NOTESASD BOOKREVIEWS Russian Abbreviation
Russian Complete Version
MUKP0,TEZTP MUKPOOM
p3KB -
Mmpoc$apaaa MKKP03KBHBaJIeHT REFERENCES
(1) Vremennaya instruktsiya dlya referentov i redaktorov Referativnogo Zhurnala “Khimiya,” Prilozheniya, VINTI, bloscow, 1957. Instruktsiya dlya referenta i redaktora Referativnogo Zhurnala “Riologiya,” Prilozheniya, VIXTI, Moscow, 1958. Prilozheniya k instruktsii dlya referenta i redaktora Referativnogo Zhurnala “Fi.cika” T‘IKTI, hfoscow.
E X P E R I M E N T A L PUBLICATION T O LIST ARTICLES IN GEOPHYSICAL SCIENCES.-A study undertaken by the American Meteorological Society will test the usefulness of the Universal Decimal Classification system (UDC) in handling article title listings for the geophysical sciences. An experimental monthly publication, Meteorological and G!eoastrophysical Titles, will employ machine techniques in preparing title lists. The possibilities of UDC will be explored for documentation and retrieval, coordinate indexing, and other uses. The project is expected to provide comparisons of conventional and machine-prepared indexes to determine relative costs, accuracy, user acceptance, and similar factors. The editor of the new publication is Malcolm Rigby, Meteorological and Geoastrophysical Abstracts, P.O. Box 1736, Washington 13, D. C. The project ie supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation.
R E C E N T PUBLICATIONS AVAILABLE IN SCIE N T I F I C INFORMATION FIELD.-The National Science Foundation has made available three publications dealing with scientific information dissemination and documentation. The Federal Aviation Agency and the Office of Aerospace Research are the subjects of two bulletins in the series Scientific Information Activities of Federal Agencies. The bulletins describe the organization’s scientific information output, types of publications issued, their availability, and methods of announcing research informa‘ion. Copies are available from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington 25, D . C.
BOOK REVIEW
Dictionary of Chemistry and Chemical Technology. Edited by Z. Sobecka and W. Biernacki, D. Kryt, T. Zadrozna with the cooperation of H. Stephen and T. Stephen. 724 pages. Pergamon Press Inc., 122 East 55th Street, New York 22, N. Y . 1962. $30. This dictionary contains about 12,000 words (each with a reference number) in four languages. The basic
59 English Equivalent
microliter microhm microfarad microequivalent ( 2 ) ReferativnyI Zhurnal “Metallurgiya,” KO, 6 (1958). Referativnyi Zhurnal “Khimiya,” Vypusk Biologicheskaya Khimiya, so.1 (1958). (3) P. I. Nikitin, Editor, “Ukazatel sokrashchennykhi polnykh nazvanii nauchnoi i tekhnicheskoi literatury,” Izdatel. Akad Nauk SSSR, ~ f o s c o w ,1957. ( 4 ) J. F. Smith, J . Chern. Ed., 38, 41-2 (Jan. 1961). ( 5 ) J. J. Gwirtsman, J . Chem. Doc., 2, 38-44 (1961).
alphabetical list of terms is in English, with the corresponding entries in German, Polish, and Russian neatly arranged in parallel columns on the same page. I n addition to the main part, there are complete indexes for German, Polish, and Russian. Each of these indexes is of a different color. The selection of languages suggests that the dictionary originally was compiled primarily for reading and translating scientific articles from English. The indexes and the numbering system, however, make it equally useful for translating from any of the other three languages into English. Unlike most multi-language dictionaries, which usually are limited to a single equivalent or definition, this one distinguishes between differences in meaning, depending in which particular field the word is used. Another advantage is the use of chemical formulas, where applicable, with the English term. The dictionary also has an index of chemical synonyms in English. The quality of paper, typography, and binding all contribute to this volume, which should prove to be a valuable aid to those concerned with communication and translation in these particular languages. Hercules Powder Company Research Center Wilmington, Delaware
Zigfrids B. Blums
REVIEWS: CHEMICAL DOCUMENTATION
Index to Reviews, Symposia Volumes and Monographs in Organic Chemistry for the Period 1940-1960. Compiled and Edited by NORMANKHARASCH, WALTER VII + 345 pages. WOLF,A N D ELAINEC. P. HARRISON. Pergamon Press Inc., 1 2 2 East 55th Street, New York 22, N. Y. 1962,70 s. The contents of this book are arranged in two parts: (1) reviews in journals and periodic publications, and (2) reviews in symposia, collective volumes, and nonperiodical publications. The reviews are listed in each section alphabetically by the journal, book, etc. titles. Author and subject indexes are included.
