A Bibliographic Punched Card in Analytical and ... - ACS Publications

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A BIBLIOGRAPHIC PUNCHED CARD IN ANALYTICAL AND INORGANIC CHEMISTRY DESIGNED FOR THE INDIVIDUAL RESEARCH CHEMIST* B Y W . E . HARRIS and W . J. WALLACE Department of Chemistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

A n u m b e r of c o m p r e h e n s i v e r e v i e w s a s well a s m a n y d e s i g n s of punched c a r d s have appeared.lp2p3 None of t h e punched c a r d s which have been d e s c r i b e d w e r e found to be sufficiently v e r s a t i l e f o r u s e by a n individual c h e m i s t i n h i s continuing e f f o r t s t o k e e p a b r e a s t of the l i t e r a t u r e . The a u t h o r s have t e s t e d v a r i o u s d e s i g n s of punched c a r d s o v e r a p e r i o d of y e a r s . The r e s u l t s of t h i s study a r e r e p r e s e n t e d i n t h e punched c a r d f o r a n a l y t i c a l and i n o r g a n i c c h e m i s t s which i s d e s c r i b e d i n t h i s p a p e r . The d e s i g n of the c a r d i s d i r e c t e d toward u s e by p r a c ticing c h e m i s t s i n the hope t h a t i t w i l l help i n t h e i r constant fight a g a i n s t t h e i n c r e a s i n g flood of l i t e r a t u r e . GENERAL DESIGN OBJECTIVES. -- Many of t h e o b j e c t i v e s d e s c r i b e d below m a y a p p e a r to be obvious, but s i n c e t h e y a r e not m e t by m a n y s m a l l f i l e s i t is worthwhile t o f o r m u l a t e t h e m . F o r t h e s m a l l u s e r one of t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t o b j e c t i v e s t o s t r i v e t o w a r d i s t h a t the o p e r a t i o n s of coding, punching, and s e a r c h i n g be done with l i t t l e o r no r e f e r e n c e to a code book. T h u s , while t h e u s e of a s y s t e m b a s e d upon a g e n e r a l i z e d n u m e r i c a l or l e t t e r code r e d u c e s the c a r d c o s t s l i g h t l y , i t i s annoying and t i m e - c o n s u m i n g f o r t h e s m a l l u s e r s i n c e r e f e r e n c e to a c o d e book i s r e q u i r e d d u r i n g both t h e s t o r i n g and r e t r i e v i n g o p e r a t i o n s . F o r t h i s r e a s o n the p r i v a t e f i l e s i n t h e offices of m a n y r e s e a r c h o r g a n i z a tions contain punched c a r d s y s t e m s b a s e d upon a g e n e r a l i z e d code which a r e dead i n t h e s e n s e t h a t the c a r d s a r e not being u s e d a s punched c a r d s , but m e r e l y a s weak-edged f i l e c a r d s . M o s t s m a l l o r p r i v a t e punched c a r d s y s t e m s which r e q u i r e e x t e n s i v e u s e of a code book d i e i n t h i s s e n s e within about two y e a r s , and t h o s e t h a t r e m a i n do not s a v e t i m e f o r t h e u s e r a s effectively as they should. It would s e e m t h a t t h e penalty paid f o r t h e u s e of a code book i s d e a t h . F o r t h e s e r e a s o n s the m e a n i n g a s s i g n e d t o e a c h punching position m u s t be obvious f r o m the p r i n t i n g on t h e c a r d . T h u s , i t i s n e c e s s a r y to have a p p r o p r i a t e l y p r i n t e d c a r d s a v a i l a b l e . Since t h e object of t h e s y s t e m is t o s a v e t i m e , coding and punching should involve the

making of only a few obvious d e c i s i o n s . Refined c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s and extensive subdivision of t o p i c s w a s t e the t i m e of t h e u s e r through h i s having t o m a k e m a n y h a i r l i n e d e c i s i o n s . In a d dition, the fine subdivisions a r e difficult to r e c a l l , and a r e consequently of l i t t l e value a s a s e a r c h i n g a i d f o r t h e individual. A punched c a r d s y s t e m should be s u c h that coding and s e a r c h i n g do not become awkward when o n e ' s i n t e r e s t s change o r when t h e field of l e a r n i n g itself u n d e r g o e s d r a s t i c modification. The d e s i g n , in o t h e r w o r d s , m u s t be v e r s a t i l e enough to allow f o r growth of t h e subject and w i d e s p r e a d change of i n t e r e s t and s t i l l be valua b l e a f t e r d e c a d e s of u s e . P a r t i a l o r c o m p l e t e o b s o l e s c e n c e of i t e m s in t h e f i l e which have d e c r e a s e d value m u s t a l s o be provided f o r . With p r o p e r p r o v i s i o n f o r o b s o l e s c e n c e , a filing s y s t e m need not grow indefinitely but c a n be kept of m a n a g e a b l e s i z e . The d e s i g n should be such that a n effective s e a r c h i n g s t r a t e g y is a p p a r e n t and r e q u i r e s l i t t l e t i m e t o e x e c u t e . The e f f e c t i v e n e s s of s e a r c h i n g m a y be evaluated in t e r m s of the r e c a l l f a c t o r and t h e e l i m i n a t i o n factor.:: The r e c a l l f a c t o r has b e e n defined as t h e n u m b e r of i t e m s of p e r t i n e n t i n t e r e s t r e t r i e v e d divided by t h e t o t a l n u m b e r of i t e m s of p e r t i n e n t i n t e r e s t in the s y s t e m . T h u s , t h e r e c a l l f a c t o r i s a m e a s u r e of the r e l i a b i l i t y of t h e s e a r c h i n g s t r a t e g y a n d , of c o u r s e , i t i s i m p o r t a n t t h a t i t be unity. For t h e p u r p o s e s of t h i s study t h e e l i m i n a t i o n f a c t o r is defined a s the n u m b e r of i t e m s not of p e r t i n e n t i n t e r e s t which a r e eliminated divided by t h e t o t a l n u m b e r of i t e m s not of p e r t i n e n t i n t e r e s t . A high e l i m i n a t i o n f a c t o r i s e s s e n t i a l , but a n a t t e m p t to m a k e i t unity i s a m i s t a k e , s i n c e , i n t h e p r o c e s s , the r e c a l l f a c t o r will p r o b ably be r e d u c e d below unity. To t h e extent t h a t a s e a r c h f a i l s i t should "fail safe.'' I t i s sugg e s t e d that i t i s r e a s o n a b l e t o define a n effective s e a r c h f o r t h e s m a l l u s e r a s one which gives an e l i m i n a t i o n f a c t o r of about 0.99 and a r e c a l l f a c t o r of unity. CHOICE O F SIZE AND T Y P E O F CARD.-Two p r i n c i p a l f a c t o r s n o r m a l l y g o v e r n t h e

OPresented in part before the Division of Chemical Education, American Chemical Society, National Meeting, St. Louis, Mo.. March 21-30, 1961.

