College and Research Libraries


B y F . J . H A R S A G H Y , J R . 

Roads to Aeronaui 
Mr. Harsaghy is reviews editor, Institute 

of the Aeronautical Sciences, New York. 

I N T R O D U C T I O N 

THE ROADS to a e r o n a u t i c a l research are m a n y : broad and n a r r o w . T h e y reach 
as a n e t w o r k a l l o v e r the w o r l d , h a v i n g 

been b u i l t by g o v e r n m e n t a l and p r i v a t e 

agencies f o r v a r i o u s purposes. U l t i m a t e l y , 

in this e x p a n d i n g air age in w h i c h w e l i v e , 

they lead to both w a r and peace. 

A t the i m p o r t a n t crossroads of the w o r l d 

stand institutes, f o u n d a t i o n s , associations, 

societies, and o t h e r bodies in w h o s e libraries 

and research f a c i l i t i e s f a r - r e a c h i n g investi-

g a t i o n s are b e i n g c o n d u c t e d . O f the m a n y 

d i f f e r e n t types of bodies f u r t h e r i n g the field 

of a e r o n a u t i c a l research, the R o y a l A e r o -

n a u t i c a l S o c i e t y in B r i t a i n , the N a t i o n a l 

A e r o n a u t i c a l R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e s in the 

N e t h e r l a n d s and in S w e d e n , M a s s a c h u s e t t s 

I n s t i t u t e of T e c h n o l o g y and the N a t i o n a l 

A d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e f o r A e r o n a u t i c s in the 

U n i t e d States are b u t a token f e w . A m o n g 

such e m i n e n t bodies, w e find the I n s t i t u t e 

of the A e r o n a u t i c a l Sciences, 1 w i t h its head-

q u a r t e r s located in N e w Y o r k . 

T h e o b j e c t i v e of this paper is to describe 

the f u n c t i o n i n g of the I A S l i b r a r y in N e w 

Y o r k C i t y and of the I A S d o c u m e n t a t i o n 

service w h i c h is published m o n t h l y in the 

Aeronautical Engineering Review, an offi-

cial I A S p u b l i c a t i o n . 

P A R T I — L I B R A R Y S E R V I C E S 

T h e p r i n c i p a l aim of the I n s t i t u t e l i b r a r y 

in N e w Y o r k is to p r o v i d e the r e a d e r or 

researcher w i t h the l i t e r a t u r e required to 

f u r t h e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n s and research. T h i s 
1 H e r e i n a f t e r referred to as I A S . 

ical Research 
aim is d i r e c t l y related to the stated official 

policy of the I n s t i t u t e itself w h i c h seeks to 

f a c i l i t a t e the i n t e r c h a n g e of ideas a m o n g 

persons interested in the a d v a n c e m e n t of the 

a e r o n a u t i c a l sciences. 

T h e history of the l i b r a r y goes back to 

the f o u n d i n g of the I A S in 1 9 3 2 . H o w -

ever, the l a r g e s t p o r t i o n of the c o l l e c t i o n 

w a s added in 1940, w h e n the W . A . M . 

B u r d e n L i b r a r y w a s loaned to the I A S and 

the P a u l K o l l s m a n L e n d i n g L i b r a r y w a s 

started. I n 1 9 5 0 , the collections of the 

W . A . M . B u r d e n L i b r a r y became an inte-

g r a l p a r t of the I n s t i t u t e l i b r a r y . T h i s 

accretion m a d e a v a i l a b l e extensive and ad-

d i t i o n a l c o v e r a g e on both g e n e r a l aero-

n a u t i c a l topics and on specific t e c h n i c a l 

phases, some of w h i c h w i l l be e n u m e r a t e d 

in P a r t I I , as p a r t of a s u b j e c t b r e a k d o w n . 