60
BOOKREVIEWS
Books which merely list titles of papers in books and journals are of little value without adequate and consistent subject indexing. T h e book was opened a t random to page 173 and the following two papers searched for in the index: “The catalytic dehydrogenation and condensation of aliphatic alcohols: reaction mechanism” and “The mechanism of isomerization of methylcyclopentane.” The first paper was not entered a t catalytic dehydrogenation, dehydrogenation, condensation, alcohols, reaction mechanisms, reactions, or mechanisms. The second paper was not entered a t isomerization, mechanism, methylcyclopentane, or cyclopentane. Both papers are entered under the authors. I t is not clear whether the subject index was constructed from the papers or from the titles of the papers.
Proceedings of the Conferences on Training Science Information Specialists, October 12-13, 1961, and April 12-13, 1962, 139 pages. Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia. Under a National Science Foundation grant, a group a t Georgia Institute of Technology has been studying programs for the training of science information specialists. One of the steps in this program was conferences for exchanging ideas among those interested in this problem. There were 32 participants a t the 1961 meeting who considered concepts, curriculum, faculty, and recruitment in terms of science training for librarians and information training for scientists. Approximately 50 participants a t the 1962 meeting discussed the need for science information personnel, the types of personnel in information work, and the programs that might be required for the training of these people. Each presentation is followed by a write-up of the discussion period.
Modern Documentation and Information Practices. Edited by Otto Frank. x + 225 pages. International Federation for Documentation, 7 Hofweg, The Hague, Netherlands. 1962. 17.50 Dutch guilders. T h e fourteen chapters of this book by five different writers is intended to be a manual on the fundamentals of documentation and information work. The five contributors are: Otto Frank, J. E. Holmstrom, G. S. Stekhoven, Hermann Elmer, and Josef Koblitz. Considerable emphasis is placed on the information center, which, in this book, may be a national center or a unit in an industrial environment. The chapter headings are: organizational forms and purposes, the need to organize, intake and outflow, references and storage of documents, information retrieval, mechanization using manual apparatus (and electrical apparatus), reproduction, internal organization, overcoming language barriers, human factors, and cooperation and coordination. The first seven chapters are essentially what one finds in most general books on library science. The two chapters on mechanization using manual and electrical apparatus, about 30 pages, are brief summaries of hand- and machinepunch-cards. The chapter on reproduction, about 35 pages, covers most of the existing methods without delving very deeply. Indeed, no chapter in this book goes much beyond a bare scratching of the surface, although each
is written clearly, and each makes some contribution to the overall objective.
Punch-Card LMethods in Research and Documentation. Martin Scheele. Translated by EDWINHOLMSTROM. xiv +274 pages. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 440 Park Ave., South, New York, N . Y. 1959 (German Edition). S9.50. The first edition of this book, published in 1954, enjoyed a rather wide popularity. A reprinting being necessary, the author decided to revise it completely with more emphasis on the applications of hand- and machine-sorted punch-cards. The translation of the second edition by Holmstrom comprises Volume I1 of Library Science and Documentation under the general editorship of Jesse H . Shera. Surprisingly, the book opens on a negative note-an argument raised against punch-cards: the perennial fear that something will replace the human mind. Almost before the thought is introduced, a short history of the use of punch-cards is given, and within two pages the reader is given a treatment of terminology, systems of punch-cards and codes, with a German-English dictionary thrown in, and fields of application. The three chapters on punch-card methods are rather thorough, going into many details, both elementary and complex, with descriptions and illustrations of cards and machines. These chapters add little, however, not already available in other books. There are seven chapters concerned with general rules for the use of punch-cards. These general rules cover language, concepts, nomenclature and terminology, the theory of order, code notations, and the universal decimal classification system. I n Chapter 9, “Significance and Tasks of Documentation,” the author regards “Documentation.. . as an independent field of work. . . midway between librarianship and research.” Fortunately, this nebulous definition does not materially influence the various excellent treatments in the descriptive chapters. There are three chapters on examples of punch-card applications, mostly from the life sciences. One example for chemistry on the use of a double-hole hand-sorted punch-card for the preparation of a chemical bibliography, is extremely brief. A second example, four pages long, illustrates a code pattern for the components of chemical structures on an IBM card. Although this book no longer has the impact it had when first published, it remains one of the more useful for learning about punch-cards. Mr. Holmstrom has given us an excellent translation of this valuable book. Technical Information in the U.S.S.R. ARAMS. MALIKSHAKHNAZAROV. Translated by Boris I. Gorokhoff, V I I I + 122 pages, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Libraries, Cambridge 39, Mass. 1961 (Russian edition 1960). $1.60. Monograph N o . 3 of the M I T Monographs is a translation done under a grant from the National Science Foundation. The able translator of this book, Boris I . Gorokhoff, is deeply concerned with the dissemination of scientific and technical information in the U.S.S.R., a
BOOKREVIEWS subject on which little has been published by the Russians, and certainly considerably less in English. For this reason alone, this translation constitutes a valuable reference. The chapters are: the national technological system; technological information agencies in plants and institutes; sources of scientific, technical, and economic information; bibliographical information work with production and technical literature; forms, methods, and techniques for the dissemination and application of advanced production, technical, and scientific experience, and prospects for the development of information techniques. The subject matter is primarily directed to the industries concerned with the manufacture of machinery in the U.S.S.R. Although the book is interesting reading, it contributes little to the advancement of documentation. Its value lies solely in the descriptions of technical information solutions in one sector of the Russian industrial system. These solutions are not novel elsewhere in the world.