36

A. BIBLIOGRAPHIC PUNCHED CARD F O R RESEARCH CHEMISTS

that usually only slight modification of the a b s t r a c t i n g p r o c e d u r e would have m a d e a s m a l l c a r d practicable. T h e r e was a considerable v a r i a t i o n i n the individual n e e d s f o r a b s t r a c t i n g s p a c e , but i t w a s usually o b s e r v e d t h a t the m o s t voluminous a b s t r a c t s w e r e p r e p a r e d by people least experienced in their fields. The s m a l l c a r d i s m o r e d e s i r a b l e f r o m t h e point of view of convenience b e c a u s e i t s s i z e p e r m i t s one to k e e p a s m a l l supply at hand, f o r i n s t a n c e , i n a j a c k e t pocket. In addition, t h e upkeep on the l i g h t e r s m a l l c a r d i s l e s s b e c a u s e the s t r a i n on the unpunched h o l e s i s l e s s and the need for hole r e p a i r i s e s s e n t i a l l y nonexistent. In view of t h e s e c o n s i d e r a t i o n s it w a s felt that a 3.5 x 5 edge-punched h a n d - s o r t e d c a r d with a single row of holes would m e e t t h e n e e d s of a l m o s t everyone and d e s i g n s f o r o t h e r c a r d s have not been c o n s i d e r e d . DESIGN O F THE PUNCHED CARD. -- In F i g . 1 i s shown t h e punched c a r d which h a s been designed f o r u s e i n inorganic and a n a l y t i c a l For convenience the coding s p a c e ~hemistry.~ h a s been subdivided into s i x m a j o r f i e l d s . The f i r s t m a j o r field, i n d i r e c t c o d e , i s useful f o r

d e c i s i o n r e g a r d i n g the 'size of c a r d to be u s e d : coding and a b s t r a c t i n g s p a c e r e q u i r e m e n t s . For the s m a l l u s e r the r e q u i r e m e n t s f o r coding s p a c e a r e not c r i t i c a l with r e s p e c t to c a r d s i z e s i n c e even a sma.11 c a r d p r o v i d e s a m p l e coding s p a c e when p r o p e r l y d e s i g n e d . F o r t u n a t e l y a l s o t h e holes occupy only a s m a l l f r a c t i o n of t h e s p a c e and m o s t of t h e c a r d i s available f o r r e c o r d i n g a b s t r a c t s , d a t a , d i a g r a m s , photocopied m a t e r i a l 4 and o t h e r i n f o r m a t i o n . An a t t e m p t t o a s s e s s the requirement for abstracting space w a s macle by examining the f i l e s of about 20 a c a d e m i c and r e s e a r c h p e r s o n n e l with varying i n t e r e s t s and e m p l o y m e n t . The two c o m m o n s i z e s of f i l e or punche'd c a r d s found w e r e 3 o r 3 . 5 x 5 and 5 x 8 . In the f i l e s of t h o s e using the s m a l l e r c a r d s , i t w a s found that on the a v e r a g e 91% of the c a r d s had m a t e r i a l w r i t t e n on only t h e f r o n t s i d e . F o r t h o s e using 5 x 8 c a r d s , a t y p i c a l f i l e had 9470 with m a t e r i a l on only t h e f r o n t s i d e . Since both s i d e s of a 3 . 5 x 5 c a r d have a n a r e a a p p r o x i m a t e l y equivalent to one s i d e of a 5 x 8 c a r d i t a p p e a r s that i n 9470 of the c a s e s , the a b s t r a c t s p r e p a r e d by t h o s e now using 5 x 8 c a r d s could have been a c c o m m o d a t e d on a s m a l l c a r d . E x a m i n a t i o n of the r e m a i n i n g 670 showed

Field 5

SI

MI

FL

A1

3rd letter

SI

MI

FL

2nd Letter

Field 3 P e r i o d i c Table

I

Superimposed

A

Ai

SI

MR

37

FL

PI

1st Letter

+I

I

Grp.

1

7

4

Group

2

1

4

/

2

1 Period

.z+ao 4,

Non Author

Field

6 Spare

Ok

Inel

Polrq

Field

k.1.

OB

Elect

e 2.

Title

0 % OB

2

Sptr

0 0

Radio Spare

lnorg

0 0

Phys Anal

Exptl. Tech.

Field

1

'P d. Ch.

