33 



[ 120] 



These have been derived from the following sources: 



o 



Parchases ' 2, SiC 



Donat.!ons 157 



Copyrights 867 



Deposits , 873 



4,233 









690 ! 

 3.j I 



1,335 



47 

 1 



22 



20 



loe 



30 



2 



22 



755 1,383 : 42 1 lOf. 



29 



a 

 o 



3,681 

 953 



1,071 



873 



6,578 



1 ,062 volumes. 



431 



699 

 124 



(C 



The books purchased may be classified as follows: 

 Memoirs of learned societies, and literary and scientific 



journals --.... 



Works on the fine arts, including those purchased by 



the Building Committee .... 

 Bibliographical works . . . . 



Scientific works purchased for the use of authors 



The j)U7-chascs, it will be seen, have been few. for the imperative reason 

 already mentioned. They do not comprise all the books in either of the 

 selections, which I had the honor to present last year; nor can we hope 

 to buy them all with even another annual appropriation. It will be 

 observed, too, that some books have been bought in other departments 

 than those to which the selections mentioned were confined. For a large 

 hbrary, it is sometimes wise to depart from a plan of purchasing, which, 

 on general principles, may have been adopted as the best. The exigen- 

 cies and opportunities of the bookniarket may not only justify but de- 

 mand such a departure. A collection of books which may have occupied 

 in gathering it the best years of an active life, and the constant thoughts 

 of a highly cultivated mind, may be offered to us at a low price. In 

 l^uying it, we get not only the books, but the study and labor which 

 ■were necessary for selecting and procuring them. Although, therefore,, 

 the collection be out of the line of our immediate plans, it should not, on 

 that account alone, be refused. The temptations to svrerve from an es- 

 tablished system are, however, fiom this source, both numerous and 

 strong; and good judgment is necessary to determine, in each case, the 

 course to be pursued. 



With reference to donations, those already received are believed to be 

 BO criterion by which to judge of our probable annual accessions from 

 this source. It is not generally known that we are ready to receive such 

 presents. No formal invitation for them has been issued. The history 

 of all the hbraries in this country is, however, singularly instructive upon 

 this point. More than three-fourths of all the books in our public libra- 

 ries are presents. Nearly the same thing may be said of some of the large 

 libraries of Europe. Of 43.5,000 volumes in the British Museum, more 

 than 250,000 were presented. Our situation in this respect is peculiarly 

 promising. The seat of government of the United States must have an 

 important and growing influence in literary aflfairs. There will always 

 "be among the officers of the government^ the members of Congress, and. 

 Mis.-— 3 



