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ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION. Indexing and Classifying Results of Chemical Research in Relation to Punched-Card Investigations Participating: J. W. PERRY, Massachusetts Institute of Technology ROGER ADAMS, University of Illinois E. J. CRANE, Chemical Abstracts HOWARD K. NASON, Monsanto Chemical Company AUSTIN M. PATTERSON, Antioch College MALCOLM F. BAILEY, U. S. Patent Office KANARDY L. TAYLOR, John Crerar Library ROBERT S. CASEY, W. A. Sheatfer Pen Company
MR. PERRY: In opening this discussion, I would like to point out its purpoae. The adaptation of punched cards or other mechanical devices for attacking problems posed by the chemical literature is no simple matter. Any sound approach must of necessity take a broad view. Consequently this round table discussion was organized to provide an o p p o r t u ~ t yfor expression of various poiits of view which are to be presented by representativesaf the following groups: college chemistry professors, technical editors, research directors, patent specialists, librarians, and industrial chemists. Each participant d l be speaking as an expert in his own field of specialization rather than as an expert in pnnchedcard techniques. PROFESSOR A n ~ b s : MY remarks be exceedingly brief because, as a matter of fact, I was assigned to the Punched-Cd Committee a t a time when I was not Present, and my knowledge of punched-card techniques is very, very limited. However, the Board of Directors of the American Chemical Society has recognized the importance of punched-card techniqnes and the possibility of using them to acquire information from the chemical literature in shorter time than usual. We me so much interested and we are so convinced tbat it is just a question of time before punched-card techniques are accepted and adapted in many, many libraries that we are watching this development very carefully and feel that the Board of Directors should have s, committee of its own to keep it informed as to what is going on. This next Year we shall probably support something financially, in order that, as soon as possible, we can have the data collected from the various concerns and libraries which have an interest in these problems. We can then soreen it and write it up in such a way that we will have available, for anybody who cares to have it, the background of what is known. This may, of course, stimulate mma rapid progress in the future until we have something widely adaptable and of ser6ce to all chemists.
ment which I've always remembered. Somebody said to him in a discussion, "Everyone has a right to his awn opinion." This professor spoke up right away, "No he doesn't-unless he knows something about it." Well, I don't know so very much about punched cards yet, . although I am trying to learn, so I would much rather listen than talk. I would like to emphasize the fact tbat, as I see things now, the use of punched cards in the distribution of Literature would have to be supplementary to the present distribution of information by means of published abstracts and indexes. One thing about punched oards that worries me is the fact that they leave out the human element an one side of the equation. The user of an index has to meet the producer of an index part way for the best results. I think of punohed cards, as I see them now, as better adapted tc more or less narrow problems than to the handling of the whole of chemistry and related fields-but I do not despair that there can be an extension. One of the enormous problems, of course, in connection with the use of punched cards is this matter of classification. Classification has limitstions. It has to be produced and it has to be used; getting those twofactoctorstogether,a s 1 seeit, provide~alimitati~n to the use of punched cards. of the distribution of information by stracts and indexes, which can go to all and which can be produced very cheaply, is inexpensive, You would have to pay a lot more for your service in the pnnched-caTd form. I don't want to take more than my share of the time. However, I would like to make one final statement. My hope with reference to this whole business is that there will be still further developments in the not too distant future, which may leap clear over that classification problem, the biggest stumbling block. possib]y devices may be able to do that. MR. NASON:Our Own interest in puncbed-cad techniques is motivated primarily by the fact that the technical literature today is so voluminous and so complex that a vew great portion of any scientist's time on a particular problem is used up merely in acquiring the necessary background with which to work. By scientists, I mean not only chemists and physicists, but dso the librarian scientist and patent scientist. Merely acquiring a working bibliography of the literature entails a great deal of drudgery. If any substantial part of this could be taken over by some reliable form of mechanized device, the effectiveness of any worker would be greatly increased. It is obvious to anyone who begins to investigate punched-card methods that they are doing a great many things. Indexing, of course, is one. Correlation studies are another.
