406 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



bookstacks of the main library will need to be very considerably 

 extended. Plans are now in progress for the removal of the motion- 

 picture laboratory from its rooms in the basement of the Bieber 

 Building. These rooms have boen promised to the library when 

 vacated. The stacks which the space wall accommodate will relieve 

 the present crowded condition of the library and provide some 

 space for future growth. The removal of the motion-picture labora- 

 tory from the Bieber Building will also remove a serious fire hazard 

 for the library. But at the best this additional space for the library 

 can only be regarded as temporary relief and as a makeshift arrange- 

 ment. It is most important that consideration be given to the 

 imperative need for permanent quarters for the library. The old 

 plans for the administration building, connecting laboratories A 

 and B, contemplated provision for the library on the top floor. The 

 space assigned to the library was scarcely adeciuate years ago when 

 the plans were made and would now be entirely inadequate. Further- 

 more, it is not believed that it would be advisable to have the library 

 on the top floor, since it needs to be readily accessible to all offices. 

 A separate building for the library in a central location seems to be 

 the only satisfactory solution. The importance of the library service 

 in the work of the department and the great value of its collections, 

 which it would be impossible to replace, urgently demand an adequate, 

 suitable, fireproof, and permanent building especially designed for 

 library purposes and for the needs of the department. Such a build- 

 ing would give permanency to the library and make it possible to 

 build up its collections with the assurance that they would be pre- 

 served for use in future years. 



