College and Research Libraries B y W A L D O C H A M B E R L I N and C A R O L C A R T E R M O O R The United Nations Documents Collection at N e w York University Dr. Charnberlin is professor of govern- ment, New York University; Miss Moor is in charge of the United Nations Collection of the N.Y.U. Library. T HE U n i t e d N a t i o n s D o c u m e n t s C o l l e c -tion at N e w Y o r k U n i v e r s i t y repre- sents an a t t e m p t to solve, by a combination of c o n v e n t i o n a l and u n c o n v e n t i o n a l means, a n u m b e r of problems that exist in all l a r g e libraries w i t h o u t decreasing the usefulness of the material and, w h e r e possible, m a k i n g it m o r e usable. T h e result has been to de- velop one of the most complete and usable collections of E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e U n i t e d N a - tions documents in the w o r l d . T h e inter- est of scholars in the N e w Y o r k U n i v e r s i t y collection, and the n u m b e r of questions c o n c e r n i n g it f r o m librarians engaged in coping w i t h the same vast material, w e r e the reasons f o r p r e p a r i n g this account of the procedures used. Need For Collection T h e need f o r such a collection s p r a n g f r o m t w o s o u r c e s : first, the decision of the university in 1 9 4 7 to establish a G r a d u a t e P r o g r a m of Studies in U n i t e d N a t i o n s and W o r l d A f f a i r s , and second, the r e a l i z a t i o n that the U n i t e d N a t i o n s and the specialized agencies w e r e e n t e r i n g into the discussion and study of such a w i d e range of h u m a n activities that the d o c u m e n t a t i o n w h i c h w o u l d be produced w o u l d be u s e f u l to v i r t u a l l y every d e p a r t m e n t and discipline in the university. T h e G r a d u a t e P r o g r a m of Studies in U n i t e d N a t i o n s and W o r l d A f f a i r s w a s designed to provide M . A . and P h . D . degrees that w o u l d permit candidates to cut across the usual d e p a r t m e n t a l lines — a clear recognition that the U n i t e d N a - tions system w o u l d do the same. T h e physical p r o x i m i t y of the university to the headquarters of the U n i t e d N a t i o n s pre- sented u n u s u a l opportunities and u n u s u a l responsibilities to collect U . N . documents and to provide adequate facilities f o r the study of the international o r g a n i z a t i o n and its operations. I t w a s i m m e d i a t e l y recognized that one of the first steps required w o u l d be the creation of an exceptionally complete and usable d o c u m e n t s collection. W h i l e the university had had g l o b a l subscriptions f o r all published U n i t e d N a t i o n s m a t e r i a l , it had not u n d e r t a k e n to acquire the mimeo- graphed papers. T h e decision to create such a collection w a s f o l l o w e d by investigation of collections of U n i t e d N a t i o n s documents in other libraries. T h e number of instances f o u n d w h e r e libraries had extensive hold- ings, but w h e r e the material w a s v i r t u a l l y unusable, w e r e numerous e n o u g h that the problem of m a k i n g the f u t u r e collection a v a i l a b l e and usable for l i b r a r y patrons w a s f u l l y as i m p o r t a n t as a c q u i r i n g the material in the first place. Three Year Plan Because, as is o f t e n the case in libraries, both f u n d s and floor space w e r e limited, it w a s decided to build the desired type of col- lection a c c o r d i n g to a " t h r e e - y e a r p l a n , " as outlined b e l o w : 52 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 1948-1949 A C A D E M I C Y E A R : 1. Acquire all the processed and printed Eng- lish language documents of the United Nations. 2. Accession all documents and begin prep- arations f o r binding (this required that approximately 250,000 documents be sorted, a r r a n g e d in symbol series, checked, missing numbers obtained or noted, and duplicates discarded). 3. Complete the binding of the printed United Nations publications already owned by the university. 1949-1950 A C A D E M I C Y E A R : 1. Bring the United N a t i o n s documents up to date, including accessioning, shelflist- ing and binding. 2. S t a r t to acquire the documents of the specialized agencies on an extensive basis and process them in temporary f o r m . ( T h e university w a s already receiving the pub- lished documents of some agencies.) 3. Expand the collection of United States government documents relating to the United N a t i o n s system. 