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Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information
WASHINGTON, D.C. · NOVEMBER 16–21 · 1958
IN TWO VOLUMES
Sponsors of the Conference: National Science Foundation
National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council
American Documentation Institute
National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council
Washington, D.C. · 1959
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Copyright © 1959 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 59–60045
Printed in the United States of America
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ALBERTO F.THOMPSON
DECEMBER 1, 1907 · JUNE 18, 1957
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IN MEMORIAM
THE CONFERENCE owes more perhaps to Dr. Alberto F.Thompson than to any other individual, for he transformed the initial conception into a plan that others finally carried out. As Head of the Office of Scientific Information of the National Science Foundation he was deeply involved in the planning of the Conference, possibly too deeply, for he gave himself with boundless enthusiasm to all that interested him, regardless of limitations of time and health.
An organic chemist, Dr. Thompson received his Ph.D. degree at Harvard, did post-graduate work at the University of Munich, and taught at the University of Minnesota and The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. As a major in the Manhattan District of the US Corps of Engineers during World War II, he worked on the development of the atomic bomb. He became Chief of the Technical Information Service of the US Atomic Energy Commission and in November, 1955, he joined the staff of the National Science Foundation. Among his achievements were publication of the National Nuclear Energy Series and the establishment of Nuclear Science Abstracts.
His infectious good humor and the brilliant range of his interests (from limericks and model railroads to the works of Mozart and the cultivation of roses) won the affection of all, even of those who disagreed with him.
Too energetic and too wise to see science in terms less than international, he saw the information problem on the same scale; yet he searched always for the most effective immediate measures. Operations research on the flow of scientific information received strong encouragement from him: he was deeply interested in mechanical translation and electronic data processing systems. At the same time, he had utmost respect for the physically simple retrieval systems.
Alberto Thompson’s expectations for the Conference combined high hopes with New England practicality. We hope that the Conference succeeded in achieving what he would have wished: to inspire us with the vision of the future without letting us forget the realities of the present.
GILBERT W.KING
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VOLUME ONE
OPENING SESSION ADDRESS
AREAS 1–4
VOLUME TWO
AREAS 5–7
CLOSING SESSION
INDEX
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CONFERENCE ORGANIZATION
Conference Committee
Wallace W.Atwood, Jr., Chairman and NAS-NRC Representative
Burton W.Adkinson, NSF Representative
Milton O.Lee, ADI Representative
Charles I.Campbell, Program Committee
Henry J.Dubester, Local Arrangements
John C.Green, Exhibits
Mary McC.Sheppard, Secretary
Program Committee
Charles I.Campbell, Chairman
Helen L.Brownson, Area 1
Dwight E.Gray, Area 2
Joseph Hilsenrath, Area 3
Mary Elizabeth Stevens, Area 4
H.P.Luhn, Area 5
Lawrence F.Buckland, Area 6
Frank B.Rogers, Area 7
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Discussion Panel Chairmen
Area 1 Philip M.Morse, Department of Physics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.
Area 2 Elmer Hutchisson, American Institute of Physics, New York, N.Y.
Area 3 Alexander King, European Productivity Agency, Paris, France
Area 4 Eric de Grolier, Centre Français D’Échanges et de Documentation Techniques, Milan, Italy
Area 5 Gilbert W.King, IBM Research Center, Yorktown Heights, N.Y.
Area 6 John W.Tukey, Department of Mathematics, Princeton University, Princeton, N.J.
Area 7 Verner W.Clapp, Council on Library Resources, Inc., Washington, D.C.
Local Arrangements Committee Henry J.Dubester, Chairman
Marion E.Bonniwell · Saul Herner · Rita G.Liepina
Wyvona A.Lane · Madeline M.Berry
Exhibits Committee John C.Green, Chairman
Eugene E.Miller · Gerald J.Sophar · Don D.Andrews · Isaac Fleischmann
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PREFACE
ON BEHALF OF ALL THOSE who for the past three years have devoted considerable time and effort in preparation for the International Conference on Scientific Information, it is my privilege to present herewith the Proceedings. Certain members of the American Documentation Institute, among them Milton O.Lee, originally conceived the idea for this type of conference. They wanted to bring together on an international level scientists and information specialists for discussion of current research progress and problems concerned primarily with the storage and retrieval of scientific information. Ultimately these aims and ideas were developed until there resulted this Conference, jointly sponsored by the American Documentation Institute, the National Science Foundation, and the National Academy of Sciences—National Research Council.
