LIBRARY OF THE MUSEUM 



The function of a special library is to secure, assemble, and present 

 information in a specific field. It provides a service that makes 

 available to an organization whatever information it can gather for 

 the use of that organization's activities. Chicago Natural History 

 Museum Library specializes in four fields of science. Intense spe- 

 cialization in all fields of knowledge and the marked increase in 

 research activity in the sciences are reflected in the growth of the 

 Library's collections. The problem today of keeping abreast of 

 scientific literature, even in a small field of interest, is staggering. 

 Selection and rejection become even more important in endeavor- 

 ing to secure for the Library the most useful publications in the 

 Museum's fields of interest. In addition to the books and journals 

 purchased and received as gifts and through exchange (for a rep- 

 resentative list of accessions see page 125), a tremendous amount 

 of material arrives unsolicited. It is necessary to interpret and 

 correlate the papers selected from this influx for the use of the 

 readers served by the Library, 



The items received in the Library during the year totaled 12,434. 

 This figure includes 1,114 book-order receipts, 102 gift items, journals 

 received on subscription and exchange, government publications, 

 and miscellaneous pieces of literature. Volumes accessioned num- 

 bered 1,579 and 59 volumes were withdrawn. The sum of $1,131.00 

 received from the sale of duplicate or unwanted items has been 

 added to the Library book-purchase fund. 



The East Asian Library has acquired a number of volumes deal- 

 ing with metal and stone inscriptions to aid in the cataloguing of 

 the Museum's large collections of Chinese rubbings (see page 46). 

 The reciprocal exchange of publications with institutions, societies, 

 and organizations, both foreign and domestic, continued as a major 

 function of the Library (see page 99). New exchanges were estab- 

 lished and, wherever necessary, older exchanges were revised. As in 

 the past the Library's collections have been enriched by many 

 important gifts. Grateful acknowledgment is made to the donors 

 for their thoughtful contributions (donors are listed on page 125). 



The map collection of the Library has grown tremendously over 

 the years, principally because of the Army Map Service Map 

 Depository Program. Many of the large maps were inaccessible to 

 our scientific staff until suitable steel map-cases were installed during 

 the year in the north end of the main reading room. In order that 

 the maps may be readily available they have been temporarily 

 arranged alphabetically under name of coimtry. 



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