THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION. 9 



Il)e Jiblr^i^l). 



Although the act of Congress directed that provision should be made for the 

 accommodation of a library, on a liberal scale, it was soon seen, after the organi- 

 '.ation of the Institution, that it would be impossible, from the income which could 

 be devoted to it, to establish a first-class general library. Even had this been 

 practicable, it would still have seemed superfluous to do so in the very v.cinity of 

 the miscellaneous library of Congress, which is every year increasing in extent 

 under the liberal appropriations which are annually made for the purchase of books. 

 It was therefore deemed preferable, and more consonant with the purposes of the 

 Institution, to form a special library, which might constitute, as it were, a supple- 

 ment to the library of Congress, and consist, for the most part, of complete sets 

 of the proceedings and transactions of all the learned societies in the world, and 

 of other serials essential for reference by students specially engaged in original 

 scientific research. The efforts of the Institution to carry out this plan, which 

 has since been sanctioned by Congress, have been eminently successful. Princi- 

 pally through exchanges, and occasionally by purchase, a more complete collection 

 of the works above mentioned has been procured than is to be found in any 

 library of the United States, or is easily met with even in Europe. The 

 Institution has been assisted in making this collection by the liberality of many 

 of the older libraries of the eastern continent, which, on application, have furnished 

 from their duplicates volumes and even whole sets to complete series of works long 

 since out of print, and which, in some cases, could not have been obtained through 

 any other means. The Library is also quite rich in monographic or special trea- 

 tises in the physical and natural sciences, lacking as yet, it is true, some of the 

 more expensive volumes, but still affording the means of prosecuting almost any 

 scientific investigation. 



One specialty of the Library consists of the large number of maps and charts, 

 obtained by exchange from geographical and hydrographical establishments, &c. 

 This collection is as complete as any ia the country. 



No effort is spared to render the Library of the Institution conducive to the 

 advance of science. Several editions of the catalogue of serial works have been 

 published. 



In 1867 the care of the library was transferred to the library of Congi-ess. 

 subject to be recalled at any time on certain conditions. The books are now 

 catalogued and bound at the expense of the Government, while the ofTicers and 

 collaborators of the Institution have the same use of them as formerly, with 

 greatly increased facilities from access to the larger collection of books in the 

 National Library. The Institution still sends its publications, in exchange, to 

 other establishments at, home and abroad, and desires to increase its library by 

 transactions of societies, and serial and scientific works. 