T h e I n s t i t u t e l i b r a r y p r o v i d e s v a r i o u s 

f u n c t i o n a l services to a p o t e n t i a l readership 

of over 10,000 i n d i v i d u a l and c o r p o r a t e 

m e m b e r s w h o are entitled to use l i b r a r y 

and i n f o r m a t i o n a l facilities. A m o n g these 

services, the r e a d i n g and r e f e r e n c e , c i r c u l a -

tion, and d u p l i c a t i n g services ( p h o t o s t a t i n g , 

m i c r o f i l m i n g , e t c . ) are of prime i m p o r t a n c e . 

T h e l i b r a r y c o l l e c t i o n consists of a p p r o x i -

m a t e l y 50,000 items, of w h i c h a b o u t 18,000 

are w e l l - s e l e c t e d books. T h e r e m a i n d e r of 

the c o l l e c t i o n is m a d e up of scientific and 

t e c h n i c a l reports f r o m all o v e r the w o r l d , 

periodicals, p a m p h l e t s , films, and miscella-

neous and e p h e m e r a l m a t e r i a l s . I A S m e m -

bers m a y b o r r o w these l i b r a r y m a t e r i a l s f o r 

a period of t w o w e e k s ( w i t h r e n e w a l p r i v i -

l e g e s ) ; excepted are c e r t a i n r e f e r e n c e w o r k s 

and rare items. O t h e r s o v e r eighteen years 

old w i t h w e l l - d e f i n e d a e r o n a u t i c a l interests 

164 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



and r e s i d i n g in the U n i t e d States m a y apply 

f o r membership in the P a u l K o l l s m a n 

L e n d i n g L i b r a r y , w h i c h w o u l d p e r m i t them 

to b o r r o w books and, as f a r as facilities per-

mit, other research m a t e r i a l s . 

I n the case of rare items, the independ-

e n t l y f u n c t i o n i n g I A S A e r o n a u t i c a l M u -

seum has a close c o o p e r a t i v e w o r k i n g ar-

r a n g e m e n t w i t h the l i b r a r y . O n e a c t i v i t y 

w h i c h i l l u s t r a t e s this c o o p e r a t i v e a r r a n g e -

m e n t deals w i t h the I n s t i t u t e ' s collections of 

W r i g h t m e m o r a b i l i a , w h i c h w e r e used ex-

tensively last y e a r t o c o m m e m o r a t e the his-

toric F i f t i e t h A n n i v e r s a r y of P o w e r e d 

F l i g h t . 

T h e I A S l i b r a r y in N e w Y o r k also m a i n -

tains a w o r k i n g a r r a n g e m e n t w i t h the Insti-

t u t e ' s P a c i f i c A e r o n a u t i c a l L i b r a r y in L o s 

A n g e l e s . T h e P A L is u n d e r the direction 

of M r s . N e l l S t e i n m e t z and f u n c t i o n s as an 

independent a c t i v i t y s e r v i n g the technical 

libraries of the W e s t C o a s t aviation industry 

by p r o v i d i n g t h e m w i t h essential d a y - t o - d a y 

i n f o r m a t i o n needed t o c a r r y on their de-

fense e f f o r t . T o a lesser e x t e n t this same 

type of relationship likewise is being main-

tained w i t h the I A S l i b r a r y in San D i e g o . 

Some 300 pieces of l i b r a r y m a t e r i a l s are 

c i r c u l a t e d f r o m the N e w Y o r k l i b r a r y per 

m o n t h . F o r this purpose the postal service 

is used e x t e n s i v e l y , w i t h books b e i n g m a i l e d 

to distant points in the U n i t e d States and 

C a n a d a as one means of m a i n t a i n i n g con-

nections w i t h the f a r - f l u n g membership. 

T h e I n s t i t u t e l i b r a r y in N e w Y o r k f u n c -

tions w i t h a r e g u l a r staff of seven persons, 

i n c l u d i n g the l i b r a r i a n , J o h n J . G l e n n o n . 

