ACRL News Issue (B) of College & Research Libraries 275 News From the Field A C Q U I S I T I O N S • The W h i t m a n C o l l e g e (Walla Walla, Washington) Penrose Memorial Library rare book collection, which is housed in the library’s Morgan Room, is the recent recipient of a val­ uable book collection totaling 130 volumes. In­ cluded in the collection are The Nuremberg Chronicle, published 1493; the three-volume Sanson Atlas, 1696; Montanus’ America, 1671; De Bry’s Florida, 1591; and one-volume Field Bible, 1659-60. The collection is a gift to Whitman College from Dr. Vernon H. McFar- lane of Walla Walla, a 1927 graduate who spent forty-five years collecting the books. • A copy o f the first Bible printed in the New World is the five millionth volume added to the collections of the library, U n i v e r s i t y o f I l l i n o i s at Urbana-Champaign. “ The Holy Bible, Containing the Old Testament and the New, Translated into the Indian Language” was printed by Samuel Green and Marmaduke Johnson in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in 1663. Only 30 copies o f the original edition of 1,500 are known to exist. The Bible was translated into an Algonquin dialect, the language of the Narragansett Indi­ ans of eastern Massachusetts. The first verse, first chapter of Genesis, “ In the beginning, God created heaven and earth,” reads “ Weike kutchissik a-ayum God kesuk kah Ohke.” The translation was made by the Rev. John Eliot, who came to the New W orld in 1631 and was one of the three compilers of the first book pub­ lished in the American colonies, the Bay Psalm Book of 1640. Eliot’s Bible has been called a key to the American conscience and the most important production of the early press in the U.S. The purchase of the Bible was made through funds from the University of Illinois Library Friends, the University of Illinois Research Board, and other donors. The Bible will be kept in the Rare Book Room of the library. • A collection of rare books on the history of medicine, some dating back to the fifteenth century, represents the jewel of the U n i v e r s i t y o f I o w a ’ s modernistic new Health Sciences Li­ brary. Virtually the entire collection o f 800 rare medical books has been donated to the new li­ brary by Dr. John Martin of Clarinda. The col­ lection is concentrated on medical and surgical history, with special emphasis on anatomy. Among the books Dr. Martin has given are the first four folio editions of Vesalius’ D e hu­ mani corporis †abrica, published between 1543 and 1604; Fallopius’ Observationes anatomicae, Paris, 1562; and the Paduan physician Abano’s Conciliator philosophorum et medicorum, pub­ lished in 1476. In his collection Dr. Martin has attempted to include as much as possible of the history of medicine. Among the volumes he has donated are rare editions of such ancient classics as Hip­ pocrates, Galen, and Avicenna; medieval texts; Harvey’s D e motu cordis; and landmark works by Laennec, Florence Nightingale, Leeuwen­ hoek, Pasteur, and Freud. Two recent acquisi­ tions are the first Italian edition of Dürer’s work on the symmetry of the human body and the first edition of Swammerdam’s classic dis­ sertation on respiration, published in 1667. This collection in the history of medicine will be housed in the John Martin Rare Book Room, located on the fourth floor of the new Health Sciences Library. G R A N T S • The National Endowment for the Human­ ities (N E H ) has offered to support the N a ­ t i o n a l U n i o n C a t a l o g P r o j e c t o f the Amer­ ican Library Association (A L A ) by matching up to $900,000 in gifts made to NEH on be­ half of the undertaking, for a potential total of $1,800,000. The National Union Catalog is a record of holdings reported by more than 800 libraries throughout North America over the past seven­ ty years. In order to improve resources for study and research in all fields, and especially in the humanities, the American Library Asso­ ciation has undertaken to make the catalog widely available by publishing it in book form. The NEH grant will support the editing for publication of the final 240 volumes of the 600- volume catalog. The editorial work required to eliminate errors, duplications, and other irregu­ larities inevitable to such a list will be done by a special editorial staff at the Library of Con­ gress under the direction of the ALA’s National Union Catalog Committee, which is chaired by Gordon Williams, director of the Center for Re­ search Libraries in Chicago. The endowment’s grant therefore will assist in the production of the catalog at a time when inflation and other economic factors have made it increasingly difficult for libraries to support its completion without other assistance. NEH’s offer to match gifts will, it is hoped, serve as a challenge to other foundations and sources of support to join with the endowment in ensuring the successful completion of the National Union Catalog, which is a major national resource vi­ tal to educational and research purposes. The first 314 volumes of the projected 600-volume 276 catalog have already been printed and distrib­ uted, and the remaining volumes are being published at a rate o f five