The American Documentation Institute is a private organization, supported by membership dues. After a modest beginning in 1937 it grew in size and stature until today its membership includes some 300 individuals professionally engaged in working with information and documentation in one capacity or another. In 1947 the Institute became the United States national member of the International Federation for Documentation.
The National Science Foundation, an independent agency of the Federal Government, was established in 1950 by Act of Congress. Its main functions are to support basic research and education in the sciences and to foster the exchange of scientific information. The chief executive officer of the Foundation is the Director. Final responsibility for establishing Foundation policy lies with the 24-member National Science Board whose distinguished members are appointed by the President of the United States with the approval of the Senate. The Foundation is playing an increasingly significant role in strengthening the scientific capabilities of the country.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, non-profit organization established in 1863 and dedicated to the furtherance of science for the general welfare. Its membership is comprised of more than 550 leading scientists of this country. Its congressional charter provides that the Academy advise the Government on scientific matters. In 1918 the National Research Council was established by executive order of the President of the United States as part of the National Academy of Sciences, and has since given the organization its
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INTRODUCTION
THE PROCEEDINGS of the International Conference on Scientific Information, which are published here, will be better understood if it is explained how the Conference aim was defined and how the program was arranged to advance that aim.
During the spring and summer of 1956, an informal Preliminary Planning Committee met nearly every week to define the scope of the Conference and to devise a plan for carrying it out. Chairman of the Preliminary Planning Committee was Milton O.Lee, American Physiological Society. Members included: Scott Adams, National Institutes of Health; Samuel Alexander, National Bureau of Standards; Robert F.Bray, The Library of Congress; Helen L.Brownson, National Science Foundation; Charles I.Campbell, National Academy of Sciences-National Research Council; Verner W.Clapp, Council on Library Resources, Inc.; J.E.Cummins, Australian Scientific Liaison Office; Dwight E.Gray, National Science Foundation; John C.Green, Department of Commerce; Joseph Hilsenrath, National Bureau of Standards; William T.Mason, Department of Commerce; Frank B.Rogers, National Library of Medicine; Mary Elizabeth Stevens, National Bureau of Standards; and Mortimer Taube, Documentation, Inc. A provisional Secretariat was established at this time with Alberto F.Thompson of the National Science Foundation as Executive Secretary and Mary McC.Sheppard of the Academy-Research Council as his assistant. Many others from this country and abroad met with the Committee at various times to give counsel and guidance.
After preliminary plans and working documents were developed, an ad hoc committee composed of 50 distinguished scientists and information specialists, under the chairmanship of Warren Weaver of the Rockefeller Foundation, was convened on November 11, 1956, at the request of the Academy-Research Council, to review the proposed Conference plans, its aims and scope, and to determine whether such a Conference was warranted. At the recommendation of this ad hoc committee, planning for the Conference proceeded. The proposed content of each of the seven areas of discussion in the Conference was outlined in detail, and the following criteria for acceptable papers were established:
Papers will deal with work that has not been published or presented at any open meeting. Work will be considered to have been published if it has been repro-
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duced for general distribution in any form or if copies have been deposited in libraries where they are available to the public.
Papers will be directed to specialists in the field covered. Only sufficient background information will be included to serve as an adequate framework for new work described in the papers. More general background material will be indicated by references.
Papers dealing with systems and methods will describe these at length only when they have not been described previously. If new methods or systems are involved, these will be described in sufficient detail to enable other qualified workers to duplicate the procedures and the results. There will be sufficient information to enable qualified readers to judge the validity of results in objective terms.
Theoretical papers will clearly explain the factual basis from which theoretical conclusions have been drawn and will point the way to experimental methods of verifying predictions which follow from such theoretical conclusions.
