In the Matter of the Petition by

 THE H. W. WILSON COMPANY,
 950 University Avenue,
 Bronx, New York 10452

 Revocation of Second-Class Mail Privileges for "CUMULATIVE BOOK INDEX",
 "INDEX TO LEGAL PERIODICALS", "READERS GUIDE TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE",
 "EDUCATION INDEX", "ABRIDGED READERS' GUIDE TO PERIODICAL LITERATURE",
 "BIOLOGICAL & AGRICULTURAL INDEX", "SOCIAL SCIENCES & HUMANITIES INDEX",
 and "APPLIED SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY INDEX"

 P.S. Docket No. 2/66

 September 25, 1975

 William A. Duvall Chief Administrative Law Judge

 APPEARANCES:
 Sullivan & Cromwell by:
 John L. Warden, Esq. 
 Thomas A. Grant, Esq. 
 48 Wall Street
 New York, New York 10005 for Petitioner

 Grayson M. Poats, Esq. 
 Law Department United States Postal Service
 Washington, D. C.  20260 for Respondent

This is a proceeding initiated by Petitioner pursuant to 39 C.F.R. Part 954 to contest the ruling of Respondent, represented by the Manager of the Mail Classification Division, Finance Department, United States Postal Service (hereinafter sometimes referred to as the "Manager") which on February 12, 1973, and on April 30, 1973, annulled or revoked, subject to the outcome of this proceeding, Petitioner's second-class mail privileges in respect of the following publications of Petitioner: "Cumulative Book Index", "Index to Legal Periodicals", "Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature", "Education Index", "Abridged Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature", "Biological & Agricultural Index", "Social Sciences & Humanities Index", and "Applied Science & Technology Index" (hereinafter sometimes referred to collectively as Petitioner's "publications").

The reasons for the Manager's ruling of February 12, 1973, seeking to annul the second-class mail privileges of the first four of Petitioner's publications referred to above were stated by the Manager in his letter of February 12, 1973 (Ex. A to Petition docketed April 4, 1973) as follows:

"The law (39 United States Code 4351 and 4354; section 132.22, Postal Service Manual), provides that only 'newspapers and other periodical publications' constitute mailable matter of the second-class. Publications must be originated and published for the purpose of disseminating information of a public character, or they must be devoted to literature, the sciences, art, or some special industry. "A periodical, as ordinarily understood, is a publication appearing at stated intervals, each number of which contains a variety of original articles by different authors devoted either to general literature of some special branch of learning or to a special class of subjects. Ordinarily, each number is incomplete in itself, and indicates a relation with prior or subsequent numbers of the same series. It implies a continuity of literary character, a connection between the different numbers of the series in the nature of the articles appearing in them, whether they be successive chapters of the same story or novel or essays upon subjects pertaining to general literature. (See Houghton v. Payne , 194 U.S. 88 (1904)).

"The provisions of Title 39, United States Code, cited above have been carried forward by section 3 of the Postal Reorganization Act, Public Law 91-375, as implemented by Postal Service Orders 71-9 and 71-10, June 21, 1971.

"The subject publications are simply lists or indexes of sources of information on given subjects. The publications are primarily an update service with each subsequent publication updating the previous publication. All the publications are published several times a year, and subscriptions are accepted only from those individuals who have subscribed for the cooperative indexing service with which is included the bound annual cumulations . The publications contain no original articles and are, in fact, reference books or directories. Accordingly, these publications are not periodicals. (See In the Matter of R. R. Bowker Company, P.O.D. Docket No. 2/97 and In the Matter of One-Spot Publishers, Inc., P.O.D. Docket No. 1/231)."

The Manager's further ruling of April 30, 1973 "propose[ing] to revoke" the second-class mail privileges of Petitioner with regard to the remaining four publications referred to above stated that he did so "for the same reasons stated in our communication of February 12, 1973" (Ex. A to Petition docketed June 6, 1973).

Subsequent to the filing of the petitions the two proceedings thus commenced were consolidated by order of Administrative Law Judge Lewis, dated June 7, 1973. Judge Lewis thereafter retired before the hearing provided for under 39 C.F.R. Part 954 was held and the proceeding was reassigned to the undersigned Chief Administrative Law Judge. A hearing was held on June 18, 1974, at which both parties introduced testimonial and documentary evidence. Prior to the hearing the parties entered into a stipulation setting forth certain agreed facts and seeking to define the issues presented. This stipulation was approved by me and entered in evidence as Joint Exhibit 1. In their stipulation the parties agreed (Jt. Ex. 1, pp. 11-12) "that testimony by users of the Wilson Company publications shall be limited to testimony by users of Index to Legal Periodicals and that such testimony shall be deemed applicable to all Wilson Company publications which are the subject of the proceeding."