4. M e r g e the university's League of N a t i o n s documents with the United N a t i o n s docu- ments a f t e r rechecking and reconditioning the f o r m e r . 1 9 5 0 - 1 9 5 1 ACADEMIC YEAR: 1. Continue the United N a t i o n s collection. 2. Continue the specialized agency collection and complete the accessioning and binding. 3. Continue the United States government collection. 4. Expand the collection of the documents of other governments which relate to the United Nations. 5. S t a r t to acquire the papers of nongovern- mental organizations whose w o r k is relevant to the United Nations. Distinction Between Documents and Other Materials It w i l l be noted that no mention has been made of books about the United Nations which are not published by the organization. A clear distinction was made between such books and periodicals, on the one hand, and documents on the other. Desirable as amalgamation of the two types of material relating to the same subject might be, the practical reality of space available made separation necessary. Certain advantages have accrued from the separation, notably, the development of a reference staff expert in its knowledge of primary source material. T h u s the books and periodicals about the United Nations are not part of the collec- tion and are cataloged and shelved in the usual manner. Space Provided W h e n the decision to create the collection was made in the summer of 1948, the printed publications of the United Nations were housed in the Serials Division and ar- rangements were concluded to acquire and process the mimeographed documents in another building. T h e separation of the two types of material was a matter of ex- pediency, rather than choice. In the sum- mer of 1949, extensive remodeling of the library's plant permitted the assignment of an alcove in the Serials Reading Room which made it possible to bring all the ma- terial together. T h i s alcove has approxi- mately 300 linear feet of shelving and space for a desk and two reading tables, with ad- ditional table space adjacent. A w o r k room with 125 linear feet of shelving and large enough for a six-foot table has been provided nearby, thus making it possible to have room for sorting and other mechanical processes outside the stack-reading room area. It is estimated that the present avail- able space w i l l be adequate for the ex- panding collection through the summer of 1 9 5 1 , at which time the whole problem of the collection and its future will be sur- veyed. Staffing Arrangements T o put this plan into operation in 1948, two part-time students were employed, one JANUARY, 1951 53 7 a g r a d u a t e student w i t h some k n o w l e d g e of U n i t e d N a t i o n s documents and the other an u n d e r g r a d u a t e w i t h o u t such k n o w l e d g e . T h e personnel w a s selected so that there w o u l d be c o n t i n u i t y of trained staff to serve the collection. T h e u n d e r g r a d u a t e chosen w a s one w h o intended t o continue on in g r a d u a t e study l e a d i n g to the P h . D . de- gree and w o u l d p r e s u m a b l y be available f o r t w o or more years. T h e s e t w o part- time students spent the first year in sorting, c h e c k i n g and listing the m i m e o g r a p h e d ma- terial as fast as it w a s obtained. A t the end of the y e a r they had done the pre- l i m i n a r y s o r t i n g and had begun the prepara- tion of some v o l u m e s f o r binding. In the s u m m e r of 1 9 4 9 it became evident that increased staff w o u l d be necessary to com- plete the s o r t i n g and a r r a n g i n g of the immense mass of m i m e o g r a p h e d documen- tation obtained f r o m f r i e n d s and other institutions. T h e director of libraries and the librarian of the W a s h i n g t o n Square L i - b r a r y approved the appointment of one f u l l - time and three part-time students f o r the academic year 1 9 4 9 - 5 0 w i t h a v i e w to com- p l e t i n g the s o r t i n g and processing of the ap- p r o x i m a t e l y 250,000 items. T h e f u l l - t i m e student, the f o r m e r part- time u n d e r g r a d u a t e in 1948-49 and the three h a l f - t i m e students completed the w o r k on the b a c k l o g in J u n e 1 9 5 0 , and have also provided reference service to the users of the collection on a five and one-half day per w e e k basis, i n c l u d i n g evenings u n t i l 8 :30 P.M. A cquisitions T h e u n i v e r s i t y m a i n t a i n s three g l o b a l subscriptions f o r the published U n i t e d N a - tions m a t e r i a l f r o m the i n t e r n a t i o n a l docu- ments service of the C o l u m b i a U n i v e r s i t y Press