Bibliographic Problems in the National Sciences. Reports delivered a t the VI Scientific Conference of the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R., Leningrad, March 2-4, 1960. Translated by Adam Kahane, Edited by Eileen Kibriek. t + 113 pages. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge 39, Mass. 1962. 52.88. This translation is Library Monograph No. 4 of the M I T Monographs. The papers presented at this meeting were: problems of Soviet subject bibliography in the natural sciences, abstract journals of the All-Union Institute of Scientific and Technical Information, recording and registration of natural science literature by the Organs of State Bibliography of the U.S.S.R., foreign bibliography in the natural sciences, Soviet subject bibliography of bibliographies, and experience of the AllUnion Geological Library in compiling its annual, Geological Literature o f t h e U.S.S.R. The chapters are followed by 25 pages of discussion.
Consolidated Index of Selected Property Values: Physical Chemistry and Thermodynamics. Prepared by the Office of Critical Tables. NAS-NRC Publication 976, XXIII + 274 pp., cloth. National Academy of SciencesNational Research Council, Washington, 1962. $6.00. The first issue of this unique index, containing more than 100,000 bits of coded information, covers the contents of the following six well-known and authoritative thermodynamic and physicochemical compilations: “Selected Values of Properties of Hydrocarbons and Related Compounds,” American Petroleum Institute Research Project 44 “Selected Values of Properties of Chemical Compounds,” Manufacturing Chemists Association Research Project “Selected Values of Chemical Thermodynamic Properties,” National Bureau of Standards Circular 500 “Thermodynamic Properties of the Elements,” D. R . Stull and G. C. Sinke “Contributions to the Data on Theoretical Metallurgy.” Bureau of Mines Bulletins 383, 384, 393, 406, 407, 477, 542, 584 “Selected Values for the Thermodynamic Properties of Mletals and Alloys,” Mineral Research Laboratory, University of California. Each index entry designates a substance or process, all available
61
associated properties, and the publication(s) listing numerical values for the cited properties. Substances are characterized by molecular formula, systematic name, and phase; names of properties and publications are coded and arranged in semi-tabular format. The index entries are ordered by formula according to a logical system based on the periodic table. The physical chemist will find listed some 12,000 substances; for each he can determine a t a glance which of 73 properties have been compiled and in what publication they are covered. The documentation specialist will find in the Index a substantive approach to information storage and retrieval, an approach involving first an enormous condensation of the literature (the initial evaluation and tabulation of data from primary research reports) and then the further condensation and storage of numerical values as bits of information in code form. Every substance and every property covered in the six compilations is cited separately, thus permitting precise responses to highly specific questions. Planning for future volumes includes the methodical incorporation of additional compilations covering other fields of science. The line-camera mode of composition has been adopted specifically to permit easy addition of new material and revision of old.
REVIEWS: CHEMISTRY A N D CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY BOOKS
Calculations in Physical Chemistry. B. W. V. HAWESand N. H. DAVIES.XIV + 203 pages. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 440 Park Ave. South, New York 16, N . Y . 1962. S4.50. A large number of problems in the various areas of physical chemistry, designed to give the student facility in the quantitative relationships, make up this book. Answers in the back of the book allow those whose experience is rusty to brush up.
Methods of Forensic Science. Vol. 1. Edited by FRANK XII + 659 pages. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., LUNDQUIST. Interscience Div., 440 Park Ave. South, New York 16, N. Y. 1962. $19.95. The literature of forensic medicine and crime investigation is widely scattered throughout journals and books in all disciplines of science. This series of volumes is designed to meet the literature needs of forensic scientists, toxicologists, police laboratory chemists, and others in this rapidly growing science. Volume one covers alkaloids, bloodstains, biological stains, stains of nonbiological origin, barbiturates, carbon monoxide, use of serum heptoglobin for determination of paternity, and examination of firearms and ammunition. Luminescence of Organic and Inorganic Materials. Edited by HARTMUTP. KALLMANN and GRACE MARMOR SPRUCH.XXIV + 664 pages. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 440 Park Ave. South, New York 16, N. Y. 1962. 916.00. This book comprises the papers and discussions of the 1961 international conference on luminescence held at New York University and sponsored by the Air Force
62
BOOKREVIEWS
Aeronautical Research Laboratory, Army Research Office (Durham), Office of Naval Research, and New York University. The Pyrimidines. D. J. BROWN.x x v + 774 pages. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Interscience Div., 440 Park Ave. South, New York 16, N. Y. 1962. $40.00. The chemistry of the pyrimidines is critically reviewed with emphasis on practical aspects. The book covers syntheses, physical properties, and reactions, referring to 2200 references (36.55 from the United States, 22.7% from Germany, 19.4% from the British Commonwealth, and 21% from other nations).
