REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN. 



UxiTKi) States Department of Agricilture, 



Office of the Librarian, 

 Woffhington, D. C, Octoher 1, 1920. 



Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith the executive report of 

 tlie library for tlie fiscal year ended June 30, 1920. 

 Respectfully, 



Claribel M. Barxett, 



Lihrarian. 

 IL<»n. K. T. MkrediTIi, 



Secretary of Agriciiltvre. 



INTRODUCTION. 



The object of the library is to assist the workers in the department* 

 the State agricultural colleges and experiment stations, and the public 

 in general, by nuikin_^ available the literature of agriculture and the 

 related sciences and by supplying bibliographical infoi-mation in re- 

 gard to these subjects. It contains over 155,000 books and i)am- 

 phlets and receives currently 2.700 periodicals, not including annual 

 reports and {)ro('e(Hlings of societies. The library catalogue contains 

 nearly half a million cards, constituting probabh' the most complete 

 bibliography of agriculture in existence. 



The scope of the literature contained in the library corresponds 

 with that of the work carried on by the department. Besides agri- 

 culture in general, it embraces botany, chemistr}'. zoology, ento- 

 mology, forestry, agricultural economics, agricultural and commercial 

 statistics, etc. The library of the department consists of the main 

 lii)rary and the brancli libraries connected with the various bureaus, 

 divisions, and -offices. Tiiese are all administered as a single library 

 system for the department and the catalogue of the main librar}' con- 

 tains a record of the library resources of the whole department. In 

 addition to its use by the department, the library maintains a system 

 of loans by whi(;h its resources are placed at the disposal of investiga- 

 tors throughout the country who are engaged in serious research. 

 This is effected by lentling books to out-of-town libraries in so far as 

 this can be done without interfering with the work of the department. 

 In general, it ma}' bi; said tliat its aim is to serve as the national 

 agricultural library and to make as widel}' useful as possible its re- 

 sources and bibliographical e'piij^ment. 



r: 



•1- 