A d m i n i s t r a t i v e l y , it is an i n t e g r a l p a r t of 

the I n s t i t u t e , w h i c h is a scientific m e m b e r -

ship society d e r i v i n g financial s u p p o r t di-

r e c t l y f r o m the a i r c r a f t i n d u s t r y . 

I n short, the f u n d a m e n t a l purpose of this 

I A S l i b r a r y is to p r o v i d e f u n c t i o n a l and pro-

fessional specialized l i b r a r y service f u r t h e r -

i n g the a e r o n a u t i c a l sciences. 

P A R T I I — A E R O N A U T I C A L R E V I E W S 

T h e " A e r o n a u t i c a l R e v i e w s " section 

w h i c h is published m o n t h l y in the Aeronau-

tical Engineering Review, and w h i c h is 

c u m u l a t e d a n n u a l l y as the Aeronautical En-

gineering Index, is an i m p o r t a n t p a r t of the 

i n f o r m a t i o n a l and editorial services of the 

I A S . T h e R e v i e w s D e p a r t m e n t f u n c t i o n -

a l l y m a y be considered to be the i n d e x i n g 

and a b s t r a c t i n g a r m of the l i b r a r y . C o n s e -

q u e n t l y , a p e r f e c t l y c o o r d i n a t e d and 

s m o o t h l y f u n c t i o n i n g liaison has been es-

tablished and is b e i n g m a i n t a i n e d b e t w e e n 

the E d i t o r i a l R e v i e w s D e p a r t m e n t and the 

l i b r a r y o r g a n i z a t i o n . 

T h e policy d e t e r m i n i n g " A e r o n a u t i c a l 

R e v i e w s " c o v e r a g e stems d i r e c t l y f r o m the 

stated basic mission of the I n s t i t u t e as a 

w h o l e . T h e director of the I n s t i t u t e , S. 

P a u l J o h n s t o n , in an editorial published in 

the A p r i l , 1 9 5 0 , issue of the Aeronautical 

Engineering Review, on page 1 7 , has em-

phasized t h a t : 

T h e basic mission of the Institute is to 
facilitate the interchange of ideas among 
aeronautical engineers to advance the aero-
nautical sciences. 

A n d in an earlier editorial, published J a n -

u a r y , 1 9 4 7 , {ibid.), on page 2 1 , he has 

stated c e r t a i n principles still h a v i n g v a l i d i t y 

t o d a y : 

W i t h the release of w a r t i m e restrictions 
on information, more and more significant 
articles are appearing in the technical press 
at home and abroad, and it is more im-
portant than ever that I A S members every-
where be given a brief, accurate, and cur-
rent evaluation of them as fast as they 
appear. W i t h this in view, the Institute 
staff has been reorganized to bring the 
libraries and the Review closer together . . ., 
to extend the quantity and quality of our 
coverage. Classification of articles is being 
intensively studied and improved. A b s t r a c t s 
are being briefed by elimination of extrane-
ous matter. A new style of presentation 
has been adopted which is consistent with 

APRIL, 1955 
19 7 



other technical abstracting services and 
which is geared into the indexing systems 
of technical libraries. 

W i t h the p h e n o m e n a l g r o w t h of aero-

nautics, k e e p i n g pace w i t h its v a s t l i t e r a t u r e 

and t h a t of related fields has d e v e l o p e d into 

a v o l u m i n o u s task. T h e t r e m e n d o u s w e i g h t 

of the c o v e r a g e n o w b e i n g w r i t t e n up in 

p u b l i c a t i o n s a l l over the w o r l d requires a 

v e r y s t r i c t l y defined basis f o r selection of 

items to be i n c l u d e d in the Review. T h u s , 

only that l i t e r a t u r e is considered f o r in-

clusion w h i c h r e p o r t s results of o r i g i n a l 

t h e o r e t i c a l or e x p e r i m e n t a l studies, or is 

concerned w i t h n e w d e v e l o p m e n t s in tech-

niques, processes, or i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n . E x -

tensive a u t h o r i t a t i v e s u m m a r i e s also are in-

c l u d e d . A r t i c l e s w r i t t e n solely f r o m the 

s t a n d p o i n t s of n e w s or p o p u l a r i z a t i o n are 

e x c l u d e d . 

