College and Research Libraries


Books with No Indexes 
By J E D H. T A Y L O R 

A C A R D I N A L G O A L of librarians of in-
stitutions of higher learning is to 

build up collections of permanent value. 
For a non-fiction work to serve this pur-
pose, we would expect it to be read in 
whole or in part and to be referred to 
for such things as facts, opinions, ideas, 
or felicitous phrasing. College librarians 
have to buy books selectively, a task made 
more difficult by the rising cost of books.1 
It becomes more important, therefore, 
to acquire books which can be used both 
for reading and for reference. T h e key 
to the latter use is the index—the origi-
nal information retrieval device. 

Lorena Garloch states forthrightly that 
"books with no indexes at all are ap-
parently written or published by egotists 
who feel that a book is only to be read 
through in its entirety. If it is ever to 
be referred to again, it must either be 
read through or the user must have such 
an uncanny memory that the needed pas-
sage can easily be found." 2 Isn't this all 
the more true for the librarian whose 
professional time is wasted inordinately 
by such books? Paul M. Angle in his 
article, " W h a t ! No Index?," 3 describes 
graphically this waste of time. He spent 
hours making a comparative study of a 
subject because, of the two books about 
it, the 1957 imprint had no index, al-
though the 1918 imprint did. 

" T h e continuing propensity of pub-
lishers to issue books (adult non-fiction) 
without indexes"4 was first noticed by 

1 " B o o k P r i c e s . " Library and Book Trade Annual: 
1960, edited by Wyllis E . Wright (Bowker, 1 9 5 9 ) , p. 
S3; for example, the prices of all economics hooks have 
increased 52.8 per cent between the 1947-49 base period 
and 1958, according to a chart prepared by William H. 
Kurth. 

2 Lorena Garloch, " T w o , b, or not 2 B ? , " Library 
Journal, L X X X I I I ( 1 9 5 8 ) , 3053. 

3 Paul M. Angle, " W h a t ! No I n d e x ? , " Library Jour-
nal, L X X X I V ( 1 9 5 9 ) , 3 3 8 7 ; taken in part from his 
article in Chicago History, V ( 1 9 5 9 ) , 218-222. 

4 Ibid. 

Mr. Taylor is Acquisitions Librarian, 
Mansfield State College Library, Mansfield, 
Pa. 

the writer when scanning books in the 
cataloging process in a liberal arts col-
lege library. Lately, while checking sev-
eral large shipments in a state college 
library, books without indexes seemed 
to be turning up with greater frequency. 
We discovered over three hundred, some 
two hundred of them published in the 
five years 1956-1960. 

One hundred of the 1956-60 imprints 
were selected as typical of current books 
that college librarians might find it de-
sirable to acquire. T h e books have been 
grouped in three categories: by f o r m — 
addresses, essays and lectures, biography, 
collections, description and travel, lit-
erary criticism, pictorial works; by sub-
ject—contemporary scene, education, re-
ligion, science, miscellaneous; and by 
publishers—associations and agencies. 

W e did this to help us spot books 
which tend to be published with no 
indexes as a step in curtailing the pur-
chasing of borderline books. W e hope 
this review of our analysis will be useful 
to other librarians in the book selection 
process. 

A D D R E S S E S , E S S A Y S AND L E C T U R E S . These 
are usually by men well known for mas-
tery of the subjects about which they 
speak. Because of this fact, the refer-
ences they use in support of their expo-
sitions become more significant, more 
authoritative. T h e authors, therefore, 
ought to index their works. Nevertheless, 
J. B. Fordham fails to do so for his de-
velopment of the idea of A Larger Con-
cept of Community (Louisiana State 

M A Y 1 9 6 2 229 



University Press, 1956); nor does James 
B. Conant in his Godkin Lectures, Ger-
many and Freedom (Harvard University 
Press, 1958). Yet, on a more general 
topic, Pieter Geyl, in his Terry Lectures, 
The Use and Abuse of History (Yale 
University Press, 1955), does include this 
essential feature. 

