191 [ 23 ] 



APPENDIX No. 1. 



Extract from a communicntion of Professor Jnvett, Assistant Secretary 

 of the institution, acting as librarian. 



My dear sir: As I do not expect to have the pleasure of seeing yon a^ain 

 before the meeting of the Regents, I will, with your indulgence, refer to 

 some of the principal matters which will require attention in commencing 

 the library. They would no doubt all occur to you in their order, but I 

 have thought you might find it convenient to have this part of the busi- 

 ness in some degree prepared to your hands. A great deal of preparatory 

 work is to be gone through with, before any books can be placed on the 

 shelves. 



1. On the plan proposed for the library, it seems to me that the first 

 thing to be done is to make arrangements for obtaining catalogues, printed 

 or in manuscript, of the principal libraries of the United States; to ex- 

 amine these libraries, as far as can be done personally, in order to know 

 their general character, the statistics of their increase, i&c; and to form 

 such alliances with the librarians as will be indispensable in making the 

 library of the institution, in conformity with the suggestion of Dr. Bache, 

 a supplemental one, and a centre of bibliographical reference. Some 

 libraries possess printed catalogues complete nearly down to the present 

 time; others are several years behindhand. It will be necessary to pro- 

 cure manuscript catalogues in continuation of those which have been print- 

 ed, and to make arrangements for receiving, fiom month to month, or from 

 j'-ear to year, lists of all future accessions. These supplementary cata- 

 logues should all be prepared on a uniform plan. The titles should be written 

 on cards of the same size, so that they may be placed together in one al- 

 phabetical arrangement, in order to facilitate research. A mark placed 

 on the back of each card will designate the library from which it came. 

 NoWj in every library with which we are in correspondence some one must 

 be employed to do this. It would be merely clerk's labor, where the cata- 

 logues are properly kept, and no doubt the librarian or assistant might in 

 every case be induced to undertake it for a small compensation. 



2. The next thing to be done will be to make arrangements for pro- 

 curing the books to which we are entitled by the 10th section ^f the char- 

 ter of the institution. Unless something be done, this provision, in course 

 of time, will bring in comparatively few books in a year. I have no doubt 

 that publishers generally would readily send their books, if the subject were 

 properly presented to them, and arrangements made by which they could 

 transmit them to Washington without subjecting the institution or them- 

 selves to expenses altogether disproportioned to the value of the books. 

 It has occurred to me that perhaps the several district clerks might be in- 

 duced to attend to the business: it is perhaps legally their duty to do so, but 

 I suppose it would be unsafe to rely upon their performing faithfully such an 

 unexpected duty, unless they received for it some additional compensation. 

 Besides this, a circular might be printed and sent to pubhshers, setting 

 forth the advantages which would result directly to the cause of letters, 

 and indirectly to themselves, from compliance with this requirement. By 

 these means I think we should obtain nearly all the publications of impor- 

 tance issued from the American press. 



