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PSY @ELE. 
CAMBRIDGE, MASS., JAN. 1882. 
Communications, exchanges and editors’ copies 
should be addressed to EDITORS OF PSYCHE, Cam- 
bridge, Mass. Communications for publication in 
PsyYCHE must be properly authenticated, and no anony- 
mous articles will be published. 
Editors and contributors are only responsible for 
the statements made in their own communications. 
Works on subjects not related to entomology will not 
be reviewed in PSYCHE. 
For rates of subscription and of advertising, see 
advertising columns. 
LOAN LIBRARIES. 
THE need which every student feels of ac- 
cess to books of reference can so seldom be 
met by the purchase of a complete library, 
that the student is obliged either to forego the 
use of many needed books or to obtain such 
as loans from their possessors. 
While great liberality is usually shown by 
book-owners in granting loans to deserving 
applicants, the lack of general information 
as to who are the owners of particular books 
prevents the student from being able to re- 
quest their loan, and delicacy forbids a fre- 
quent repetition of such requests. 
Access to a loan library organized for the 
supply of books of the character indicated 
would undoubtedly be welcomed by a large 
number of students, who would willingly 
pay a small fee for the use of the books. 
Such a library, however, would fail of its 
usefulness if it could not afford to grant the 
loan of its books for a small fee, and it could 
not, at any rate, depend upon fees for its 
support. 
Its first requisite, the obtaining of the 
books, would necessitate some sort of expen- 
diture, or the codperation of authors in the 
presentation of their individual works. 
PST CWE. 
Another requisite, the preparation and 
publication of a catalog of the books to be 
loaned, would also entail expense, for while 
the preparation of the catalog might be se- 
cured by gratuitous labor, the same would 
not be the case with its publication. 
A last requisite and one the most difficult 
to fulfil, the care of the sending and receiv- 
ing of books loaned, would involve an ex- 
penditure of time and labor for which the re- 
ceipt of the slight fee charged for loans would 
be a quite inadequate compensation. 
So far as these three requisites were ful_ 
filled, the establishment of such a loan 
library as is contemplated would bea success ; 
without this fulfilment, the desired end seems 
unattainable. The entomologists of this 
country have it in their power to decide how 
far such a plan of a library shall be carried 
out. 
The Cambridge Entomological Club de- 
cided in February 1875, in connection with 
its other bibliographical undertakings, to 
offer the loan of books from its library gen- 
erally to all the members of the Club and 
subscribers to Psycueg, the distribution and 
return of the books to be effected through 
the mails. For this purpose it secured, by 
gratuitous labor, the preparation of a catalog 
of its possessions, which, however, from lack 
of funds, it has been unable to publish: the 
same circumstance obliged it to rely entirely 
upon donations and exchanges for the in- 
crease of its library. Generous donations, 
principally of so-called ‘‘ separates,” and 
numerous exchanges for PsyCHE have been 
received, and the few contributions of money 
to the Permanent Publication Fund have 
tended to enrich the library, so far as they 
have rendered possible the continued publi- 
cation of PSYCHE. upon which the receipt of 
exchanges depends. The want of a catalog, 
the inability to purchase the numerous need- 
ed works which will not be presented, and 
the lack of means to employ assistance in 
the distribution and recovery of loans, have 
hindered the realization of the full benefits 
which may result from this undertaking. 
B: P. M. 
