ceived and cataloged included cabinets for sound recordings, motionpicture containers, and accessories.

Procedure.-Problems covering routine procedure, such as relations with other divisions on accessions, cataloging, and classification and with outsiders on gift accessions, have been studied and progress has been made toward their solution.

Travel. Considerable traveling was done by members of the Division to attend technical meetings having to do with motion-picture and sound engineering, to inspect equipment needed in the performance of the work of the Division, and to make contacts with those from whom cooperation may be expected. In connection with these trips, several talks and papers were prepared and delivered, and most of them have been or will be published.

Visitors. A great many visitors were received from various parts of the country and the world at large, indicating widespread interest in the work being done.

DIVISION OF CLASSIFICATION

(From the report of the Chief, Mr. HILL)

CLASSIFICATION OF FOOD ADMINISTRATION RECORDS

The papers of the Food Administration of the World War period, which occupied the major portion of the time of the Division during the period under review, comprise some 17,000 cubic feet or about 20 percent of the accessions up to July 1, 1937. The work on them during the preceding fiscal year had consisted of the determination of the series in part of the forty-odd divisions of the Washington office. This survey revealed the scope and character of each series and the division or section, which had produced and preserved the files.

With the beginning of the fiscal year 1936-37, the study of the relationships of these series and the work of organizing them in a logical manner and of developing the definite scheme of classification were undertaken. From July 1936 through January 1937 the final set-up for each of the divisions of the Washington office was worked out. This involved the study and arrangement of about 2,850 different series of documents.

Following this work the task of organizing the papers of the Grain Corporation, a subsidiary of the Food Administration, and those of Federal Food Administrators of the several States was taken up. Much preliminary work was done on the documents of the Grain Corporation, but it did not proceed far enough to permit the setting up of a scheme of classification. With respect to the papers from the States, those of 28 States and 1 city were completely surveyed and classified-a task that involved the examination and determina

tion of the relationships of some 3,000 series. It is estimated that the classification of about 11,000 cubic feet of the papers of the Food Administration was completed by the end of the fiscal year.

CLASSIFICATION OF OTHER RECORDS

A provisional plan of classification was developed for the papers of the Veterans' Administration, which comprise nearly 35,000 cubic feet. The designations for the series of this group are not complete in the scheme developed, because the documents received represent only a fraction of the papers of one of the several divisions into which the agency is divided. Until more of a cross section of the records of the agency is received, it will not be possible definitely to assign the complete numerical designation. Considerable preliminary work was also done on the ships' logbooks received from the Department of the Navy. These volumes are likewise only a portion of the records of one of the larger bureaus of the Department, so that any plan evolved at this time must be provisional.

RESEARCH

Research in the general problem of classification was continued throughout the year, and much attention was given to the study of the organization, history, and functions of the agencies and their subdivisions which were under consideration. Numerous introductory statements regarding the divisions and sections of the Washington office of the Food Administration and of the State food administrations were prepared.

OTHER ACTIVITIES

The members of the staff of the Division engaged during the year in much scholarly activity. As a by-product of the work on the classification of the papers of the Food Administration, they prepared on their own time several articles regarding those papers. These have been submitted for publication to outstanding reviews and have been accepted. The list of articles with magazines in which they are to appear is as follows: Almon R. Wright, "The Scholar's Interest in the Papers of the United States Food Administration" in the American Scholar; William D. McCain, "The Papers of the Food Administration for Missouri, 1917-1919, in The National Archives" in the Missouri Historical Review, and "The Papers of the Food Administration for North Carolina, 1917-1919, in The National Archives" in the North Carolina Historical Review; Edmond S. Meany, "Food Administration Papers for Washington, Oregon, and Idaho Deposited in The National Archives" in the Pacific Northwest Quarterly; and William J. Van Schreeven, "Food Administration Papers for the State of Indiana in The National Archives" in the

Indiana Magazine of History. In addition, there were published by members of the staff one book, a chapter in another book, and numerous book reviews.

During his annual leave in February, March, and April, the Chief of the Division made an airplane trip to 16 Latin American countries in the interest of the Greater Texas and Pan American Exposition in Dallas. This trip afforded the opportunity to make visits to the National Archive in each of the countries on the itinerary. In some of the countries this was the second visit, and in all of them more friendly relations were developed, arrangements for exchange of publications were effected, and much information in regard to archival methods and procedure was obtained. Several members of the Division attended the annual meeting of the American Historical Association at Providence and all participated in the annual meeting of the Society of American Archivists at Washington. At this latter meeting the Chief conducted a round table on "Archival Practices and Procedures", during the course of which a paper was read by Carl L. Lokke of the Division.

