PREFACE THIS manual is a guide, designed primarily to help library assistants, library school students, college students, teachers, and users of libraries in general, in gaining a knowledge of reference books quickly. It does not pretend to be complete. The reference books and bibliographies included in this list are necessarily limited, first, to those of a strictly reference character, and, secondly, to the most useful works in the English language, with some exceptions in other languages. It is obviously impossible, without exceeding the limits of one volume, to include all of the important works of reference in foreign languages, which, though often of more value than the corresponding English books, still are of restricted use owing to the comparatively small number of readers of foreign languages who frequent our libraries. Reference books which are limited to the use of the specialist have been in like manner usually omitted. Out-of-print books have occasionally been mentioned because they are to be found in the older libraries. It sometimes happens that the best reference book on a subject is out of print. Almost all books of reference possess defects as well as merits; it is difficult indeed to find one that is perfect. At the same time they are essential to a well-equipped library. The annotations of the titles herein contained are largely of a descriptive character, showing for what purposes the books mentioned are especially useful. Besides cyclopedias and dictionaries which give direct aid, the reader will have to consult more elaborate treatises for further information. Bibliographies are guides to these. A knowledge of bibliography, therefore, forms an important part in the preparation of the student. The most useful reference department will include bibliographies of special subjects along with the cyclopedias of those subjects. It is to be regretted that books belonging to the class Bibliography are as a rule kept in the cataloger's room or the librarian's office, not in the reference department where they would be useful to the public. In a large library, such an important printed catalog as that of the Peabody Institute Library and a bibliographical work like the United States catalog and supplement, should by all means be kept where the public can have easy access to them even if it is necessary to duplicate such works. This manual will also serve as a guide in the selection of reference books for a library. The prices given are the publishers' prices, and the lowest price is usually quoted. Books can often be obtained at a discount or picked up from time to time at auction or second-hand stores at a much reduced price. Reference books are expensive, and few libraries can afford to keep up with new editions or even with recent authorities. In many cases new editions are not worth the cost. They are frequently made from the same plates as the earlier editions, with slight alterations, not of sufficient importance to warrant the expense involved in their purchase. A suggestive list of one hundred reference books for a small library will be found at the end of the volume. The selection of the books in this volume has been made from a study of the reference departments of the principal libraries of Philadelphia, Boston, New York, St. Louis, and Washington, and practically covers the course of study in reference books as pursued in the Drexel Institute Library School. Other library schools also give similar courses. 1902 PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION THE publication of many important reference books since 1902 made it necessary to revise and enlarge the Guide. The Supplements published in the Library Journal and the A.L.A. Booklist in January of each year have been incorporated with much additional material in the present edition. More foreign reference books have been included, and in some cases the scope of the work has been extended to embrace mention of institutions as well as books which may be consulted by the reference librarian. Special attention is called to the Index which has been made as full as practicable in order that the reference books may be more readily used by persons who have had little experience in looking up information in them. It includes, besides topics referred to in the text, many subjects of general interest to be found in the books of reference mentioned in this manual, such as state seals, state flowers, coats of arms, consuls, election returns, etc. While it is obviously impossible to make a complete analytic index to the contents of reference books, there are still a number of subjects which it is convenient to locate quickly, and which are difficult to find without a thorough knowledge of these books. The compiler extends grateful acknowledgments for helpful suggestions to Mr F. W. Faxon, Mr Charles C. Soule, Mr S. H. Berry, Mr A. Growoll, Mr Edward H. Virgin, Mr David H. Hutcheson, Mr Charles Martel, Mr Steingrimur Stefansson, Dr Roland P. Falkner, Miss A. R. Hasse, Miss Theodosia E. Macurdy, Mr C. W. Andrews, Mr J. I. Wyer, Jr., Mr William Coolidge Lane, Miss Nina E. Browne, Mr George Winthrop Lee; to the reference librarians of the Free Library of Philadelphia, Astor Library, Library of Congress, John Crerar Library, and other libraries for their many courtesies. 1908 INTRODUCTION 66 A REFERENCE book has been defined as a book which is to be consulted for definite points of information rather than read through, and is arranged with explicit reference to ease in finding specific facts." (E. C. Richardson in Lib. j. 18:254.) Books which come under this classification are usually separated from the rest of the books in a library and placed where they can be most readily consulted by the public, without the delay of customary formalities. They comprise general encyclopedias, cyclopedias of special subjects, dictionaries, gazetteers, atlases, etc. The term reference book in public libraries is also used to include many books that do not circulate outside the library either on account of their character or their value.1 REFERENCE WORK IN LIBRARIES The term reference work is commonly used in libraries to include that branch of their administration which deals with the assistance given to readers in their use of the resources of the library. This is an important part of the educational work of public libraries. The "information desk " is now a well-established feature in the large libraries of America. At this post the reference librarian presides. His duties are to assist readers in their