General Field 1

Field 4

Author and Year

Classification

W. E. HARRIS AND W. J. WALLACE

38

c l a s s i f y i n g and d e s c r i b i n g the i n f o r m a t i o n on the c a r d in a v e r y b r o a d g e n e r a l way. The s e c ond m a j o r f i e l d , a l s o i n d i r e c t c o d e , i s u s e d to d e s c r i b e broadly t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l technique. The code d e s i g n a t i o n s i n t h e s e f i e l d s have been s e l e c t e d s o that they a r e unlikely to b e c o m e o b s o l e t e with t i m e . In addition, a r e l a t i v e l y l a r g e n u m b e r of s p a r e p o s i t i o n s have been left to a c c o m m o d a t e f u t u r e unanticipated l a r g e a r e a s of c h e m i c a l a c t i v i t y . In t h e t h i r d m a j o r field t h e p e r i o d i c t a b l e i s denoted i n combination c o d e . To m a k e r e f e r e n c e t o a code book unn e c e s s a r y , a n a b b r e v i a t e d v e r s i o n of t h e p e r i odic t a b l e i s p r i n t e d on t h e c a r d i n t h e opposite c o r n e r . The f o u r t h m a j o r field i s a l s o i n combination code and i s f o r denoting t h e a u t h o r s h i p of the p a p e r and t h e y e a r of i t s publication. The fifth m a j o r field is a s u p e r i m p o s e d coding field and i s u s e d f o r coding d e t a i l s in connection with any o r a l l of t h e f i r s t t h r e e f i e l d s . The s i x t h field i s a s p a r e and t h e p r i n t i n g provided on t h e c a r d is s u c h that e i t h e r s u p e r i m p o s e d o r combination coding could be u s e d depending upon t h e choice of t h e A E , F L , M R , S Z o r t h e 7 , 4, 2 , 1 p o r t i o n of the p r i n t i n g i n e a c h m i n o r field. P r e s u m a b l y i t could be u s e d a l s o f o r d i r e c t code i f particular meaning w e r e assigned to the holes DIRECT CODE. -- D i r e c t code h a s the a d vantage of allowing f o r t h e efficient d e s i g n of a c a r d which d o e s not r e q u i r e t h e u s e of a code book but usually s u f f e r s f r o m l a c k of flexibility. It c a n be shown t h a t a n i d e a l l y designed c a r d , using only d i r e c t code, would r e q u i r e one t o s e l e c t c a t e g o r i e s which a r e b r o a d enough s o t h a t on t h e a v e r a g e c a r d about 5 d i r e c t code holes would be randomly punched and e a c h punching position would be punched on about 20% of all c a r d s . It i s not n o r m a l l y p o s s i b l e t o d e v i s e sufficient useful d i r e c t code with t h e abovementioned c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s to m e e t a l l the n e e d s of a s m a l l u s e r . Thus while i t i s highly d e s i r a b l e t o u s e s o m e d i r e c t code on a punched c a r d , i t i s unwise t o a t t e m p t t o u s e only d i r e c t c o d e . T h e d i r e c t code f i e l d s which t h e a u t h o r s have found of continuing value a r e l i s t e d i n T a b l e I , i n which t h e m e a n i n g n o r m a l l y a s s o c i a t e d with e a c h punching position i s indicated b r i e f l y . In t h e a u t h o r s ' f i l e s the punching f r e quency i n t h e d i r e c t l y coded p o s i t i o n s v a r i e s f r o m t h e i d e a l of about 2070,and, f o r any one position, t h e f r e q u e n c y v a r i e s f r o m y e a r to y e a r . In t h e e x p e r i m e n t a l technique field t h e r e a r e two s p a r e h o l e s b e c a u s e t h e i n t e r e s t s of m a n y p e r s o n s a r e s u c h t h a t they u s e a single e x p e r i m e n t a l technique i n a l a r g e p r o p o r t i o n of t h e i r w o r k . Consequently a b r o a d l y d e s i g n a t e d position s u c h a s e l e c t r i c a l might e a s i l y have a high punching f r e q u e n c y . One of u s , f o r i n stance, has a p r i m a r y interest i n polarography and h a s a c c o r d i n g l y wished t o subdivide t h e " E l e c t " i n t o two d i r e c t code p o s i t i o n s with one of t h e m being u s e d f o r p o l a r o g r a p h y and t h e

.

TABLE I BRIEF INDICATION OF MEANINGS ASSIGNED TO DIRECT CODE CLASSIFICATIONS Code Designation org Inorg Phys Anal Rprnt Nn. Ch. N. Sci Book Thry N. Ex?. SPr Apts prdr Data Thrm Educ Bond Mech AB Rdox Mdm Per Res Non inst Polrg Elect Spctr Radio Spare Phys Meth

Meanines Used' Organic compound significantly involved Inorganic Fundamental studies Description of specific analysis Reprint acquired and identified by serial number Scientific reference with non-chemical aspects A non scientific reference Information concerning books or journals Theoretical, review A spare, for possible future assignment New apparatus or reagents, procedures, syntheses Fundamental data such as constants, indices, optic a l densities, heats. Of instructional interest Involved with nature of chemical bond, stereochemistry, orbitals, etc. Kinetics and mechanism of reactions Studies of formation of new bond Oxidation- reduction reactions Any medium other than aqueous Personal interest items, new research ideas Chemical as opposed to instrumental; gravimetric, volumetric A spare position Electrical measurements or technique Emission or absorption of radiant energy involved Isotopes used whether radioactive or not A spare position Experimental methods not otherwise classified

*These are the meanings associated with these positions by the authors but naturally any other meanings could be assigned to these positions by other users.

o t h e r f o r the r e m a i n d e r of the e l e c t r i c a l m e a s u r e m e n t s . F o r t h i s r e a s o n the code f o r t h i s s p a r e w a s put a s "Polrg'l but f o r o t h e r p e r s o n s it m a y have any m e a n i n g o r be simply r e t a i n e d as a s p a r e . COMBINATION CODE. -- Additional s e a r c h ing c a p a c i t y c a n be provided for t h e s m a l l u s e r , without a code book, with combination c o d e , p r o vided t h e c o n c e p t s c a n be put into s o m e obvious n u m e r i c a l f o r m . N u m e r o u s combination c o d e s the c a r d which have been d e ~ c r i b e d . F~o~r ~ ~ ~ h a s been developed the s i m p l e and efficient 7 , 4 , 2 , 1 type of code h a s been s e l e c t e d to denote the e l e m e n t s of t h e p e r i o d i c t a b l e , the author and the d a t e . The p e r i o d i c table field i s u s e d t o indicate the p r i n c i p a l e l e m e n t r e f e r r e d t o on t h e c a r d . F o r i n s t a n c e , to i n d i c a t e iodine, which i s i n g r o u p 7A of the fifth p e r i o d of the periodic t a b l e , punch 7 and A under "group" and 5 ( 4 and 1) u n d e r "period." F o r c h r o m i u m punch 4, 2 and B under "group" and 4 u n d e r "period." T h i s field allows one t o denote unambiguously any e l e m e n t i n the p e r i o d i c t a b l e with t h e exception of t h o s e in g r o u p s 3B and 8 B . Specific e l e m e n t s i n s u b g r o u p s 3B and 8 B a r e denoted when n e c e s s a r y by additional punching i n the s u p e r i m posed coding f i e l d . In the p e r i o d i c t a b l e field any s i n g l e e l e m e n t o r g r o u p of e l e m e n t s o r p e r i o d of e l e m e n t s c a n be s e l e c t e d . If t h e r e f e r e n c e i s c o n c e r n e d with m o r e than one, only

A BIBLIOGRAPHIC PUNCHED CARD F O R RESEARCH CHEMISTS

the m o s t i m p o r t a n t c a n be d e n o t e d . If e l e m e n t s f r o m m o r e t h a n one s u b g r o u p a r e i m p o r t a n t t h e " t l g r p " hole i s u s e d . In t h e a u t h o r field t h e f i r s t l e t t e r of the f i r s t a u t h o r ' s l a s t n a m e is punched a s follows: A B C D E

punch 1 punch 2 punch 3 punch 4 punch 5 F punch 6 G punch 7 H punch 8 I punch 9 J punch 10 K punch 11 L punch 12 M punch 13