These criteria, together with the definitions of the Discussion Areas, which will be found at the opening of each section in these volumes, were provided to all prospective authors.
Early in 1957, a formal policy committee was created with Milton O.Lee, representing the American Documentation Institute; Wallace W.Atwood, Jr., representing the Academy-Research Council; Alberto F.Thompson, representing the National Science Foundation; and Eugene Power and J.E.Cummins named as members-at-large. Also established at this time was a Program Committee with responsibility for reviewing and selecting papers in accordance with the scope and criteria for papers, for appointing discussion panel members, and for making arrangements for the Conference program proper. Charles I.Campbell, The Rockefeller Institute, was named Chairman. Other members of the Committee, selected from the preliminary planning group, and their respective areas of responsibility were: Area 1, Helen L.Brownson; Area 2, Dwight E.Gray; Area 3, Joseph Hilsenrath; Area 4, Mary Elizabeth Stevens; and Area 7, Frank B.Rogers. Two new members were added: H.P. Luhn of the IBM Research Center who accepted the responsibility for Area 5, and Lawrence F.Buckland of Itek Corp., for Area 6. Miss Madeline M.Berry of the National Science Foundation was of very great assistance to the committee, especially in developing the program for Area 5.
All those connected with the Conference were saddened by the death of Alberto F.Thompson in June, 1957. During the reorganization which followed, a Conference Committee was established early in 1958 with Wallace W.Atwood, Jr., of the Academy-Research Council becoming Chairman and Mary McC.Sheppard continuing as Secretary. Thomas O.Jones, Acting Head of the Office of Scientific Information, provided valuable help as a Com-
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mittee member from June to December, 1957, when Burton W.Adkinson became Head of the Office of Scientific Information and thus became the Foundation’s representative on the ICSI policy committee. About this time Eugene Power resigned because of the pressure of other activities, and J.E.Cummins resigned when he accepted a position with the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Others named to the Committee in 1958 were: John C. Green, Department of Commerce, in charge of exhibits; and Henry J.Dubester, The Library of Congress, in charge of local arrangements. The Committee structure thereafter remained unchanged.
Because of the narrowly defined scope of the Conference and the intention rigorously to select contributions, it was believed to be wise to consider outlines of proposed papers well in advance of the preparation of papers themselves. We hoped in this way to avoid at least part of the grief of declining to accept papers that had been, in a sense, solicited. During 1957, therefore, an immense amount of correspondence was carried on by the members of the Program Committee and the Secretariat with somewhat under a thousand potential authors of papers in nearly every country of the world. All decisions on papers were taken by the Committee jointly, though we often sought the guidance of referees. We were forced in some cases to decline very sound contributions that concentrated on aspects of the scientific problem that had been excluded from the program explicitly or implicitly. From the approximately 150 papers that were given formal consideration, 75 papers were selected.
These papers served as stimulating and valuable points of departure for the discussions of the Conference. We may hope that through their publication here they may provide a basis for further progress in research throughout the world.