per month. • D r e x e l U n i v e r s i t y ’ s Graduate School of Library Science has been awarded a $37,000 grant to study the information needs o f blue collar adults. Principal investigator for the project will be Dr. Thomas A. Childers, associ­ ate professor, library science. The granting agency is the Division o f Library Programs, United States Office o f Education. The project will review and synthesize exist­ ing studies relating to the blue collar adult’s in­ formation needs, information-seeking behavior, and information use. The final product will be a review essay which will consolidate present knowledge on these topics and suggest direc­ tions for future research and development. A comprehensive bibliography will be included in the final report, which is scheduled for com ­ pletion b y O ctober 1975. Associated with Childers in the project will be Dr. Arthur Shostak, associate professor, so­ ciology, and a leading authority on the blue collar worker, and Ms. Joyce Post, bibliograph­ ic associate, both o f Drexel University. Childers was principal investigator in 1972- 73 for a project related to the one in w hich he will now be engaged. That was on knowledge and information needs o f the disadvantaged adult, also sponsored by the United States O f­ fice o f Education. A monograph reporting his findings, T he Information Poor in America, will be published this winter by Scarecrow Press. M E E T I N G S A p r i l 27 -3 0 : C o m p u t e r s a n d R e f e r e n c e . The twelfth annual Clinic on Library A ppli­ cations o f Data Processing will be conducted by the Graduate School o f Library Science, University o f Illinois. The theme o f this clinic will be “ The Use o f Computers in Literature Searching and Related Reference Activities in Libraries.” Over the last decade w e have witnessed a very rapid growth in the availability o f ma- chine-readable data bases and o f information retrieval systems for the exploitation o f such data bases. The rapid developments in this area have put machine literature searching capabilities within the reach o f many libraries. Many data bases can already b e accessed on­ line by individual libraries. Service from other data bases can be obtained from the producer o f the data base or from one o f the scientific information dissemination centers. W e are now beginning to see the devel­ opment o f regional information centers, de­ signed to make a wide range o f machine-read­ able files accessible to all the libraries in a designated geographic region. In addition, the minicomputer has put data processing capa­ bilities within the reach o f even quite small libraries, allowing such libraries to develop their ow n special data bases and to exploit these on behalf o f a particular user group. One result o f these activities has been the emergence o f the “ information services libra­ rian,” a professional librarian w ho specializes in the exploitation o f machine-readable files. It is these activities, and their impact on the reference functions o f libraries o f all types, that will b e discussed at the 1975 clinic. F. W . Lancaster, professor o f library science, is chairman o f the clinic. Further information may be obtained from Mr. Brandt Pryor, O f­ fice o f Continuing Education and Public Ser­ vice, University o f Illinois, 116 Illini Hall, Champaign, IL 61820. M a y 18-30: A d m i n i s t r a t o r s . T he College o f Library and Information Services, Univer­ sity o f Maryland, is planning the ninth annual Library Administrators D evelopm ent Program. Dr. John Rizzo, professor o f management, Western M ichigan University, will serve as the director. As in the past eight summers, partici­ pants will include senior administrative person­ nel o f large library systems— public, research, academic, special, governmental, and school— from the United States and Canada. The facul­ ty is made up o f well-known scholars, educat- tors, management consultants, and lecturers drawn from universities, government, and con­ sulting fields. Seminar sessions will concentrate on the prin­ cipal administrative issues which senior man­ agers encounter. Leadership, motivation, com ­ munication, personnel policy, decision making, problem solving, financial planning and control, performance appraisal, the impact o f technol­ ogy, and the planning o f change are among the issues considered in lecture, case analysis, group discussion, and seminar. Those interested in further information are invited to address inquiries to Mrs. Effie T. Knight, Administrative Assistant, Library A d ­ ministrators Developm ent Program, College of Library and Information Services, University o f Maryland, College Park, M D 20742. J u n e 15-20: X X SALA LM . The X X Semi­ nar on the Acquisition o f Latin American L i­ brary Materials will convene in Bogota, C olom ­ bia, at the invitation o f Dr. Jorge Rojas, direc­ tor o f the Instituto Colombiano de Cultura. Mr. Luis Eduardo Acosta Hoyos, Jefe de la Biblioteca, Universidad Pedagogica Nacional, Bogota, and Mr. J. Noe Herrera, manager, Libros de Colombia, Bogota, are assisting the SA LA LM planning committee with local ar­ rangements for the meeting. 