ఆంధ్ర గ్రంథాలయం/సంపుటము 1/డిసెంబరు 1939/Some Pitfalls in Reference work

by సి. సుందరం

Some Pitfalls in Reference Work

by

C. SUNDARAM, B. A.,

Reference Librarian, University Library, Madras

Part I-Human side

A Reference Librarian, in his attempts to provide the right reader with the right book at the right time has in his way innumerable pitfalls. These pitfalls may be either on the human side or on the bibliographical side of the materials he has to deal with. On the human side he has to reckon with pitfalls unconsciously laid by readers owing to the individual differences in their temperaments, intellectual and cultural equipment's, levels of ability to help themselves, and attitude towards the library and its staff. And on the bibliographical side the pitfalls lie in the untold idiosyncrasies in scope, structure, arrangement of matter etc. in books and the bibliographical tools he is using. Hence the success the Reference Librarian achieved in rendering bibliographical aid and information service to the readers is greatly contingent on his alertness, sincerity and capacity to discover these pitfalls and to steer clear of them.

Let us consider some pitfalls on the human side. It is not given to all to make an intelligent requisition in the library. Readers who can express their requirements clearly, exactly and intelligibly and who, on being explained the "modus operandi" or put on the track, can help themselves are a microscopic minority. Barring these few, there is an infinite variety in the types of readers in dealing with whom the Reference Librarian has to vary his method with the individual concerned. The difficulty of the Reference Librarian may arise at times before the reader actually comes into contact with him, at times when he puts the question to him, and at still other times in the course of tracing the materials along with him, or in later stages according to the proportion of reticence, inarticulateness and other vagaries of the readers. To deal with them successfully the Reference Librarian must exercise a cautious sagacity in understanding the readers and their problems before straightway attempting to solve them. For, to get at the inwardness of the requests of readers is in itself more than half the battle of reference work. For the purpose of this paper let us take into consideration only two broad types (1) Those that render the contact itself of the Reference Librarian very difficult and, (2) Those with whom contact is easily effected but who are not able to express themselves clearly, leaving out of account readers with healthy library habit. In the first case the refractoriness of the readers is due either to a feeling of inferiority complex or superiority complex. Most of these people happen to be newcomers to the library. Very few of the readers that come to the library for the first time straightway come to the counter or reference section and introduce themselves as new to the library and request to be explained as to what one should do to get a book. Many of them feel overwhelmed by the atmosphere of officialdom or the immensity of the collections of books or the new environments and stain aghast without knowing how to proceed. A feeling of inferiority complex takes possession of them. Hence they feel shy and timid and allow that feeling to manifest itself in peculiar ways. On entering the library they take the nearest seat and snatch a book left on the table by another reader and turn over the pages with mind elsewhere and eyes all the while watching what the other readers do to get a book. Then, they migrate to the card catalogue and go on fidgeting with it. Or they go into the stackroom on pretext of simply seeing the library while their vacant looks betray them. Some readers of this category pose to know everything about the library and strut about with an air of cocksureness which has got its own awkwardness about it.

To the wide-awake reference librarian these are only symptoms of the shyness of readers badly in need of sympathetic attention and assistance. Being bashful they will rather choke themselves with their needs than breathe out their requirements to him. If they are to be served the initiative must come only from the reference librarian. Any customary, wooden and uniform method of dealing with them cannot produce the desired result. The best way to overcome the pitfall of shyness in these readers is for the Reference Librarian to put them at their ease and make them feel at home in the library without first referring to their requirements.

How to put them at their ease is a question for which the answer cannot be given categorically in a cut and dried formula. The Reference Librarian has to entirely depend upon the dictates of his instinct and professional flair to deal with these shy readers. He may spot out a shy reader even when he enters the library but he may have to allow him to go his own way for some time and then casually meet him since offering of assistance at the moment when he enters may be a psychological blunder and may aggravate his inferiority complex. To some a straightforward gesture to help would suffice to melt away the shyness. To others he may offer to take them round the library, explain its working and in doing so may bring home to them the idea of reference work. Any of such gestures as his flair may suggest to be prudent at the time is sure to dispel shyness and infuse confidence in the readers. When this atmosphere of ease is created the shy readers, who were ostensibly indifferent to take books or to put a question before, either slowly take from their pockets a carefully prepared list of books relevant to their study or come out with their problems which alone have brought them to the library. The path of the Reference Librarian is then smooth now that contact has been established.