N punch 0 punch P punch Q punch R punch S punch T punch U punch V punch W punch X punch Y punch Z punch ANON

NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ NZ

and and and and and and and and and and and and and and

1 2 3 4 5

6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

The d e s i g n of t h e a u t h o r f i e l d , which involves t h e u s e of only five h o l e s , w a s c h o s e n b e c a u s e t h e a u t h o r field i s of only m a r g i n a l value i n s e a r c h i n g . If a u t h o r s e a r c h e s w e r e of m o r e u s e t h e n a b e t t e r d e s i g n would be a 12 hole s u p e r i m p o s e d field a s d e s c r i b e d below which would allow t h e punching of not only t h e f i r s t a u t h o r of a p a p e r but of o t h e r s a s w e l l . T o m a k e i t u n n e c e s s a r y t o r e f e r to a code book, a b b r e v i a t e d v e r s i o n s of t h e p e r i o d i c t a b l e and t h e a u t h o r c o d e a r e p r i n t e d on t h e c a r d . In t h e y e a r field t h e l a s t digit i n t h e y e a r of publication i s punched, e . g . , a n a r t i c l e published i n 1958 would be '7 t 1 . In o r d e r t o d i s t i n g u i s h between p a p e r s published i n t h e l a s t d e c a d e and t h o s e which a r e o l d e r t h e t 1 0 y e a r position i s used. SUPERIMPOSED CODE. Superimposed coding h a s b e e n analyzed m a t h e m a t i c a l l y ? T h i s t y p e , which i s norr-specific and open ended, i s i d e a l f o r t h e smal.1 u s e r i n providing coding s p a c e f o r d e t a i l s and allowing f o r growth and c h a n g e . In t h e c a r d d e s c r i b e d t h e s u p e r i m p o s e d coding field i s u s e d p r i n c i p a l l y f o r subdivision of d i r e c t code poE,itions which a r e f r e q u e n t l y punched. The value of s u p e r i m p o s e d code u s e d i n t h i s way d e p e n d s p r i m a r i l y o n t h e c o r r e c t c h o i c e of p r o p e r a n d b r o a d c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s f o r t h e d i r e c t c o d e . :For t h e individual r e s e a r c h s c i e n t i s t no m o r e than 12 h o l e s a r e needed f o r t h i s p u r p o s e if i t is u s e d in t h e efficient a r r a n g e m e n t of t h r e e subfields of f o u r h o l e s e a c h . With t h i s a r r a n g e m e n t the f i r s t t h r e e l e t t e r s of a descriptive word o r t e r m i s denoted. Thus JOU, f o r j o u r n a l , c a n be denoted by punching F L ( f o r J) u n d e r f i r s t l e t t e r , MR ( f o r 0) u n d e r second l e t t e r and SZ ( f o r U) u n d e r t h i r d l e t t e r . In t h i s way one could, f o r e x a m p l e , u s e t h e s u p e r i m p o s e d fie1.d to subdivide t h e c a r d s which a r e punched "org" by ACI ( a c i d s ) , ALC ( a l c o hols and phenols)., AMI ( a m i n e s ) , KET ( k e t o n e s and a l d e h y d e s ) , P E R ( p e r o x i d e s ) , HYD ( h y d r o -

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c a r b o n s ) , P O L ( p o l y m e r s ) and M E R ( m e r c a p t a n s ) . S i m i l a r l y "data t h r m " h a s b e e n subdivided by using F R E ( f r e e e n e r g y ) , ENT ( e n t r o p y , enthalpy); " m d m " by using FUS (fused s a l t s ) , CRY ( c r y s t a l l i n e solid r e a c t i o n s ) , ORG ( o r g a n i c s o l v e n t ) ; " E l e c t " by using CON (conductivity), P O T ( p o t e n t i o m e t r y ) , COU ( c o u l o m e t r y ) ; "Spctr" by using EM1 ( e m i s s i o n s p e c t r o s c o p y ) , F L A ( f l a m e p h o t o m e t r y ) , NMR ( n u c l e a r m a g n e t i c r e s o n a n c e ) , XRA ( X - r a y ) , I N F ( i n f r a r e d ) , ULT o r VIS ( u l t r a v i o l e t o r v i s i b l e ) , PHO (photochemi s t r y ) ; "Radio" by using TRA ( t r a c e r ) , A C T (activation analysis), I S 0 (isotope effects); " P h y s Meth" by using C A L ( c a l o r i m e t r y ) , MAG ( m a g n e t i c s u s c e p t i b i l i t y ) , GAS ( g a s - l i q u i d o r g a s - solid c h r o m a t o g r a p h y ) , ION (ion exchange chromatography), P A P (paper chromatography). The subdivisions i n t h e s u p e r i m p o s e d c o d ing field c a n be m a d e a s g e n e r a l o r a s s p e c i f i c a s d e s i r a b l e . F o r e x a m p l e , the c r u d e and a p p a r e n t l y c a s u a l c l a s s i f i c a t i o n u s e d i n connection with t h e ORG position i s both a d e q u a t e and d e s i r a b l e f o r i n o r g a n i c and a n a l y t i c a l c h e m i s t s . So long a s t h e t o t a l n u m b e r of e n t r i e s u n d e r a d i r e c t code punching p o s i t i o n r e m a i n s s m a l l i t i s not n e c e s s a r y t o f u r t h e r c l a s s i f y it by m e a n s of the punching i n t h e s u p e r i m p o s e d code f i e l d . Subdivision c a n be m a d e a t a l a t e r d a t e by t h i s m e a n s should t h e punching f r e q u e n t l y i n a p a r t i c u l a r hole b e c o m e l a r g e enough t o r e d u c e t h e elimination factor undesirably.