DIVISION OF CATALOGING

(From the report of the Chief, Mr. J. R. RUSSELL)

CATALOGING

Shortly after the beginning of the fiscal year the Division undertook the cataloging of the material then in The National Archives, and plans were developed for cataloging by units of three different types-accessions, divisions, and series. Accession cataloging, which treats as a unit the records received as a separate accession, is done for all material immediately upon its receipt. Because this accession unit is so large, it is expected that it will in almost every case be broken down into smaller units. The first such break-down has been termed division cataloging, because it will use for its units the divisions, offices, and sections of the agency concerned. In a still more detailed break-down known as series cataloging, the units are the series of documents which have been set up by the classifiers. In some cases series cataloging may be done directly after accession cataloging, division cataloging being omitted entirely; in other cases the material may not warrant such detailed cataloging and division cataloging will be the final form. A fourth break-down, document cataloging, is possible; but, because of the immense number of documents involved, it is unlikely that much of the material will ever be cataloged in this way. The cataloging system that has been established provides, however, for this possibility.

In all the types of cataloging, entries are made both under the name of the agency that accumulated the records and under the sub

jects of which they treat. These entries are filed together in one alphabet in what is called the dictionary catalog arrangement. The searcher for material in The National Archives is thus able to discover which records he should consult when he is interested in the activities of any agency or in the study of any subject. The unit card system has been adopted for the catalogs because it provides an economical method for making as many entries as are required for any unit and because it makes it possible to keep the catalog up-todate by the interfiling of cards for material as soon as it is cataloged. While the cards resemble in general outline those used in catalogs in American libraries and therefore will be readily understood by the user, yet, because of the difference between books and archives they necessarily differ in the amount and kind of information given on them.

The Division began its actual cataloging according to accessions, and during the fiscal year 82 accessions, comprising 219,229 linear feet of records, were cataloged. For these accessions 2,068 cards were typed and filed in the catalogs. Two copies of the complete catalog were made, one for general use in the search rooms and the other for the use of the staff of The National Archives. Of the 82 collections cataloged, 14 consisted of either films or sound recordings. Because this material differs greatly from paper records, special rules for its cataloging were compiled with the assistance of the staffs of the Division of Motion Pictures and Sound Recordings and the Division of Photographic Reproduction and Research, and copies of the master cards were given to the two Divisions.

Series cataloging was undertaken on the Food Administration records in order to develop the methods to be used in this more detailed work and to decide whether it would be feasible to catalog the large collection of Food Administration material in this way. The catalogers completed work on 311 series, comprising 906 linear feet of material, for which they prepared 1,442 cards. As results showed that it would be impractical to catalog the entire Food Administration collection by series at the present time, this phase of the work was discontinued and division cataloging of the Food Administration. material was undertaken. This method of cataloging proceeded more rapidly, and by the end of the fiscal year the catalogers had completed the division cataloging of 86 units of the Food Administration records, comprising 4,171 linear feet, and had prepared 707 cards for the catalogs. The number of cards thus prepared by series and division cataloging is only a fraction of the total number that will be made for the units concerned, since only the master cards have been made. These will later be duplicated by the Division of Photographic Reproduction and Research to provide the additional entries necessary.

One of the most difficult problems for the Division was the establishing of a subject-heading system for the catalog. The standard lists of subjects used in libraries, while of considerable help, were not adequate for work with archival materials. The Division therefore began the compilation of its own list of subject headings, and 788 cards were prepared.

INDEXES

The surveying of indexes to records transferred to The National Archives is another very important part of the work of the Division. The catalogers surveyed and prepared reports on 219 such indexes, consisting of approximately 5,757,867 cards and 377 volumes. Most of these indexes had been accessioned with the records, but some had been retained by the various agencies. The reports, which summarize important facts about the indexes, describe their technical features, and explain their use, were distributed to the Division of Reference and to the Divisions of Department Archives. As many of the indexes received by The National Archives were so badly disarranged that to use them was difficult or impossible, they were studied and when discovered to be out of order were refiled, and in some cases it was necessary to provide additional guide cards. During the year the Division refiled 76 indexes, consisting of approximately 191,329 cards, and made 682 new guide cards.

In order to facilitate the use of the film copy of the Veterans' Administration indexes prepared by the Division of Photographic Reproduction and Research, it was decided to photograph guides on the film at the proper intervals. The work of choosing the proper location for these guides was performed by the Division of Cataloging. This involved the handling of 2,744 trays of index cards, in which the catalogers placed 23,816 guides. Various methods were used in photographing the guides in order to determine the most efficient way of providing guides on a film.

The Division made one new index, a subject index to the case records of the National Labor Board and the first National Labor Relations Board. A name index to this material accompanied it to The National Archives, but it was found that requests were frequently made by subject rather than by name, and for that reason the index was compiled. Two copies were made, one being placed in the search rooms for general use and the other in the Division of Department Archives in which the material is stored.

MISCELLANEOUS

At the beginning of the year the catalogers spent part of their time working in the Divisions of Department Archives and the Division of Classification in order to become familiar with the records. In May 1937 members of the Division visited the Maryland Hall