and, in addition, receives one copy of all unrestricted m i m e o g r a p h e d and printed documents by v i r t u e of the gracious decision of the l i b r a r i a n of the U n i t e d N a t i o n s that the university is one of the r e c o g n i z e d centers f o r the study of international affairs. O n e of the subscription sets is deposited in the L a w L i b r a r y , one in the School of C o m - merce L i b r a r y and the third in the U n i t e d N a t i o n s C o l l e c t i o n in the Serials D i v i s i o n of the W a s h i n g t o n S q u a r e L i b r a r y . I t is this l a t t e r set, plus the f r e e set of printed and m i m e o g r a p h e d documents, w h i c h consti- tutes the collection described herein. T h e three subscription sets are mailed to the A c q u i s i t i o n D i v i s i o n of the u n i v e r s i t y ' s libraries, w h e r e they are checked against bills and accessioned before b e i n g dis- tributed. T h e f o u r t h set, that received directly f r o m the U n i t e d N a t i o n s , is picked up each m o r n i n g at the U n i t e d N a t i o n s b u i l d i n g in N e w Y o r k C i t y by the uni- versity's messenger and b r o u g h t d i r e c t l y to the U n i t e d N a t i o n s C o l l e c t i o n . This f o u r t h set is processed in a some- w h a t d i f f e r e n t m a n n e r f r o m the other three because of the desire to have the c u r r e n t documents available f o r f a c u l t y and student use w i t h i n 24 hours of the date of issue by the U n i t e d N a t i o n s . Such a service is main- tained because of the need f o r most recent i n f o r m a t i o n available by classes, seminars and f a c u l t y members engaged in research and because of the belief that processing that is to be done e v e n t u a l l y can j u s t as w e l l be done c u r r e n t l y and p r o m p t l y . In other w o r d s , the policy is t o avoid the creation of an anathema to all librarians, the back- l o g or the a r r e a r a g e . T h e result of this policy has been that in m a n y instances, printed publications are a v a i l a b l e f o r users of the collection at the same time they are provided to official delegations and t o members of the Secre- tariat of the U n i t e d N a t i o n s . N u m e r o u s instances have o c c u r r e d w h e n the university has received publications in its free set as m u c h as several w e e k s ahead of the general distribution to subscribers to U n i t e d N a - 54 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES tions documents. T h e benefit to those en- gaged in research on c u r r e n t problems is evident. M a t e r i a l s received on this daily basis are listed on visible card files under the symbol or series in w h i c h they are issued. T h e printed items are then shelved a c c o r d i n g to the plan explained b e l o w , and the mimeo- graphed documents are placed in f o u r - d r a w e r v e r t i c a l steel files, of w h i c h there are o n l y t w o . T h e v o l u m e of papers main- tained in v e r t i c a l files is kept at a m i n i m u m by the binding policy observed, also ex- plained b e l o w , and it is t h o u g h t that t w o v e r t i c a l files w i l l continue to be adequate f o r all foreseeable needs. Binding T h e policy g o v e r n i n g binding requires that the collection be maintained in usable condition at all times and t h a t items should not be missing f o r any considerable period of time because they are " a t the b i n d e r y . " 1 T o meet such a standard, both f r o m the point of v i e w of budget and time, three processes are used. T h e first is the n o r m a l commercial con- t r a c t binding in f u l l board and b u c k r a m , at the usual range of prices, r a n g i n g f r o m $2.00 u p w a r d per v o l u m e depending upon size and requirements determined by the librarian. T h e second is a f o r m of pamphlet b i n d i n g w h i c h is done in the library by staff em- ployed f o r this purpose. T h e third b i n d i n g process appears to be unusual, j u d g i n g by the number of visitors to the collection whose o n l y interest is in seeing the v o l u m e s so bound. A c t u a l l y there is n o t h i n g n e w in the method, as it is simply an adaptation of the pad-binding used in m a n u f a c t u r i n g scratch pads or other stationery in pad f o r m . T h e university 1 T h e q u i c k e r the d o c u m e n t s k e p t in file f o l d e r s c a n be b o u n d , t h e l e s s o p p o r t u n i t y t h e r e i s f o r p i l f e r a g e a n d o t h e r f o r m s o f l o s s . adopted the method as the result of observ- ance