542 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



to remain until the arrival of the next number. It is hoped that this 

 plan will do more to keep workers in touch with the current literature 

 of economics than the former circulation of these journals could possi- 

 bly do. This plan has been followed for years in the Bureau of Ento- 

 mology for the bulk of its journals and has given satisfaction. The files 

 of material relating to the foreign work of the Bureau of Agricultural 

 Economics, which had been kept in the Foreign Section, have been 

 placed under the library of the bureau, which has worked out a 



Elan for the rapid handling of the material as received from the State 

 department and the bureau's agents abroad, and has assumed the 

 responsibility of seeing that the material reaches the desks of those 

 whose work it concerns within a few hours of its receipt. The Division 

 of Statistical and Historical Research pays the salary of the assistant 

 in charge of the work. 



In January, 1923, the Bureau of Agricultural Economics library 

 began the publication of the Library Supplement to the Bureau News. 

 It was felt that an opportunity to call attention to and even to ab- 

 stract material of special interest and to place before bureau workers 

 short reading lists on subjects of direct interest was desirable, in 

 addition to the list of accessions which for some time has been 

 appearing in the Bureau News. Four supplements appeared in the 

 first six months of 1923. 



The radical changes in the Bureau of Plant Industry library have 

 been touched upon on page 1 of this report. By the transfer to the 

 department library of most of the book collection, the catalogues, 

 and two members of the staff, the space occupied by the bureau 

 library has been reduced from three and a half to one and a half 

 rooms. The circulation of periodicals, the care of mailing lists, the 

 administrative work and correspondence, and some of the biblio- 

 graphical and reference work continue to be conducted in the bureau 

 library. The following quotation from the report of the librarian 

 of the Bureau of Plant Industry sums up the results, in so far as they 

 are yet apparent, of this interesting experiment in the partial consoli- 

 dation 01 the work of a bureau library with that of tne department 

 library : 



The location of the bureau catalogue workers at the department library makes it 

 possible for them to see and enter the new books and periodicals as soon as they are 

 received. This was not feasible when the publications were sent to the bureau, and 

 there was usually more or less delay. 



The_ bureau catalogues are now mcire u'^ed by the department library staff, owing 

 to their availability. Also ufers of the department library interested in plant indus- 

 try subjects, who did not f( rmerly know the resources of tlie bureau catalogues or had 

 not time to go to them, now have them accessible and they are more widely consulted. 



Some botanical entries formerly made in the main catalogue are now eliminated, 

 thus saving duplication of indexing, and since the catalogues are side by side, there- 

 probably will be some elimination frcm the bureau catalogues of subjects fully covered 

 in the main catalogue. 



The transfer of the bureau book charging to the department library was described 

 in the report for 11)21-22, but at that time the effect upon the work was not fully 

 known. This elimination of duplicate charging has ^^aved practically the full time of 

 one assistant in the bureau library, v.ith a comparatively small amount of extra work 

 for the department library assistants. Also there has been a considerable saving of 

 supplies and equipment as well as space in the bureau library. 



There has been some complaint that the service is not so prompt or satisfactory as 

 that formerly given by the bureau, and the staff of the bureau library has missed the 

 inspiration of more direct contact with the bureau workers. But with the develop- 

 ment of the plan it is hoped that more close and satisfactory relations may again be 

 established. The transfer of the book collections and catalogues, while causing some 