B I O G R A P H Y . For biographies, it would 
seem, indexes are prime requisites be-
cause the lives of men impinge on the 
lives of other persons and on events 
which are the primary interest of many 
readers. Illustrative are these works— 
one about the past, one about the pres-
ent: New England Saints (University of 
Michigan Press, 1956), by Austin War-
ren, and Nikolai Khokhlov's In the 
Name of Conscience (McKay, 1959), "the 
testament of a Soviet secret agent." T h e 
value of the works is seriously reduced 
because there are no page references to 
persons or to events. 

C O L L E C T I O N S . Perhaps collections are 
less likely to need indexes because they 
comprise excerpts from the works of one 
or more authors. However, one would 
have to read one or more chapters, de-
pending on the illusive accuracy of their 
titles, to track down specific informa-
tion. T h i s is exactly what Angle5 had to 
do to trace the movements of a female 
detective in Secret Missions of the Civil 
War (Rand, McNally, 1959), by Philip 
Van Doren Stern. Certainly, source 
books, being used primarily for refer-
ence, should have indexes. It is regret-
table, therefore, that The Renaissance 
Stage (University of Miami Press, 1959), 
edited by Bernard W . Hewitt, is an in-
dexless collection of documents. 

Of course, The Essay Index and The 
Biography Index cover many collections 
by authors and titles and under broad 
subjects. These are estimable tools to 
find excerpts for first reading, but state-
ments within chapters are beyond the 
scope of these indexes. 

D E S C R I P T I O N AND T R A V E L . Travel books 
5 Op. cit. 

need indexes to answer the questions 
Who?, What?, When?, Where? Our ex-
perience indicates that too often they 
do not. For example, a description of 
Israel (Hill 8c Wang, 1958), by Ruth 
Gruber, is deficient in this vital respect. 
Gavin Maxwell's The People of the 
Reeds (Harper, 1957), describes the cul-
ture of a tribe inhabiting the marshes 
of the Tigris River. Yet the legitimate 
interest of social scientists in specific 
aspects of this culture is foreclosed by 
lack of an index. 

L I T E R A R Y C R I T I C I S M . One would think 
it would be standard procedure for 
scholars to furnish indexes so that their 
peers could check on sources and find-
ings. It is not uncommon, however, to 
find works like Robert M. Adam's Sten-
dahl (Noonday Press, 1959), which does 
not do this. And does it not seem pre-
sumptuous for Margaret Kennedy, au-
thor of The Outlaws of Parnassus (Vik-
ing, I960) to expect all readers to take 
"an excursion among novelists from 
Homer to the moderns" without an 
index? 

P I C T O R I A L W O R K S . At first glance, pic-
torial works would seem to be the type 
least likely to require indexing. But 
reference librarians know how difficult 
it can be to answer requests for visual 
representation of persons, places, things. 
T h e r e is no index to these in an expen-
sive book, Africa (Simon 8c Schuster, 
1959), by Emil Schulthess—no way to 
relate his pictures to the actualities of 
today. 

C O N T E M P O R A R Y S C E N E . T h i s is the first 
heading for titles grouped by subject. 
When considering similar titles on the 
same subject, as often happens, a selec-
tion may well turn on a comparison of 
bibliographical features, of which the 
index is a major one. 

Writers on the contemporary scene 
seek to inform, to influence opinion, to 
change attitudes; the last is particularly 

(Continued on page 261) 

230 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S 



. . . No Indexes 
(Contitiued from page 230) 

the aim of authors who write in a philo-
sophical vein. One would expect them, 
especially, to assume that their works 
will be quoted. T h e index means to this 
end, surprisingly enough, is omitted by 
Jacques Barzun in The House of In-
tellect (Harper, 1959). In The Fourth 
Branch of Government (Houghton, 1959), 
Douglas Cator is concerned about press-
governmental relations in Washington, 
but is unconcerned about leaving the 
intricacies of these relationships unin-
dexed. On the contemporary scene 
abroad, Chester Bowles in 1956 wrote a 
fact-crammed work, Africa's Challenge to 
America (University of California Press). 
Obviously, the challenge is greater now 
than then. And when we turn to it for 
certain facts, we find no way to retrieve 
the information. 