GENERAL U P K E E P O F A PUNCHED CARD F I L E PARTIAL PUNCHING. -- It i s f r e q u e n t l y inconvenient t o punch c a r d s a t t h e t i m e a n a b s t r a c t i s p r e p a r e d , and a t o t h e r t i m e s it i s convenient to only p a r t i a l l y c o m p l e t e t h e punchi n g . T h i s m a t t e r of p a r t i a l punching i s p a r t i c u l a r l y i m p o r t a n t f o r a p e r s o n who i s unf a m i l i a r with c o d i n g , and he should d e l i b e r a t e l y withhold completing any but t h e m o s t obvious punching until e x p e r i e n c e i n d i c a t e s t h a t m o r e is necessary. In m a n y c a s e s a r e p r i n t i s r e q u e s t e d and punching cannot be c o m p l e t e d until i t s a r r i v a l ( s e e below). With t h e c a r d d e s c r i b e d i t i s unn e c e s s a r y t o m a i n t a i n a s e p a r a t e f i l e f o r unpunched o r p a r t i a l l y punched c a r d s . T h e p o s i t i o n m a r k e d "Pnch" is not r e m o v e d until a c a r d h a s b e e n c o m p l e t e l y and s a t i s f a c t o r i l y punched. T h u s , i t i s p o s s i b l e t o k e e p punched, p a r t i a l l y punched and unpunched c a r d s i n a single f i l e . T h e c a r d s which a r e i n c o m p l e t e l y coded c a n t h e n be r e c o v e r e d i n a single s o r t , r e v i e w e d , and t h e punching on t h e m i m p r o v e d a t l e i s u r e . LIMITATION O F GROWTH. -- Bibliog r a p h i c f i l e s grow with t i m e , and i t b e c o m e s i n c r e a s i n g l y difficult t o r e t r i e v e s t o r e d i n f o r m a t i o n f r o m t h e m . T h e difficulty i s compounded by t h e p r e s e n c e in t h e f i l e s of i n f o r m a t i o n which

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is no l o n g e r p e r t i n e n t a s a r e s u l t of being s u p e r seded by m o r e u p - t o - d a t e i n f o r m a t i o n o r a s a r e s u l t of t h e individual's changing i n t e r e s t s . T h e r e m o v a l of s u c h o b s o l e t e i t e m s b e c o m e s not only d e s i r a b l e but n e c e s s a r y i f the f i l e is t o be kept to a m a n a g e a b l e s i z e . The position m a r k e d "Qual" i s designed t o f a c i l i t a t e t h e r e m o v a l of s u c h dated m a t e r i a l . T h i s position i s punched whenever i t b e c o m e s a p p a r e n t t h a t t h e m a t e r i a l a b s t r a c t e d i s not of long r a n g e i n t e r e s t . S o m e t i m e s s u c h a d e c i s i o n i s obvious when the a b s t r a c t i s f i r s t p r e p a r e d . At o t h e r t i m e s , i t b e c o m e s obvious d u r i n g a l a t e r r e v i e w of the available i n f o r m a t i o n on t h e p a r t i c u l a r s u b j e c t . M o r e frequently i t will b e c o m e obvious during t h e d e c a d e r e v i e w which i s d e s c r i b e d below, and which i s provided f o r by the "10 t Y r " PO s i t i o n . During t h e f i r s t few w e e k s of any y e a r one should s o r t the y e a r field of h i s f i l e f o r all c a r d s b e a r i n g t h e s a m e l a s t n u m b e r a s t h e upcoming y e a r . T h u s , a l l c a r d s which a r e f o r r e f e r e n c e s 10, 2 0 , 30, e t c . , y e a r s old, w i l l d r o p and c a n be r e v i e w e d . All s u c h c a r d s should now be punched in t h e "10 t Y r " position and i f they a r e o b s o l e t e punched i n t h e "Qual" position and s t o r e d i n a n inactive f i l e . T h o s e c a r d s which a r e s t i l l p e r t i n e n t c a n be kept i n t h e a c t i v e file to r e m a i n until a subsequent r e v i e w . In t h i s way, t h e o b s o l e s c e n c e r a t e and t h e a c c u m u l a t i o n r a t e will eventually be n e a r l y equal and the s i z e of the f i l e will s t a b i l i z e . T h i s r e v i e w r e q u i r e s about 2 t o 3 h o u r s p e r y e a r . REPRINTS AND PUNCHED CARDS. Review of t h e filing s y s t e m s of a n u m b e r of c h e m i s t s indicate t h a t m a n y p e r s o n s have a r e p r i n t c o l l e c t i o n equivalent t o about 5% of t h e t o t a l n u m b e r of f i l e c a r d s i n t h e i r s y s t e m . T h i s

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n u m b e r s e e m s to be independent of t h e s i z e of f i l e c a r d s o r w h e t h e r a punched c a r d i s u s e d o r not. When a r e p r i n t collection g r o w s to a l a r g e s i z e i t b e c o m e s i n c r e a s i n g l y difficult to file t h e individual r e p r i n t s in a way which will e n s u r e their recovery at an appropriate time. This p r o b l e m c a n be simplified i f e a c h i t e m i n t h e r e p r i n t collection i s e n t e r e d on a punched c a r d and t h e "Rprnt" hole punched. Since s e a r c h i n g i n t h e punched c a r d f i l e is m e c h a n i z e d , t h e m o s t convenient way t o s e a r c h a r e p r i n t collection i s by way of t h e punched c a r d s provided the two s y s t e m s c a n be r e l a t e d to e a c h o t h e r . The two s y s t e m s c a n be v e r y s i m p l y r e l a t e d by a s s i g n ing e a c h r e p r i n t a s e r i a l n u m b e r 3 which i s e n t e r e d on both the punched c a r d , a s in F i g . 2 , and the r e p r i n t . The r e p r i n t s then need only be k e p t i n t h e o r d e r of t h e i r s e r i a l n u m b e r s and no d e c i s i o n s about c l a s s i f i c a t i o n need be m a d e . Any r e p r i n t r e l e v a n t to a p r o b l e m c a n then be r e v e a l e d m o s t r e a d i l y by a s e a r c h of the punched c a r d s and t h e r e p r i n t r e c o v e r e d b y m e a n s of i t s s e r i a l number. PUNCHING. -- Punching and s e a r c h i n g ope r a t i o n s a r e not mutually independent and e a c h m u s t be done with s o m e thought of the o t h e r . In t h i s connection i t i s a w a s t e of t i m e t o punch c o n c e p t s into a c a r d when t h e s e will not be u s e d a t a l a t e r t i m e f o r s e a r c h i n g o r will be u s e d v e r y l i t t l e . Punching of t h i s kind f i t s e a s i l y into two c a t e g o r i e s . The f i r s t of t h e s e involves r e dundant punching. An example of t h i s i s punching i n both of t h e l a s t two n u m b e r s involved in t h e y e a r m e r e l y b e c a u s e one c a n do s o v e r y e a s i l y . The a u t h o r s have found that f o r s e a r c h ing p u r p o s e s one n e e d s only t h e l a s t n u m b e r of a y e a r and one additional punch position t o ind i c a t e whether o r not a p a r t i c u l a r c a r d i s m o r e

Fig. 2.--Example of a punched card with a n abstract and related punching decisions.