S u b j e c t - w i s e , w i t h i n a classified t r e a t -

m e n t , aspects of a e r o d y n a m i c s , a i r p l a n e de-

sign, p o w e r plants, s t r u c t u r e s , research, 

w i n d t u n n e l s , and f l i g h t o p e r a t i n g p r o b l e m s 

are g i v e n p r i m a r y emphasis in the selection 

process. O t h e r e l e m e n t s such as aeroelas-

ticity, a i r p o r t s , flight testing, f u e l s and l u -

bricants, g l i d e r s , l i g h t e r - t h a n - a i r c r a f t , spe-

c i a l i z e d e q u i p m e n t , i n s t r u m e n t s , m a t e r i a l s , 

missiles, p a r a c h u t e s , propellers, s a f e t y , and 

t h e r m o d y n a m i c s also are c o v e r e d . I n ad-

dition, there are m a n y related fields w h i c h 

are i n c l u d e d in this c o v e r a g e because of the 

i m p o r t a n t b e a r i n g on the a e r o n a u t i c a l sci-

ences. A m o n g t h e m are air t r a n s p o r t a t i o n , 

a v i a t i o n medicine, c o m p u t e r s , e d u c a t i o n and 

t r a i n i n g , electronics, l a w s and r e g u l a t i o n s , 

m a c h i n e elements, m a t h e m a t i c s , mechanics 

and physics, m e t e o r o l o g y , m i l i t a r y a v i a t i o n , 

n a v i g a t i o n , o r d n a n c e and a r m a m e n t , p h o t o g -

r a p h y , a i r c r a f t p r o d u c t i o n , and space t r a v e l . 

T h e m a i n d e v e l o p m e n t of the c o v e r a g e 

technique w a s s t a r t e d d u r i n g the l a t t e r p a r t 

of 1 9 4 6 . P r i o r to that date it w a s usual to 

c a r r y l a r g e n u m b e r s of items of v e r y g e n e r a l 

interest. T h e S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 4 6 , issue of the 

Aeronautical Engineering Review, f o r ex-

ample, carried b u t 1 3 5 r e v i e w s of w h i c h ap-

p r o x i m a t e l y 5 0 % w e r e n e w s o r p o p u l a r 

items, in m a n y cases, of o n l y c u r r e n t inter-

est. T h i s contrasts s h a r p l y w i t h the c o v e r -

age f o r S e p t e m b e r , 1 9 5 3 , w h e n 4 1 6 items 

w e r e i n c l u d e d . O f these 2 1 7 w e r e c a r r i e d 

w i t h a n n o t a t i o n s and the r e m a i n i n g 1 9 9 

w e r e listed, each w i t h a descriptive title, 

a u t h o r or a u t h o r s u s u a l l y , and the source. 

T h e s u b j e c t s i n c l u d e d in these 4 1 6 items 

w e r e confined e n t i r e l y to the three strictly 

defined c o v e r a g e categories listed above. 

W i t h o u t d o u b t the presently used selection 

p r o c e s s — a i m e d at the m a i n t e n a n c e of c u r -

rency and at the broadest possible c o v e r a g e 

of u s e f u l items in the l i t e r a t u r e — a n d the 

system of brief item citations developed 

d u r i n g the past s e v e r a l years to c a r r y o u t 

these aims are to be c r e d i t e d f o r this l a r g e 

increase in c o v e r a g e . 

