REPORT OF THE LIBRARIAN. 



United States Depautment of Agriculture. 



Oei'ice of the Librarian, 

 Washington, D. 6'., Sejytemher 29, 1917. 



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

 Library for the fiscal 3'ear ended June 30, 1917. 

 Respectfully, 



Claribel R. Barnett, 



Librarian. 

 Hon. D. F. Houston, 



Secretary of Agriculture. 



Abnormal conditions due to the war have had a noticeable effect 

 upon the work of the Library for the past year. The scientific work 

 of the department has naturally been affected to a certain extent and 

 this has reacted upon the Libraiy. For the first time since 1905, 

 when the Library began to keep circulation statistics, there was no 

 increase — in fact there was a small decrease — in the number of books 

 charged at the loan desks. The reference work of the Library, on the 

 other hand, has greatly increased, due no doubt largely to the fact 

 that the war has brought up new problems and new subjects for in- 

 vestigation. A decrease of about 300 in the number of foreign period- 

 icals currently received during the past year, due to the war, easily 

 explains the decrease in the number of periodicals circulated cur- 

 rently. 



During the fall a large number of herd books formerly filed in the 

 Di^'ision of Animal Husbandry, and also several sets of periodicals for- 

 merly' filed in the Bureau of Biological .Survey, were returned to the 

 Library. The crowded condition of the shelves made it necessary, 

 before the books could be put in place, to add some additional wooden 

 shelving for the basement stacks, and on the tops of the Snead stacks 

 on the first floor. The need for additional space for book stacks is 

 pressing, and some provision for larger quarters for the Library must 

 be made in the near future. The only adequate solution is a perma- 

 nent fireproof building especially designed for the Library. 



USE OF THE LIBRARY. 



Emma B. Hawks, Assistant Librarian, in general charge of reference work and 

 circulation. IMary G. Lacy, Reference Librarian. Gertrude E. Upton, in 

 Charge of Loan Desk. 



Since circulation statistics are not kept in all of the bureaus, divi- 

 sions, and ofhces, and since it is also impracticable to keep any record 

 of the reference use of the collections filed in the Librarv and the 



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