[ 120 ] 36 



completeness. Thus, the historical and. bibliographical importance of each 

 is greatly diminished. 



To publishers it is necessary, for -the security of their property, that a 

 certified copy of each work should someiohere be preserved. The depos- 

 iting of the copy in the office of the disctrict clerk for the State Depart- 

 ment, has been by the Supreme Court of the United States declared to 

 be essential to securing a valid copyright. Whether the same be true 

 with reference to the copies required for our institution and the library of 

 Congress, is a question of law which I am unable to answer. The in- 

 terest of publishers, as v/ell as of the public, seems to require additional 

 and more explicit legislation on this subject. 



In this connexion 1 beg leave to suggest the establishment of a raontMy 

 huUctin, in which the list of all works received during the preceding 

 month, witii the titles in full, the date of deposite, and the name of the pro- 

 prietor, should be printed. Copies of this might be sent to every ptiblisher 

 who complies with the law. This journal might be widely and gratui- 

 tously distributed among the literary institutions of this country, and of 

 Europe. The record would then be, as an advertisement, far more val- 

 uable to the proprietor than the book sent and the expense of transmission. 

 Although I suggest the commencement of a bnlletin in tliis particular 

 connexion, 1 would not by any means confine it to the publication of the 

 lists of copyright works. It might include a scientijic as well as a biblio- 

 graphical department. 



in the bibliographical department might be publislied: 1st. Lists of 

 publications deposited for the security of the copyright; 2d. Lists of ac- 

 cessions to the library and other collections, witli the names of donors; 

 3d. Lists of new v/orks published in Europe; 4th. The contents of the 

 carreiit iiumbers of tiie most important reviews and journals in this 

 country and Europe, translating the titles of articles published in other 

 langtjages than English; .5th. Items of intelligence and short essays of 

 interest to book producers and readers. 



This bulletin might at first be published at irregular intervals, as v/e- 

 find the materials, and it should be of such a gener?d character as not to 

 conflict vvith any established journal. 



General catalogue of American libraries. 



An important part of the plan for rendering our library immediately 

 useful to American scholars is the proposed general catalogue of the books 

 contained in ail our public libraries, I am not aware that such a thing 

 lias ever before been attempted on so large a scale. The Navy Department 

 of the Frencli government publislied, a few years ago, a general catalogue 

 of the books belonging to the various libraries (eleven in number) con- 

 jiected with that department. This useful work is contained in five large 

 octavo volumes. 



The French Department of the Interior, a fcAV years ago, ordered a gen- 

 eral catalogue to be made of all the manuscripts in the public libraries of 

 Prance, and considerable progress has been made in the work. 



But nothing like a general catalogue of ail the libraries of a country has 

 ever, to my knowledge, been undertaken. It has indeed been found next 

 to impossible to make a catalogue of the largest library of each country. 

 31uch less possible would it be to make a general catalogue of all the- 



