PROPOSED APPLICATIONS OF SMITHSON'S BEQUEST. 939 



the present means of our institution, advantageously be 

 purchased. 



But, without a vast accumulation of books in this metrop- 

 olis, your committee conceive, that the Librarian of the 

 Smithsonian Institution may, under a proper system, become 

 a centre of literary and bibliographical reference for our 

 entire country. Your committee recommend, that the 

 librarian be instructed to procure catalogues, written or 

 printed, of all important public libraries in the United 

 States, and also, in proportion as they can be obtained, 

 printed catalogues of the principal libraries in Europe, and 

 the more important works on bibliography. With these 

 beside him, he may be consulted by the scholar, the student, 

 the author, the historian, from every section of the Union, 

 and will be prepared to inform them whether an}^ "works 

 they may desire to examine are to be found in the United 

 States, and, if so, in what library ; or, if in Europe only, 

 in what country of Europe they must be sought. 



Informed by these catalogues, it will be easy, and your 

 committee think desirable, for those who may be charged 

 with the selection of books, to make the Smithsonian 

 Library chiefly a supplemental one ; to purchase, for the 

 most part, valuable works, wdiich are not to be found else- 

 where in the Union ; thus carrying out the principle to 

 which your committee has already alluded as influencing 

 all their recommendations, that it is expedient, as far as 

 may be, to occupy untenanted ground. 



Exceptions to this rule must liere, of course, be made; as 

 in the case of standard works of reference required for the 

 immediate purposes of the institution, and also of the very 

 numerous works, many of current science, which, by a' 

 proper system of exchanges, we may procure without pur- 

 chase. In this latter connection, the Transactions and 

 Beports of the institution will obtain for us valuable re- 

 turns. 



In following out this mode of collecting a library for the 

 institution, whenever a particular class of works of impor- 

 tance is found to be specially deficient in the libraries of 

 our country, the vacancy may be filled. The Librarian 

 might also procure, by entering into correspondence with 

 the librarians of other countries, any special extracts or 

 items of information required by students. 



Your committee consider it inexpedient to commence the 

 regular purchase of books, until about a year before the 

 time when the building is prepared to receive them. Mean- 

 while, lists and catalogues should be procured. 