Then there are readers who are obsessed with superiority complex and who don't deign to come into contact with the Reference Librarian even if the initiative is taken by him. His offer to help them is interpreted as presumptuous or officious. The superciliousness of these readers is mostly due to the fact that they are not accustomed to libraries of the modern type and services of the kind rendered to-day. They can think only in terms of attenders and peons who deled out books from behind the barriers in their own high school and college days. Hence there is no wonder that they react in the manner they do to the overtures of the Reference Librarian.

In dealing with these people the Reference Librarian has to proceed cautiously, slowly and gradually, so that he may avoid nasty rebuffs. No doubt he has to tactfully invite their attention to the facilities of reference service afforded by the library and give them the information that the services of the reference staff are always at their disposal but should not thrust himself into their service if their surly attitude forbids it. Allowed to proceed as they like near the catalogue or in the stackroom they are sure, sooner or later, to find themselves at sea and drifting without mooring. This is the time when their looks indicate the need for succour or if they are adepts in dissimulation a gesture from the Reference Librarian without any show of exultation will certainly elicit their welcome. They slowly begin to take him into confidence and let out their requirements. Here is the opportunity for the Reference Librarian to place his bibliographical experience at their service and in return to educate himself indirectly and imperceptibly by his impact with these intellectuals. If he proves himself useful the feeling of superiority complex in them disappears from this moment and they seek out the Reference Librarian in their subsequent visits to the library. Thus many a stiff neck has bowed to the bibliographical experience and serviceability of Reference Librarians. One or two instances will bring the idea home better.

One day a professor entered the Sanskrit Section and had spent already fifteen minutes in intently looking into half a dozen books when I approached him and offered my services. He was conscious of his depth of knowledge and I was conscious of my width which I was thirsting to bring into his service. His looks suggested to me that he did not think that I might be of any service to him, but he said "No, Thanks, I shall manage". Lest I should be thought to be officious I withdrew expecting the critical moment when I could come to his aid. Fifteen minutes later he emerged from the section desperately when I enquired if he got what he wanted. Immediately came forth the reply "No, No, I was looking for that passage of Goethe referring to Kalidasa. I know that MacDonel gives it in his book but it seems to be cut now." I politely queried if he would accept it if I gave him that passage from any other source. "But I want the German Original" said the Professor. "I shall give you both", I said and produced to him the reference in LIPPINCOTT's Universal pronouncing dictionary under the heading Kalidasa. I need not expatiate upon the wonder and surprise that this evoked in him. He copied the passage and profusely thanked me. Ever since he has been making it a point to consult us whenever he turns up at the library.

