812 ANNUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



natural source of information rcj^ardiu*^ the literature of agriculture. 

 In endeavoriujj; to perform this ser\dce the Library has been greatly 

 aided by the cooperation of the scientists of the department and by its 

 close rehxtionship with the Library of Congress, which is regarded not 

 only as the National Library but also is coming more and more to be 

 regarded as the national bureau of information for libraries. It is 

 hoped that funds will l)e available for impro\'ing the special equip- 

 ment of this Library for this particular service. Iniormation m 

 regard to the resources of other libraries in the subjects relating to 

 agriculture woidd be an important part of this equipment. The 

 Oifice of Taxonomic Investigations of the Bureau of Plant Industry 

 has already done much along tliis line for the subject of botany. 

 Furthermore, the Library of Congress has on file a combined card 

 catalogue of several large reference libraries, which is available for 

 consultation and is of great service in learning the resources of other 

 libraries. 



Scarcely a j'ear passes in which groups of libraries do not undertake 

 some cooperative work for their mutual benefit. Each library is no 

 longer regarded as a sc|)aratc unit but as an integral part of the 

 whole library system, the object of wliich is to make the resources 

 of all libraries readily available to as large a number of people as 

 possible and to do away with unnecessary duplication of books and 

 work, thereby greatly increasmg the general efficiency of the whole 

 system. In this great system it is the aun of tliis Library to be able 

 to do its share for the literature of agriculture by increasing and 

 perfecting its collections in order that it may fully meet the demands 

 made upon it, and by making the collections and the services of the 

 Library widely useful. But it can not do this alone. Even with 

 greatly increased appropriations and improved equipment it can not 

 fully perform tliis ser\dce without the cooperation of other libraries, 

 institutions, and individuals that are interested in agricultural 

 investigations. For this cooperation and mterest the Library makes 

 an earnest appeal. 



HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE LIBRARY. 



The present year being the fiftieth anniversary of the establish- 

 ment of the department, it seems fitting that the report for the year 

 should include some reference to the history and growth of the 

 Library. The Library may be said to have been established with the 

 establishment of the department in 1862, but its foundations were 

 laid in the agricultural division of the Patent Office, which was 

 created as early as 1839. In that year an expenditure of $1,000 was 

 authorized from the funds of that office under the direction of the 

 Commissioner of Agriculture for coUectmg and distributing seeds, 

 prosecuting agricultural mvestigations, and procuring agricultural 

 statistics. Similar appropriations were made in the years 1842, 1843, 

 1844, 1845, and 1847, ancl annually thereafter up to and following the 

 year 1862, when the department was established. It is quite probable 

 that at least some small part of this appropriation was spent for 

 books necessary in compiling the agricultural statistics. The first 

 definite appropriation for the Library was in 1864, while Isaac Newton 

 was commissioner, in wliich year $4,000 was appropriated for the 

 Library and Laboratory jointly. No information is available as to 