277 The program, being planned by Mrs. Emma C. Simonson, president of SALALM, will be concerned with the new writers of Latin Amer­ ica. Among the topics to be discussed will be the publications of new writers, bibliography of new writers, and criticism of new writers. Full details of the program and information con­ cerning other arrangements for the seminar will be distributed in the fall of 1974. Address inquiries concerning the program to Mrs. Emma C. Simonson, Latin American Li­ brarian, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47401. Other questions may be directed to Mrs. Pauline P. Collins, Executive Secretary of SALALM, Secretariat, University of Massa­ chusetts Library, Amherst, MA 01002. Mem­ bership in SALALM is $10.00 for personal members ($7.00 for members from Latin America and the Caribbean) and $25.00 for institutions. Dues may be forwarded to the Secretariat. J u n e 22-25: L a w L i b r a r i a n s . The Amer­ ican Association of Law Libraries will meet in the Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, Califor­ nia. More information from AALL, 53 W . Jack­ son Blvd., Chicago, IL 60604. J u n e 2 6 - 2 8 : C o l l e c t i v e B a r g a i n i n g . “ Col­ lective Bargaining in Higher Education: Its Implications for Governance and Faculty Status for Librarians” will be the topic of a precon­ ference meeting in San Francisco. Sponsored by the ACRL Academic Status Committee, the program is part of the continuing effort of the committee to provide information which will help librarians in understanding and evaluating status and governance issues. Program participants will include persons who have studied and practiced collective bar­ gaining in higher education and who can ad­ dress the following subtopics: nature of col­ lective bargaining and its influence on gov­ ernance in higher education; objectives of various collective bargaining agents; and aca­ demic library experiences with collective bar­ gaining. Further information and registration forms will be available after March 15, 1975, from: Beverly P. Lynch, Executive Secretary, Asso­ ciation of College and Research Libraries, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. M I S C E L L A N Y • A reminder: the A m e r i c a n L i b r a r y As­ s o c i a t i o n is introducing a new dues schedule for personal members beginning with the 1975 membership (calendar) year. The dues sched­ ule features a simple flat rate $35.00 ALA mem­ bership for librarians, trustees, and friends of libraries. Division memberships are an addi­ tional $15.00 each. Students and nonsalaried or retired librarians pay $10.00 basic dues plus $15.00 for each division selected. Foreign li­ brarians (not employed in the U.S.) pay $20.00 basic dues plus $15.00 per division. Along with a brand new personal dues sched­ ule, ALA is also offering two special introduc­ tory rates for persons joining ALA for the first time in 1975. With payment of the basic dues of $35.00 new members will receive their choice of one division membership at no addi­ tional charge. During the New York Annual Conference, the ALA Executive Board also approved a spe­ cial introductory offer for the American Library Trustee Association. New members of ALA and ALTA will be eligible for a dues rate of $25.00 which includes both basic ALA dues and ALTA division dues. For applications and/or further information please contact the ALA Public Information O f­ fice, 50 E. Huron St., Chicago, IL 60611. • X e r o x U n i v e r s i t y M i c r o f i l m s is in the process of placing dissertation information cen­ ters in several libraries in the Midwest area. These centers will consist of a display exhibit­ ing brochures depicting the many and various functions of the firm in connection with the mi­ crofilming and publication program. The display will include an overall brochure describing all parts o f the dissertation program, including manuscript publishing. Information concerning Dissertation Abstracts International (monthly), Comprehensive Dissertation Index (thirty-seven volumes in 1973 with succeeding annual supplements), American Doctoral Dis­ sertations (annual), Masters Abstracts (quar­ terly), and Monograph Abstracts (irregular) will always be available. Dissertation bibliographies on special sub­ jects will be on display consistently, with new material added as it is prepared. Currently, these special bibliographies consist of (1 ) Unit­ ed States Foreign Relations, ( 2 ) Africa, (3 ) Sex in Contemporary Society, ( 4 ) Israel and Palestine in Modern Times, (5 ) Latin America, (6 ) Urban Problems, and (7 ) Civil War and Reconstruction. DATRIX II brochures for those who wish to use computerized information retrieval service will also be on hand. This display center should serve as a refer­ ence aid for students interested in dissertation research, and it should prove to be of some as­ sistance to librarians with too little time to han­ dle the multitudinous reference questions con­ cerning dissertations that arise in a typical work day. Requests for any of the brochures mentioned above and inquiries concerning the disserta­ 278 tion information center displays should be ad­ dressed to Mr. William Sannwald, Senior Prod­ uct