The parties also stipulated "that the evidentiary record made in the Matter of the Petition of The H. W. Wilson Company, P.O.D. Docket Nos. 2/123, 2/124, 2/125 and 2/126 shall be deemed part of the record in these proceedings and may be referred to by either party in these proceedings." However, thereafter neither party made any meaningful reference to the record of the prior proceeding.

Subsequent to the hearing both parties submitted briefs.

Petitioner, The H. W. Wilson Company, is a New York corporation with offices and plant at 950 University Avenue, The Bronx, New York, New York. It is the publisher of the eight publications the second-class mail privileges for which Respondent seeks to annul or revoke.

The Cumulative Book Index, first published by Petitioner in 1898, is an international bibliography by subject, author and title of books published in the English language, including dictionaries and similar matter as well as editions of foreign classics if they contain some English (Jt. Ex. 6, Pref. Note). The Index excludes Government documents, limited editions and other pamphlets and material deemed "of a local, fugitive, and ephemeral nature" (" ibid .). All entries are in a single alphabetical list with author entries the most complete. The Cumulative Book Index is published monthly except in August with a total circulation of close to eleven thousand copies. About 93% of the subscribers are libraries (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 10). The Cumulative Book Index was initially entered as second-class mail in 1898 and has been re-entered as such on numerous occasions and as recently as 1970 (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 11).

The Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, first published by Petitioner in 1901, is a cumulative author/subject index to periodicals of general interest published in the United States (Jt. Ex. 8, Pref. Note). It currently covers 152 general interest publications which are selected by subscriber vote. In addition, the Committee on Wilson Indexes of the American Library Association's Reference and Adult Services Division advises Petitioner on indexing and editorial policy and prepares the broad list of periodicals on which the subscribers vote ( ibid .; Jt. Ex. 1, par. 12). Readers' Guide is published semi-monthly except in July and August when it is published monthly. All but an infinitesimal portion of the 23,000 copy circulation goes to libraries (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 13). Readers' Guide was entered as second-class mail in 1900 but lost its second-class mailability in 1909. It regained second- class mail status in 1925 and has continued in such status since then (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 14).

The Education Index, first published by the Wilson Company in 1929, is a cumulative author/subject index to educational material in the English language, primarily those published in periodicals but including proceedings, yearbooks and other materials. Selection of periodicals to be indexed and professional advice are handled in the same manner as for the Readers' Guide (Jt. Ex. 7, Pref. Note; Jt. Ex. 1, par. 18). The Education Index is published monthly except in July and August and practically all subscribers of its 5,600 copies are libraries (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 19). Petitioner received second-class mail privileges for the Education Index in 1929 and re-entry as second-class mail was last granted in 1958 (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 20).

The abridged Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, published by Petitioner since 1935, is similar in substance to the Readers' Guide described above except that the list of indexed periodicals represents a selection from the titles indexed in the Readers' Guide (Jt. Ex. 4, Pref. Note; Jt. Ex. 1, par. 21). It is published monthly except in June, July and August and nearly all recipients of its 25,000 copies are libraries (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 22). The publication was entered in 1935 as, and now has the status of, second-class mail matter ( id ., par. 23).

The Biological & Agricultural Index, published by Petitioner since 1916, is a cumulative subject index to English language periodicals in agriculture, agronomy and related fields as listed in the prefatory note to this Index. The method of selecting indexed periodicals and provision for technical and professional advice follow the pattern of the Readers' Guide (Jt. Ex. 5, Pref. Note; Jt. Ex. 1, par. 24). The Biological & Agricultural Index is published monthly except in August and its almost 1600 copies are sent to libraries (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 25). The Biological & Agricultural Index was approved for second-class mail entry in 1924 and re-entry was approved most recently in 1968 (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 26).

The Social Sciences & Humanities Index, first published by Petitioner in 1904, is an author and subject index to periodicals in the fields indicated by its title and stated in detail in the prefatory note to this Index. The mode for providing technical and professional advice and of selecting periodicals to be indexed follows that of other guides and indices published by Petitioner (Jt. Ex. 9, Pref. Note; Jt. Ex. 1, par. 27). The Social Sciences & Humanities Index is published four times each year in March, June, September and December. Practically all its 4,100 copies go to libraries (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 28). The Social Sciences & Humanities Index was entered initially as second-class mail matter in 1925 and was re-entered as such on ten occasions since then, the last time in 1965 (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 29).

