionally and many do so. 
 
 Andrew Keogh, of Yale University Library, > 
 described a short course in the use of the li- 
 
202 
 
 WAUKESHA CONFERENCE. 
 
 brary offered at that university. Two lec- 
 tures are given, one in the class room and one 
 in the library, accompanied with actual dem- 
 onstration with the books. Some further and 
 more elective work is given as graduate work 
 at Yale, but the elementary work is compul- 
 sory with all new students. 
 
 A letter was read from Dr. H. P. Talbot, 
 of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
 giving full description of his 
 
 COURSE IN BIBLIOGRAPHY OF CHEMISTRY. 
 
 My attempts to interest my students in 
 books and bibliographies are briefly these: 
 For one term of 15 weeks of the junior year 
 the students of the course in chemistry de- 
 vote an hour each week (with two hours as- 
 signed for preparation) to practice in reading 
 chemical German. The subject matter as- 
 signed is either from some work on general 
 or analytical chemistry or from some current 
 journal. Of late I have confined myself mostly 
 to a work on inorganic chemistry. The purpose 
 here is not at all to attempt to teach German, 
 but to assist the students in acquiring a mod- 
 erate facility in reading, that is, sufficient to 
 enable them to get the essentials from an ar- 
 ticle, rather than to make a finished transla- 
 tion. 
 
 During the term following this, there is 
 assigned to the class one or more (usually 
 two) topics, and they are required to prepare 
 and submit for inspection a bibliography of 
 the journal literature upon these subjects. 
 This year the topic assigned to the whole class 
 was the “Determination of sulphur in irons 
 and steels.” The class (of 30) was divided 
 into squads, and to each squad a second topic 
 was assigned, such as “The use of sodium 
 peroxide in analytical chemistry,” “The prep- 
 aration and analysis of persulphuric acid and 
 the persulphates,” “The recovery of molybdic 
 acid from residues,” etc. 
 
 General directions are given as to procedure 
 in the compilation of the bibliography, the 
 use of such periodicals as the Centralhlatt as 
 a starting point, and also the way to record 
 and classify the references found. 
 
 This year we have used library cards for 
 the recording of the references for the first 
 time, with marked success. Each card was 
 to bear the original reference, the Centralhlatt 
 or Jahresbericht reference, the title of the ar- 
 ticle (if possible) and a very brief statement 
 
 of its contents. The cards were then to be 
 grouped according to a classification to be 
 worked out by the student. 
 
 Each student had finally about 200 cards, 
 often with several references on a card. They 
 were allowed to divide the journals among 
 the members of a given squad, and to ex- 
 change cards. 
 
 The results are most satisfactory. The 
 work has been well done as a whole, and al- 
 ready 1 hear of resolves on their part to keep 
 up a card catalog of interesting articles, which 
 is a promising symptom. 
 
 Each year for some time, I have devoted 
 a single hour near the close of the year to 
 a brief discussion of books, from the point of 
 view of the needs of a person desiring to col- 
 lect a small library. In this connection I 
 have put into the students hands a list of 
 “Standard works” citing the essential refer- 
 ence books on the subject, and have com- 
 mented briefly on the list. Please understand 
 that this list is not by any mieans infallible, 
 and that there are doubtless other works just 
 as good as those mentioned. 
 
 Our senior students are all required to com- 
 pile a bibliography of the literature of the 
 subject chosen as a thesis, and to prepare a 
 brief review of all recorded work, before they 
 can begin their investigation, and the way in 
 which they attack this work seems to indicate 
 that the familiarity with journals and methods 
 gained in the work of the junior year out- 
 lined above stands them in good stead. 
 
 In connection with the instruction in the 
 history of chemistry, frequent preparation of 
 memoirs and a study of works in this field 
 is also required. 
 
 The list of books referred to in Dr. Tal- 
 bot’s letter was divided under the following 
 heads: History of chemistry. Physiological 
 chemistry, Organic chemistry. Technical 
 chemistry. Agricultural chemistry, Analytical 
 chemistry, Biography, Dictionaries, Tables, 
 Dyeing, Foods, General chemistry. Toxicol- 
 ogy. 
 
 J. I. Wyer, librarian of the University of 
 Nebraska, outlined a course of 16 lectures 
 which are given there during the first semes- 
 ter of every alternate year, embracing national 
 and trade bibliography, reference books, and 
 thorough drill in subject bibliography. The 
 work is primarily given as part of the ap- 
 prentices’ training for the library, but is at- 
 
INSTRUCTION IN BIBLIOGRAPHY: ROUND TABLE. 
 
