658 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



STAFF MEETINGS. 



Last fall it was decided to resume the meetings of the library staff 

 comprising all engaged in library work in the department. The 

 four meetings which were held during the year were suggestive aud 

 helpfulj and gave further evidence on the part of tliiJ staff of faith- 

 ful, conscientious service and a desire ta coo|;erate in increasing the 

 efficiency of the library work of the department. 



ROOMS. 



The need for more space for library purposes is imperative. The 

 past year has brought no relief in the crowded condition of the 

 Library. The work of the cataloguing and periodical divisions has 

 been greatly hampered from lack of suiHcient room for desks iov 

 the assistants connected with the work, the bookshelves are full to 

 overflowing, and in addition the Library is much inconvenienced by 

 lack of a room for the un^^acking, sorting, and temporary storage of 

 material. Under the present conditions the work of the Library is 

 crippled and its usefulness seriously impaired. 



LIBRARY PUBLICATIONS. 



The Library publications of the year included the Report of the 

 Librarian for 1910, a pamphlet of 16 pages, which was issued in 

 December, 1910, and the Monthly Bulletin of the Library, the num- 

 bers for July, 1910, to June, 1911, comprising 352 pages, with author 

 index of 85 pages to volume 1, 1910. The Monthly Bulletin for 

 January, 1911, contained, in addition to the list of accessions, a com- 

 plete List of Works on Pigeons, contained in the Library. 



AGRICULTURAL LIBRARIES SECTION OF THE AMERICAN 



LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. 



In the report of last year mention was made of the two sessions 

 of the Agricultural Libraries Round Table held in connection with 

 the meeting of the American Library Association at Mackinac 

 Island in June, 1910. In further reference to the Avork begun at this 

 meeting it should be of interest to librarians connected with agri- 

 cultural libraries to note that a petition for the formation of an 

 agricultural libraries section in the American Library Association 

 was presented to the council of the association and granted by them 

 at their meeting in Pasadena, Cal., in May, 1911. There is reason to 

 hope that the section can be of great use in furthering the advance- 

 ment of agricultural libraries and stimulating an interest in agricul- 

 tural literature. 



USE OF THE LIBRARY. 



During the past j^ear the charges recorded at the loan desk of 

 the main Library numbered 36,250, an increase of 1,070 compared 

 with the previous year. The record of similar charges for the 

 past five years is as follows : 