CHARLES I.CAMPBELL
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CONTENTS
VOLUME ONE
Opening Session Address
SIR LINDOR BROWN
3
AREA 1
Literature and Reference Needs of Scientists: Knowledge now available and methods of ascertaining requirements
Proposed Scope of Area 1
13
Study on the Use of Scientific Literature and Reference Services by Scandinavian Scientists and Engineers Engaged in Research and Development
ELIN TÖRNUDD
19
The Transmission of Scientific Information: A User’s Analysis
J.D.BERNAL
77
An Operations Research Study of the Dissemination of Scientific Information
MICHAEL H.HALBERT and RUSSELL L.ACKOFF
97
Information and Literature Use in a Research and Development Organization
I.H.HOGG and J.ROLAND SMITH
131
Methods by which Research Workers Find Information
R.M.FISHENDEN
163
Determining Requirements for Atomic Energy Information from Reference Questions
SAUL HERNER and MARY HERNER
181
Systematically Ascertaining Requirements of Scientists for Information
JIŔÍ SPIRIT and LADISLAV KOFNOVEC
189
How Scientists Actually Learn of Work Important to Them
BENTLEY GLASS and SHARON H.NORWOOD
195
Planned and Unplanned Scientific Communication
HERBERT MENZEL
199
The Use of Technical Literature by Industrial Technologists
CHRISTOPHER SCOTT
245
Requirements of Forest Scientists for Literature and Reference Services
STEPHEN H.SPURR
267
The Information-Gathering Habits of American Medical Scientists
SAUL HERNER
277
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Use of Scientific Periodicals
D.J.URQUHART
287
Summary of Discussion
301
AREA 2
The Function and Effectiveness of Abstracting and Indexing Services
Proposed Scope of Area 2
317
An Evaluation of Abstracting Journals and Indexes
MAURICE H.SMITH
321
Analytical Study of a Method for Literature Search in Abstracting Journals
PAUL S.LYKOUDIS, P.E.LILEY, and Y.S.TOULOUKIAN
351
The Relation Between Completeness and Effectiveness of a Subject Catalogue
C.S.SABEL
377
Cost Analysis of Bibliographies or Bibliographic Services
MALCOLM RIGBY and MARIAN K.RIGBY
381
The Efficiency of Metallurgical Abstracts
NERIO GAUDENZI
393
Subject Slanting in Scientific Abstracting Publications
SAUL HERNER
407
The Importance of Peripheral Publications in the Documentation of Biology
MILDRED A.DOSS
429
Current Medical Literature: A Quantitative Survey of Articles and Journals
ESTELLE BRODMAN and SEYMOUR I.TAINE
435
A Combined Indexing-Abstracting System
ISAAC D.WELT
449
A Unified Index to Science
EUGENE GARFIELD
461
Lost Information: Unpublished Conference Papers
F.LIEBESNY
475
International Cooperation in Physics Abstracting
B.M.CROWTHER
481
International Cooperative Abstracting on Building: An Appraisal
A.B.AGARD EVANS
491
Cooperation and Coordination in Abstracting and Documentation
OTTO FRANK
497
On the Functioning of the All-Union Institute for Scientific and Technical Information of the USSR Academy of Sciences
A.I.MIKHAILOV
511
Summary of Discussion
523
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AREA 3
Effectiveness of Monographs, Compendia, and Specialized Centers: Present trends and new and proposed techniques and types of services
Proposed Scope of Area 3
541
Review Literature and the Chemist
DENNIS A.BRUNNING
545
The Place of Analytical and Critical Reviews in Any Growing Biological Science and the Service They May Render to Research
ISABELLA LEITCH
571
Recent Trends in Scientific Documentation in South Asia: Problems of Speed and Coverage
P.SHEEL
589
Scientific Documentation in France
J.WYART
605
Scientific, Technical, and Economic Information in a Research Organization
MAREK CIGÁNIK
613
Summary of Discussion
649
AREA 4
Organization of Information for Storage and Search: Comparative characteristics of existing systems
Proposed Scope of Area 4
665
Conventional and Inverted Grouping of Codes for Chemical Data
EUGENE MILLER, DELBERT BALLARD, JOHN KINGSTON, and MORTIMER TAUBE
671
The Evaluation of Systems Used in Information Retrieval
CYRIL CLEVERDON
687
Experience in Developing Information Retrieval Systems on Large Electronic Computers
ASCHER OPLER and NORMA BAIRD
699
Printing Chemical Structures Electronically: Encoded Compounds Searched Generically with IBM-702
W.H.WALDO and M.DE BACKER
711