 203 
 
 tended by advanced and graduate students 
 in other departments. Regular university 
 credit is given for the work. 
 
 W. Stetson Merrill^ of the Newberry Li- 
 brary, read a paper, entitled 
 
 A DESIDERATUM FOR LIBRARY SCHOOLS. 
 
 As I am desirous that you should appre- 
 hend precisely what it is that I am to suggest 
 as a desideratum for the library schools, I will 
 ask to be permitted to lead up to my point, 
 rather than state it at the outset. 
 
 We are all of us daily impressed with the 
 rapidity of change and enlargement in the 
 arts, sciences and various achievements of 
 knowledge to-day. In some departments, in- 
 deed, such as the natural sciences, we expect 
 the accepted opinions of one decade to give 
 place to others in the next decade. But we 
 perhaps hardly realize that there is a similar 
 progress in the historical, sociological and re- 
 ligious sciences, and in the fine arts. New 
 facts are discovered, verdicts of history are 
 reviewed, new schools of thought and meth- 
 ods of study are established; new men, new 
 theories, new things come up every year, al- 
 most every day. 
 
 Now, a librarian is expected to bring the 
 stores of knowledge to an inquiring public; 
 to render available the resources of accumu- 
 lated wisdom which but for him would be 
 like gold hidden in the veins of the rock. To 
 perform this function requires of course pri- 
 marily a certain amount of educational train- 
 ing. A library assistant should be at least a 
 high school graduate ; the librarian of a libra- 
 ry of research should be a college bred man, 
 as such collegiate training will be found to his 
 own advantage and to that of his library. 
 
 But how after all their training and prep- 
 aration are librarians, library workers or stu- 
 dents of library science to keep abreast of 
 the time? This is really the problem in 
 what may be called the higher education of 
 the library profession. It may be thought 
 that the reading of annual cyclopedias, peri- 
 odicals and the latest treatises will suffice to 
 keep members of the profession posted upon 
 all subjects of importance. Yet a little con- 
 sideration will show that by such means much 
 time and labor are sacrificed. A library work- 
 er reads in such a case, not for general in- 
 formation, but to ascertain definite and per- 
 tinent facts of importance to him in his spe- 
 cial field of work. What he wishes to know 
 
 are indeed the new discoveries, facts and 
 opinions; viewed, however, not in themselves 
 as events in the progress of the sciences, 
 but as bearing upon the classification and nom- 
 enclature of the respective sciences which 
 treat of them, and upon the relations which 
 those sciences bear to others. He needs also 
 an up-to-date acquaintance with the great 
 men of the time, not in a personal way, but 
 through the contributions which they have 
 made to knowledge. Otherwise he will not 
 discern the authority upon any given subject 
 from a tyro or an ignoramus. A true knowl- 
 edge of bibliography does not consist merely 
 in knowing lists of books or in knowing 
 where to find such lists. It implies an ac- 
 quaintance with the relative values of books 
 as well. 
 
 A thoroughly equipped reference attendant 
 or cataloger should also be familiar with the 
 shibboleths and theories of the schools and 
 with the opinions of scholars upon questions 
 of the day. Now how is he to learn all this? 
 He cannot learn it before he begins to study 
 library work, because it is a growing, living 
 thing — this mass of current fact and opinion. 
 Yet he has no time to master each science for 
 himself, and in merely cursory reading he will 
 miss the point which is to be of most use to 
 him in his particular line of work. 
 
 I reply that he needs the spoken word of 
 the expert, framed and directed to meet the 
 special requirements of his case. The expert 
 who knows his subject in all its bearings can 
 tell us at once just what we want to know, 
 if we have a chance to ask him. 
 
 Let us have then before our library schools 
 and — I may add also — our library clubs and 
 associations, periodical talks by specialists 
 upon their respective subjects, presenting in 
 a concise form the progress of these sciences 
 and arts with special reference to the needs of 
 library workers, as outlined above. 
 