search for information, and to some extent to guide the reading public by preparing lists of references on topics of the day or on subjects of general interest. He must be able to send inquirers to the necessary reference books or other authorities, and in order to do this he should have a thorough knowledge of the librarian's aids and guides, reference books, and bibliographies. The reference librarian, especially in a public library, should keep a record of the questions most frequently asked, specifying places in which answers to the same can be found. It is well, if time does not allow for analytic work to be inserted in the card catalog, to keep this record near the information desk, writing the questions on cards with references where found, and filing alphabetically. Much valuable time is consumed in looking up the same question over and over again. This is particularly noticeable in the case of questions for school work where a large number of children are assigned the same topic. Lists of all references on such subjects as Christmas, Arbor Day, Thanksgiving Day, Washington's Farewell address, lives of noted personages,- Washington, Lincoln, Lowell, Holmes, etc., should be always at hand covering every available reference in the library on the subject. In libraries where there is no reference librarian every attendant at the delivery desk must be ready to answer questions, and, when not able to do so, must refer them to the Librarian. Any one at all familiar with library management knows what a large number of questions — some trivial and some important are brought to the library for solution every day. The Librarian cannot always be accessible to the numerous visitors who come to the library. It is, therefore, of the highest importance that his assistants should, so far as possible, understand how to use reference books, which serve frequently as guides to more important authorities which may not be included under the limited title, reference book. The public certainly cannot expect the attendants to know the answers to the questions which they ask, but in the majority of cases they should be expected to know where to find them. This knowledge comes largely 1 See the article on Reference books by E. C. Richardson, in Dewey, Melvil, ed. Papers prepared for the World's library congress, 1896, p. 976–982. 2 See Assistance to readers, by W. E. Foster, in Dewey, Melvil, ed. Papers prepared for the World's library congress, 1896, p. 982-993. from daily experience, and becomes constantly more technical in character; it can, however, be materially assisted by a systematic study of reference books. Johnson said: "Knowledge is of two kinds. We know a subject ourselves, or we know where we can find information upon it." The latter is one of the necessary requirements of a librarian. A thorough understanding of the use and value of reference books assists one to turn readily to the correct book for the solution of some difficult point, and saves much valuable time. Every desk-attendant should be a reference librarian so far as in him lies the ability. The true librarian finds no greater satisfaction in his daily work than that of solving a difficult problem for some earnest student by placing before him the best authority from some hidden corner of the library. The memory can be trained along these lines to a remarkable degree. The librarian who sincerely wishes to succeed in this, by a systematic study of the books of reference, and the use of the indexes and other keys, will be able to accomplish what will appear most wonderful to one not accustomed to the daily handling of books and constant observation of them. A librarian, distinguished for his ability to assist readers, wrote, "In the intervals of library work, I am accustomed to consider the looking up of subjects or authorities as one of my very best recreations. It is as interesting as a game of whist and much more profitable. . . . And this is one of the foremost attractions, let me add, of the librarian's calling; it is more full of intellectual variety, of wide-open avenues to knowledge, than any other vocation whatever." A. R. Spofford in his Book for all readers, p. 193. In some of the large libraries meetings of the assistants are held at regular intervals. A study of aids and guides, with the result of practical experience in using them, can be made an instructive feature of such meetings. There are possibilities of improvement in the regular staff of the library in this way, while the results can be tested from time to time if desired by means of examinations, the questions asked at the delivery desk serving as a basis for such examination. SOURCES OF INFORMATION Other institutions besides libraries are engaged in reference work and are important bureaus of information which the reference librarian should know and refer to when the resources of his library have been exhausted. Some of these are in connection with the United States government at Washington, among which may be mentioned the Bureau of Education which is the chief authority in the country for educational information, the Department of Agriculture, the Surgeon-general's office for medical subjects, the Department of Commerce and Labor and many others. There are other institutions such as the Philadelphia Museums whose specialty is foreign commerce that may be called upon by librarians for aid in looking up subjects. A few enterprises of a more commercial nature it is also well to use. An example of this is the Cumulative Reference Library of the H. W. Wilson Company, Minneapolis, which consists of articles clipped from magazines (principally those indexed in the Readers' guide) and theses, pamphlets, etc. Collections on a number of important subjects are rented at a small cost. This is of use in small towns to supplement the collections of the public library when its collection of periodicals is limited. INTERLIBRARY LOANS Through a system of interlibrary loans books may be borrowed from other libraries for the use of students. The reference librarian must remember this when assisting serious readers. The Library of Congress, for example, lends books "for the convenience of investigators engaged in research on condition that the book is an unusual one "which it is not the duty of the local library to supply, and that it can at the moment be spared by the Library of Congress, and that the risk and expense of transportation shall be borne by the borrowing library." This custom is also adopted by many large public, state and college libraries. |