Manager, Xerox University Microfilms, 300 N. Zeeb Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48106. • The N e w H a m p s h i r e H i s t o r i c a l S o c i e ­ t y is currently sponsoring a project to edit the papers of Josiah Bartlett (1729-1795), with Frank C. Mevers as editor. Supported by the New Hampshire American Revolution Bicen­ tennial Commission and the National Historical Publications Commission, the project will re­ sult in a comprehensive microfilm edition fol­ lowed by a letterpress edition of selected docu­ ments. Josiah Bartlett, a signer of the Declara­ tion of Independence, was a prominent physi­ cian in New England and the founder of the New Hampshire Medical Society. In addition, Bartlett served as a justice o f the peace, a dele­ gate to the Continental Congress, a militia colonel during the Revolution, a justice on the state superior court, and the last president and first governor o f New Hampshire. Persons hav­ ing knowledge o f the existence of correspon­ dence to or from Bartlett or of other papers written or signed by him are requested to con­ tact the Historical Society at 30 Park St., Con­ cord, NH 03301. • The O h i o C o l l e g e L i b r a r y C e n t e r ’ s ( O C L C ) data base of bibliographic records hit the one million mark on September 6, 1974. Northeastern University Library, Boston, Mas­ sachusetts, cataloged the millionth record via CRT terminal. The millionth record is Collier s World Atlas and Book of Facts. OCLC’s on-line shared cataloging system be­ came operational in August 1971. At that time Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, became the first o f 50 academic libraries in Ohio to use the system. Presently over 300 libraries in twenty- two states and the District o f Columbia use the on-line system to catalog books. MARC tapes from the Library o f Congress accounted for the majority o f the records in the data base during the first two years of operation of the on-line system. Librarians at OCLC now estimate that more than 50 percent of the records in the sys­ tem were input by participating libraries. OC LC ’s computer system is designed to in­ crease the availability of library resources while at the same time lowering the rate of increase of per-unit costs in libraries. A nonprofit corporation, OCLC uses a Xerox Sigma 5 computer as the central processing unit. Via leased telephone lines the computer is in direct communication with over 300 spe­ cially designed CRT terminals located in librar­ ies across the country. Hospitals and govern­ ment agencies as well as public and university libraries use the system to catalog books and maintain an inventory of library holdings and locations. Currently, more than 7,000 books are cataloged on the system daily. Computer-print- ed library catalog cards are turned out at the rate of approximately a half-million a week. • D i c k i n s o n C o l l e g e (Carlisle, Pennsyl­ vania) librarians have been granted full faculty status, “ giving us all the responsibilities, benefits and privileges of our colleagues,” according to Yates M. Forbis, head librarian. “ Our unique position as teachers has been recognized and identified,” Forbis declared af­ ter recent administrative action bestowing long- sought recognition on the eight members of the college library staff. Forbis noted that Dickinson librarians are in­ volved in teaching and research as well as their regular duties. “ The academic community benefits when li­ brarians participate in the development o f the instructional program,” Forbis said. “ The li­ brary in reality is an extension o f the class­ room.” Dickinson College librarians gained faculty rank in 1946. Additional benefits just granted include equal salary and academic calendar. The staff already was able to take advantage of sabbatical research and study programs, pro­ motions, and tenure. • The U n i v e r s i t y o f I l l i n o i s Graduate School o f Library Science at Urbana-Cham- paign is seeking applicants for its master’s de­ gree program for members o f any disadvan­ taged minority group. Up to ten will be selected to begin graduate work next June. They will be offered half-time assistantships requiring twenty hours o f work each week and paying $4,000 a year plus ex­ emption from tuition. This will be the sixth year for the program which has been supported in part by grants from the U.S. Office o f Education and the Car­ negie Corporation. Members of minority groups who expect to receive a bachelor’s degree next June are eligi­ ble, as well as those who already have complet­ ed their undergraduate education. Students are allowed up to two years to earn the MS degree in a course o f study planned in­ dividually with a faculty adviser. Further information is available from the Scholarship Program, Graduate School o f Li­ brary Science, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL 61801. • Persons living in Canada and Canadians working outside the country who have experi­ ence in library and information science service outside Canada and the United States are being sought for inclusion in a new index. The work is being sponsored by the I n t e r n a t i o n a l 279 D e v e l o p m e n t