searching the chemical literature - ACS Publications - American

Chemical Trade Literature and Its Usefulness LA VERNE E. CHEYNEY

Downloaded by WEIZMANN INST OF SCIENCE on May 26, 2018 | https://pubs.acs.org Publication Date: January 1, 1961 | doi: 10.1021/ba-1951-0004.ch019

Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co., Detroit, Mich.

Much of the available information concerning chemi cal raw materials and derived products, as well as that concerning equipment of interest in the chemical field, cannot be found in the normal scientific or technical literature. Instead, it must be sought in various manufacturers' releases and related types of information loosely grouped under the designation of technical trade literature. The types of literature and the problems and techniques associated with obtaining and using it are analyzed in detail.

Expansion of the American chemical industry and the increasing diversity of its markets have led to the organization and growth of numerous companies supplying an i n creasingly large number of raw materials of varying degrees of purity, and formulated products. Such derived products, including widely varying items such as inks, adhesives, pigments, coatings, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, solvents, insecticides, surface-active agents, plasticizers, ceramic compositions, corrosion inhibitors, sanitary supplies, foundry sands, hydraulic fluids, textile treating agents, insulating materials, lubricants, and leather chemicals, have multiplied rapidly. It is logical, therefore, that concurrently there has developed a great and increasing demand for technical information concerning these raw materials and finished products, as well as for methods and equipment for processing them. U n t i l a relatively few years ago the volume of technical trade literature was relatively small. A few pioneering companies such as the R . T . Vanderbilt Co. and the D u Pont Co. issued mimeographed or printed bulletins or trade releases at regular or irregular i n tervals. These contained a variety of useful information from specific information con cerning the publishers' products and their properties or applications to general engineer ing data. The consumer of chemicals or of chemically derived products has been confronted during the past 15 years with an ever increasing number of materials which are presented for his attention. The advertising and promotion of these chemical products are, on the whole, conservative. Nevertheless, the chemical consumer is bound to feel bewildered by all the claims made for various competitive materials. I t is only natural that he should attempt to secure some definite information concerning new raw materials before he undertakes to work with them. The same holds true with regard to equipment used with these materials. It is obviously impractical for each consumer to obtain i n his own plant or laboratory all the basic information concerning each material, process, or piece of equipment. C o n sequently, leading suppliers started supplying such information, and their competitors soon began imitating the practice. A t the present time a veritable contest is taking place in certain fields to see who can supply to the customer more information, or better data, or a prettier package for it. This literature is supplied b y trade associations and govern ment agencies as well as individual companies. 126

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Types of Trade Literature There is one significant difference between technical trade literature and the orthodox or formal chemical literature found in the scientific journals and publications. Although the usual scientific book or article is written for a somewhat limited audience, it is given as wide distribution as the sale of the publication will permit, and it may be promoted heavily by the publishing house. Furthermore, copies of it will be available i n various public and other libraries, depending again upon the subscription or sale of the particular publication. I n addition, it may be abstracted i n Chemical Abstracts or other abstracting services. It will be indexed i n numerous places and photographic or other copies of it will be available through various channels if the reader does not have direct access to an original copy. The published commercial technical literature, however, does not usually fit any of the above specifications. It is usually distributed gratis to a select audience. Few libraries will normally obtain copies and some of these w i l l not be filed or indexed. It is seldom abstracted or indexed i n the usual places. There is often no satisfactory method for the searcher to learn that such a publication exists. If he does learn that there is such a publication, its content may not be indicated. The following descriptions and examples represent several distinct types of technical trade literature : 1.

