International > Report by the committee on the work of its ... plenary session > Twenty first plenary session

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Some of the ordinary activities of the Institute also help in the gradual improvement of
this documentary work—the preparation, for example, of the third edition of Guide des services
nutionoLux de renseignements du pret et des echuuges internationaiix (the two former editions being
exhausted), and the collection of the texts of laws on “ Compulsory Deposit ”, which is proceeding
normally.
2. Exchange of Publications
The International Committee last year instructed the Institute to study the present conditions
and means of exchange of scientific publications, wishing thus to respond to the numerous requests
which it has received looking to increased efficiency and greater development of this system.
Two enquiries, the first of which was carried out by the International Committee in 1922
and the second under the direction of the Committee of Library Experts in 1929, had shown that
the smooth functioning—or the creation—of exchange bureaux was almost always hampered
by lack of funds. Since there was small hope that, in the present period, in which budgetary
restrictions constitute one of the chief obstacles to the development of intellectual life, this situation
would improve, the Institute, in 1937, had thought of acting as a central office to bring together
bibliographical information on the publications which the various scientific societies could offer
for exchange. A circular letter to this effect was sent to the learned societies of several countries
as an experiment; but it now appears that this method could produce results only very slowly,
and that they would be at best far from complete. The only effective means appear to be either
a new international convention or the extension to scientific publications of the dispositions of
the Convention of Brussels on the exchange of official publications.
3. Obstacles to International Life
Among the specific measures which the International Committee considered last year as
means of attenuating the force of certain obstacles to intellectual life was an enquiry on facilities
of access to libraries and archives.
This information is of special interest with regard to university libraries, the libraries of
learned societies, specialised libraries and similar institutions and even certain private libraries
which are open, under certain conditions, to research workers. The enquiry was addressed to
different organisations, depending on the country: to the Librarians' Association, in countries
where the activity of the latter is not solely professional; to the General Committee on Libraries,
in countries where such a body exists; to the Ministries of National Education in certain cases,
and in others to the National Committees of Intellectual Co-operation. The information requested
concerns especially hours of opening, conditions of admission to the reading-rooms and reference
rooms and to borrowing facilities. It is still too early to give a comprehensive view of the question,
the breadth of the field of the enquiry in each country making it necessary to allow time to the
organisations consulted. It is, however, already possible to note that one of the objects of this
study would be attained if it stimulated, in certain countries, the preparation of directories of
libraries or the revision of those which are out of date. In the countries where recent and well-
made directories of this sort exist, they already furnish a part of the information requested.
4. Technical Vocabulary of the Librarian
Under the auspices of the International Library Lederation, a Technical Vocabulary of the
Librarian, in three languages—Trench, English and German—has recently been prepared by
M. Henri Lemaitre. whose competence the International Committee has already several times
had occasion to appreciate. The proposal which he made to the Institute, at the beginning of
the year, to undertake the publication of this work having been favourably received by the
Executive Committee at its session of last April, the Institute at once made preparations for the
execution of this project. The first consultations seem to show that, instead of publishing in a
single volume three dictionaries—English, Trench and German—it is preferable to prepare
only one basic vocabulary, containing the English terms, in view of the abundance of the literature
relative to libraries in that language, and to give in parallel colums the translation of these terms
in French and German. This basic vocabulary would be arranged in alphabetical order, as
M. Lemaitre had originally planned, and the words would, in addition, be consecutively numbered.
For the other languages, it would then suffice to print an alphabetical index in which each word
would have a number corresponding to the number of the English equivalent in the basic vocabulary.
5. Archives
It has not yet been possible to publish the volume of the Guide international des Archives
devoted to the non-European countries. Very many replies are still unfortunately lacking,
which is not, indeed, surprising, in view of the difficulties of organisation which many of these
countries encounter in this field. The editor, in the circumstances, can accomplish his task
only by provoking, in many cases, the creation of new central archives departments.