DR. CRANE: I could second the motion as to what Di. Adams has ssjd-speaking this time for Chemical Abst~aelsinstead of the American Chemical Society, whicb in a certain sense is the same thing. We are very much interested, of course, in anything that speeds progress. We are looking into those things thoroughly. There are a few observations of a general nature which I can make. One very general statement is that I think one should go forward carefully and slowly in a thing of this sort to be sure to get started right. I don't like to talk very much about punohed cards because years ago, when I was just a lad, I heard a professor make a state-
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JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION As you remember from the discussionr a t Atlantio City, it is possible actually to put the original literature on the punched cards if it is desirable to go that far. But, a t least for the present, our interest is primarily in indexing: If we can index chemical
Two or three of my general impressions: One is that this is not going to drive out the older techniques. They all have their uses, and this is a valuable new tool. Also, I think we must recognize that this technique has the characteristics of machines, and fairly oomplex mschines-I mean machines more oomplex t h m ssorew drivers or hemmers. Whether it pays to use a machine or not depends on certain factors, as you know, and one of them is the operstors which would give us the sime results in a. fraction of amount to which the machine is going to be used-the extent of that time, the productivit.y of the research scientist e m be in- operation. Now, to offset that, we have different kinds of creased markedly. Of course, this does not in any way eliminate punched cards. The individual chemist will probably find one of the necessity for original contact with the literature, as Dr. the simpler sorts all that he needs; but if the need is greater, if Crane has emphasized. Certainly, no investigative scientist can there is mare work to he done, if it has to be done faster, then the ever do s. good job unless he is familiar a t first hand with the per- more oomplex machines can he used. If necessary, these matinent literature on his subject. If, however, we can relieve-the chines can be placed in centers larger than those of the individual scientist of routine work involved in compiling his original refer- ohemists-with the larm chemical comnanies and a t document* ence list and out in his hands in a relativelv short time simnlv a tion writers where jobs W I I he slonr fur intlividunL+. list of the periiuent citations, we will indeed have aecompli&ed a .bto present uqea, we llaw W P fn,m ~ rhr p ~ thatp the uw ~ of nrent, deal. thc ~n~ellinrs in chr.mirnl ntatiatira and rompurnrion~is alrrady "~~ ~~In addition to indexinr the printed literature, we arc, of course, considerrtble. intich be the new tool comes in. I n an alphabetic index you csn do only a might otherwise overlook. little bit of classifying, but on a punched card you can set the The first attempt actually to do anything along the lines of in- machine to any part that you wish. On one of these cards that dexing mnr into the problem which Dr. Crme has mentionedMr. Morgan was talking about, you can set it to the chemical that is, of classifying and coding. This difficulty, as he'pointed properties, the physical properties, or the biological properties. out, is very great. It is more effective in that way. You have a classification of I t is perfectly practical to index limited fields of knowledge, and several kinds a t once, and you can select the one you wish to use. the use of punch esrds of one type or another is well established Now it seems to me that later-a little more complicated-is for this sort of thing today. Collections of literature on limited the question of author indexing. If it is an automatic index that fields can be made much more useful to the individual worker in you want, the punched cards seem practical and feasible, prothis way. However, indexing very wide fields is much more vided you can limit the name of the author, the title, and the difficult, and the importance of having an index right the first time reference to the space possibilities of a card. If the technique is cannot he overemphasized. If we do not have it right when the used in other lines, it should be usable in chemistry. classification system is set up, we will find out only two or three When a chemist comes to subject indexing, there, it seems to years later that it doesn't wark. In the meantime, we have in- me, is something that will t&e a good deal of work and a good vested verv imnortmt assets. both time and monev. .. in somethine deal of thought, because subject indexing is such a complex thnr is nor of prrrnanent praeticnl value. So again, it must Ire matter that it is going to be a question