Chemists Give Houses Funds To Buy Texts

A lack of books on chemistry has prompted the Chemical Society to donate $200 to purchase texts on this subject, Fredrick H. Horne '56, president of the group, announced yesterday.

Horne charged that there was a lack of science books in the College, and that the situation in Chemistry is especially serious. The undergraduate majoring in the subject has only the few books in the House libraries and the Lamont supply which though excellent is not nearly large enough, he added. Mallinckrodt Chemistry Library is almost inaccessible for undergraduates, he continued.

House librarians believed that the gift would be very helpful but felt that the situation was not as serious as Horne believed. They stressed the fact that science books were usually more expensive than others and pointed out that they were soon out of date.

Cohen Disagrees

I. Bernard Cohen '31, head of the Eliot House library committee, agreed with these views and added as an example that if each of the eight House libraries and Radcliffe were to get the Handbook of Chemistry annually, $108 would be spent on a title that would be out of date in a year.

The gift, the first by an undergraduate organization to the Houses, will be divided among the eight House libraries and Radcliffe.

The Chemical Society is drawing the money from their general funds, which are obtained from the income on the coke, ice cream and milk machines in Mallinckrodt.