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Ib her article about catalogues and bibliographies of periodicals in the September 1958 issue of the Journal of Documentation, Muriel E. Hammond writes (p. 127): ‘It has not been possible to locate all the Scandinavian bibliographies known to have been published.’ She cites from Denmark three publications, from Finland two, from Norway three, but from Sweden only one. This is a pity, because Sweden can show several important union lists and bibliographies of periodicals—more in fact than the other Scandinavian countries—and, what is more important, some of these raise some fundamental questions regarding union catalogues in general. This is why I should here like to give some information supplementary to her article.

As every librarian knows only too well, there has been in recent years, particularly since the war, a vast increase in the amount of periodical literature published. Scarcely a day passes which does not herald the advent of yet another new title; mercifully for the librarian, many of these are fated to expire prematurely, but a high proportion flourish and live to form an important contribution to every conceivable branch of knowledge. As with the periodicals themselves, so with the bibliographical tools which seek to bring some sort of order to this journalistic chaos, until there can be few European countries in which there has been no attempt to undertake at least one of several possible bibliographical enterprises. To enumerate comprehensively every published union‐catalogue, catalogue, bibliography, or press‐guide would itself be a task resulting in the compilation of yet another bibliography of considerable size, while a critical assessment of the value of each such work would be not only impossible but verging on the impertinent. Each has been compiled with a special purpose in view, and the fact that an individual foreign publication may be of little practical use to the British librarian does not necessarily detract from its value in its native country.

The Annual Report of the National Central Library for the year ending 29 February, 1948, records substantial increase in its normal services as well as important expansion of its range of activities. The stock of the Library, reduced by enemy action in 1941 from 176,961 to 72,612, has now risen to 111,439—an increase in 1947–48 of 5,465 books, of which 4,430 were obtained by purchase. The total issues of books, numbering 84,889, show an increase of 28·6 per cent. over those of the previous year, and of 44 per cent. over the last pre‐war year. They include 8,655 books and periodicals supplied to university libraries, 6,581 to special ‘outlier’ libraries, 7,823 to Government departments and research and industrial organizations, and 12,652 to adult education classes. In addition, the Scottish and Irish Central Libraries issued 15,547 and 13,082 books respectively to all types of libraries.

This paper does not pretend to introduce anything which has not been said at greater length before, but it may prove useful to the extent that it attempts to collect together associated aspects of the utilization of foreign literature.

WEST BERLIN has a population of 2.2 million and its public libraries in 1961 recorded a circulation of 6.3 million books. For an Englishman, who knows about library statistics of big cities in his own country, it must be difficult to understand why public opinion in Germany would consider a per capita circulation of not even three books something like a miracle. Of course this is no miracle, but the German observer might be led to think so because statistics of German public libraries show that—in relation to the population—figures are much smaller than those reported by public libraries in Britain.

Information and special library work is at present a profession that is in the process of formation and struggling for recognition, and entry into it is entirely uncontrolled. People with the most varied backgrounds and levels of education find themselves made responsible for setting up or running library and information services, without any previous knowledge of the work. Often they are in remote places and without any contact with more experienced colleagues who could give them advice, and their only means of getting the knowledge necessary for the efficient carrying out of their duties is from reading. But, owing to the unsettled state of the profession, the literature is voluminous and scattered, and much of it is of a low standard, or occupied with pure theorizing or polemics. Moreover, the literature that the novice is most likely to see, namely the articles on documentation which are occasionally printed in technical journals, is not always the most helpful for a person who has no background of experience against which he can evaluate it. In these circumstances the new entrant needs a guide to the literature if he is not to be discouraged or adopt practices and systems which are not really suitable to his circumstances. It is to meet this need that this annual review of the literature, now in its sixth year, has been written. It attempts to select those books and papers which are most likely to be of direct help in running a small information department or library, eschewing all pure theorizing and polemics, and only including literature on large libraries where it is felt that it contains ideas capable of application in smaller organizations. To these are added a selection of the most important works of reference, including some that the information officer may wish to know about and consult in other libraries, even though his own library does not possess them. The list is not restricted to work published in 1957, but is intended to be representative of items received in British libraries during the period under review. Owing to restrictions in space, the selection has to be rigorous, and is inevitably, to a certain extent, a personal one. No two people would probably agree on all the omissions, but it is hoped that all the items included will be of positive value to the type of reader for whom the review is intended.

Books and Pamphlets. *AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY. Committee on Professional Training.

This series of articles, now in its fourth year, has been designed to fill a gap in the bibliographical coverage of library literature which is covered by no other publication. Its aim is to spotlight those items in the year's production which are likely to be of direct practical value to the librarian or information officer working in a small organization. Such persons are frequently without previous training and experience of the work and need assistance in selecting from the ever‐growing volume of writings on librarianship those items which are likely to be of assistance to them in their work. This review aims at doing this; eliminating all purely theoretical discussions and descriptions of practice in large libraries, except where it is felt they can be of practical application in the small department, and including not only descriptions of library practice but also works of reference of which, even if they are not held in his library, any librarian should know something. No attempt is made to include only those items published in a particular year, but it is hoped that the list is in general representative of items received in British libraries in the year in question, and that between the articles in the series all important items have been covered. The volume of literature from which the choice must be made continues to grow, and the choice of individual items is necessarily a personal one, with which others may be expected to disagree, particularly over the omissions, but it is hoped that it will serve as a useful guide to those for whom it is intended.

The number of slips written and locations recorded during the year and the total up to the end of the current year were approximately as follows:

The publication of the first volume of the British Union‐Catalogue of Periodicals has stimulated a lively interest in that great bibliographical undertaking, and I am assured that a brief glimpse behind the scenes may not come amiss.