The Applied Science & Technology Index, first published by Petitioner in 1925, is a cumulative subject index to English language periodicals in the fields of aeronautics and space science, industrial and mechanical arts and other related areas of applied science and technology particularized in the Prefatory Note. Professional and technical advice is received and periodicals are selected for indexing in the same manner as for the Readers' Guide (Jt. Ex. 3, Pref. Note; Jt. Ex. 1, par. 30). The Applied Science & Technology Index is published monthly except in July. Of its 4,400 copies all but a few are distributed to libraries (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 31). The Applied Science & Technology Index was first entered as second-class mail matter in 1925 and re-entered on several occasions, the last taking place in 1970 (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 32).

Finally, Petitioner since 1961 has published the Index to Legal Periodicals (ILP), the predecessors of which go back to 1908 (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 15). The ILP indexes legal periodicals published in the United States, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand which "regularly publish legal content of high quality and permanent reference value" as well as yearbooks, annual institutes and annual reviews (Jt. Ex. 2, Pref. Note). ILP is a subject and author index. Student authors and author entries from student sections of legal publications are omitted and indexed articles and case notes, book reviews and other miscellaneous reading matter are required to be of minimum length. Advice on indexing and editorial policy is received from the Committee on the Index to Legal Periodicals of the American Association of Law Libraries. Indexing is performed by Petitioner's editorial staff, which includes professional librarians as indexers, and it is directed by an editor with extensive experience in the law (Tr. 82), in accordance with the policies laid down by the Index Committee. ILP is published every month except in September. All but about 2% of its 2800 monthly copies are distributed to libraries (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 16) where they are placed at the service of individual users (Tr. 63 et seq ., 67 et seq ., 115 et seq ., 125 et seq .). ILP was initially approved as second-class mail matter in 1914 and has since been re-entered as second-class mail matter on several occasions (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 17).

"Wilson Publications 1974" (Resp. Ex. 1) is Petitioner's sales catalog. It describes each of Petitioner's publications in issue in this proceeding as a cumulative subject or author index, or both, or as a bibliography.

The prefatory note to ILP (Jt. Ex. 2) also states that indexed periodicals are selected for "reference value." The prefatory notes to other indices, where the subscribers vote on the selection of periodicals to be indexed, also ask them to "place primary emphasis on the reference value" of the periodicals which they select (Jt. Ex. 3, 5, 7, 8, 9). This admonition is carried over to the Abridged Readers' Guide (Jt. Ex. 4) without express mention since the periodicals indexed are selected by the subscribers from the titles indexed in the Readers' Guide, heretofore described.

No such "reference value" language is used for the Cumulative Book Index (Jt. Ex. 6) but it excludes "fugitive" and "ephemeral" matter which by definition lacks permanent reference value (Jt. Ex. 6, Pref. Note).

Except for the Social Sciences & Humanities Index (Jt. Ex. 9; Resp. Ex. 1, p. 11) Petitioner's publications in issue here are cumulative in character (Resp. Ex. 1). Every third issue contains all references published in the two preceding issues plus such new matter as was indexed in the interval between the publication of the second and third issues. As an example, volume 67, number 5 of the ILP (Feb. 1974) (Jt. Ex. 2B) bears the following notation on the outside cover:

"From December 1973 to February 1974 This is a quarterly cumulative issue. No further reference to Nos. 3, 4 is necessary."

In addition, Petitioner publishes cumulative annual and triennial volumes (Resp. Ex. 1, p. 7) which are dispatched to subscribers as fourth-class mail (Jt. Ex. 1, par. 8).

The libraries which subscribe to Petitioner's index publications are charged a variable subscription price. This price is based on the number of indexed periodicals which they have available for those readers who use Petitioner's publications.

At the hearing, both parties called witnesses who were frequent users or observers of the use made by individuals of the ILP. From the testimony of these witnesses it appears that the ILP is used as a reference work to locate articles or case notes on particular points of law (Tr. 63, 69), to keep current on what is being published in a field of law (Tr. 109, 127-8), or to follow trends as to the types of problems about which authors of articles in legal periodicals write (Tr. 118, 121). For these purposes some users check only particular headings while others, such as law teachers, regularly read the ILP from cover to cover because of a broad interest cutting across many aspects of the law. In examining issues of the ILP, such users, as the testimony indicates, jot down listings of articles for current reading (Tr. 129), for filing for future reference (Tr. 109), or for hints on substantive legal developments to be inferred from titles listed (Tr. 113-114).