E D U C A T I O N . Books on education may 
be of general interest or for specialists. 
Books of both kinds come without in-
dexes; such as Soviet Education Today 
(De Graff, 1959), by Deanna Levin and 
Visual Methods in Education (Philo-
sophical Library, 1957), by William C. 
Sumner. In Undercover Teacher (Dou-
bleday, 1960), George N. Allen treats 
factually conditions which Evan Hunter 
treats fictionally in The Blackboard Jun-
gle (Simon & Schuster, 1954). But the 
former, without an index, has no more 
reference value than the latter. 

R E L I G I O N . One can understand, per-
haps, index omissions in books of ex-
hortation. But differences of opinion are 
common in the field of religion, and it 
seems that authors would be sure to 
include indexes to their interpretations. 
Libuse Miller neglects to do this in The 
Christian and the World of Unbelief 
(Abingdon, 1957); nor does A. C. Bou-
quet provide an index to Christian Faith 
and Non-Christian Religions (Harper, 
1958). 

S C I E N C E . Depending upon the subject 

M A Y 1 9 6 2 

treated, the college public is, at one and 
the same time, both professional and 
lay. In either role, this public tends to 
channel its subject curiosity; therefore, 
it needs indexes to particulars which in-
terest it. Examples of works which do 
not meet this need are: Scientific Uses 
of Earth Satellites (University of Michi-
gan Press, 1958), edited by James Van 
Allen, and Galaxies to Man (Random 
House, 1959), by J o h n Pfeiffer. 

M I S C E L L A N E O U S . T h e r e are many titles 
which lack enough common character-
istics to disclose categories other than 
the foregoing ones. We have in mind 
titles which, in treatment, come within 
the purview of college library require-
ments. T h e books cover a variety of sub-
jects—Islamic law, retarded children, 
philately, demonology. Here are two 
which one would assume would have 
indexes but do not: Foundations of 
Capitalism (Philosophical Library, 1959), 
by Oliver C. Cox, and Harold M. May-
er's Port of Chicago and the St. Lawrence 
Seaway (University of Chicago Press), 
which is the 1957 imprint that caused 
Angle0 so much trouble. 

A S S O C I A T I O N S AND A G E N C I E S . T h i s head-
ing segregates titles published by such 
organizations. As collective action in-
creases, the number of titles issued or 
sponsored by organizations increases. 
Many of these publications are reports of 
the latest findings and developments in 
the various disciplines; many are contin-
uations. For some agencies, as depart-
ments of universities, no indexes are due 
to limited budgets.7 Associations and 
agencies may also omit indexes because 
they sell at low prices.8 T h e r e should be 
a greater opportunity to effect improve-

6 Op. cit. 
7 Ernest Q. Campbell and others, When a City Closes 

Its Schools (Chapel Hill, N. C.: Institute for Research 
in Social Science, University of North Carolina, 1960), 
195p. $1.00 paper. 

8 William Kvaraceus and others, Delinquent Behavior; 
Culture and the Individual. (Washington D. C.: Juvenile 
Delinquency Project. National Education Association, 
1959)_, 147p. $1.25; and National Reading Conference, 
Starting and Improving College Reading Programs; 
the 8th Yearbook of the Conference; edited by Oscar 
Causey and William Ellen. (Fort Worth: The Con-
ference, Bailey Building, Texas Christian University, 
1959), 196p. $2.50 paper. 

2 6 1 



ments with the cooperation of their of-
ficials because so many are members of 
the academic community and because 
libraries of institutions of higher learn-
ing probably constitute their best market. 

T h e writer hopes that librarians will 
be interested in checking for books with-
out indexes among their recent acquisi-
tions. T h e i r search may locate other 
titles under the headings used here or 
accumulate titles which fall within other 
categories. If this should be the case, 
we can conclude that many titles are 
being acquired that do not meet the 
index criterion of permanent value. As 
time passes, it seems that books now cur-
rent are less likely to be widely read and 
more likely to be used as sources for 
later scholarly research; hence the need 
for indexes. 