Not long ago an intellectual aristocrat called at this library. His superiority complex was pitched so high that he proved at first a veritable miser in words. When I offered help he favored me merely with the word "Politics", and managed the rest with pantomimes. I led him to Politics Section. In a few minutes I saw from a distance his head droop down in dissatisfaction and so I passed by to show a gesture to help. He blurted out, "Not even one book that I want. Don't you have books on European Constitutions?" Replying, "We have a lot of them" I took him to the Section on European Constitutions and attempted to explain the scheme of arrangement of books in that section. But his attitude discouraged this attempt and I withdrew. In a few minutes he retreated from there muttering "Nothing about Russia". Then he was taken to the Section on Russia where, on examining the collection, he exclaimed, "I don't find the book that I want. I have been hunting for a book on the latest Russian Constitution but could not get it anywhere. Not one of the libraries here can justify its existence. What a pity!" I could not withstand this and hence addressed him politely, "Well, Sir, I have been pursuing you for the last half an hour to help you but you don't condescend to tell us what you want. You begin miles away by saying Politics, then Europe, then Russia and then Russian Constitution. How can any library help you if you don't definitely express what you require? And further you want a matter that could not have entered into a book yet. The new constitution of Russia itself came into being only in November or December of 1936, and we are now in the middle of 1937. Can you mention to me one book at least that has been written on it? If you had only mentioned "Russian Constitution" instead of "Politics" etc., or talked to us a little more liberally you could have finished reading the material by this time". Without much ado I produced in a few minutes the February Number of International conciliation which contained the text of the New Constitution of the U. S. S. R. with an historical commentary by Sir Bernard Pares. He became exuberant with joy. When he came to take leave of me after reading it her regretted his reticence and gave me elaborate reasons for it. which were a sorry reflection on the kind of libraries he was accustomed to. One can easily visualize the degree of joy and satisfaction that he must have felt on having got the material here when I say that the after-effects of the shake of hands he gave me at parting lasted for three days!

One word of caution I should like to give before 1 pass on to consider the next type of readers. I have noted a tendency among some Reference Librarians to develop inferiority complex and to avoid this type of readers partly because of their rough exterior and partly because of a fear of their scholarship in their particular fields. The Reference Librarians must remember that scholarship is one thing and bibliographical experience is another. Further they cannot afford to lose the indirect education that they receive by contact with these scholars and the consequent increase in their stature as reference librarians. Do not Reference Librarians resemble the bees that suck honey from every kind of flower for their own benefit and for the benefit of the people at large? The Reference Librarians must also know where to withhold help to these readers. For, what these people generally do is to attempt by dint of their influence and status to make private secretaries of Reference Librarians. The Reference Librarians should not fall into this pit by allowing themselves to be exploited to this extent either under the delusion that it is their duty or on a personal motive. The duty of the Reference Librarian ends when he has traced out the material and directed the reader to it and it is for the reader to utilize it i. e, to read it, to summaries or copy it. Whatever be the status of the reader, the Reference Librarian must resist with stamina and tact becoming his private secretary, without at the same time losing the goodwill of the reader. Happily, owing to the strenuous efforts of the Reference Section of this Library for the last ten years, the species of readers with superiority complex is becoming extinct in Madras City and its occurrences now-a days are only few and far between.

Now let us consider the second type of readers, viz., those who present no difficulty for the Reference Librarian to come into contact with them but who are not able to express their requirements exactly. This will include also readers of the first type since the problems given rise to by them after contact are also of the same nature. The justification for considering them as a separate type is that they created an additional pitfall either by their shyness or by their superiority complex. Once contact is established they automatically become readers of the second type.

Most of the readers in the library belong to this group. Within this we can discern quite a multitude of differences in the educational and other standards of the readers. Brought up in a system of education in which the library had not played its legitimate part these people, whatever be their standards, be they products of the Universities or of High Schools of this country, are woefully lacking in the three vital requirements for life-long education, viz.,

(1) how to make a requisition in the library.

(2) how to use a book; and

(3) a knowledge of how to use a library catalogue;

Of these three the first is the concern of this part of the paper.

Many of the questions put by these people are riddled with pitfalls. They never realize that to ask for a book some essential information about it must be given to the library to facilitate its location and the worst of it is that even when they know it they don't know which information is relevant and which is not. Hence the Reference Librarian has to fight many a peaceful battle to elicit from them the relevant infor- mation. Since to analyse and enumerate the various types of errors committed by these people in making a requisition will be too much for a short paper like this, I shall restrict myself to the consideration of a few actual instances only, thus leaving you to conjure up for yourselves the trials of a Reference Librarian.