R e s e a r c h C e n t r e in Ottawa to develop a basic information file of those whose expertise might be useful to Canada. First publication, on microfiche, is scheduled for 1975 and the deadline for inclusion in the first index is April 1975. The compilation of this index is being undertaken by Dr. Fred Matthews and Miss Doreen Fraser of the School of Library Service, Dalhousie Universi­ ty, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada B3H 4H8, from whom entry forms can be obtained. • B e t h l e h e m U n i v e r s i t y is a new school, located in the West Bank area, administered by the Christian Brothers. The undergraduate college needs English, French, and Spanish books and journals, college textbooks, general college reading and research materials, litera­ ture, and current affairs materials. For further information, contact Brother Brendan Fitz­ gerald, FSC, Acting President, Bethlehem Uni­ versity, P.O.B. 9, Bethlehem, Israel. P U B L I C A T I O N S • The second comprehensive survey of health sciences libraries has been completed by the American Medical Association in coopera­ tion with the Medical Library Association Com­ mittee on Surveys and Statistics. Findings have been published in the Directory of Health Sci­ ences Libraries, 1973, the result of a massive survey of around 10,000 health-related institu­ tions. Identification, address, telephone number, type of sponsoring organization, size of collec­ tion and staff are given for around 3,000 med­ ical school, hospital, medical society, and other libraries. The 1973 survey provides a longitudinal per­ spective on health sciences libraries. There are now hard data which, like the national census data, provide a baseline against which a multi­ tude of internal and external variables can be compared. There are comparable data, at least for two surveys in two different formats— published and machine-readable. The Directory reviews sources of statistics and compares se­ lected data over a five-year period. The Directory is available from the American Medical Association, 535 N. Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60610, for $15.00 prepaid. • Education Periodicals, A Union List con­ tains the educational journal holdings of thirty- five Boston area libraries, including the Monroe Gutman Library o f the Harvard Graduate School of Education. The union list, edited by Malcolm Hamilton, was a joint effort of librari­ ans belonging to LEARN, Librarians in Edu­ cation and Research in the Northeast, an or­ ganization of professional librarians from col­ lege, university, and special libraries with sizeable collections in the field of education. Copies may be purchased by prepayment of $5.00 to Malcolm Hamilton, Monroe Gutman Library, Harvard Graduate School of Educa­ tion, Cambridge, MA 02138. Please enclose a shipping label. Make checks payable to Har­ vard University. • Now available is a twenty-six-page revised edition of Anne Woodsworth’s Women: A Guide to Bibliographic Sources (rev. by Jane Clark). This popular bibliographic guide, first compiled in 1972, has been updated and ex­ panded to triple its original size. The new edi­ tion includes approximately 100 annotated en­ tries and an author and title index. Although the guide is aimed primarily at users of the University of Toronto, it should be useful for students, teachers, and researchers at other in­ stitutions in any field of women’s studies. Copies can be ordered for $1.00 from the Ref­ erence Department, John P. Robarts Research Library, University of Toronto, Toronto, On­ tario, Canada M5S 1A5. • A comprehensive report on the Mankato State College Media System is being published as volume 1, issue 5 of the LARC series on computerized serials systems. The first periodicals holdings list and the first accounting system were done in 1969/70, using unit record equipment which was located in the library. These went on the computer in 1971/72 when the college acquired a UNIVAC 1106 computer and the library got a UNIVAC D C T remote-job-entry terminal. This was later upgraded to a UNIVAC 1104. During 1972/73, attempts were made to re­ cord more information about periodicals and to add serials, especially standing orders. The system was card based until January of 1974 when it went to tape. It remains a batch pro­ cessing system, however, and there are no plans to change that. The saga of development from 1969 to present is presented in detail in this is­ sue. A subscription to the complete six-issue vol­ ume of Computerized Serials Systems may be purchased for the sum of $55.00 (LA RC mem­ bers, $44.00). The complete volume includes reports on automated serials activities at Clarion State College, University of San Diego, University of Louisville, and Purdue Universi­ ty. Individual issues are available in paperback at $9.20 per issue. Order from The LARC Asso­ ciation, P.O. Box 27235, Tempe, AZ 85282. • The University of Southern California has a limited number of its Union List of Serials available for distribution. The list, which in­ cludes 18,000 titles and 2,000 see references, covers the current subscriptions in the univer- 280 sity library system as well as the holdings of the Norris