BUS. LIBRARY AIMS AT WIDE FIELD OF SERVICE

The Business School Library, with its 30,000 volumes, attempts to answer questions on various business subjects ranging from the oldest accounting to the newest business statistics. But aside from the extensive collection of books the library also keeps on file numerous current business periodicals and trade journals, continuations and reports, financial series, and other miscellaneous publications.

An endeavor is made to collect books, not for their rarity but for their usability. Books dealing with principles, such as Dunbar's "History of Banking" and Bragehot's "Lombard Street" are especially useful for they are applicable year after year. Standard textbooks on business, problem books by members of the Faculty, and similar publications are frequently added to the collection. The rapidity of business changes and the constant stream of new developments, however, soon make many of these volumes out of date for the inquirer who is making any intensive study of some phases of business.

Allown Advanced Study

But the library offers unusual opportunities for such advanced study through its collection of current business periodicals. About 500 publications of this type are being received daily and monthly. These include such common and valuable sources of business information as the "New York Times", the "Wall Street Journal", and the weekly "Commercial and Financial Chronicle". But many of the publications, such as "American Fertilizer", are valuable in the study of specific phases of business which is devoted exclusively to the commercial fertilizer industry; "La Hacienda", published for the purpose of disseminating practical knowledge on agriculture, live stock and commerce to Spanish and Portuguese countries; "Postage", which furnishes information as to direct mail advertising, and "The Waste Trade Journal" intended to keep the trade in metal and textile wastes in touch with market news and prices.

Has Many Publications

This collection of 500 current business publications is probably the largest this side of the Congressional Library at Washington, D. C., which receives a copy of every publication applying for copyright privileges. The Boston Public Library receives only a few of the publications of this character listed by the Business School Library.

There is an unknown quantity of continuations and reports received by the Business Library. More than two years ago the library began to compile a list of these contributions but so far it has been unable to determine exactly how many there are at present available. These continuations include such things as Census reports, "Poor's" and "Moody's Manuals", reports of societies such as the Taylor Society, the American Foreign Trade Association and the American Bankers' Association, annual statistics such as Shepperson's "Cotton Facts", the World Almanac, advertising rate books, credit information. Dunn and Bradstreet's rating books, trade directories, bankers directories and income tax services.

Financial Series Are New

The Financial Series are a recent acquisition which contains files of annual reports of corporations, listings of stocks on various stock exchanges, copies of bond mortgages and indentures, reorganization plans, and other ephemeral material much of which has still to be classified.

The miscellaneous items include such things as sales manuals, samples of advertising literature, catalogues, descriptions of manufacturing plains and manufacturing processes and business forms.

For the purpose of attending to the unusual inquiries the Business Library maintains an information service. This service has worked well in the past and has given students and business men leads to most business problems. It has also furnished leads to other libraries of specific knowledge which are located in such great numbers in and around Boston.

Questions of wide range are often asked during the course of the library's use, and the information Bureau is well equipped to answer queries such as the following:

What is the name of Baring Brothers' representative in Leghorn, Italy?

What is the cost of conducting a retail furniture store on the installment plan?

What has been the increase in the cost of living since 1900?

What is the manufacturer's cost of shoes, automobiles, coal, canned goods, milk, lumber, paint and varnish?

What are the opportunities for American investment in China?