as to how to do it. emphasized thbt if the use of the 1,unrl.rd-pard technique is to be You can index every particular compound, but how can you a pmvtiwl or^, r e nus st go at i t alt,u.ly and cnrefully and make index all the various ideas in articles? I don't say that it is not certain that the indexing, coding, and classifying are well worked feasible st all. I just say that it is going to take a great deal of out so that we don't have to go back and try again in the future. work and thought, and it is not going to replace the present type We are certainly very much interested in the work that this of subject index. division and the American Chemical Society are doing in these There is also one other thing, and that is the use of it with lines and are anxious to cooperate in any way we can. classifications. Dr. Taylor of the Dow Chemical Company has worked out a scheme of classification based on the Beilstein Da. PA-"SON: 1 am just n learner in this matter. I nxn re- system for coding organic compounds. You may have seen the OF nrindd d a l$iblical e u p r d o n , "And t h ~ yall with one nreord article by Dr. Wiselogle and his colleagues in the JOWNAL EDUCATION, on a ~ y ~ t eofmclassification which they began to mske rxeuse" that they nrrr nut experts, and I h a w CAEMICAL have worked out for chemical compounds; and just before this this excuse to make too. Talking with di5erent people, I 6nd there are different impres- round table, Mr. Rosa explained the system of classification in Patent. Office. ~~~. ~sions about the value of punched cards and am reminded of the t,he I I~avtw'tm y j u d ~ n w on ~ ~those t three syPtrmr, hut it wrma to di5erence between an ontimist and a oessimist. The 0 ~ t i m i is ~t the person who sees t h i punched cards, and the pessi&st is the me it rhuuld hr poiiilh 11, apply punehrrl rnrds to thrm e,that one who sees the holes. But I am impressed with the amming possibilities of punched cards; that is one unpunched area. I have been told that the total number of electrons in the stead ofseveral aeparate ones universe is ten to the 79th power. If this is true, then there are MR. BAILEY:The wark of the Patent Office is the examining of enough spaces.on one of these cards far every electron to have a serial number and leave a column over. Even that does not show applications for patents. Every application for a patent contains the full possibilities because by using only one column to indicate a disclosure in some technical field. The work of the patent exdi5erent codes, you can start off the second column with nine or aminers is the developing of a bibliography of all publications ten different codes, so that not only the number of single codes, containing disclosures pertinent to the disclosures of the applicabut also the number of subcodes, is infinite. Therefore, I don't tion that he is examining, followed by an analysis of those disclosures and a compsrison with the diselosure of the applicant. think we need worry about the possibilities. ~~~~
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FEBRUARY, 1947 The most time-consuming trtskis the development of the bibliography of all pertinent prior disclosures. We have, therefore, great interest in any system or any means which will reduce the time required to develop such a bibliography. The punched-card technique seems to offer one answer or a t least one partial answer to that problem. Every system of. classification that is developed, is developed for same particular purpose. In the Pat,ent Ofice we develop our classification to answer the needs of patent searching, but it does not answer all questions of search that exist even in the Patent Office. When the search is for properties of substances, sinee we don't classify on that basis, the search is very long and tediow. The punched-card technique seem to offer an answer to the proposition of having a single classificat,ionwhich can be consulted for the purposes for which it was developed, and an auxiliary toit which will make available the characters of information that hasic elassificat,iondoes not provide for. I am not a chemist, bnt since +,hereare so many chemists here, I will try to use an example from chemistry. I n the Patent Officeclrsssificetion. carbon eom~oundsare classified on the bmis of r h i n i i . No mmn5 an. providcd for findu l x r (IT phy*ieaI prolwring all eumpc,uuda h v i n ~~ x ~ r ~ i ~i.hrmic.d ties. If the punched-card system was superimposed upon the Patent Officeclassification and used (as Mr. Morgan has shown that it can be used) to put down the properties-chemical and physical of carbon compaunds-a great gap in our search system would be filled. Like everv one before me. I disclaim anv clsim to narticulrtr kno\vlcdgc of punrhed-ran1 teclmiqurs. 1 am anxious 10 learn bcmuscit may give un rhcnnswrr lor which wcarr looking. ~
