INTRODUCTION

This check list is an inventory of books printed in America prior to the year 1801 which are available for public use in the libraries of Chicago. It was compiled as a project of the Work Projects Administration.

This list list will serve a double purpose: it will aid readers to find the books they need, will assist librarians in their professional problems.

In the main the books here listed will be used only by advanced students in long term studies. And since students ordinarily use all the libraries of their area, for them the total book stock there available is a functional unit. For such persons, a single catalog of the local material will be a great convenience.

The librarian is not motile like the reader. His duties confine him physically in his own institution and frequently produce a corresponding insulation in his professional knowledge and outlook. In making additions to his book stock, he is often unaware of what is already available in neighboring libraries. Where the books involved are rare and seldom used, any duplication is not only unnecessary but it is expensive. This check list of Americana will, therefore, be a valuable professional tool for the librarians of Chicago. It will supply explicit information concerning this particular class of research material already available in the city and prevent further unnecessary duplications. It should likewise serve as an impressive demonstration of the wastefulness of uncoordinated institutional activities in this and in similar research fields. An examination of the entries will show that in securing 3,459 American imprints for Chicago, approximately one book in every eight was an unnecessary acquisition.

Certain facts about this check list should be known to all who use it. It does not cover the whole Chicago area. Unfortunately, administrative regulations prevented an extension of the work outside the city's legal boundaries. For this reason, the library holdings of Evanston and other suburbs are not listed. Moreover, this list contains only positive information. The absence of a title does not indicate that no copy of the book is available in Chicago. One may have been acquired by a particular library since its catalog was examined. So likewise there were undoubtedly some items cataloged as "without date or place of publication" which the examiner failed to recognize as belonging to the category here listed.

The arrangement of the main entries alphabetically by authors (Part I) will serve the usual purposes of a catalog. Entries are numbered in sequence to facilitate cross reference. From it may be ascertained the writings of a particular author available in Chicago. The number following the key word Evans, Sabin, etc.indicates that the item is also listed in Evans American bibliography..., Sabin Dictionary of books relating to America..., Henry E. Huntington library and art gallery American imprints, 1648-1797, in the Huntington library.. The following library location symbols are used for Newberry Library (ICN), the University of Chicago Libraries (ICU), John Crerar Library (ICJ), Presbyterian Theological Seminary Virginia Library (ICP), American College of Surgeons Library (ICACS), Northwestern University, Medical Library (IEN-M), and Northwestern University, Law Library (IEN-L).

The printers' list (Part II), will serve another purpose. Here all the items are rearranged with respect to their genetic origins, by city, printer and year of publication. This will serve as evidence of the intellectual and social activities of any particular place or period.

At no time were more than a few persons employed in the preparation of this check list, but as individuals found opportunity to return to normal library employment there were constant changes. It would, therefore, be impossible to name every one who contributed to the undertaking. Yet two persons deserve special mention for the magnitude of their contributions: Eugene V. Prostov, now on the library staff of Iowa State College,planned the procedure and supervised the work during its formative period; Noel Coventry, with equal intelligence and industry, has edited the whole mass of bibliographical detail and prepared it for publication; her name, should stand on the title page of

this publication.

if any,

The project is indebted to the following persons for securing the necessary funds to defray the costs of publication: George B. Utley, Librarian, Newberry Library; M. Llewellyn Raney, Director, The University of Chicago Libraries; J. Christian Bay, Librarian, John Crerar Library.

PIERCE BUTLER