General trade journals in various fields, some sold on subscription Electrical Manufacturing Paper Trade Journal Rubber Age Modern Plastics Oil and Gas Journal

Iron Age Food Industries Soap and Sanitary Chemicals Ceramic-Industry Textile World

Others distributed gratis on controlled circulation basis Chemical Processing Graphic Arts Monthly Drug and Allied Industries Pipe Line News Packaging Parade

Steel Processing Plastics World Production Equipment Quick Frozen Foods Organic Finishing

2. Regular technical publications issued by suppliers and sent gratis to consumers (one illustrated in Figure 1) Synthetic Organic Chemicals (Eastman Kodak)

Chemist-Analyst (J. T. Baker Chemical) Activator (N. J . Zinc) Lubrication (Texas Co.)

Columbian Colloidal Carbons (Columbian Carbon) Compounding Research Reports (Naugatuck)

Lead (Lead Industries Association) 3.

External house organs of more general character

Dow Diamond (Dow Chemical)

Royle Forum (John Royle and Sons) Plastic News-Front (American Cyanamid) Witcombings (Witco Chemical)

Interchemical Review (Interchemical)

Research Today (Eli Lilly) By Gum (Reichhold) Givaudanian (Givaudan-Delawanna)

4. Regular catalogs issued by suppliers of materials and equipment, some containing extensive technical information (two illustrated in Figure 1) Knightware Chemical Equipment (Maurice A . Knight) Industrial Alcohol (U. S: Industrial Chemicals) Industrial Insulation (Philip Carey Mfg. Co.) Special Steels for Industry (Allegheny Ludlum Steel Corp.) Industrial Chemicals (Commercial Solvents) 5. Books, both bound and loose-leaf, dealing with special products or subjects (two illus trated in Figure 1) ïlycar Blue Book (B. F . Goodrich Chemical) Canned Food Reference Manual (American Can) Marine Lubricants (Shell) Vistanex Compounding Manual (Enjay) SEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.


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ADVANCES IN CHEMISTRY SERIES

Figure 1.

Examples of Books, Catalogs, and Regular Company Technical Publications

6. Printed bulletins of less than book size dealing usually with limited subjects (illus trated in Figure 2) Philblack Bulletins (Phillips Chemical) Titanox Pigments (Titanium Pigment Corp.) Plasticizers (Tennessee Eastman) Ε PI-Resins (Jones-Dabney) Neo-Fat (Armour) GR-S Latex, Type V (Rubber Reserve)

Dow-Corning Fluids (Dow-Corning) Vinylite Resins-Dispersion Coatings (Bakélite) Cabot Pine Products (Godfrey L . Cabot)

Cardolite Resins (Irvington Varnish)

Oils Chart (Archer-Daniels-Midland) Application of Synthetic Tanning Materials to Leather (Rohm & Haas) Pliolite S-δ (Goodyear)

Why Glycerine for Textiles (Glycerine Producers Association)

Newport Zinc Résinâtes (Newport Industries) Armstrong Steam Trap Book (Armstrong Machine Works)

7. Unbound announcements of one or more pages covering practically all companies and products Stamford "Factice" Vulcanized Oil Solutions (Stamford Rubber Supply) Harflex Plasticizers for Vinyl Plastics (Binney and Smith) Corpolin—Hygroscopic and Plasticizing Agent (Heyden) Diamond Chlorowax Manual (Diamond Alkali) Petrolite Emulsifiable Waxes (Petrolite)

Furfural (Quaker Oats)

Dicalite Filtraids (Dicalite)

8.

Advertisements or copies of them, especially those appearing in trade journals Victor Chemical Works Hardesty Chemical Co., Inc.

Ohio-Apex, Inc. Celanese Plastics Corp.


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9. Wall charts presenting a variety of useful information and supplied by a large number of companies. Also informative types of calendars, blotters, notebooks, and similar promo tional material 10. Letters of transmittal or answers to inquiries, often the sole source of information con cerning a given subject 11. Internal reports of interviews with salesmen, conferences, phone conversations

Some of these types of literature present only limited information. Others, however, are very elaborate. M a n y of the house organs and books or bulletins published directly by various companies are extremely well edited and profusely illustrated with charts, photos, and cartoons. (Items 1, 10, and 11 i n the foregoing list are borderline cases; they represent substitutes for technical trade literature as i t is normally considered.) In addition to these direct sources, there may be available to the searcher abstracts of any of these types of trade literature. The regularity of occurrence and location of such abstracts are variable, depending upon the particular subject involved. Sometimes an individual or a library will prepare abstracts or bibliographies within a limited or spe cialized field and these may then be utilized by the searcher within the organization.