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MR. TAYLOR:Unlike all of the preceding speakers, I shall make no excuse for my ignorance. As I continue, it will be apparent. I shall ask, very briefly, five questions related to punched-cards and libraries. First, can the punched-card system be used in library work? It would probably he rash to stmd here and say "no" after you have heard the speeches thst you did this morning, giving all the ramifications and all of the multitudinous and complicated problems for which the punched cards can be used. Therefore, the answer is "yes." In fact, several libraries in this country are now using punched cards. But, as far as I know, no library is using them for bibliographic purposes. They are used mostly to gather statistical or cost analyses. The Harvard University Lihrary is making use of punched cards in its Circulation Department, the U~verSityof Texas is using them in its Serials Department, the Library of Congress is using them in its Acquisit,ion Department, the Boston Public Library is using them in its Financial and Accounting Department; but as far as I know they are not using my, anywhere, for bibliographic purposes, which is the primary purpose we are considering today. Is it possible to code all of the millions of cards that would be necessary to get all of our books, periodicals, articles, abstracts, and so forth, in one Me or in a system of files? Of course, the answer is, physically it is possible. Second, would it be cheaper? I think thst question cannot be answered definitely now. I t would take a great deal of study and many other questions would have to be answered first. Haward University maintains that by combining three files into one punohed-card file, they are making a saving, in addition to the clerical assistance, of three thousand five hundred dollars annually. The Public Library, Montclair, New Jersey, as of today, I believe is not ready to say they are making any dollar s h n g s , but they will admit, of eourae, that they are getting strttistics that they would not otherwise be able to get without a tremendous amount of clericallabor which they probably would not be able to afford. These are mostly statisticd analyses of the Ends of books used and the type of reader using them. They don't claim any savings, but they do not admit it is costing them any more. ~
Third, would it be faster? I think thst might depend a t least on two other possibilities-the type of question that would be asked a t the library and also the arrangement of the files. I do not know, but I am of the opinion that on a long research problem the punched-card system would be faster. On shorter problems it might take a librarian two or three hours to work it out for the reader. I doubt very much if the expense involved and the trouble involved in coding all of this material would he worth while. That is only an opinion. As to the itrrmgement, I also ask this question: Is i t faster to IUD through one file, having all your material in it, or have a sel.ies of files? Perhaps your chemistry over here,. your medicines orrr thrre. your %aricul~urr over IIPW. :Uow that lmc ib the pursildity, if you should nred to use it, of uiinrrruloredcards. You~nirhtl~ave\~ourmrdicalinred-f1~~r~oulrl be very appropriate. ~ o u k i g hhive t the chemistry blue, a n d m forth, or you might dip the edges of the cards in colors. But still there is always the question that will go into severd files,, So if a given question requires you to go to three files-chemistry, medicine, and the third one-would you still be saving time over the single file? Would either be faster than the present system? We can now, a t the Crerar Library, in ten minutes give a reader a catalog tray with all of the cards we have on the history of chemistry. We go to our catalog class 540.9. However, that doesn't give the ret~dera list for himself. That brings up the fourth question. Are there any real advantages to the punched-card system? One outstanding advantage is the fact that you cm, in very short order and with considerable ease, supply the patron with a printed bibliography on any given subject that has been coded in the system. Of course we do not do that today, although we could with photography. Is there a real need for this service? Are there enoueh demands from our n x d m irr the large research libraries for vomplctr priuted bibliogrsphie%? That quwion prrhrps ralh up another one. If wr hml such service available, would we perhaps get more such requests? From my own experience, I know the shorter questions are the ones in predominance in such a library as Crerar. . Of course, the 6fth question refers to our system as it is maintained at present. I s i t tooslow? Is it too cumbersome? ~
