Before beginning the regular program, Mr. Beer, librarian of the Howard Memorial library at New Orleans, called attention to a bibliography of French fiction, which he had come across during his travels in Europe last year. He said in part: "I discovered that there was being published at Lisle on the borders of Belgium by a Roman Catholic priest the most honest, the bravest review of fiction that exists in any language. He does not fear to mention every book which is published. He praises those which are good, and he scathes with the most bitter sarcasm and truthfulness those that are absolutely bad. He is the Abbé Bellian. If a young lady goes to buy a book she is asked if that particular book is in the list of Abbé Bellian. If it is not that store refuses to supply it to any one who is not of lawful age. It has been supplemented by a monthly publication which is very reasonable in price. It has been published since 1903." He urged that all become familiar with this book in order that the supply of French books generally throughout the United States in our libraries may be much more carefully selected and be more representative of the great French fiction. Dean Walton of the McGill University law school, Montreal, prepared a paper entitled "Legal systems of Canada, with a list of statutes and other legal papers of the Province of Quebec." This paper opened the formal program and was read by Mr. Charles H. Gould. This paper was followed by another entitled "Present Status of legal bibliography" by Dean Wigmore of the Northwestern University law school. This was read by Mr. Edwin M. Borchard, law librarian of the Library of Congress, in connection with his own paper on "The bibliography of international and foreign law, with an account of the method of building up the collections of foreign and international law in the Library of Congress." After reading Dean Wigmore's paper and discussing the present literature in this field and existing bibliographies, Mr. Borchard called attention to the effect which the increase in foreign travel had had upon all law library problems in America, bringing in as it had the wider international relations from year to year. He said "There are three points of view that have guided us" (in the formation of the Library of Congress collection) "the practicing lawyer's necessity of knowing foreign law, the legislator's necessity for knowing the solution of social and economic problems, the scientific object, the students' need of developing the science of law." He dwelt at some length upon the methods which he had used in arriving at the best selection of foreign continental law books. Through his connection as international law expert at the Hague Fisheries Arbitration he was enabled to get first hand judgment regarding the actual books by foreign lawyers. Further in the name of the Government by correspondence he approached the law departments of universities, judges of Supreme Courts, practicing lawyers, etc., of other countries. In Latin America he worked through the consuls and ministers of the United States to get such information. By these methods the books were ordered and many have now arrived. The question now presents itself as to how to make available this new material. This is being done by the publication of guides to the foreign law. "The first guide, the guide of the law of Germany, appeared about a month and a half ago.... It undertakes to furnish an introduction to the German system as a whole, and to the principal leading institutions, as parts of the system in some detail, mentioning particularly the important literature and how to use it, what the American lawyer in terms of his own law may expect to find in these European books.... The guide of the law of France is now in course of preparation, and will probably appear about the first of next year. We hope then to continue with Austria, Spain and Italy, which we consider the important countries. Later we may publish Belgium and Switzerland in one volume, perhaps including Scandinavia, and then one volume for the law of Latin America. If we do not get to the publication of guides we will publish the material that we have received, editing it with perhaps bibliographic notes of such information as we can convey in order to open up this bibliographic source to the general investigator.... We are getting many letters every week in Washington from lawyers throughout the whole United States, asking for information on foreign law.... Comparative law is a field which is now getting great impetus, partly through the work of developing legal collections, partly through the necessities of a case. We are no longer an insular nation. Growing international relations are making necessary some knowledge of foreign law and the desirability of its knowledge to legislators is admitted, I think, without a question."
Mrs. Margaret C. Klingelsmith, librarian of the Biddle law library of the University of Pennsylvania, followed with a paper upon "The books of the beginnings." Prof. Archibald McGoun of McGill university next presented a paper entitled "The bibliography of Canadian law." Dr. G. E. Wire of the Worcester county law library of Massachusetts opened the discussion. Speaking of the ordinary bar library for the working lawyer, he urged that there was needed an extension of Mr. Soule's Manual referred to in Dean Wigmore's article. He advocated also a much shorter list of citations than that employed in Soule. He further referred to the need of some publication on Spanish American bibliography, which would cover such things as the number of Porto Rican reports in a given series. He would like also some publication which would give the various codes and compilations of laws, both official and unofficial, in advance of "our law book friend" who comes along to tell us about it. From the practical standpoint he said that books on foreign laws were so much more useful when translated, that in the average law library the same books in the original language would be rarely used.
THIRD (SECOND GENERAL) SESSION
(Monday, July 1, 1912, 2:50 p. m.)
The third session was the second session for discussion of problems peculiar to the special library and was called to order by Vice-President Brigham.
The VICE-PRESIDENT: We have one paper which remains from our first session, and I am going to call for that paper first.
That will be a paper by Mr. T. J. Homer, member of the Massachusetts bar, on "The Boston co-operative information bureau." The development of that bureau is interesting and is the first attempt, I think, in this country co-operatively to work the libraries by exchange of publications, and I think probably you can be supplied on application with copies of their bulletins which some of us have here, and which will show you the extent of the movement. I am going to ask Mr. Marion to read Mr. Homer's paper.[15]
[15] This will be published in full in the Library journal and reprinted in Special Libraries.
The VICE-PRESIDENT: We will now proceed to the regular program for the day. We have a paper by Mr. D. N. HANDY. The topic has been changed by the speaker so, that it reads, "The library as a business asset; when and how?" and I introduce now Mr. Handy of the Insurance Library Association of Boston.
THE LIBRARY AS A BUSINESS ASSET; WHEN AND HOW?[16]