Evolution of Document Control in a Materials Deterioration Information Center
CARL J.WESSEL and WALTER M.BEJUKI
731
Retrieval Questions from the Use of Linde’s Indexing and Retrieval System
FRED R.WHALEY
763
Classification with Peek-a-boo for Indexing Documents on Aerodynamics: An Experiment in Retrieval
R.C.WRIGHT and C.W.J.WILSON
771
Summary of Discussion
803
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VOLUME TWO
AREA 5
Organization of Information for Storage and Retrospective Search: Intellectual problems and equipment considerations in the design of new systems
Proposed Scope of Area 5
817
The Basic Types of Information Tasks and Some Methods of Their Solution
V.P.CHERENIN
823
Subject Analysis for Information Retrieval
B.C.VICKERY
855
The Construction of a Faceted Classification for a Special Subject
D.J.FOSKETT
867
On the Coding of Geometrical Shapes and Other Representations, with Reference to Archacological Documents
J.C.GARDIN
889
Subject-Word Letter Frequencies with Applications to Superimposed Coding
HERBERT OHLMAN
903
The Analogy between Mechanical Translation and Library Retrieval
M.MASTERMAN, R.M.NEEDHAM, and K.SPÄRCK JONES
917
Linguistic Transformations for Information Retrieval
Z.S.HARRIS
937
Linguistic and Machine Methods for Compiling and Updating the Harvard Automatic Dictionary
A.G.OETTINGER, W.FOUST, V.GIULIANO, K.MAGASSY, and L.MATEJKA
951
The Feasibility of Machine Searching of English Texts
VICTOR H.YNGVE
975
Semantic Matrices
G.PATRICK MEREDITH
997
Interlingual Communication in the Sciences
JOSHUA WHATMOUGH
1027
An Overall Concept of Scientific Documentation Systems and Their Design
E.J.CRANE and C.L.BERNIER
1047
The Possibilities of Far-Reaching Mechanization of Novelty Search of the Patent Literature
G.J.KOELEWIJN
1071
Descriptive Documentation
CHARLES G.SMITH
1097
Variable Scope Search System: VS3
JACOB LEIBOWITZ, JULIUS FROME, and DON D.ANDREWS
1117
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The Haystaq System: Past, Present, and Future
HERBERT R.KOLLER, ETHEL MARDEN, and HAROLD PFEFFER
1143
A Proposed Information Handling System for a Large Research Organization
W.K.LOWRY and J.C.ALBRECHT
1181
Information Handling in a Large Information System
P.R.P.CLARIDGE
1203
Tabledex: A New Coordinate Indexing Method for Bound Book Form Bibliographies
ROBERT S.LEDLEY
1221
The Comac: An Efficient Punched Card Collating System for the Storage and Retrieval of Information
MORTIMER TAUBE
1245
Summary of Discussion
1255
AREA 6
Organization of Information for Storage and Retrospective Search: Possibility for a general theory
Proposed Scope of Area 6
1273
The Structure of Information Retrieval Systems
B.C.VICKERY
1275
The Descriptive Continuum: A “Generalized” Theory of Indexing
FREDERICK JONKER
1291
Algebraic Representation of Storage and Retrieval Languages
R.A.FAIRTHORNE
1313
A Mathematical Theory of Language Symbols in Retrieval
CALVIN N.MOOERS
1327
Abstract Theory of Retrieval Coding
CLIFFORD J.MALONEY
1365
Maze Structure and Information Retrieval
GERALD ESTRIN
1383
Summary of Discussion
1395
AREA 7
Responsibilities of Government, Professional Societies, Universities, and Industry for Improved Information Services and Research
Proposed Scope of Area 7
1415
Responsibilities for Scientific Information in Biology: Proposal for Financing a Comprehensive System
MILTON O.LEE
1417
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Responsibility for the Development of Scientific Information as a National Resource
HAZEL MEWS
1429
Differences in International Arrangements for Financial Support of Information Services
N.F.GRELL
1435
Training for Activity in Scientific Documentation Work
GEORGE S.BONN
1441
Training the Scientific Information Officer
A.B.AGARD EVANS and J.FARRADANE
1489
Training for Scientific Information Work in Great Britain
B.I.PALMER and D.J.FOSKETT
1495
The ICSU Abstracting Board: The Story of a Venture in International Cooperation
G.-A.BOUTRY
1503
Creation of an International Center of Scientific Information
PAUL BOQUET
1517
An International Institute for Scientific Information
WALDO CHAMBERLIN
1523
Summary of Discussion
1535
Closing Session: Summary of Area Discussions
1549
Financial Support
1563
Exhibitors
1565
Roster of Registrants
1567
Index
1607