t o give a status report of research in a rapidly advancing field. Among the free radicals discussed are: NO? N F ? , SFi, S 0 3 F , (02C1FI)., and HO?. Because most of the progress has been possible through the use of new tools and techniques. about one-half of the papers discuss the use of electron spin resonance, mass spectroscopy, and the magnetron.
Advances in Electrochemistry and Electrochemical and CHARLES Engineering. Edited by PAULDELAHAY W. TOBIAS.IX + 300 pages. John W. Wiley & Sons, Inc., 440 Park Ave. South, New York 16, N. Y., 1962 s12.00. This is Volume 2 of Electrochemical Enpineering, under Natural Organic Macromolecules. BRUNOJIRGENSONS.the editorship of Charles W. Tobias, the objective of the series being to bridge the gap between electrochemistry x + 464 pages. Pergamon Press, Inc., 122 East 55th as part of physical chemistry and electrochemical Street, New York 22, N. Y., 1962. S15.00. engineering. Where Volume 1 evaluated and reviewed The realm of natural organic macromolecules covered current problems of the electrochemist, this volume in this treatise includes polyisoprenes, polysaccharides, considers topics from the viewpoint of the electrocellulose, starch and glycogen, pectins, gums, proteins, chemical engineer. enzymes, viruses, and phages. Important properties of macromolecules, their isolation, and their structures are discussed from the chemical, rather than the physical, Polymerization and Polycondensation Processes. Adviewpoint. vances in Chemistry No. 34. VI + 260 pages. American Chemical Society, Washington, D. C. 1962. S8.00. The 21 papers constituting this volume were presented before the Division of Industrial and Engineering ChemTransactions of the Society of Rheology. Volume VI. istry, 140th meeting of the American Chemical Society, E . H. LEE, Editor. 394 pages. John Wiley & Sons, Chicago, Ill., September 5-6, 1961, as a symposium. The Inc., 440 Park Ave., South, New York 16, N . Y. 1962. papers are arranged in three groups: addition polymeriza$11.25. tion, polycondensation reactions, and commercial polyThis volume comprises the majority of the papers merization processes and equipment design. The emphasis presented a t the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Society of is on unit design rather than products. Rheology a t the University of Wisconsin, October 30November 1. 1961. Abstracts are given of papers not included in the volume. Three papers and abstracts of Theory and Applications of Ultraviolet Spectroscopy. others from the symposium on the rheology of blood and H . H. JAFFEand MILTONORCHIN.xv + 624 pages. 23 papers and abstracts of others from the general meeting John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 440 Park Ave. South, New make up this volume. York 16, N . Y. 1962. $15.00. This textbook incorporates both theory. based on the molecular-orbital approach, and application in structure determination. T o facilitate an understanding of elecPolymer Processing. JAMES M. MCKELVEY. XII + 409 tronic absorption spectra, the authors organize the pages. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 440 Park Avenue South, empirical knowledge of ultraviolet spectra around a frameNew York 16, N . Y. work of theoretical concepts. Various absorbing species The conversion operations of various polymersare discussed in terms of theory, covering a wide range molding. extrusion, blending, calendering, etc.-are the of organic molecules in inorganic complexes. subjects of this book, which is written primarily for the engineer entering or practicing in polymer technology. The engineering viewpoint thus includes rheology, fluid REVIEWS JOURNALS mechanics. hydrodynamics. mixing, etc.
Free Radicals in Inorganic Chemistry. Advances in Chemistry No. 36. VI + 175 pages. American Chemical Society, Washington, D. C. 1962. $7.00. This volume contains the 1 7 papers presented before the Division of Inorganic Chemistry, Atlantic City National Meeting, September. 1962, and constituted the symposium on “Inorganic Free Radicals and Free Radicals in Inorganic Chemistry.” The purpose of this symposium was
Petroleum Chemistry: U.S.S.R. Volume 1, Number 1, 1962. Translation Editor-D. L. SAMUEL; TranslatorB. J. HAZZARD. Pergamon Press, Inc., 122 East 55th Street, New York 22, N. Y., S85.00 annual subscription rate, four issues per year. Petroleum Chemistry is the English version of the new Russian journal, Neftehhimiya, introduced in 1961. Papers of greatest interest to western petroleum chemists are translated in full; other papers are abstracted.