Here is an educated and otherwise very intelligent reader who asked for Chesterton's Blue Cross. Prima facie the question leaves nothing to be desired. There is the author and there is the title and given both any book should be located in the library. He referred to the catalogue but did not find it there. I also verified his finding and there was every temptation to say 'no' to the reader and even to swear by the catalogue that the book was not available in the library. But suspecting, as usual, a pitfall here, I began to question and cross question him as to what he was, why he wanted it and whether he was sure that it was the title of a separate book or was it merely the title of an essay by Chesterton and so on. With a look of protest against this curiosity of mine, he however submitted himself to this ordeal out of courtesy and answered every question. When answering my last question he gave a jerk and exclaimed "Oh! I am so sorry. It is likely to be one of the essays published collectively under a different title. Please don't bother. I shall examine the essay books." Allowing him to hunt for it, I, on my side, locked into the Essay and Literature Index, etc., but did not find it there. Returning to him I inquired if he knew the title of the essay only by report or if he had actually seen it or read it anywhere. I then gathered from him that the essay was prescribed for the S.S.L.C. Examination, that he had read it more than once as he was coaching up a student for the same. In fact he wanted to study it in the library with some dictionaries of modern English usage. To another elucidative question he coolly replied with a look of recollecting something and as if it was of no moment, that towards the end of the essay it was also stated that it was a reprint from Innocence of Father Brown by the same author and that he forgot this at first. Here I got what I wanted. I told him that it was a novel and directed him to the book in the fiction section. After so much of beating about the bush the reader got his material. It may be seen that even though the reader knew every bit of information connected with the book, the library had to subject him to a process of search and squeeze out from him the relevant information in order to meet his needs.

Once a student was scanning the entire section on literary criticism with Raleigh: Some Authors under his arm. When I came to him and enquired he said that he had already taken one book and was looking for another which he had partly read two days back. The only information that he was able to give was that it was a red book and of medium size and that it was given to him only from that section. Asked to recollect the title and give me at least an approximate idea of it, he managed to construct one and said "On the writing of English". I replied that, if that was the title, he was in a wrong region since the book must be elsewhere in a different subject. He asserted that he got the book only from that section and adding another word to the title repeated it "On the way to the writing of English. "To help me further I asked him if he had taken any notes from that book on that day. He showed his notes. It smacked more of grammar and language than of literary criticism. But the student refused to stir from the section on Literary Criticism. Hence leaving him there I went to Linguistics Section to look for the book meant by the student. Henderson's English way caught my eyes. Since the words Way and English were there and since it was red and of medium size I concluded that this might be the book and took it to the student who was still searching for it in "Literary Criticism." He received it with "Yes, yes, that's it, Thanks!" and darted into the reading room with a smile and a blush for the pitfall he created.

The following example surpasses the others in vagueness for, it comes from high quarters-this time from a professor. He wanted The adventures of a spy in Soviet Russia which he once read in the library. As the length of the title suggested that this was an abnormal case some further questions about it were asked. He replied, "This may or may not be the title, but that is the subject-matter of the book. So he was taken to Russia' region in the subjects History and Travels but the book meant by him was not to be found. Then all the relevant cards in the classified catalogue were examined and some titles shown to him but he could not relate any title to the book in question. Despairing of his being useful in the matter we made researches independently. At last a book entitled "Wild career: my crowded years of adventure" by W.J.Gibson, published in 1935 appeared to correspond to the book and to confirm this a review which reproduced some incidents in the book and which appeared in the Times literary supplement of that year was shown to him when he ejaculated "That is it! Bespeak it for me".

In the three foregoing examples, the High School Teacher, though he gave the author, mentioned the heading of a chapter in a novel and asked for it as if it were a separate book. The under-graduate forgot the author, paraphrased the title and to add to it misled the Reference Librarian with regard to the location of the book. And the Professor compounded the sub-title with a dose of the theme of the book. It may easily be seen that, despite their mutual differences in educational standards and social and academic standing, they are in the same level in the habit of creating pitfalls to the Reference Librarian. If this is the nature of the pitfalls in cases where readers have once read or seen the books, the nature of others can easily be imagined.