Figure 2.

Typical Bound and Printed Bulletins on a Variety of Subjects

In some fields the trade journals prepare and publish abstracts of pertinent informa tion within the field including a certain amount of technical trade literature. A t least one specialized abstracting service (the Summary of Current Literature, a British publica tion devoted to the subjects of rubber and related fields including plastics) includes ab stracts of appropriate technical data or information appearing i n advertisements. The Industrial Arts Index and Chemical Abstracts will frequently report data appearing i n trade journals and similar types of publications.

Obtaining Trade Literature The searcher for technical trade information may have available files and library shelves as a starting point. However, frequently his problem involves some new type of information which is unlikely to be on hand, or the data on hand may be incomplete. In these instances the first objective is to learn the identity and source of literature which should contain the desired information. SEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.

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One of the most satisfactory methods is a direct request to companies which are known to manufacture or sell the products i n which the searcher is interested. The names of such companies may already be known to the searcher or to the personnel of his pur chasing department. Otherwise, listings of appropriate companies can be found in catalogs and directories such as ' T h o m a s ' Register," 'Chemical Engineering Catalog," "Chemical Industries Buyers G u i d e , " ''Green Book of the Oil, Paint, and Drug Reporter," " M o d e r n Plastics Encyclopedia," "Rubber Red Book," "Post's Paper M i l l Directory," and numerous other specialized reference books issued chiefly by trade journals at regular intervals. Actual copies of many catalogs can be found i n "Sweet's Catalog F i l e . " A t least a representative selection of such sources should either be i n or readily available to every laboratory. Another valuable source of names of appropriate companies is the advertisers in various trade journals and magazines, especially those specializing i n the field in question. M o s t companies advertise on a definite schedule but not necessarily a consecutive one; consequently, several issues should normally be consulted. The trade publications are also valuable as sources of announcements of new products or services, even when the company in question is not an advertiser. Recently a number of magazines have featured an inquiry card, whereon the busy reader may check the items on which he desires further information and the journal does the rest. A recent issue of a leading magazine in the chemical field listed 396 items which the reader could request. This service is a useful one, but frequently the use of such inquiry cards from several magazines leads to a duplication of requests, owing to inadequate descriptions. This is more often the fault of the company which released the product news than of the periodicals. Salesmen will frequently leave technical information or arrange to have it sent. Company policies vary widely. Some distribute information widely, both by mail and by sales contacts. Others prefer to have all their literature distributed by their represen tatives, on the premise that they can get a better idea of the needs or problems of the customer. The salesman or technical representative will determine what literature should be furnished. I n some instances this policy of direct contact is part of an attempt to control the use of the product. Some companies are so anxious to protect certain cus tomers that they are extremely reluctant to distribute technical information to others. Some even protect exclusive customers by signed agreements limiting the type of usage of their products. Others often require the purchase order to state the end use of the m a terial being purchased. Those i n attendance at conventions and trade shows are frequently afforded an op portunity to pick up literature i n connection with exhibits. M a n y companies which issue technical bulletins and other literature will, on request, place the reader's name on a regular mailing list to receive material automatically as it is issued. Sometimes the lists are classified so that the individual recipient is sent only information which is of specific interest to h i m . Some of these mailing lists are seldom revised, whereas other organizations send out check-up cards every few months. Some companies do not publish any standard data sheets or bulletins but prefer i n stead to furnish the appropriate information by letter. This is especially true with regard to experimental samples or products. Some firms claim that their lines change so rapidly that any standardized information would become obsolete soon after distribution. Still other companies send out samples and literature without any hint to the customer that the sample represents only pilot plant production. Furthermore, frequently these same materials are removed precipitously from the market at a later time without any a n nouncement to the numerous people who have the literature i n their files or who have actual samples of the material. The author has found literature i n active files concerning products which had been removed from sale several years previously.


