92 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1912. 



and, in addition, the various small collections of books mentioned 

 above, except that of the Zoological Park, which is kept in the park 

 offices. 



To provide fireproof quarters for these and also for a portion of 

 the National Museum Library, it was proposed last year to erect 

 metal bookstacks in the main hall of the Smithsonian Building where 

 they could all be brought together and economically administered- 

 It is to be hoped that Congress will soon provide the means for 

 carrying this plan into effect. 



As regards the service of the library, the most unsatisfactory fea- 

 ture at present is the delay in obtaining books, which frequentlv 

 occurs, owing to the fact that, in accordance with the established 

 routine, books are received from the Library of Congress only twice 

 a day. It is not always possible for those Avho use the library to cite 

 the exact date or serial number of volumes wanted for reference, and 

 hence, through the fault of no one, wrong books are sometimes re- 

 ceived. This causes additional delay and dissatisfaction. 



As is well known, the plan has recently been canvassed by the Gov- 

 ernment of connecting the several departments and bureaus by an 

 underground pneumatic carrier large enough to take books of at least 

 the usual sizes. A connection of this kind between the buildings of 

 the Library of Congress, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Na- 

 tional Museum would be of great utility in the service of the library 

 and would remove the difficulties now existing as regards the delivery 

 of books. 



The greatest defect in the Smithsonian Library, and one which 

 has existed for many years, if not from the beginning, is the lack 

 of completeness of numerous sets of scientific serials. While this 

 condition is not at all peculiar to this library, it is a source of much 

 vexation to those who use the books. Secretary Langley, when in 

 charge of the library, devised a plan by which many gaps were filled, 

 but others still remain. The Institution has never possessed funds 

 sufficient to enable it to remedy the defects by purchase. Odd vol- 

 umes of a series are not often obtainable, and to purchase the whole, 

 or the greater part of a series, in order to obtain a particular volume, 

 is an expensive procedure. Although a great deal of thought has 

 been expended in attempts to devise a plan to overcome this diffi- 

 culty, it has not led to any practical result so far as the Institution 

 is concerned. Eecently, however, the Library of Congress, through 

 its greater resources, has succeeded in procuring many of the desired 

 volumes, and they have been placed in the gaps in the Smithsonian 

 series. This liberal action in the interest of scientific study seems 

 to constitute the only possible solution of the problem at present, 

 although it would naturally be a source of greater satisfaction to the 

 Institution if all the voliimes in the various series bore the Smith- 

 sonian stamp. 