A :BIBLIOGRAPHIC PUNCHED CARD F O R RESEARCH CHEMISTS

t h a n a d e c a d e o l d . T h e o t h e r involves t h e u s e of ambiguous punching. T h i s i s punching which d o e s not c l e a r l y and unquestionably point t o the a r t i c l e which i s being sought. F o r i n s t a n c e , a p a p e r which d e a l s with e l e c t r o n t r a n s f e r r e a c t i o n s i n phenanthroline c o m p l e x e s m i g h t j u s t i fiably be encoded u n d e r a s p e c i f i c d e s i g n a t i o n , e l e c t r o n t r a n s f e r . R e t r i e v a l of t h i s r e f e r e n c e a t a l a t e r d a t e m i g h t p r o v e difficult u n l e s s i t w a s recalled that the mechanism was electron t r a n s f e r r a t h e r t h a n a t o m t r a n s f e r . The l e s s s p e c i f i c but m o r e foolproof d e s i g n a t i o n of oxidationr e d u c t i o n f o r t h e r e a c t i o n is p r e f e r a b l e . When t h e diremztly coded p o r t i o n of a c a r d i s punched t h e punching should be s u c h t h a t t h e s e a r c h w i l l f a i l s a f e , that i s , no a t t e m p t should be m a d e t o c h o o s e only one h o l e f o r punching any one f i e l d . All holes which c a n be c o n s i d e r e d r e l e v a n t should be punched. With t h e c o m b i n a tion coded f i e l d s only t h e single m o s t i m p o r t a n t c o n c e p t , of c o u r s e , should be c h o s e n and t h e o t h e r s n o r m a l l y cannot be c o d e d . T h e d e s i g n s of m a n y c a r d s p l a c e double h o l e s i n t h e c o r n e r s . When t h i s i s done anti i f both h o l e s next to t h e c o r n e r a r e punched t h e n t h e c o r n e r of t h e c a r d i s s o weakened a s t o be pulled off e a s i l y . A p r o p e r l y d e s i g n e d punched c a r d h a s t h e h o l e s next to t h e c o r n e r a r r a n g e d as in Fig. 1. F u r t h e r , i t s e e m s desirable to a s s i g n t o t h e c o r n ' e r h o l e s c a t e g o r i e s which a r e i n f r e q u e n t l y punched. T h e l o w e r r i g h t c o r n e r i n t h e c a r d d e s c r i b e d i s u s e d f o r "Book," and t h e l o w e r l e f t f o r " R e s - P e r s . " Both of t h e s e i t e m s a r e u s e d only s p a r i n g l y . T h e r e m a i n i n g p o s i t i o n i n t h e u p p e r left c o r n e r , denoted A , i s a spare. EXAMPLES O F PUNCHING DECISIONS. -In F i g . 2 is one r e f e r e n c e c h o s e n f r o m o u r f i l e s which shows t h e a b s t r a c t , and t h e punching of the holes. T h e following five e x a m p l e s w e r e c h o s e n to f u r t h e r i l l u s t r a t e t y p i c a l punching d e c i s i o n s which t h e a u t h o r s h a v e m a d e i n t h e i r own bibliographies. (a) D. F1eisc:her and H. F r e i s e r , J . P h y s . Chem., 260 (1959). "The C a l o r i m e t r i c D e t e r m i n a t i o n of H e a t s of C o o r dination .Reactions". T h i s a r t i c l e d e a l t with t h e r e a c t i o n of 8-hydroxyquinolines with Co(II), Ni(II), Cu(I1). The c a r d w a s punched in t h e following way: s u p e r i m p o s e d field a s "AMI" t o denote a r e a c t i o n d e a l i n g with a n i t r o g e n d o n o r , " P h y s " t o denote a p h y s i c a l c h e m i c a l type of study, "Data T h r m , " subdivided a s E N T f o r enthalpy of r e a c t i o n , " P h y s M e t h , " subdivided a s "CAL" i n t h e s u p e r i m p o s e d field t o denote c a l o r i m e t r y , "AB" t o denote t h e f o r m a t i o n of a chemical. bond, 1B u n d e r g r o u p and 4 u n d e r p e r i o d t o d e n o t e c o p p e r and "tl g r p " s i n c e n i c k e l and c o b a l t w e r e a l s o i m p o r t a n t , " 2 " and "4" i n t h e a u t h o r

62,

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field t o denote F as t h e i n i t i a l of t h e f i r s t a u t h o r "7" and "2" t o denote publication in 1959. F . T . E g g e r t s e n and H . S. Knight, Anal. C hem . , 30, 15 (1958). "Gas C h r o m a t o g r a p h y , Effect of Type and Amount of Solvent on t h e A n a l y s i s of S a t u r a t e d H y d r o c a r b o n s " . The following w e r e s e l e c t e d f o r punching i n t h i s e x a m p l e : "Org" subdivided "HYD," "Anal," " P h y s Meth" subdivideu "GAS," "E" u nde r a u t h o r and "8" u n d e r y e a r . H. A . L a i t i n e n and E . R . O n s t o t t , J , Am. Chem. SOC., 4565 (1950).-"Ads o r p t i o n and Reduction of T e t r a c h l o r o platinate(I1) Ion a t t h e Dropping M e r c u r y Electrode." T h e punching w a s : "Phys," "Polrg," 8B under group, 6 u n d e r p e r i o d , "L" u n d e r a u t h o r and "0" ( 7 , 2 , 1) u n d e r y e a r and "10 t Yr." C. G. Cannon, " E l e c t r o n i c s f o r Spect r o s c o p i s t s , " H i l g e r and W a t t s , London, 1960. T h i s w a s punched: "Nn Ch," "Book," " E l e c t . , " " S p c t r , " "C" u n d e r Author and "0" u n d e r y e a r . T . R . Sweet a n d J. Z e h n e r , Anal. C h e m . , 30, 1713 (1958). " C i r c u l a t i o n Type Apparatus for Spectrophotometric Tit r a t i o n s . " T h i s w a s punched "Anal," "Apts P r d r ,I1 "Spctr" subdivided t t V I S , ' l"Non I n s t , " "S" u n d e r author and "8" u n d e r y e a r . In t h i s e x a m p l e t h e punching of "Non Inst" r e p r e s e n t s a m a r g i n a l d e c i s i o n but w a s punched b e c a u s e t i t r a t i o n w a s involved and a s e a r c h f o r a n a r t i c l e of t h i s type by way of t h i s hole will f a i l s a f e . SEARCHING. In devising a s e a r c h i n g s t r a t e g y t h e o b j e c t m u s t be t o e l i m i n a t e i r r e l e vant c a r d s with t h e l e a s t e f f o r t , and a s a c o n s e quence i t m u s t be r e m e m b e r e d that a s k i n g a b r o a d question w i l l likely p r o d u c e a l a r g e a n s w e r . G e n e r a l l y t h e highest e l i m i n a t i o n f a c t o r s r e s u l t i n g f r o m a s e a r c h of a single hole a r e obt a i n a b l e i n t h e d i r e c t code f i e l d s . T h e r e f o r e , i t is b e s t t o s t a r t a s e a r c h by choosing one of t h e h o l e s i n s u c h a f i e l d . The second hole c h o s e n f o r s e a r c h i n g should be a single hole i n a diff e r e n t d i r e c t code f i e l d . It i s u n s a f e , h o w e v e r , to exhaustively s e a r c h o n e d i r e c t coded field s i n c e t h e r e c a l l f a c t o r will be i n d a n g e r of being brought below unity. H o w e v e r , a f t e r one o r two s e a r c h e s i n d i r e c t coded f i e l d s 90% o r m o r e of t h e c a r d s i n t h e f i l e u s u a l l y w i l l be e l i m i n a t e d and now i t i s m o s t efficient t o p r o c e e d t o a f i e l d which i s c h a r a c t e r i z e d by a high o v e r - a l l e l i m i nation f a c t o r f o r a s e a r c h of t h e e n t i r e f i e l d . T h i s i s t r u e of both t h e c o m b i n a t i o n and s u p e r i m p o s e d code t y p e s . While t h e s e f i e l d s have a poor e l i m i n a t i o n f a c t o r p e r hole s e a r c h e d , a field a s a whole h a s a high e l i m i n a t i o n f a c t o r and i t c a n u s u a l l y be s e a r c h e d i n i t s e n t i r e t y

