APPENDIX 10 

 EEPORT ON THE LIBRARY 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi- 

 ties of the Smithsonian Library for the fiscal year ended June 30, 

 1942: 



War's initial impact upon the normal activities of a scientific 

 library is disconcerting and disruptive. Publication of new material 

 in the combatant countries declines, and such books and periodicals 

 as are issued are obtainable with difficulty, if indeed they can be 

 obtained at all. In the important scientific journals gaps appear and 

 widen. As a consequence, service to readers becomes more limited. 

 The whole immediate outlook for growth and accomplishment is dis- 

 couraging. 



Since September 1939 the Smithsonian Library has suffered in 

 common with all other libraries of international scope, and as long 

 as the war lasts it must continue to suffer from this negative influence 

 which progressively decreases the inflow of material important for 

 the work of the Institution and its branches. After Pearl Harbor 

 came the final cutting off of all importations from enemy and occu- 

 pied countries. The disruptive effect upon the normal activity of the 

 library is graphically illustrated by the fact that during the fiscal 

 year just ended 425 packages were received from abroad through the 

 International Exchange Service, whereas in a recent pre-war year 

 the number was 2,194. 



Recovery from this serious crippling of the library's facilities will 

 be slow, and the work of repair and of rebuilding will constitute a 

 challenge to diligence and ingenuity during post-war years. 



Fortunately, there is a positive, constructive, and much brighter 

 side to the year's activities. Especially is this true of the library's 

 relation to the war effort. The primary purpose of the library in 

 normal times is service to the Institution's many specialists engaged 

 in a wide range of studies covering the natural and physical sciences. 

 A basic requirement for progress in any line of science is constant 

 access to the published results of research in all countries. The large 

 body of scientific literature accumulated in the years since the foun- 

 dation of the Institution for the special needs of its staff has been 

 found to provide valuable material of great importance to the various 

 war agencies. As a result of this there has been a large increase in 

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