Louise Noëlle Malclès

In 1932, Malclès established a bibliography room at the Sorbonne intended for students, faculty and scholars.[1] Separate from the main reading room, it contained carefully curated bibliographic tools. This included bibliographies, library catalogs, literature guides and periodical indexes. The room, which only accommodated twenty students, focused primarily on bibliographic and documentation needs, rather than general research.

Les Sources du travail bibliographique by Louise-Noëlle Malclès

Les Sources du travail bibliographique (Sources for Bibliographic Work) is considered one of the most important bibliographic texts from the twentieth century.[2] Originally published in 1950, it was not a guide to reference materials but for sources used for bibliographic purposes. The focus was on bibliographies, catalogs, indexes and abstracts, historical data, library resources and reviews of primary texts. It consisted of four volumes which were divided into two sections; general bibliography and specialized bibliography.[3] The latter was subdivided into either pure sciences, medicine and pharmacy or the humanities. Especially notable is that Malclès conceived of and wrote almost the entirety of the text herself, which increased her reputation as expert in bibliographies.[3] Despite this, there were no supplements nor later editions issued.