of its application by the Secretariat of the U n i t e d N a t i o n s , w h e r e the deputy di- rector of the P u b l i c a t i o n s D i v i s i o n , D . D . D e W a l t , had experimented f o r three years and had developed a v e r y satisfactory in- expensive binding. T h e process is used pri- m a r i l y f o r the mimeographed documents but is not limited thereto, as it is adequate for any nonpermanent items. I t is this method and the pamphlet binding w h i c h have made it possible to limit the c u r r e n t material maintained in v e r t i c a l files to t w o f o u r - d r a w e r cases. T h e pad-binding is done in the uni- versity's d u p l i c a t i n g shop at a cost of ap- p r o x i m a t e l y 250 per v o l u m e . T w e n t y to 50 v o l u m e s are prepared f o r b i n d i n g at one time and n o r m a l l y are not out of the collec- tion m o r e than 48 hours. P r e p a r a t i o n f o r binding includes t y p i n g of a title page c o n t a i n i n g a list of the documents in the v o l u m e , and the removal of all staples. A 3 " x 5 " card is then prepared as a binding record and serves as a shelflist card w h e n the v o l u m e has been bound. T h e use of the one card f o r t w o purposes is possible be- cause the instructions to the bindery are standard and do not v a r y f r o m v o l u m e to v o l u m e . T h e technique of pad-binding is simple. W h e n the documents are received at the bindery, each v o l u m e is placed in a paper c u t t e r and the b i n d i n g edge is trimmed enough to insure that each sheet w i l l touch the b i n d i n g material. Pieces of pressboard cut to size, or t r i m m e d to fit each v o l u m e as the case may be, are then placed on the f r o n t and back of the v o l u m e . T h e vol- umes, 20 or more, are then stacked one on top of another, w i t h the b i n d i n g edges true and square to one another. A l a y e r of thick binders g l u e is then applied to the area of the b i n d i n g edges of the stacked v o l u m e s in one application. I f the documents to be JANUARY, 1951 55 bound are 1 0 " long and the 20 volumes average in thickness, the area to which the glue is applied by paint brush in one operation is 300 square inches, thus re- ducing the labor costs per volume. A f t e r the glue has been applied, a layer of cloth (crash) is applied to the glue, following which a second layer of glue is applied over the cloth. Heavy weights are then placed on top of the pile of volumes and they are allowed to dry overnight. If a press of sufficient capacity is available, it is used in- stead of the weights, but such a press is not required as the weight of the volumes sup- plies all the pressure necessary except to the f e w top items. O n the following day, the volumes with their pressboard covers are sliced apart w i t h a sharp knife and vellum tape is placed over the spine of each volume, overlapping on each cover not less than one inch. T h e volumes are then returned to the collection and are ready for lettering and shelving. T h e experience at the United Nations and at the university leads to the belief that this form of binding w i l l last as long as will the woodpulp paper used for mimeographed documents. T h e pad-binding is an inexpensive process and requires no equipment or capital invest- ment other than a paper cutter powerful enough to trim a volume that may be as much as 2 " thick. A l l that is needed in ad- dition is a homemade rack to hold the volumes while they are being glued and dried, plus the supplies of glue, crash, press- board and vellum tape. T h e process is adaptable because of the small amount of floor space required. It should be under- stood that it is as easy to bind 100 volumes at a time as it is to bind 2 0 ; in fact, it is cheaper per volume. T h e only limit is the height of the ceiling of the room in which the w o r k is done. Shelving T h e documents are all shelved according to the documents symbol system of the United Nations. T h e decision to follow this course was dictated by the structure of the United Nations itself, which is in many ways a subject structure, and by the realization that most users of the documents would request them by name of organ or documentary series. T h e manner of shelv- ing was closely related to the decision re- garding cataloging, described in detail be- low. T h u s all documents of the General Assembly are shelved together, all Secre- tariat documents are shelved together and all items bearing sales numbers are shelved together. Such a system is recognition of the fact that there are four principal cate- gories of United Nations