At least, a non-indexed work serves 
notice to the searcher that he is "on his 
own." But a poor index perpetrates a 
kind of literary fraud in that it can lead 
the unwary reader to infer that there is 
nothing in a work on his or her problem. 
Garloch's article9 on inadequate index-
ing has been cited, and librarians know 
that their representatives on the Z39 
Subcommittee of the American Stand-
ards Association helped to draft the 
standards adopted by this Association.10 
T h e standards need to be adapted for 
daily use by book selectors. One way 
might be to devise indicators of thor-
oughness which can be applied to vari-
ous types of books categorized by form, 
content, readers, etc. 

T h e index is important, but it is not 
the only feature of the bibliographic 
apparatus (broadly defined). Its best 
features are standards of good practice 
which contribute to a reader's under-
standing and which enable a searcher to 
find most readily data pertinent to his 
inquiry and make possible his recourse 
to other sources with the least delay. 

9 Op. ext., 3051-3055. 
10 " 2 3 9 Subcommittee on Indexing; American Stand-

ards Association: Report, 1958," Library Journal, 
L X X X I I I (1958), 1351-1358. 

Experience suggests that any search, tak-
ing no more time than that for this ar-
ticle, will as surely disclose instances of 
sub-standard practice. Illustrative is The 
Goals of Higher Education (Harvard 
University Press, 1960), edited by W . D. 
Weatherford, J r . It is a collection of lec-
tures by six prominent educators. None, 
except Gordon Allport, gives footnotes 
or citations. These markedly increase the 
scope of the one lecture, leading read-
ers to citations of works with more data 
on the facets of Allport's subject of 
interest to them. 

W e share with scholars an interest 
in this deteriorative situation but, more 
directly, because librarianship is con-
cerned with the relative quality of a 
title, both as book and work, whatever 
the subject, which is the primary in-
terest of the scholar. Therefore, it might 
be appropriate for librarians to consider 
initially the improvement of the ap-
paratus. A committee of librarians could 
do the groundwork by offering conclu-
sive evidence of the deterioration. Such 
action will bring librarians in contact 
with professors on the campus and as 
officials of their associations. W e should 
be able to arouse their interest by mak-
ing them aware of the increasing diffi-
culty they will encounter in their re-
search due to the faulty bibliographic 
apparatus of more and more books. 

For maximum effectiveness, any steps 
to bring about improvements in the sit-
uation would probably have to be done 
by a joint committee of librarians and 
scholars. T h e i r prestige will aid immeas-
urably because the improvements them-
selves must come from action by their 
own brethren, by other writers, and by 
publishers. But with publishers librar-
ians should have not inconsiderable in-
fluence for, as they admit, the library 
market absorbs "a good half of their 
adult non-fiction (best-sellers and re-
prints aside)."1 1 

11 Daniel Melcher, " T h e Library Market," American 
Library and Book Trade Annual, 1960, edited by Wyllis 
E. Wright (New Y o r k : Bowker, 1959), p. 43. 

2 6 2 C O L L E G E A N D R E S E A R C H L I B R A R I E S 



T h e cooperation of librarians and 
scholars may not be without its difficul-
ties because the approach of each to the 
problem is different: the librarian, that 
of the generalist; the scholar, that of the 
subject specialist. If, however, both 
work together to improve the apparatus 
which benefits scholars personally, then 
one might not be overly optimistic to ex-
pect further support from them in build-
ing collections of permanent value. They 
should see that this, too, is to their ad-
vantage for, after all, the product with 
which we deal comes largely from their 
hands. 

Readers interested in pursuing this 
matter further can obtain on re-
quest to the writer a bibliography 
of one hundred non-indexed titles 
published in the five-year period 
1956-1960 arranged alphabetically by 
author under the headings used in 
this article. 

r 1 
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