These instances drawn from practical experience will show what a host of pitfalls the Reference Librarian has to reckon with in the day-to-day discharge of his duties. Reference work is not for the lotus eater. If the pitfalls are to be seen and avoided and readers properly served a harmonious combination of the following qualities is necessary in the make-up of the Reference Librarian. First he must have a thorough familiarity with the resources of the library-not the kind of familiarity with which experienced attenders and peons can spot out any book by its author, title, location, colour and get-up knowing nothing beyond the backs of books-but a familiarity which is born of high scholarship, academical qualifications and technical knowledge enabling him to sympathetically ascend or descend to the level of the reader, to converse with him in the language of his subject and to effect the happy wedding of the reader and his book. Secondly he must be a lover of books and lover of readers intoxicated with the spirit of service. It is this spirit of service which gives him the willingness to see the pitfalls and it is his scholarship that enable him to meet a situation. Shorn of either of these qualities, Reference Librarian is a misnomer.

(By courtesy. From the Report of the Proceedings of the Third All India Library Conference held at Delhi in 1937)

Part II-Bibliographical side

We have so far discussed reference work from the angle of readers. Let us next pursue the subject from the point of view of books.

The extraordinary output of books and periodical publications in modern times is rendering our literary heritage so overwhelming that the problem of organizing and exploiting them economically to the best advantage of society is taxing the brains of sensitive librarians all the world over. Among the many devices intended to make the resources of libraries properly used the most important are:

(1) Minute classification of books by elaborate and highly scientific schemes of classification;

(2) Preparation and maintenance of classified card catalogue; and

(3) Institution of Reference Work.

Reference work is becoming more and more popular in libraries imbued with the library outlook of the twentieth century and is everywhere increasingly recognized by library authorities as the most potential agent in fulfilling the function of utilizing the resources and rendering informational service to readers. How are we to utilize these resources? Will it be possible either for the readers or for reference librarians to read all these books to become acquainted with their contents or to collect all relevant information? The impossibility and inexpediency of such a task can very easily be realized when it is estimated that "merely the three journals of the American Chemical Society for a single year (1920) would require 514 hours or 64 working days of 8 hours each to be read aloud at reasonable speed"*^[1]. Adventitious aids in the shape of reference books are necessary.

Hence learned societies, universities, and private organizations have come forward to publish innumerable reference books and periodicals. Under the auspices of these bodies many encyclopaedias, bibliographies, indexes, abstracts and reviews are published to help the reader in his search for information. One can easily estimate from the guides of Minto or Mudge what a variety of reference books we have in the field. These reference books differ widely from one another in aim, scope and arrangement. Each is designed according to a definite plan and to fulfil a definite function. Each has got its own limitations, idiosyncrasies and special features.

For instance, the Catalogue of scientific papers of the Royal Society serve the purpose of an Author Index to 1,555 periodicals and Transactions in various languages current in the 19th century. Whereas the International catalogue of scientific literature is an annual bibliography of both books and periodicals of the twentieth century up to the year 1914.

The Indian year book is devoted to matters Indian and Statesman's yearbook to the entire world.

The Dictionary of national biography is devoted to the worthies who are dead and Who's who to those who are alive.

The index to the Encyclopedia Britannica is alphabetical while the index to the Cyclopedia of education is systematic. Bloomfield's Vedic concordance, though printed in Roman characters, follows the Sanskrit alphabet whereas Sorensen's Index to the Mahabharata follows the English alphabet in arrangement.

Will it not be ridiculous for a librarian to look into the Who's who for a biographical note on Pushkin, a Russian author of the 18th century or to look for the articles of a modern scientist in the Catalogue of scientific papers?

The heterogeneous character of these publications in their scope, structure and contents renders their effective handling an art by itself. Hence it is that the latest trend in educational opinion emphasizes skill in the use of books in the library as much as skill in laboratory work.