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W. E. HARRIS AND W. J. WALLACE

42

without endangering the r e c a l l f a c t o r . The s e a r c h n a t u r a l l y should not be c a r r i e d on t o the point w h e r e all i r r e l e v a n t c a r d s a r e e l i m i n a t e d s i n c e i t will be m o r e efficient t o exa m i n e t h e c a r d s individually when only a s m a l l pack r e m a i n s . RETRIEVAL CHARACTERISTICS O F T H E F I L E S O F TWO PRACTICING CHEMISTS. -The a u t h o r s ' e x p e r i e n c e is that the a c c u m u l a t i o n r a t e h a s s t a b i l i z e d a t about 300 to 400 c a r d s p e r y e a r . With the p r o v i s i o n f o r o b s o l e s c e n c e t h i s m e a n s that t h e t o t a l a c t i v e file should not e v e r exceed t h r e e o r f o u r thousand c a r d s f o r a n i n dividual f i l e . The d a t a p r e s e n t e d i n T a b l e I1 i l l u s t r a t e t h e r e s p o n s e of t h e s y s t e m d e s c r i b e d t o t h e i t e m s placed i n two d i f f e r e n t f i l e s . One of t h e s e w a s t h e f i l e of a n a n a l y t i c a l c h e m i s t which contained about 2000 c a r d s and t h e o t h e r t h a t of a n i n o r ganic c h e m i s t which contained about 1400 c a r d s .

It is a p p a r e n t that a s e a r c h initiated in a s i n g l e d i r e c t code hole c a n be expected to e l i m i n a t e a n a v e r a g e of about 8470 of t h e c a r d s . If the s e a r c h i s continued i n a second d i r e c t code hole about 8470 of t h e r e m a i n d e r o r about 9770 of all of the c a r d s in t h e i n i t i a l pack a r e e l i m i n a t e d . If t h i s i s followed by a full field s e a r c h i n one of t h e combination f i e l d s o r the s u p e r i m p o s e d f i e l d , one c a n n o r m a l l y expect t h a t 99% of t h e o r i g i n a l c a r d s will be e l i m i n a t e d . It c a n be s e e n f r o m Table I11 that t h e s e expectations a r e r e a l i z e d . It should be o b s e r v e d t h a t although judicious choice of the f i r s t s e a r c h m a y expedite r e t r i e v a l of t h e d e s i r e d i n f o r m a t i o n , a v a r i e t y of roughly equivalent r o u t e s a r e a v a i l a b l e t o any one i t e m of i n f o r m a t i o n . T h u s , t h e s y s t e m d e s c r i b e d i s not r e s t r i c t i v e i n the s e n s e t h a t a p a r t i c u l a r s e a r c h i n g sequence i s r e q u i r e d . In none of t h e s e e x a m p l e s w a s t h e a u t h o r o r y e a r u s e d f o r a s e a r c h . The p r i n c i p a l function of t h e y e a r field i s t o enable one t o s e p a r a t e r e c e n t f r o m old m a t e r i a l . The author field i s u s e d in a s e a r c h f o r t h e w o r k of a p a r t i c u l a r p e r s o n o r f o r a p a r t i c u l a r publication w h o s e e x i s t e n c e i s a l r e a d y known. In T a b l e ILI a r e shown the d a t a r e l a t i n g to t h e r e c o v e r y of t h e i t e m s c h o s e n a s punching examples in a preceding section. This table i n d i c a t e s t h e e a s e with which an elimination f a c t o r of 0.95 o r b e t t e r i s obtained. Two o r t h r e e s e a r c h e s a r e all t h a t a r e n e c e s s a r y t o r e t r i e v e t h e d e s i r e d s p e c i f i c p i e c e s of i n f o r m a t i o n . In m o s t c a s e s t h e e l i m i n a t i o n f a c t o r could have been c o n s i d e r e d to have been higher than t h e g r o s s e l i m i n a t i o n s shown had r e l e v a n t i t e m s which f e l l t o g e t h e r with t h e d e s i r e d i t e m been d i s c o u n t e d . F o r i n s t a n c e , two s e a r c h e s of a

TABLE I1 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PUNCHED CARD FILE OF AN ANALYTICAL AND INORGANIC CHEMIST Fraction of all cards with punching in this field Anal.

