| Thorvald Solberg W. I. Fletcher | } | Committee. |
Note to publishers of periodicals, as to the furnishing in proper form of title-pages and contents. This note was drawn up by a Committee of the American Library Association and was approved by the Association.
As a result of much dissatisfaction among librarians with the irregularities and uncertainties connected with the issue, by publishers of periodicals, of title-pages and "contents" of volumes, the American Library Association has had a special committee considering the subject with a view to drawing up a suitable memorial to be presented to such publishers, looking to the securing of more uniformity and propriety in this matter. After mature consideration the committee have prepared the following recommendations as embodying the minimum of improvement which may reasonably be hoped for.
1. Title-pages and tables of contents should always accompany the number completing a volume, and not the first number of a new volume. [They should be stitched in, and not sent loose.] There are several cogent reasons for this recommendation:
(a) In many cases it is a serious detriment to the usefulness of a set in a library, if a completed volume cannot be bound until the receipt of the next number.
(b) More important is the need that the numbers of a volume shall constitute the volume in its entirety, so that as they are bought and sold there shall not be the necessity of handling also another number belonging to a different volume in order to complete the first. Now that libraries are buying periodical sets and volumes in such large numbers for use with Poole's and other indexes, it is of great importance to the book trade, as well as librarians, and must have a real bearing on the business interests of the publishers, that this matter, often trifled with, shall receive due attention. Publishers must come to feel that if it is necessary (which it generally proves not to be) to delay a completing number a day or two in its issue in order to insure its completeness in this respect, the delay is abundantly compensated for.
2. Title-pages and contents should be furnished with every copy of the issue of a completing number. We earnestly believe that by inserting title-pages and contents in all cases publishers will at once put a premium on the preservation and binding of their magazines, suggesting it to many who otherwise would not think of it. In the long run the demand for back numbers to make up volumes must more than compensate for the extra expense of putting in the additional leaves.
The policy of sending title-pages and contents only to those calling for them is suicidal, as it results in flooding the market with numbers from which volumes cannot be made up and by destroying the hope of making up sets weakens the [demand] which would otherwise exist for volumes and numbers of the periodical in question.
If an alphabetical index, in addition to a table of contents, is furnished, which is the preferable practice, the former should be paged to go at the end of the volume. When such an index is furnished, and no table of contents, the index should be printed to follow the title-page.
3. As to the form in which title-pages and contents should be issued: they should be printed on a two-, four-, or eight-leaved section, separate from other printed matter, either advertising or reading. Nothing is more important in binding volumes to stand the hard wear of our public libraries than that none of the earlier leaves in the volume shall be single leaves pasted in. One of the greatest abuses of the book trade at present is the disposition to have title and other preliminary leaves pasted in. Librarians find to their cost (what is not so obvious to the book manufacturer) that this does not work. An absolute requirement for good bookmaking is that the first and last portions of the book especially shall be good solid sections—no single leaves, nor do most librarians or owners of private libraries like to include advertisements, in order to secure these solid sections for binding. We feel sure that it is abundantly worth while for the publishers to squarely meet this demand.
4. Admitting that there may be cases in which it is practically impossible to furnish title and contents with the completing number of a volume, we would recommend for such cases that such a separate section as has been described be made and furnished with the first number of the new volume, stitched in at its end, not at its beginning. The last-named practice is likely to cause more trouble to librarians than any other that is common, as it is difficult to remove the section without making the number unfit to place in the reading room.
We would like to call the attention of periodical publishers to the difficulties arising from the common practice of printing some first or last leaves of reading matter on the same section with some pages of advertising. Most librarians prefer to remove the advertising leaves before binding the magazines. The practice referred to makes it necessary to bind in some advertising leaves or else take off and paste in single leaves of reading matter, sometimes three or four in one place, which is very inimical to good binding. Publishers are advised to have all advertising pages printed on separate sections if possible.
Desiring to meet, so far as possible, the views of publishers in regard to the matters referred to above, the committee will be pleased to hear from any to whom this note may come.
Mr. Fletcher: The committee have corresponded with some of the magazine publishers, and if any are disposed to consider what is here proposed an ideal system, your attention may be called to the fact that several of our magazine publishers are carrying it out. For instance, Houghton, Mifflin & Co.—I am not mentioning them as superior to others; others might be mentioned—but in their reply to a tentative letter Houghton, Mifflin & Co. say that "in all of our publications every one of these recommendations is strictly carried out." They took pride in replying to us that they believed they were doing exactly what we wanted—and several other publishers.
G. M. Jones: I understand the report to recommend that title-pages and indexes be fastened into the last number of the volume. Now it seems that in many cases it would be very much better to have them left loose. The case is this: In almost all public libraries of any size periodicals are put into some kind of a binder. On many accounts binders which perforate are the best, but we do not wish to perforate title-page and index, if we can help it, especially the title-page, and I would like to inquire why the committee considered it so essential that the title-page and index should be fastened into the number?
Mr. Fletcher: These questions were all considered by the committee, and I would say when I first drew up my suggestion on this point it was that title-page and index should be sent loose; but I found an overwhelming argument against that, when we came to consider that they were desired to be with every completing number; that those completing numbers are sold to the people in railroad trains and elsewhere and are coming into the second-hand periodical market, where we must look for many to make up our sets. Now as to the point which Mr. Jones has spoken of. If the magazine is to be perforated to be put in the binder, as the completing number is to have the title and index, as we proposed, in a separate section, it can be removed by undoing the stitching, or sewing, if it is sewed. That can be done before it is put into the binder. Of course there is no necessity for ruining, the stitching in its entirety. There may be some little objection there, but it is so slight that it seemed to the committee entirely counterbalanced.
Mr. Jones: Mr. Fletcher's reply is perfectly satisfactory on that point.
W. S. Biscoe: One other suggestion: Do I understand from Mr. Fletcher, if there is a table of contents, that the index be put after the title-page?
Mr. Fletcher: No, the suggestion is that if there is an alphabetical index and a table of contents, the index should be planned and arranged at the end of the volume, but that if only an index is furnished, and no table of contents, that would be in accordance with the usual practice in such cases—the index should go, like a table of contents, after the title-page.
Mr. Biscoe: If there is no table of contents the alphabetical index is to go after the title-page? It seems to me desirable that it should always go at the end of the volume.