documents, though they sometimes cross and duplicate one another: I. T h e printed official records of the main organs. I I . T h e mimeographed series (some individ- ual items of which are occasionally printed in one or more of the other categories). I I I . T h e Secretariat series. I V . T h e sales series. T h e documents not included in the sales series are shelved in the following o r d e r : I. T h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s Conference on I n - ternational O r g a n i z a t i o n A. P r i n t e d 16 volumes B. M i m e o g r a p h e d documents I I . Executive Committee of the P r e p a r a t o r y Commission of the United N a t i o n s ( f o l - lows same general plan as under G e n - eral Assembly below) I I I . P r e p a r a t o r y Commission of the United N a t i o n s I V . G e n e r a l Assembly by session in chrono- logical order A. Each session in this o r d e r 1. Index to session (if any) 2. Resolutions of each session (will 56 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES he shifted to supplements to the official records for past session if the U . N . decides to print future resolutions in that subseries) 3. Plenary meeting documents a. Printed official records b. Printed official records annexes c. Mimeographed verbatim rec- ords d. Mimeographed summary rec- ords e. Mimeographed A / - documents 4. General Committee documents a. Printed official records b. Printed official records annexes c. Mimeographed summary rec- ords d. Mimeographed A / - B U R docu- ments 5. Documents of committees, 1, 2, 2 & 3, 4, 5, 6 and sessional ad hoc committees in which all members are represented are shelved in the same manner as those of the gen- eral committee a. Subcommittees and drafting subcommittees documentation are shelved at the end of the papers for the relevant com- mittee for the session. 6. Supplements to the official rec- ords of each session 7. Documents of all other ad hoc bodies are shelved after the most recent sessional papers, because these documents are not sessional, for the most part, and originate from bodies meeting between ses- sions, and in some instances, meeting over a period of several regular sessions. E s s e n t i a l l y the same p a t t e r n is f o l l o w e d f o r t h e d o c u m e n t s of the E c o n o m i c a n d Social C o u n c i l and the T r u s t e e s h i p C o u n c i l , b o t h of w h i c h m e e t by sessions each y e a r . T h e S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l a n d A t o m i c E n e r g y C o m m i s s i o n d o c u m e n t a t i o n also f o l l o w s t h e same basic p a t t e r n , except t h a t t h e docu- m e n t s a r e shelved by m o n t h of issue because the t w o bodies a r e t h e o r e t i c a l l y in p e r m a - JANUARY, 1951 n e n t session. T h e o r d e r on t h e shelves is as f o l l o w s : 1. January printed official records 2. January printed official record annexes and supplements 3. January mimeographed verbatim records 4. January S/- documents 5. A t the end of the Security Council Col- lection are shelved the documents of all ad hoc committees, subcommittees, field missions, etc. T h e p u b l i c a t i o n s issued w i t h i n t h e sales n u m b e r series a r e shelved u n d e r such series because of t h e s u b j e c t a r r a n g e m e n t of t h e series themselves. Because a d e q u a t e re- search tools p r e p a r e d by t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s S e c r e t a r i a t a r e available as guides to this m a t e r i a l , it is m o r e usable w h e n shelved in this m a n n e r t h a n if b r o k e n u p u n d e r some o t h e r system w h i c h w o u l d m a k e the r e f e r - ence tools a v a i l a b l e r e l a t i v e l y useless. T h e S e c r e t a r i a t d o c u m e n t a t i o n , w h i c h is v o l u m i n o u s and c u t s across v i r t u a l l y all sub- j e c t fields used by t h e o r g a n i z a t i o n , is shelved a c c o r d i n g to the unified system of symbols r e c e n t l y a d o p t e d . I t e m s issued be- f o r e this unified system w a s in use are arbitrarily assigned to positions on the shelves in keeping w i t h the n e w symbols. Cataloging (or Noncataloging) V e r y f e w of t h e d o c u m e n t s in the U n i t e d N a t i o n s C o l l e c t i o n are c a t a l o g e d , a s h a r p b r e a k w i t h t r a d i t i o n a l p r a c t i c e w h i c h w a s n o t d e t e r m i n e d u n t i l all concerned had been c o n s u l t e d . T h e r e a r e f o u r basic reasons u p o n w h i c h this decision w a s b a s e d : 1. The United Nations Secretariat has pro- duced many excellent reference tools and checklists which go far beyond anything that any catalog can ever be expected to accom- plish with the funds likely to be provided. 