But every librarian who has come into contact with readers knows how few readers are able to quickly get what they want from a book. Occasionally they may stumble upon the right place in spite of themselves. But it is seldom that they find it. Individual differences even in ordinary books are not recognized and most of the books are approached with the same attitude and in the same way. It never strikes them that the title-page, preface, introduction, tables of contents, explanatory notes, index, errata, etc., are not a mere formality; but are helpful aids that should be read carefully before one can know what any book is, what it professes to do and how it does it. No wonder that they stagger before a bibliographical tool complex in its structure. Educational and library authorities in some countries are alive to this problem and are providing for it in many ways. Libraries are instituting Reference Work; Children's Libraries are started as a panacea to all the woes of librarianship; and library instruction is included in the educational curriculum.

But, as nothing of this kind has been done here, a two-fold task is devolving on the few libraries that have instituted Reference Work. The reference staff have not only to specialize themselves in the art of using books and library apparatus but also to slowly coach up the clientele to help themselves by initiating them and following them up. They must bring to bear on their daily work a thorough knowledge of the resources of the library, of its classification scheme and cataloguing practices coupled with a mastery of the library tools so that they may avoid pitfalls on the bibliographical side and disentangle many knotty problems and thus render efficient and effective service to the readers.

Let me give, from my day-to-day experience, some concrete examples of pitfalls.

A reader wanted all information available on the cultivation of cotton and of some of its varieties. The few books available in the library being out at that time, I started him on Watt's Dictionary of economic products of India. He straight-away pulled out the 'C' volume and looked for the heading "Cotton". Not finding it there he came and expressed his disappointment. I asked him to use the index volume for the location of the article (as the arrangement was by the scientific names of the products) and thus enabled him to cross the first pitfall.

He did so and selected the reference in the index "Cotton Indian Arboreous. G. 382." Though he was perplexed by the letter 'G' he made bold to select the 1st volume of 'G' (it spreads through two volumes i. e. Volumes III and IV of the set) and opened page 382; but got 'Fishes'. Then he took the second volume of 'G' and opened page 382 but got "India rubber" and disgust overwhelmed him. Watching this from a distance, I went to him and said that the numbers given against the letters refer to the commodity numbers marginally given in the Dictionary and not to the pages, So much for the second pitfall.

Now he again looked into the first volume of 'G' but there was no 382 as the last commodity number was 380. In the second volume of 'G' the commodity given against 382 was "Chaulmugra oil" and not "cotton'. Infuriated by this, he rushed to me and challenged me to locate the article. I accepted the challenge mildly and went through the process only to find out that there was justification for the reader's rage. Discomfiture seemed certain. But bent upon averting it, I carefully glanced through the introduction and preface in the first volume of the set, but got no light. But while examining the last volume the preface and errata caught my eyes to my immense relief. It ran as follows:

The numerical references are to the series of numbers entered in the margin of the dictionary and commence afresh with each letter of the alphabet...Attention has been drawn to the fact that an error runs through volumes III, IV and V of the dictionary when the consecutive numbers of letters G and L, in passing from volumes III to IV and from volumes V to V respectively, have been duplicated...It is suggested that those who possess the uncorrected volumes should adopt a similar course making the first reference in volume IV, G. 381 and in Volume V, L. 379. References to the letters G and L in this index must be taken subject to the above erratum"

As per this instruction the second volume of G (viz. the IV volume of the set) must commence with G. 381 instead of G1. What we want is G. 382 which is equal to G. 2 in the volume. G2 is Gossypium Arboretum - Cotton indian Arboreous. Thus the reputation of the reference staff was saved and the reader also got his valuable reading material.

One might pause here and ask why should I not have straightaway located the article and saved the reader all this bother. I would certainly have done it, if he were an infirm old man or a busy middle aged man who was a casual visitor. But in this case, I had the duty to draw that delicate line between the sort of assistance that develops the student and that which weakens him. By my procedure eventually he secured the material he wanted and in the process he learnt that there are dictionaries which differ in arrangement of matter from any linguistic alphabetical dictionaries he was accustomed to use.