A better appreciation m a y be had by 

c o n s i d e r i n g the m a g n i t u d e of the problem 

f a c i n g the R e v i e w s D e p a r t m e n t and the 

l i b r a r y s h a r i n g the responsibility of de-

t e r m i n i n g selection policies. R e g u l a r l y , ap-

p r o x i m a t e l y 500 specialized periodicals and 

serials are received at the I n s t i t u t e . O f 

these a p p r o x i m a t e l y 200 are w e e d e d o u t in 

the l i b r a r y w i t h o u t b e i n g r o u t e d i n t o the 

R e v i e w s D e p a r t m e n t f o r v a r i o u s reasons, 

i n c l u d i n g t h a t of l i m i t e d scope, over-special-

i z a t i o n of c o v e r a g e , and because of difficul-

ties in the use of certain f o r e i g n m a t e r i a l s . 

O f the r e m a i n i n g 300, a p p r o x i m a t e l y 5 0 % 

are a l w a y s used as sources and 3 0 % are 

used to a lesser e x t e n t . T h e r e m a i n i n g 

2 0 % are used o n l y o c c a s i o n a l l y . In addi-

tion, an a v e r a g e of a p p r o x i m a t e l y 1 7 5 re-

ports each m o n t h are r o u t e d into the R e -

v i e w s D e p a r t m e n t a f t e r initial processing by 

the l i b r a r y . T h e s e reports c o n s t i t u t e per-

haps the m o s t i m p o r t a n t g r o u p of m a t e r i a l s 

c o v e r e d in the Review, f o r g e n e r a l l y they 

166 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES 



represent the results of o r i g i n a l research, 

e n l a r g e m e n t s or extensions of t h e o r e t i c a l 

and e x p e r i m e n t a l studies, and n e w develop-

ments in techniques, procedures, or instru-

m e n t a t i o n . T h e y are channeled to the I n -

stitute f r o m all o v e r the w o r l d , both f r o m 

g o v e r n m e n t a l and f r o m p r i v a t e l y operated 

o r g a n i z a t i o n s . 

I l l u s t r a t i v e of the f o r e m o s t of these aero-

n a u t i c a l research agencies are the N a t i o n a l 

A d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e f o r A e r o n a u t i c s 

( N A C A ) , R o y a l A e r o n a u t i c a l Society 

( R A S ) , G r e a t B r i t a i n ' s A e r o n a u t i c a l R e -

search C o u n c i l ( A R C ) , C a n a d a ' s N a t i o n a l 

A e r o n a u t i c a l E s t a b l i s h m e n t ( N A E ) , the 

C o l l e g e of A e r o n a u t i c s at C r a n f i e l d , E n g -

land, U n i v e r s i t y of C a l i f o r n i a ' s I n s t i t u t e of 

T e c h n o l o g y ( C a l T e c h ) J e t P r o p u l s i o n 

L a b o r a t o r y , C o r n e l l A e r o n a u t i c a l L a b o r a -

t o r y ( C A L ) , U n i v e r s i t y of T o r o n t o Insti-

tute of A e r o p h y s i c s ( U T I A ) , the A e r o -

n a u t i c a l R e s e a r c h I n s t i t u t e of S w e d e n , 

F r a n c e ' s N a t i o n a l O f f i c e of A e r o n a u t i c a l 

S t u d i e s and R e s e a r c h ( O N E R A ) , U n i t e d 

States C i v i l A e r o n a u t i c s A d m i n i s t r a t i o n 

( C A A ) , T e c h n i c a l D e v e l o p m e n t and E v a l -

uation C e n t e r , and the U n i t e d States A i r 

F o r c e and N a v a l A i r D e v e l o p m e n t and re-

search units. 

I n short, the A e r o n a u t i c a l R e v i e w s D e -

p a r t m e n t f u n c t i o n s p r i m a r i l y to l i n k to-

g e t h e r the I n s t i t u t e ' s w i d e - f l u n g m e m b e r -

ship n e t w o r k . N o t only does this d o c u m e n -

tation service act as a g u i d e to the c u r r e n t 

l i t e r a t u r e of the field b u t it also serves to 

t e l l m e m b e r s and other interested i n d i v i d -

uals and o r g a n i z a t i o n s a l l over the w o r l d 

w h a t is a c t u a l l y available f o r their use. 