Petitioner introduced in evidence a number of publications for which their publishers enjoy second-class mail privileges. Five of these (Pet'r. Ex. 8 through 12) were copies of periodic reports published by Commerce Clearing House, Inc. or Prentice-Hall, Inc. as weekly or similar supplements to their respective reporting services. Five others (Pet'r. Ex. 3 through 7) were daily, semi-weekly or weekly supplements to Moody's and Standard & Poor's financial publications. All of these publications are in content, make-up and frequency of appearance so different from Petitioner's publications that they do not afford a useful basis of comparison with the publications involved in this proceeding on the issue of their mailability as second-class mail.

The parties have stipulated, and I agree, that the sole issue in this proceeding is whether the second-class mail privileges of Petitioner's publications which are involved in this proceeding shall be annulled or revoked on the ground that those publications are not "periodical publications" within the meaning of pertinent postal laws and regulations.

Both parties have ably discussed this question of law in their briefs and cited prior decisions of the courts and of the Postal Service which deal with the issues presented here.

Since those briefs were filed, however, the Postal Service decision of May 24, 1974, in Florists' Transworld Delivery Association , P.S. Docket No. 1/167, which held that the Association's "FTD News" was a periodical publication within the meaning of applicable postal laws and regulations has been overruled by the Amended Postal Service Decision of September 17, 1974, in which it was held that "FTD NEws" was not a "periodical publication" within the meaning of 39 U. S. Code 4351 and 4354 and within the meaning of Section 132.2, Postal Service Manual.

A corresponding decision, based on the Amended Postal Service Decision in Florists' Transworld Delivery Association , supra , was thereafter issued in Teleflora Delivery Service, Inc. , P.S. Docket No. 1/206 (1974). In that case an action was brought by the publisher in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to set aside the ruling of the Postal Service revoking Teleflora's second-class mail privileges. On JUne 25, 1975, that Court, however, denied the summary judgment motion of plaintiff Teleflora and granted summary judgment to the Government. Hence, the position taken by the Postal Service was upheld in the Courts.

It has been established for at least three quarters of a century, and is now re-established beyond cavil, that a publication, in order to be mailable as second-class matter, must not only meet specific regulatory requirements but must fit the character of a periodical publication as set forth in the celebrated opinion of the U. S. Supreme Court in Houghton v. Payne , 194 U.S. 88 (1904). In oft-quoted language the Supreme Court there held:

"But while section 14 lays down certain con- ditions requisite to the admission of a publication as to mail matter of the second class, it does not define a periodical, or declare that upon compliance with these conditions the publication shall be deemed such. In other words, it defines certain requisites of a periodical, but does not declare that they shall be the only requisites. Under section 10 the publica- tion must be a 'periodical publication,' which means, we think, that it shall not only have the feature of periodicity, but that it shall be a periodical in the ordinary meaning of the term. A periodical is defined by Webster as 'a magazine or other publication which appears at stated or regular intervals,' and by the Century Dictionary as 'a publication issued at regular intervals in successive numbers or parts, each of which (properly) contains matter on a variety of topics and no one of which is contemplated as forming a book of itself.' By section 10 newspapers are included within the class of periodical publications, although they are not so regarded in common speech. By far the largest class of periodicals are magazines, which are defined by Webster as 'pamphlets published periodically, containing miscellaneous papers or compositions.' A few other nondescript publications, such as railway guides, appearing at stated intervals, have been treated as periodicals and entitled to the privileges of second class mail matter. Payne v. Railway Pub. Co ., 20 D.C. App. 581. Publications other than newspapers and periodicals are treated as miscellaneous printed matter falling within the third class.

"While it may be difficult to draw an exact line of demarkation between periodicals and books, within which latter class the Riverside Literature Series falls, if not a periodical, it is usually, though not always, easy to determine within which category it falls, if the character of a particular publication be put in issue.