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MR. ROBERTS. CABEY:Although debate and argument are desirable, I will have to agree with what the previous speakers have said. I suggest further that the next thing to do is to take specific steps to bring about some of the desirable goals which were mentioned. The principal use of most scientific files, whether they contain bibliographic, laboratory, or plant data, is for the selection of specific subject matter. The most important feature of that use is multiple selection using only single cards. I n order to accomplish thst, the first thing required is to catslog or classify or index the whole subjeot to be covered. I prefer the word "outline" to express the result of such. an analysis of the subjeot matter. Criteria for outlining should be not words, nor even subjects, but should be concepts. Table 1 shows a few concepts for outlining. TABLE 1
M A ~ R Name Composition Function Properties Attributes Form ENERGY Condition or state Change or transfer OPEMTIONS,PROCESSES, PROCE~URES Function Means or medium
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If one analyzes Chaical Abstracts' and other subject indexes for the kind of subject matter listed, one finds first, names and classes of substances. Some are listed according to composition, sueh as esters and acids, others according to function, as antioxidants and insecticides. Additional "matter" references cover attributes and forms of matter. Other subjects may be classified a~ manifestations of energy, sueh as conditions and state of aggregation, or concepts, as equilibria and kinetics. Finally, there are operations represented by analytical procedures, processes, etc. Although we should make same sort of a start toward the goal of a eom~rebensiveoutline coverine all of chemistrv. it would irdicntr n lot of inrpudcnce on my pnrt to imply or su!zqr%tthnr mwlr pn,p,rrcs could Itc made toward thc finiAerl form i n tllr fire ur tvn m i n u t r s ~ v ~ i l u tnow. ~lc \Ye ~ 3 1 1at Iwrt S C F somr ~ of thc principlen which will faditntr mtrlrinle norting without using multiple cards when n r i n ~ l rreference bears data. on several subjects-or aspects of the same subject. One suggestion is a coarse subdivision of a subject into general classes under each of the aspects indicated in the table: fonn, composition, etc. Items listed under each of those classes should be oonsistent-that is, you would find in the "oomposition" index a metal, an alloy, or a plastic, hut not such entries as "refractory" or "abrasive." The latter arc functions and would be coded in the "Function" index. Whether the material is in the form of pumps or piping or what not would be indicated in the LIFom"index. This principle permits coding of each of these aspects on a separate portion of the card. In other portions of the card these main subjects may be subclassified. To illustrate an immediate application of some of these principles to a limited subject, we have suggested' punched cards
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' J. CHEM.EDUC.,23, 498 (1946).
for making more readily available commercial technical data on chemical engineering materials and equipment. We propose that suppliers and manufacturers print their technical data on standardized punched cards and code the latter according to name, supplier, composition, form, etc., an separate portions of the card. These cards then would be furnished to users in lieu of the great mass of catalogs, advertising circulars, and bulletins that clutter up most of our desks and which are usually thrown away without being read. A subscriber to this service would sort his punched-card file and select the card or cards bearing information on the material or equipment he wanted. The advantage to the supplicr would be the assurance that information concerning the material he manuft~otureswould come to the attention of a potential user. This would probably have to he handled by a commeroial promoter, like an advertising agency selling circulation to an advertiser. I t might be done by an A. C. S. publication or committee. Obviously, there would have to he adequate coverage of both suppliers and users to make the service valuable to both groups. Another advantage of such a scheme, or the need for such a scheme, is the fact that technical data of tbat sort is not in a fonn which can be covered in Chemicul Abstrwls. In order to develop the outline necessary to make this kind of information available, I discussed the matter with Professor Grove, Head of the Chemical Engineering Department of the State University of Iowa. For Masters' theses be plans to assign the outlining and collection of a bibliography on various chemical engineering materials as library research projects. I agree very heartily tbat none of these puncbed-card projects should be attempted on a large s d e prematurely. Applications should be only to limited subjects until outlines and principles are proved. We need suggestions from many sources to contribute to the outlines.
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