REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 39 



Societies, Periodicals, eh',, ill tlir Lihraiy of tlic Sinitlisoiiian Iiistitu 

 tiou," wliidi was complclc up to April I, lb.S7. TIk' new record is Uei)t 

 on large cards, one tor each institution or iiulividual from whom the In- 

 stitution has received any publication, and on each card is entered the 

 title of everything- received from the person or institution whose name 

 ap[)ears at the head of tlie card, eacli marked witli its accession or 

 "day book" number, by means of which reference can be made to the 

 "day-book" for furtlier particuhirs. These (;ards are now arranged 

 alphabetically by the name of the donor's residence. 



These regulations have been carried out without failure since the re- 

 organization of the library, though tliere have been weeks when, owing 

 to the arrival of large invoices through the department of foreign ex- 

 changes, the librarian and his clerks have been hard pressed to com- 

 plete the work in the time specified. Upwards of five hundred acces- 

 sions have been recorded in a single week. 



The books destined for the Library of Congress are sent regularly on 

 Monday of each week, and it is impossible for publications to be/lelayed 

 at the Institution for the length of time which was frequently unavoid- 

 able under the former arrangements. It is, however, to be regretted 

 that the Librarian of Congress is unable to take advantage of the in- 

 creased promptness of the Smithsonian library administration. Owing, 

 as I am informed, to the pressure of co])yright work and the oxer- 

 crowded condition of the present quarters of the Library, the chests 

 sent up from the Institution frequently lie for mouths unopened, so that 

 their contents are inaccessible to readers. 



This is the more to be regretted as, on account of the limited space 

 at the disposal of the Institution for keeping books and periodicals, only 

 the most important publications can be retained for use liere. 



The books thus retained for use at the Institution form part of the 

 National Museum library (the rest of which consists of such publica- 

 tions as are donated directly to the Museum or purchased from the 

 Museum appropriation for the use of its curators), and are loaned under 

 certain necessary conditions to the officers of the Smithsonian Institu- 

 tion, the Smithsonian editor, the scientific staff of the Museum, and 

 such i)ersons as are authorized to borrow books by special written per- 

 mission from one of the officers of the Smithsonian Institution. 



llow important these contributions from the Smithsonian accessions 

 are to the Museum library may be seen from the fact that out of the 

 G,0:i3 accessions to the Museum library (including parts of regular 

 serials) during the fiscal year, 3,015, or a trifie more than 50 per cent., 

 were from this source. 



From lack of .space in the Museum library it had been jiractlcally 

 impossible to provide for the proper display of new accessions to the 

 library, and especially of the current numbers of periodicals. At my 

 direction, therefore, the iibrari.in prepared plans for a reading-room in 

 the Smithsoniiui liuilding. This room was opened to readers in the- 



