88 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 



The plan inaugurated by the Secretary to effect new exchanges and to secure miss- 

 ing parts to complete sets, has been continued. In doing this 945 letters were written 

 and 285 new periodicals were added to the receipts, together with the completion 

 of 349 defective series. The sending out of postal cards for missing numbers has 

 been continued, and 105 were mailed, with the result that 53 missing parts were 

 received in response. 



In the reference room the members of the scientific staff and others have consulted 

 the transactions and proceedings of the learned societies; and in the reading room 20 

 bound volumes of periodicals and 2,900 separate periodicals were taken out for con- 

 sultation. The sections maintained in the Institution are the Secretary's library, 

 Office library, and the Employee's li))rary, together with the sectional libraries of 

 the Astrophysical Observatory, Aerodromics, International Exchanges, and Law 

 Reference. 



At the close of last year 64 volumes in the Astrophysical Observatory library had 

 just been completed and made ready for binding, and in the early part of this year 

 they were bound. 



The collection of books in the library at the National Zoolgical Park has had an 

 addition, by purchase, of 15 works on the life and habits of animals and birds, and 

 one or two exchanges of periodical publications have been effected by the Institution 

 for its special benefit. 



The employees have availed themselves of the privileges of the Employee's 

 library, and 3,220 books were borrowed, that number being a considerable increase 

 over last year. The library has had an addition, by purchase, of 37 new books, and 

 120 magazines were bound. The sending of a collection of books, numbering about 

 40, each month to the National Zoological Park has been continued with such success 

 that an arrangement was made in the early part of June to make a similar sending 

 to the Bureau of American Ethnology, and a case containing about 26 volumes was 

 sent. 



The increase in the number of books presented by General de Peyster, for the 

 Watts de Peyster collection Napoleon Buonaparte, created the necessity for more 

 shelf room, and 22 cases were constructed to hold the additions to this collection 

 that have been received during the last two years. These cases were placed against 

 the north and south walls of the lower corridor of the office wing of the Institution. 

 General de Peyster continues to add many valuable volumes to the collection, 

 together with several bronze busts. There have also been received from him oil 

 paintings and many historical relics of the colonial period, which have been placed 

 in the United States National Museum for exhibition. 



INTERNATIONAL CATALOGUE OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE. 



The work c5f the International Catalogue has been continued under the auspices of 

 the Institution, and the addition to the allotment for this year has made possible the 

 increase of nearly 50 per cent in the total number of references sent to the central 

 bureau at London. The following table gives the number in detail: 



Literature of 1901 3, 044 



Literature of 1902 9, 424 



Literature of 1903 8, 745 



Total 21,213 



All of the first annual issue of the catalogue has now been published and distrib- 

 uted, together with the following volumes of the second annual issue: Astronomy, 

 Bacteriology, Mechanics, Physics, Mathematics, Mineralogy, and Physical Geogra- 

 phy. This country still leads in the number of subscribers to the catalogue. 