2. T h e arrearage in cataloging of United Nations documents by the Library of Con- gress, or anyone else, was so great as to make it unlikely that it could ever become 57 current. (Perhaps an arrearage of as much as 40,000 documents in one language by the end of 1948.) 3. T h e inadequacy of any catalog as a guide to the best items on any subject within a large block of material of this nature. 4. Cost of cataloging and maintaining such a catalog, particularly in the light of the reference tools described in " 1 " above. T h e essential f e a t u r e of t h e p l a n is t h a t in place of t h e u s u a l a u t h o r , t i t l e or sub- j e c t c a r d s t h e c a t a l o g c o n t a i n s "see a l s o " c a r d s d i r e c t i n g t h e user to t h e U n i t e d N a - tions C o l l e c t i o n . O n e such c a r d a p p e a r s u n d e r the c a t a l o g e n t r y , U N I T E D N A T I O N S , in f r o n t of t h e c a r d s f o r books a b o u t t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s w h i c h a r e n o t p u b l i s h e d by t h a t o r g a n i z a t i o n . S u b j e c t c a r d s a r e in- s e r t e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e c a t a l o g t h u s : H U M A N R I G H T S see also United Nations Collection in Serials Reading Room T h e users of t h e l i b r a r y a r e best served by b e i n g g u i d e d by t h e c a t a l o g to t h e r e f e r e n c e staff of t h e collection w h e r e t h e w e a l t h of r e f e r e n c e tools are p u t at t h e i r disposal a n d w h e r e t r a i n e d staff can assist t h e m . T h e o p e r a t i o n of t h e p l a n m a y be de- scribed by e x p l a i n i n g in some d e t a i l one e x a m p l e , a l t h o u g h t h e m e t h o d is e q u a l l y ap- plicable to a n y s u b j e c t discussed or s t u d i e d by t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s . T h e a v e r a g e l o w e r division s t u d e n t r e p r e - sents t h e level of user of d o c u m e n t s w h o s e needs a r e n o r m a l l y t h e simplest. S u c h a s t u d e n t , l o o k i n g u n d e r t h e h e a d i n g H U M A N RIGHTS, finds in t h e c a t a l o g o n l y c a r d s f o r items a b o u t t h e s u b j e c t w h i c h a r e n o t issued by t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s . H e also finds t h e "see a l s o " c a r d described above. If t h e n o n - U n i t e d N a t i o n s p u b l i c a t i o n s a r e n o t a d e q u a t e f o r his need, he proceeds to t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s C o l l e c t i o n a n d e x p l a i n s t h a t need t o t h e l i b r a r i a n on d u t y . I n all p r o b a - bility, he w o u l d be given a m i m e o g r a p h e d d o c u m e n t p r e p a r e d by t h e D e p a r t m e n t of P u b l i c I n f o r m a t i o n of the S e c r e t a r i a t of t h e U n i t e d N a t i o n s b e a r i n g t h e title, Commis- sion on Human Rights, Background Paper no. 25, a n d s i m u l t a n e o u s l y h a n d e d t h e v o l u m e s of t h e United Nations Bulletin. I n m a n y instances, these t w o items, o r one of t h e m , a r e a d e q u a t e f o r his need. Y e t n e i t h e r w o u l d n o r m a l l y h a v e been c a t a l o g e d because of t h e e p h e m e r a l n a t u r e of the first as a processed d o c u m e n t , a n d because analytics do n o t exist f o r t h e Bulletin. T h e s t u d e n t w o u l d n o t h a v e been a w a r e of t h e existence of e i t h e r i t e m a n d could n o t , t h e r e f o r e , have called f o r e i t h e r . T h e r e s u l t is t h a t this s t u d e n t , w i t h his limited i n t e r e s t or need, has l e f t t h e l i b r a r y satisfied. M o s t i m p o r t a n t of all, p e r h a p s , is t h e f a c t t h a t he w a s supplied w i t h t h e t y p e of m a - t e r i a l best suited to his need a n d he w a s n o t r e q u i r e d to leaf t h r o u g h a l a r g e n u m b e r of c a r d s w h i l e s i m u l t a n e o u s l y a t t e m p t i n g t o f o r m a j u d g m e n t as to w h i c h i t e m w o u l d best suit his need, a j u d g m e n t t h a t he h a d n e i t h e r t h e experience n o r t r a i n i n g t o m a k e . T h i s is n o t t h e place to discuss w h y he w a s n o t equipped to m a k e such a j u d g m e n t , a n d t h e p r o c e d u r e described h e r e i n w a s devised t o m e e t t h e s i t u a t i o n t h a t exists. C o n s i d e r n o w t h e b e t t