C O N C L U D I N G S T A T E M E N T 

W i t h i n its e d i t o r i a l and i n f o r m a t i o n a l 

activities, the I A S attempts to b r i n g to its 

m e m b e r s and others in the a e r o n a u t i c a l 

fields a t w o - f o l d s e r v i c e : I ) to keep them 

i n f o r m e d of the c u r r e n t l i t e r a t u r e needed in 

their professional w o r k by means of a pub-

lished d o c u m e n t a t i o n s e r v i c e ; and 2 ) to 

m a k e this l i t e r a t u r e a v a i l a b l e to the limits 

of feasibility t h r o u g h professional and spe-

c i a l i z e d l i b r a r y services.2 

2 Thanks are due to John J. Glennon, the librarian, 
for his gracious cooperation in the preparation of this 
article. 

Postal Legislation 
C o l l e g e a n d u n i v e r s i t y l i b r a r i a n s w i l l b e i n t e r e s t e d i n a m e a s u r e to be i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h e c u r r e n t 

s e s s i o n of C o n g r e s s r e l a t i n g to t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n of e d u c a t i o n a l a n d c u l t u r a l m a t e r i a l s t h r o u g h t h e 

m a i l s . T h i s p i e c e o f l e g i s l a t i o n , s p o n s o r e d b y a g r o u p of e d u c a t i o n a l a n d r e l a t e d o r g a n i z a t i o n s , is 

i n t e n d e d to e s t a b l i s h m o r e n e a r l y u n i f o r m a n d l o g i c a l r a t e s f o r t h e s e m a t e r i a l s . 

I n c l u d e d i n t h e p r o p o s e d b i l l a r e t h e f o l l o w i n g p r o v i s i o n s : 

1. Special postal rates for interlibrary loan would be made applicable nation-wide as are all other rates on 
reading matter. Presently these special rates for interlibrary loan are limited to a single state or within 
the first three postal zones. 

2. The present permit requirement would be deleted. 
3. Bound typed theses, bound issues of periodicals, and other library materials, including photographs atid 

manuscripts, could be sent through the mail on interlibrary loan at the library book rate. 
4. Sheet music, which now goes at fourth class (parcel post) rate, would be treated as bound music and 

would receive the library rate on interlibrary loans and the book rate on other shipments. 
5. Scholarly bibliographies that now go as advertising catalogs if they include publishers and prices would be 

treated as books and take the library rate for interlibrary loan and the book rate for other shipments. 
6. The general book rate would be held at its present level which is 80 on the first pound and 4<f on each 

additional pound. 

T h e p a s s a g e o f t h i s b i l l w i l l n o t a f f e c t t h e p o s t a l r e v e n u e b y a n a p p r e c i a b l e d e g r e e b u t w o u l d 

p l a c e p o s t a l r a t e s u s e d b y l i b r a r i e s o n a m o r e l o g i c a l a n d c o n s i s t e n t b a s i s a n d w o u l d r e m o v e m a n y 

o f t h e p r e s e n t a n n o y i n g i m p e d i m e n t s to e f f e c t i v e l i b r a r y s e r v i c e . T h i s m e a s u r e w i l l b e i n t r o d u c e d in 

t h e C o n g r e s s i n t h e v e r y n e a r f u t u r e . I t is h o p e d t h a t l i b r a r i a n s w i l l w r i t e to t h e i r m e m b e r s o f 

C o n g r e s s i n b e h a l f o f t h i s m e a s u r e a f t e r i t s i n t r o d u c t i o n . W a t c h f o r f u r t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g 

this piece of legislation.—Julia D. Bennett, ALA Washington Office. 

APRIL, 1955 
19 7