 Such a presentation will enable the librarian, 
 the reference attendant, the cataloger or the 
 classifier to perform his work with an as- 
 surance and a facility that can be acquired 
 in no other way. He will be acting under 
 expert advice. The special points to be 
 brought out will be presented to the lecturer 
 beforehand; he will prepare his statement, 
 deliver it, and later answers inquiries which 
 may have arisen. We all know how much 
 easier it is to ask somebody about something 
 than it is to look it up in some book. Let 
 
204 
 
 WAUKESHA CONFERENCE, 
 
 questions be noted as they occur and the class 
 be given a chance to ask them of an authority. 
 
 These lectures or talks need not and should 
 not be confined to student class rooms. Let 
 them be public lectures which library workers 
 outside the school may attend upon payment 
 of a small fee. The intrinsic interest of a 
 lecture upon some topic of the day whether 
 literary, historical, political, or scientific, 
 would attract in a way that a course upon pure 
 bibliography can never do. As our library 
 schools are so integrally a part, as a rule, of 
 some system of collegiate instruction, there 
 should be no difficulty in securing the ser- 
 vices of different members of the faculty. I 
 may repeat also that no more useful program 
 of work for a library club during a season 
 could be planned than a course of just such 
 talks as I have described. To tell the truth, 
 the matter of this paper first occurred to me 
 in its bearings upon the work of library clubs. 
 To them and to the directors of our library 
 schools it is presented for their consideration. 
 
 Following this the representatives of the va- 
 rious library schools were asked to describe the 
 
 WORK OFFERED IN BIBLIOGRAPHY AT THE LIBRARY 
 SCHOOLS. 
 
 Mr. Biscoe described the work at Albany, 
 running through two years, the fir.st being 
 taken up with trade bibliography and the sec- 
 ond with reference work and subject bibli- 
 ography. The large resources of the New 
 York State Library enable the students to see, 
 study and use almost all books taken up and 
 the work is accompanied with many problems. 
 Further elective work is also offered to stu- 
 dents desiring to specialize along this line. 
 
 Miss Plummer spoke for the Pratt Insti- 
 tute School. During the first year a general 
 course of instruction in bibliography is of- 
 fered, beginning with trade bibliography, stu- 
 dents being referred to the leading works of 
 reference in English, French and German 
 through lectures and problems given during 
 the year. Each student is required to prepare a 
 reading list on a selected subject, requiring 
 considerable research work, which must be sat- 
 tisfactory to the instructor. The leading na- 
 tional and subject bibliographies are included 
 in the lectures, and the problems frequently re- 
 quire consultation of these. Ten lectures are 
 given on the history of books and printing. This 
 is merely an outline course offered partly that 
 
 students may discover any latent inclination 
 toward the historical course, that they may 
 know there is that side to their work. “In 
 the special lessons in French and German cat- 
 aloging which we expect to undertake this fall,” 
 she said, “a study of foreign catalogs will be 
 a prominent feature, and the students will 
 collect for themselves a vocabulary of biblio- 
 graphical terms in these languages. In the 
 broad sense of the term bibliography, as we 
 find it in the ‘Century dictionary,’ the subject 
 is fairly well covered by the second year’s his- 
 torical course. Through the courtesy of the 
 New Y'ork Public Library the class has had 
 opportunity to do most of its work at the 
 Lenox Library where there is a fine collection 
 of reference books. The course begins with a 
 study of reference books on the history of 
 printing, bibliographies of the 15th century, 
 etc., and books such as Hain, Panzer, etc., 
 and the more general bibliographies, e.g., 
 Brunet, Graesse. The history of bookmaking 
 is studied from the period of the manuscript 
 through the 15th century, and some work with 
 American and other books has been done each 
 year. The materials used in the earliest times, 
 the methods of production and the steps lead- 
 ing to the invention of printing are all treated. 
 The history of printing is studied by country, 
 town, and printer, chronologically, and a study 
 of the types used by different printers is 
 made. For practical work the class catalogs 
 15th century books. The books used for con- 
 sultation in this course have been very num- 
 erous, and perhaps a good working knowl- 
 edge of them has been the most important 
 feature of the work. The class was not and 
 could not be limited to books in English, but 
 used and in part translated books of reference 
 in foreign languages. In the work with man- 
 uscripts the historical course depends upon 
 instruction given by Prof. Egbert, professor 
 of Latin palaeography of Columbia Universi- 
 ty, who has made up a course especially 
 adapted to the object of our work and to the 
 time we have to give. Twenty-three lectures, 
 only a few of which are devoted to the bib- 
 liography of the subject, comprise the in- 
 struction, two hours’ work outside being nec- 
 essary on each lecture. Much more is usually 
 done by the students, who generally live in 
 New York city while taking the historical 
 course. The study of successive handwritings 
 and abbreviations as illustrated by blue-prints 
 
INSTRUCTION IN BIBLIOGRAPHY: ROUND TABLE. 
 