e r l o w e r - d i v i s i o n s t u d e n t or the upper-division s t u d e n t en- g a g e d in t h e p r e p a r a t i o n of a t e r m p a p e r on " H u m a n R i g h t s . " I n t h i s case, t h e initial a p p r o a c h to t h e c a t a l o g is t h e same as t h a t of t h e first s t u d e n t , b u t t h e need is e n t i r e l y d i f f e r e n t . O n e or t w o p a p e r s of a back- g r o u n d c h a r a c t e r w i l l n o t be sufficient. Y e t n e i t h e r s h o u l d t h e s t u d e n t be f o r c e d t o consider t h e w h o l e r a n g e of m a t e r i a l on t h e s u b j e c t . T h i s is p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e w h e n n o r m a l m e t h o d s of c a t a l o g i n g w o u l d n o t d i r e c t h i m to a l a r g e s e g m e n t of t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t m a t e r i a l . F i n a l l y , reliance on t h e c a t a l o g m a y d e p r i v e t h e s t u d e n t of k n o w l e d g e of t h e existence of excellent a v a i l a b l e tools of r e f e r e n c e , obviously t h e first place to s t a r t his r e s e a r c h . 58 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES T h e i m p o r t a n t U n i t e d N a t i o n s docu- give a graphic representation of the prob- m e n t a t i o n and publications on h u m a n rights lem the potential user m u s t face w h e n he are listed below in t a b u l a r f o r m in o r d e r to begins his search. T h e items listed are by United Nations Documents and Publications on "Human Rights11 Items which would usually: not be cata- be cataloged loged under under H u m a n Rights H u m a n Rights Reference tools I. United Nations Documents Index Check List of United Nations Documents: P a r t I : General Assembly P a r t 4 : Trusteeship Council P a r t 5 : Economic and Social Council P a r t 6 D : Human Rights Commission P a r t 6 E : Social Commission P a r t 6 F : Commission on the Status of Women A / I N F papers E / I N F papers Index Notes: Cumulative Index to the Resolutions of the Economic and Social Council Cumulative Index to the Resolutions of the General Assembly Documentation and publications 12. Human Rights Yearbook 13. Mimeographed papers of the Commission on H u m a n Rights General Assembly Official Records: Plenary Meetings Resolutions General Committee First Committee Third Committee Mimeographed verbatim records ( P V s ) of the Plenary meetings of the General Assembly 20. For Fundamental Human Rights 21. Economic and Social Council Official Records 1 0 . 1 1 . 14. 1 5 . 16. 1 7 . 18. 19. 22. 2 3 . 24. 2 5 . 2 7 . 28. 2 9 . 30. Resolutions t Report of the Commission on Human Rights ( A n n u a l Supplement to Official Records) Mimeographed papers of the Conference on Freedom of Information Mimeographed papers of Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations 26. Documents of the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations and of its Executive Committee Documents of the United Nations Conference on International Organization (San Francisco 1945) United Nations Bulletin United Nations Yearbook Miscellaneous papers and publications of the Department of Public Information of the United Nations Secretariat T o t a l . .25 JANUARY, 1951 59 7 no means the only ones which cover the subject, but they are the most important and the student should be guided to them in the fastest and most efficient manner pos- sible. T h u s there will normally be five im- p o r t a n t items or series cataloged under the heading H U M A N R I G H T S and 25 items or series not so cataloged. T h i s score of five to one against cataloging of this type of ma- terial is quantitative but a case can be made for the contention that most of the best ma- terial would not be subject cataloged. Evaluation of the 30 items listed above would result in some such standard of rela- tive usefulness to the advanced under- graduate student as is outlined below: Subject Cataloging Yes No A . For Fundamental Human Rights x B. United Nations Yearbook x C . General Assembly Resolu- tions x D . United Nations Bulletin x E . General Assembly Official Records—Plenary Meet- ings x F. Mimeographed documents and summary records of the Commission on H u - man Rights x G . Check list of UN Docu- ments: P a r t 6 D Commis- sion on Human Rights x H . General Assembly Official Records—Third Commit- tee x I. Economic & Social Coun- cil Resolutions x J . Economic £sf Social Coun- cil Official Records x According to this scale of values, the qualitative measurement of seven to three against cataloging is almost as strong as the quantitative one. T h i s conclusion deter- mined, more than any other factor, the de- cision not to catalog. Reference Card File T h e "see also" subject cards are made up at the same time as cards are prepared for the reference card file which is maintained in the collection. T h i s is done by taking the subjects which are used by the United Nations Documents Index in t h e s u b j e c t indexes in each of the reference tools. Each such card bears a notation in the lower l e f t hand corner indicating in which reference tool or tools the subject heading appears. A card appearing t h u s : HUMAN RIGHTS C L , P t . 