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Searching the Files M o s t people read or note technical trade literature as it is received. Some then dis card it, whereas others eram their own desks or files with those items of interest to them. Some material is routed to associates, i n which case it may readily get lost along the line, depending upon the diligence with which these people read it and send it along. F r e SEARCHING THE CHEMICAL LITERATURE Advances in Chemistry; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 1961.


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quently it takes a long time for the literature to make the rounds. I t takes only one nonconscientious reader or one person out of town for a prolonged period to upset the entire sequence. Eventually the literature, if not intercepted or discarded earlier, reaches a central file or library. I t is there and i n the personal files and mail baskets of his asso ciates that the searcher must usually look for the information. Books and regularly published house organs do not present much of a problem. They will usually be located i n the same area as the regular or orthodox literature. If the library is large enough, they will probably be catalogued b y subject and author, if any, in the usual manner. This will be true especially i n company libraries, where the volume of such material is likely to exceed that found i n the public-supported libraries. Some city or university libraries will contain valuable publications of this general type, especially on subjects of local interest. Printed and mimeographed bulletins and data sheets of smaller size are much more difficult to locate. Partly because of their size, they are more likely to be lost. Further more, whereas books and large bulletins are logically sent to or placed i n a relatively public location, single sheets or small bulletins are more likely to be placed i n an individual's files and are thus less accessible, generally. Material in this classification is aJmost never found in a public library. Letters, reports, and memoranda will normally be located i n their appropriate spot i n the files and the relative ease or difficulty of locating them will be a function of the ade quacy of the filing system and the skill with which the filing is done. Such material is usually not found i n a public library. A well-organized filing system greatly facilitates the search for information. If i n formation is missing from an orderly file, the searcher has a reasonable basis for assuming that i t is not i n the file, and for continuing his search elsewhere. M a n y companies, both large and small, do not possess a well-organized system. I n addition, the actual filing is frequently entrusted to inexperienced or untrained personnel, with the result that i n formation is frequently easier to find outside the file than inside it. The type of filing system employed is important i n determining the availability of information to the searcher. Some companies file everything under the company name and may segregate these into categories such as suppliers and customers. Frequently the technical data sheet, bulletin, or other item of trade literature is not accessible to the searcher who does not know the name of the company manufacturing the product or pro viding the service i n question. On the other hand, a functional type of filing system is not adequate for handling the heterogeneous information found i n much technical trade literature. M a n y bulletins, memos and letters are devoted to a single subject and are thus easily indexed i n a func tional system. A n equally great number, however, are devoted to more than a single subject and are not readily filed or located i n a functional file unless a satisfactory crossindexing system exists and the custodians of the file are gifted with an appropriate amount of imagination.

Conclusions There exists a large body of useful information within the general field known as technical trade literature. A large amount of this information is not duplicated else where i n the chemical literature and much of i t is current, especially information concern ing materials, processes, and applications of relatively recent origin. The acquisition and use of the information involve specialized techniques and many unusual problems. The searcher for technical data from these sources must be willing and able to look widely in libraries, files, and other likely locations and to engage i n a considerable amount of cor respondence. The success of the quest for information will frequently depend upon the imaginative resources and perseverance of the searcher. RECEIVED May 16, 1950.

P r e s e n t e d before t h e D i v i s i o n of C h e m i c a l L i t e r a t u r e , S y m p o s i u m o n S e a r c h i n g t h e

C h e m i c a l L i t e r a t u r e , a t t h e 117th M e e t i n g of t h e AMERICAN CHEMICAL SOCIETY, Detroit, Mich.


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