National Academies Press: OpenBook
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
×

Copyright © 1959 NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES

Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 59–60045

Printed in the United States of America

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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ALBERTO F.THOMPSON

DECEMBER 1, 1907 · JUNE 18, 1957

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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VOLUME ONE

OPENING SESSION ADDRESS

AREAS 1–4

VOLUME TWO

AREAS 5–7

CLOSING SESSION

INDEX

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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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present character and popular name of the Academy—Research Council.

Appropriately, the opening session of the Conference on 16 November included welcoming remarks by the representatives of the three sponsoring bodies. Milton O.Lee greeted the delegates on behalf of the American Documentation Institute and reviewed the way the Conference plan had originated, developed, and matured. Alan T.Waterman, the Director, spoke on behalf of the National Science Foundation. The final welcome was extended by Detlev W.Bronk, President of the National Academy of Sciences. In concluding his remarks Dr. Bronk expressed gratitude to the Royal Society for having had the vision to sponsor a significant conference on scientific information in 1948. Thus the stage was set for the address by Sir Lindor Brown, which is reproduced elsewhere in these volumes.

The Conference Banquet on 19 November marked the midway point for the Conference. On this occasion Alexander King, President of the International Federation for Documentation, was toastmaster and introduced the speakers.

Dr. Waterman, who spoke first, said that during the ten years which had passed since the Royal Society Conference, an increasing recognition had developed of the problems and the importance of scientific information. He reviewed briefly the efforts of the United States Government to meet scientific information needs and, more specifically, what the National Science Foundation was prepared to do in this important area.

The second speaker was Herman Henkle, President of the American Documentation Institute. Dr. Henkle’s informal remarks stressed the immediacy of the roots Americans have in overseas lands and in the cultures of those lands.

The principal address was given by Dr. Bronk who drew attention to the need for a synthesis of knowledge at a time when specialization grows ever more common and more narrow and so tends to erect new barriers to understanding. The solution to this problem, Dr. Bronk said, must lie in developing a broad awareness while cultivating one’s own special knowledge. He believed that this, plus individual integrity, was the best assurance against the danger that scientists might find themselves cut off from one another by each one’s exclusive concentration on his own field of interest.

Having given this very brief summary of the opening of the Conference and the banquet program, I commend to you the Conference reports prepared by the panel chairmen and which constitute a major and significant portion of these Proceedings.

Although it would be impossible to name all those whose special skills were devoted at one time or another to insuring the success of the Conference, I would like to take this occasion to acknowledge their many contributions.

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And especially I express appreciation to my colleagues on the Conference Committee who carried the responsibilities of Conference planning and organization: to Charles I.Campbell, chairman of the Program Committee; to Henry Dubester, chairman of the Local Arrangements Committee; to John Green, chairman of the Exhibits Committee; and to our talented Executive Secretary, Mrs. Mary McC.Sheppard, whose enthusiasm and boundless energy gave courage and support to all of us throughout the 3 years of Conference activity. To these persons and to the large corps of volunteers who served as members of committees, I extend the sincere thanks of the sponsoring organizations.

It is our hope that this Conference will stimulate further research and closer cooperation among those who are attempting to cope with the problems involved in making scientific information easily and rapidly available. We also hope that these Proceedings will be of value to the many hundreds who were unable to attend the discussion sessions of the Conference.

WALLACE W.ATWOOD, JR.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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:

  1. 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-

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
×

duced for general distribution in any form or if copies have been deposited in libraries where they are available to the public.

  1. 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.

  2. 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.

  3. 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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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 1959. Proceedings of the International Conference on Scientific Information: Two Volumes. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10866.
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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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The launch of Sputnik caused a flurry of governmental activity in science information. The 1958 International Conference on Scientific Information (ICSI) was held in Washington from Nov. 16-21, 1958 and sponsored by NSF, NAS, and American Documentation Institute, the predecessor to the American Society for Information Science. In 1959, 20,000 copies of the two volume proceedings were published by NAS and included 75 papers (1600 pages) by dozens of pioneers from seven areas such as:

  • Literature and reference needs of scientists
  • Function and effectiveness of A & I services
  • Effectiveness of Monographs, Compendia, and Specialized Centers
  • Organization of information for storage and search: comparative characteristics of existing systems
  • Organization of information for storage and retrospective search: intellectual problems and equipment considerations
  • Organization of information for storage and retrospective search: possibility for a general theory
  • Responsibilities of Government, Societies, Universities, and industry for improved information services and research.

It is now an out of print classic in the field of science information studies.

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