 205 
 
 furnished by the professor, leads naturally to 
 early printed books, whose types were mod-» 
 elled after the handwriting of the period. 
 Reports of the work of this class have been 
 very satisfactory.” 
 
 Miss Kroeger, of the Drexel Institute Li- 
 brary School, described a course of 15 lectures 
 on the history of books and printing, given 
 at her school. 
 
 The lectures embrace the following sub- 
 jects : 
 
 I. The development of language, oral and 
 written. Ancient systems of wri^ng. 
 Derivation of the English alphabet. 
 The preservation of literature. Ear- 
 liest forms of permanent records, lit- 
 erature, books, and libraries in the 
 ancient civilizations of the east. 
 
 II. The literatures of Greece and Rome. 
 The book in the classical age. Alex- 
 andria as a literary center. Barbarian 
 invasions of the Roman Empire. De- 
 cline and extinction of ancient cul- 
 ture. Destruction of books and libra- 
 ries. 
 
 III. The book in the Middle Ages. The pres- 
 
 ervation and the production of books 
 in the monasteries. Development of 
 the illuminated manuscript. The ear- 
 ly Renascence in its relation to litera- 
 ture and books. 
 
 IV. The later Renascence : revival of learn- 
 
 ing. Recovery of ancient literature. 
 Rome, Florence, and Venice as the 
 centers of activity. Multiplication of 
 manuscripts. The formation of mod- 
 ern libraries. 
 
 V. The art of engraving as the precursor of 
 
 printing. The invention and diffusion 
 of printing. The chief centers and 
 the great masters of printing. The 
 printed book and its influence upon 
 civilization. 
 
 VI. Book illustration in ancient, medieval, 
 and modern times. 
 
 VII. Books and libraries in Europe and the 
 
 United States. Types of modern pub- 
 lic libraries. 
 
 VIII. Makers and lovers of books, and their 
 
 libraries. 
 
 Miss Sharp told of the instruction in bib- 
 liography given to the students in University 
 of Illinois Library School by the professors 
 at the university. Several of the professors 
 
 give lectures on the bibliography of their 
 various subjects; a subject is assigned to the 
 students before the lecture, they are required 
 to examine bibliographies, reviews, and the 
 books themselves, as far as accessible in the 
 library, and to select ten books which they 
 would buy first for a library of 10,000 vols. 
 This selection is criticised by the professor, 
 who meets the class, gives them an outline of 
 his subject, speaks of the principles of selec- 
 tion, mentions the writers who are considered 
 authorities, and calls to the attention of the 
 students valuable material not to be found in 
 the trade lists. This is in the first year; in 
 the second year the professors give their lec- 
 tures first and the class will select their books 
 for criticism afterwards. The professors have 
 given most generous co-operation in the work ; 
 but their work has been uneven and many of 
 them fail to catch the librarian’s and bibli- 
 ographer’s point of view, and most of them 
 acknowledge that their studies are limited to 
 the advanced works, so that they do not know 
 what to recommend for the small public li- 
 braries. 
 
 An interesting discussion followed as to 
 the relation between university librarians and 
 professors in mutual co-operation in biblio- 
 graphical work. 
 
 Miss Kroeger suggested that library stu- 
 dents who felt a special inclination for some 
 scholastic subject might take up such study 
 as a supplement to the library school course. 
 
 To this Mr. Haskins remarked that the 
 proper way would rather be the opposite, 
 namely that the student of history, for ex- 
 ample, who wished to take up library work, 
 might take a course in library economy as a 
 supplement to his university studies. He 
 pointed out that a university graduate did not 
 at all need to spend two years in getting 
 familiar with library technique. 
 
 Mr. Hanson, of the Library of Congress, 
 
 Mr. Andrews, of The John Crerar Library, 
 and Miss Clark, of the Department of Agri- 
 culture Library at Washington, all emphasized 
 the need of scientific experts who should also 
 be trained in bibliography and library econo- 
 my. The opinion was strongly expressed that 
 there was no greater desideratum in instruc- 
 tion in library work at present than a course 
 offered to trained scientists who would be 
 willing to add to their scientific training a fair ^ 
 knowledge of library methods.