5 - 1 DI - 5 0 J a C L , P t . 6 D PUB I N - 1 5 A / I N F . 2 8 would mean that material on h u m a n rights is indexed in the following reference tools: C L , P t - 5 - l Checklist of U.N. Documents, t P a r t 5 no. 1 Economic £3° Social Council, 1946-1947 C L , P t . 6 D Commission on Human Rights, P a r t 6D IN-15 Index Note No. 15, Cumulative Index to the Resolutions of the General Assembly D I - 5 0 J a United Nations Documents In- dex, January, 1950 P U B Publications 1945-1948 A / I N F Disposition of Agenda Items of the 3rd Regular Session (of t h e * General Assembly) Anyone engaged in serious research on the subject of " h u m a n rights" presents himself to 60 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES the librarian on d u t y in the collection, having first been r e f e r r e d there by the "see also" card in the catalog. H e is then given the various reference tools listed above and the librarian assists him in m a k i n g his selection of which documents he wishes to consult first. T h i s type of card is kept in the collection in the reference card file and is the key to the use of the documents therein. As each n e w reference tool arrives f r o m the U n i t e d N a t i o n s , the staff of the collection add an indication of n e w material on old subjects by listing a n e w symbol on the subject cards. T h e s e symbols are determined f r o m a master guide and the librarian in charge is the only one a u t h o r i z e d to create n e w sym- bols, such as the six listed on the sample card above. W h e n a n e w subject appears, a card is typed bearing t h a t subject and it is taken to C a t a l o g Division of the library w h e r e it is either accepted f o r insertion as a n e w "see also" card in the catalog or adapted to meet the system of subject head- ings used by the library. Should the sub- ject chosen by the librarian in the collection not meet the subject cataloging policy of the library, the library policy prevails. H o w - ever, the collection files its o w n subject card, u n d e r the heading used by the U n i t e d N a t i o n s , w i t h a "see also" card in its refer- ence card file s t a t i n g that 'the catalog has material on the p a r t i c u l a r subject listed u n d e r a different heading. T h i s makes it possible to use the subject headings appear- ing in U n i t e d N a t i o n s documents and cited and quoted in the press and periodicals, w i t h o u t checking and cross checking to find out w h a t the catalog subject heading may be. T h i s practice of h a v i n g the catalog ad- here to the s t a n d a r d s of the library pro- fession, and the collection adhere to the U n i t e d N a t i o n s standards, w o r k s out well in practice. T h e staff of the C a t a l o g i n g Division is thus freed f r o m c l u t t e r i n g up the catalog w i t h i n n u m e r a b l e c o n f u s i n g sub- ject headings which apply almost exclusively to the U n i t e d N a t i o n s material and to no o t h e r . T h e United Nations Documents Index, issued monthly, is checked against the refer- ence card file w i t h i n 48 hours a f t e r receipt, thus assuring t h a t this key guide to the reference tools is as c u r r e n t as physically possible. A n y other reference tools received are similarly processed. W h e n the n u m - ber of symbols at the bottom of any card in the reference card file becomes too n u m e r - ous f o r the one card, a second card is made and the first card is retyped to include only the references to the m o r e significant refer- ence tools. Importance of Trained Staff T r a i n e d staff is i m p o r t a n t in the satis- factory maintenance of such a collection and will always be so. H o w e v e r , the pro- cedures described above w e r e designed to make it possible-to operate an adequate col- lection w i t h a n o n p e r m a n e n t staff, t h a t is, w i t h one person w h o w o u l d probably not re- main m o r e than three years, supplemented by others w h o might remain as little as one year. JANUARY, 1951 61 7