COM and the Caltech Serials List

Prior to the dedication of the new Millikan Memorial, which houses the divisional collections in chemistry, biology, mathematics, physics, engineering, and humanities, the libraries at the California Institute of Technology were largely autonomous, reflecting the immediate needs of each division and exhibited little attempt at interdivisional coordination of library purchases. With centralization of the major science collections, it became apparent that any efforts to reduce duplication, promote more effective library usage, and provide assistance in interdisciplinary research efforts would require a published list of serials and journals.