"A periodical, as ordinarily understood, is a publication appearing at stated intervals, each number of which contains a variety of original articles by different authors, devoted either to general literature of some special branch of learning or to a special class of subjects. Ordinarily each number is incomplete in itself, and indicates a relation with prior or subsequent numbers of the same series. It implies a continuity of literary character, a connection between the different numbers of the series in the nature of the articles appearing in them whether they be successive chapters of the same story or novel or essays upon subjects pertaining to general literature. If, for instance, one number were devoted to law, another to medicine, another to religion, another to music, another to painting, etc., the publication could not be considered as a periodical, as there is no connection between the subjects and no literary continuity. It could scarcely be supposed that ordinary readers would subscribe to a publication devoted to such an extensive range of subjects.

"A book is readily distinguishable from a periodical, not only because it usually has a more substantial binding, (although this is by no means essential,) but in the fact that it ordinarily contains a story, essay or poem or a collection of such, by the same author, although even this is by no means universal, as books frequently contain articles by different authors. Books are not often issued periodically, and, if so, their periodicity is not an element of their character. The reason why books of the Riverside Literature Series are issued periodically is too palpable to require comment or explanation. It is sufficient to observe that, in our opinion, the fact that a publication is issued at stated intervals, under a collective name, does not necessarily make it a periodical. Were it not for the fact that they are so issued in consecutive numbers, no one would imagine for a moment that these publications were periodicals and not books. While this fact may be entitled to weight in determining the character of the publication, it is by no means conclusive, when all their other characteristics are those of books rather than those of magazines."

The Judicial Officer and Administrative Law Judges have in numerous decisions steadfastly applied this definition and have sustained the Manager in revoking or denying second-class mail privileges where the character of the publication failed to meet the standard laid down in that opinion. For current references see Florists' Transworld Delivery Association , supra ; Shepard's Citations, Inc ., P.S. Docket No. 1/88(1974); National Automobile Dealers Used Car Guide Company , P.S. Docket No. 2/183(1975); see also National Auto Research Publications, Inc ., P.S. Docket No. 2/131 (1975); William R. Good, Jr ., P.S. Docket No. 2/123(1975); Northwest Missouri State University , P.S. Docket No. 3/42(1975).

On the facts disclosed by the record there is no question but that Petitioner's publications do not contain articles by any author or authors on any topic and do not meet the criteria of Houghton v. Payne , supra . Petitioner's publications are indices of currently published books and articles, organized to make them accessible not only in alphabetical order but also by subject-matter within a larger field of learning. They are of use to those who want to find published material on a particular point of concern or who want to keep up with matter published in a particular area of learning by perusing them.

Among decided administrative cases Petitioner's publications most closely resemble in purpose the publications involved in Shepard's Citations, Inc ., supra , and in format those in issue in R. R. Bowker Company , P.O.D. Docket No. 2/97 (1964) and One-Spot Publishers, Inc ., P.O.D. Docket No. 1/231 (1960), cited by the Manager in his February 12, 1973, ruling. In deeming reliance on Bowker and One-Spot appropriate here I do not overlook, of course, the highly developed indexing techniques used by Petitioner but, as American Bibliographical Center , P.S. Docket No. 2/106(1973) and Shepard's Citations, Inc ., supra , show such considerations are not relevant to the issue presented for decision.

Nor can Houghton v. Payne , supra , be read restrictively as delimiting only books from periodicals. On the contrary, Houghton v. Payne defines, as administrative decisions have pointed our repeatedly, in broad terms the publications which are to be considered as "periodical publications" and, hence, second-class mail matter if they also meet, as Petitioner's publications do, the specific requirements of the Postal Service regulations. Petitioner's publications, as the record shows, do not fall within the Houghton v. Payne definition. Nor can they be considered as non-descript" publications for the reasons set forth in Shepard's Citations, Inc . and Florists' Transworld Delivery Association , both supra.

Finally, Petitioner's appeal to administrative stare decisis cannot succeed. This principle has never been applied to the revocation or annulment of second-class mail privileges improperly granted. On the contrary, the Supreme Court in Houghton v. Payne , supra, explicitly rejected the contention that lapse of time created a prescriptive right to second-class mail privileges or barred their revocation if improperly granted. This rule has been applied in administrative decisions of the United States Postal Service. See Dow Jones & Company, Inc ., P.S. Docket No. 1/11(1973), upheld in Dow Jones & Company, Inc. v. U. S. Postal Service , 379 F. Supp. 1167 (1974).

In the light of all the foregoing considerations, it is concluded (1) that the Manager's rulings of February 12 and April 30, 1973, were correct, (2) that Petitioner is not entitled to second-class mail privileges for the publications cited in the caption hereof, and (3) that the same were properly revoked or annulled.