Medical Library, the Call Law Library, and the Hancock Library o f Biology and Oceanography. Selected ceased publications are also included. The 518-page volume is avail­ able for $15.00. Please send inquiries or orders to Linda Crismond, University of Southern Cal­ ifornia, Doheny Library, University Park, Los Angeles, CA 90007. • The Social Sciences Group of the Wash­ ington D.C. Chapter o f the Special Libraries Association announces a new publication, Union List of Selected Microforms in Washing­ ton D.C. Area Libraries. This list, which aims to identify microform holdings in the social sci­ ences and humanities, includes the following information on the microform holdings of thirty- seven cooperating libraries in the metropolitan Washington, D.C., area: listings o f over 600 periodical and newspaper titles with data on microformat and span of holdings; listings of privately produced, “ one of a kind” microform collections of such materials as speeches, in­ ternal memoranda, clippings, and maps; micro­ form lending policies o f participating libraries; and facilities for viewing and reproducing microforms in participating libraries. The list is available at a cost of $3.50 per copy, prepaid, from Social Sciences Group, Washington D.C. Chapter SLA, c / o E. S. KnaufF, 2326 19th St. NW , Washington, DC 20009. • Delivery of new and more sophisticated health services to an ever-expanding popula­ tion has put the nation’s health professions un­ der considerable pressure to remodel and up­ date their educational processes and institu­ tions. The July 1974 issue of Library Trends looks at how the libraries serving these profes­ sions are dealing with the increased demand for services put upon them. Mildred C. Langner gives a historical review of “ User and User Services in Health Science Libraries: 1945-1965” ; Louise Darling pre­ sents an overview of changes in information de­ livery since 1960, including a discussion of the Medical Library Assistance Act. Estelle Brod- man describes users of health sciences libraries by profession, geographic location, and need. Frank B. Rogers describes the impact on users of “ Computerized Bibliographic Retrieval Ser­ vices” ; and Vern M. Pings indicates the impact o f improved document delivery services, includ­ ing regional medical library programs. Nancy M. Lorenzi and K. Penny Young discuss “ New Information Transfer Therapies” ; and William K. Beatty and Virginia L. Beatty present “ Im­ provements in Recordkeeping and Use,” includ­ ing new programs and nonprint collections. Scott Adams describes the impact of U.S. bib­ liographic data bases on users in foreign coun­ tries; and Harold M. Schoolman looks at future user services in health sciences libraries. This issue of Library Trends, volume 23, number 1, may be ordered from: University of Illinois Press, Urbana, IL 61801, for $3.00. An­ nual subscriptions to Library Trends may be placed at the same address for $10.00. • The New York Chapter o f the Special L i­ braries Association has published a new edition of its union list, Serials— Advertising, Business, Finance, Marketing, Social Science— in the New York Area. Access to the serials holdings of 153 cooperating libraries— 2,000 titles— is presented, along with complete address and telephone number for each library and a con­ cise statement of their interlibrary loan and photoduplication policy. All the information needed to locate serials and expedite interli­ brary loans is included. The price is $35.00 ($25.00 for contributing libraries). Mail to: Mrs. Muriel Regan, Rockefeller Foundation Li­ brary, 111 W . 50th St., New York, NY 10020. • The Municipal R eference and Research Center Notes, a unique source of information about the city o f New York and its communi­ ties, will resume publication after a three-year absence. The Notes, published by the Municipal R ef­ erence and Research Center o f the Municipal Service Administration, was established in 1914 to record the center’s acquisition o f city docu­ ments and scholarly or journalistic studies about municipal affairs. Fifty-seven years of continu­ ous publication were interrupted in 1971, when production of the Notes and other city period­ icals was suspended as an economy measure. As in the past, the Notes will list key city documents deposited with the center as re­ quired by law, as well as private studies and relevant documents from other levels of govern­ ment. Other returning features provide infor­ mation about the city’s history and geography and answer commonly asked questions about New York City. Past issues o f Notes, for exam­ ple, provided a listing— complete with histories — of the dozens of islands within the city lim­ its. The reappearance of the Notes is being ac­ complished within the bounds of the center’s current budget. The estimated $6,000 cost for the next six bimonthly issues will be covered by reallocating funds already budgeted for sup­ plies and other materials. Subscriptions to the Notes are available for $5.00 annually from the Municipal Reference and Research Center, Room 2230, Municipal Building, New York, NY 10007. It is distri­ buted free of charge to all interested New York City officials and employees.