Inorg. file

Elimination factor Anal. file

Inorg. file

Field (Fig. 1)

file -

General Experimental Periodic table Year Author Superimposed

1.0

0.82

0.83*

0.84"

0.90

0.86

0.85*

0.8F

0.50 1.0

0.41 1.0

0.96

0.99 0.92

0.9F 0.50.93"' 0.9P

0.950.90.93" 0.908"

0.45

-

-

-

"Average elimination factor per hole for a single hole search, #Average elimination factor per field for a full field search,

TABLE I11 EXAMPLES OF RECOVERY OF SPECIFIC INFORMATION First search Item sought

Position searched

Fig. 2 Fig. 2 A"

Polrg. Phys Phys. Meth Org. Anal Phys. Meth Polrg Nn. Ch. Elect Apts Prdr Spctr

-

A"

B B C D D E E

Second search Elimination* 0.72 0.82 0.93 0.70

0.61 0.83 0.72 0.93 0.83 0.90 0.90

Position searched Data Thrm Cadmium Data Thrm Phys. Meth Phys. Meth 0% Platinum Elect Book Spctr Anal.

Third search

Gross Elimination" 0.997 0.999 0.95 0.96 0.95 0.97

Position searched

Gross Elimination'

GAS Anal

0.96 0.98

Spctr Spctr

1.00 1.00

Apts Prdr

0.99

1.00. 0.99 0.95 0.99 0.95

'The numbers reported can b e considered to be equal to the elimination factor if a l l items other than the one sought are considered to b e non-pertinent. "The search was carried out in a portion of the inorganic file for this item. The remainder of the examples were searched for in the analytical file.

A BIBLIOGRAPHIC PUNCHED CARD FOR RESEARCH CHEMISTS

pack of 6 0 0 c a r d s a c c o r d i n g to t h e f i r s t s t r a t e g y s u g g e s t e d f o r i t e m A r e d u c e d t h e m t o 27 c a r d s . Of t h e s e c a r d s 13 had high r e l e v a n c e , 10 low r e l e v a n c e and only 4 w e r e i r r e l e v a n t . Thus t h e e l i m i n a t i o n f a c t o r is a t l e a s t 0 . 9 8 . In t h i s exa m p l e , s e a r c h i n t h e s u p e r i m p o s e d field f o r " E N T " e l i m i n a t e d a l l of t h e c o m p l e t e l y i r r e l e vant c a r d s and only 2 of t h e c a r d s of low r e l e v a n c e . An a l t e r n a t i v e additional s e a r c h of t h e p e r i o d i c t a b l e fielc f o r c o p p e r e l i m i n a t e d a l l i t e m s except A anc, one o t h e r which d e a l t with t h e t h e r m o c h e m i s t r y of a n t h r a n i l a t e s . If t h e p a r t i c u l a r study d e s i g n a t e d in A w a s being

43

sought t h e n t h e s e a r c h for c o p p e r i s obviously t h e one of c h o i c e . H o w e v e r , i n a g e n e r a l s e a r c h t h i s would be u n n e c e s s a r i l y r e s t r i c t i v e and t h e s u p e r i m p o s e d s e a r c h would be p r e f e r a b l e . T h e s e a l t e r n a t i v e s i l l u s t r a t e t h e u s e of t h e s y s t e m to yield e i t h e r s p e c i f i c o r g e n e r a l i n f o r m a tion. If one p a r t i c u l a r p i e c e of i n f o r m a t i o n i s s o u g h t , t h e n s o long a s i t i s i n t h e file and i s r e c o v e r e d the r e c a l l f a c t o r i s unity. In a m o r e g e n e r a l s e a r c h the r e c a l l and e l i m i n a t i o n f a c t o r s a r e s o m e w h a t i n t e r d e p e n d e n t and the s e a r c h should be stopped b e f o r e t h e r e c a l l f a c t o r i s significantly i m p a i r e d .

REFERENCES (1) J. W. Perry, A. Kent and M. M. Berry, "Machine Literature Searching, " Interscience Publishers, Inc., 250 Fifth Ave., N e w

York, N. Y., 1956. ( 2 ) J. W. Perry and R S. Casey, "Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology," Vol. 8, The Interscience Encyclopedia Inc., N e w York, N. Y., 1952, pp. 449-467.

(3) R S. Casey, J. W. Perry, M. M. Berry and A. Kent, "Punched Cards, Their Applications to Science and Industry," Second Edition, Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York, N. Y., 1958. (4) M. Passer, J. Chem. Ed., 33, 581 (1956). (5) Obtainable from SystemsTquiprnent, Ltd., Winnipeg 13, Manitoba, Canada: No. 7824, $13.39 per 1000 cards a t the 5000 card level.

BOOK REVIEW P h y s i c a l P r o p e r t i e s of C h e m i c a l Compounds-111, Advances i n C h e m i s t r y S e r i e s , No. 29, A m e r i c a n C h e m i c a l S o c i e t y , Washington, D. C., 1961, 489 t v pp., $6.50. T h i s book i s t h e t h i r d volume of t h e s e r i e s u n d e r t h e t i t l e " P h y s i c a l P r o p e r t i e s of C h e m i c a l Compounds," t h e o t h e r two having a p p e a r e d a s Nos. 15 and 22,. No. 29 i s c o n c e r n e d with t h e p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s of 434 aliphatic c o m p o u n d s , se,, h a l o - , a m i n o - , c y a n o - , t h i a a l k a n e s , and aliphatic a c i d s , and 2 2 m i s c e l l a n e o u s compounds and e l e m e n t s . T h e s e r i e s h a s been p r e p a r e d by R. R. D r e i s b a c h of t h e Dow C h e m i c a l Company. M r . D r e i s b a c h w a s laygely r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e f o r m a t i o n of t h e Manufacturing C h e m i s t s ' P r o j e c t on

t h e P r o p e r t i e s of C h e m i c a l Compounds, which, with t h e A m e r i c a n P e t r o l e u m I n s t i t u t e ' s P r o j ect on P r o p e r t i e s of H y d r o c a r b o n s , w i l l cons t i t u t e t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t and r e l i a b l e s o u r c e f o r d a t a o n p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s . In the m e a n t i m e , the t h r e e volumes i n this s e r i e s bridge t h e d a t a g a p f o r t h e 1421 compounds now i n cluded. T h i s t h i r d volume c o n t a i n s a combined index t o t h e t a b l e s i n a l l t h r e e v o l u m e s . C h e m i s t s c o n c e r n e d with t h e l i t e r a t u r e w e l c o m e t h e publication of t h i s s e r i e s . A s i m p o r t a n t a s t h e tabulating of t h e b e s t l i t e r a t u r e v a l u e s a r e on p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t i e s , t h e m a j o r c o n t r i b u t i o n of t h e s e v o l u m e s i s t h e p a r a m e t e r s which M r . D r e i s b a c h p r o v i d e s f o r t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n and e x t r a p o l a t i o n of d a t a i n any given homologous s e r i e s .