The second example refers to a Periodical. A. research worker in natural science showed me a bibliography he had compiled for his reading. From that bibliography he wanted F. G. Sinclair: Anatomy of Polyenes Laurus. Q.J.M.S.1889". He was directed to the set of the Quarterly journal of microscopical science. To his surprise he saw in it an article of the same title but with a different author (i. e.) Heathcote (F. G.). What he wanted was Sinclair (F. G.).

When I came round to follow him up he was in the horns of a dilemma whether to read that article as it stood or to do it some time after verifying his reference with the source materials which he had unfortunately left at his distant home in Trivandrum. When he explained all this to me I was also in a fix as to how to get out of the situation. It just struck me that, since the title of the article and initials of the author agreed, here might lurk a problem of cataloguing re change of names. Since the article related to a period before 1900, I thought that I might solve the identity of the author by referring to the monumental Catalogue of scientific papers. This I did. To my great satisfaction and to that of the enquirer I found the entry there on page 768 of V. 18 thus:

SINCLAIR F(rederick) G(ranville).

See HEATHCOTE (afterwards Sinclair)

and on Page 708 of Vol.15 thus:

HEATHCOTE (afterwards Sinclair) F.G.

On some points of anatomy of Polyxenus Lagurus 1889. Quart,J1. Micr.Sc.30, 1890, 97-106.

To satisfy the reader, I explained that Heathcote was an earlier name of the author and that according to the British practice of cataloguing the earliest name followed by afterwards was written for the Heading, while the American practice chose the latest name of the author whenever change of name was involved. I added that according as his source of reference was British or American the names Heathcote or Sinclair would figure as the heading though they related to one and the same person. He was filled with joy and took the volume to the reading room after thanking me profusely.

One more example. A letter of enquiry from a department of the Government of Madras ran thus:

"The Harbour Engineering Chief, Cochin, wants for reference Volume XXII N. S. 6. "Narakkal or Cochin mud bank" by Francis Day, Civil Surgeon, Cochin, and "The mud bank at Narakkal near Cochin: its composition as exhibited by the microscope by Lt. J. Mitchell" Please say whether these publications are available in your library".

At the outset taking these to be separate publications, I referred to the library catalogue with no result. I read the question again for a chronological clue but there was nothing there to suggest it besides the authors' names. But from the words Volume XXII N. S. 6. I concluded that it must be volume 6 of the New Series or V. XXII of the old series of a periodical the name of which forming the vital part of the query must have been omitted either at the place of its emanation or in the middle of its career from one department to another.

Questions and cross questions might be put to elicit further information if the enquirer were present in person. But this is a different case. An intermediate reference asking them to furnish further information might be thought of, but that would only be tantamount to technically safeguarding ourselves but evading the question for the present without doing justice to it. Also who knew what urgency the department was facing? And Cochin was 500 miles away.

I made a biographical approach through the names of these two authors, F. Day and J. Mitchell. I got many papers other than the one I wanted. Then a bibliographical approach was made, but in vain. But when I made a geographical approach (i. e.) when I referred to the Cochin State manual in its index under mudbanks (be it noted not under Day or Mitchell or even Narakkal) I was directed to page 13 of the Manual where an article in the Records of the Geological Survey of India. In Volume XVII "On mudbanks of Narakkal and Alleppy by W. King" was mentioned. When this article was picked up and scrutinized I got the reference to the article of Day and Mitchell contribute to the Madras journal of literature and science Volume XXII N. S. 6. P. 264. The reply to the query was sent on the same day.

This will give a fair idea of the pitfalls that the reference librarian is exposed to in his daily work as a result of the vagaries books & references. If he is lacking in the qualities that constitute a reference librarian there is every where the temptation in him to conform to legal correctness in fulfilling his duty and yet betraying it in spirit. So three essential qualities must combine in his make up viz., (1) qualities of trusteeship on the moral side (2) Technical knowledge on the scientific side and (3) educational background, skill, and above all flair in the use of reference tools on the practical side. What will happen to a reader in real need in the absence of the services of such a reference librarian can better be imagined than described.

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1. Crane and Patterson: Guide to the literature of chemistry. P. 33.