58 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY. 
preferable; and more consonant with the purposes of the Institution, — 
to forma special library, which might constitute, as it were, a sup- 
plement to the library of Congress, and-consist, for the most part, 
of complete sets of the proceedings and transactions of all the learned 
societies in the wdfld, and of other serials essential for reference by 
students specially engaged in original scientific research. The efforts 
of the Institution to carry out this plan, which has since been sanc- 
tioned by Congress, have been eminently successful. Principally 
through exchanges, and occasionally hy purchase, a more complete 
collection of the works above mentioned has been procured than is 
to be found in any library of the United States, or is easily met with 
even in Europe. The Institution has been assisted in making this 
collection by the liberality of many of the older libraries abroad, which, 
on application, have furnished from their duplicates volumes and even 
whole sets to complete series of works long since out of print, and 
which, in some cases, could not have been obtained through any 
other means. The library isalso quite rich in monographic or special 
treatises in the physical and natural sciences, lacking as yet, it is true, 
some of the more expensive volumes, but still affording the means of. 
prosecuting almost any scientific investigation. One specialty con- 
sists of the large number of maps end charts obtained by exchange 
from geographical and hydrographical establishments, &c. This col- 
lection is as complete as any in the country. 
No effort is spared to render the library of the Institution condu- 
cive to the advance of science. Two editions of the catalogue of 
serial works have already been published, and a third is now in press; 
this will probably fill four hundred octavo pages, and will be com- 
pleted in the course of the present year, to be followed by a cata- 
logue of the special works. 
As in most libraries of special character, and, indeed, in most large 
public libraries, the public are allowed free access to the library-room 
during office hours, but are not generally permitted to take books 
away. When, however, any applicant is known to be engaged in 
the prosecution of original investigations, which promise to advance 
science, and requires the assistance of books found in the Smithsonian 
library, they are freely lent, even to persons in the remote portions of 
the United States. Any losses which may occur by the adoption of 
this course are more than compensated by the advantages derived 
from it. ’ 
Congress had provided by the law of organization that a copy of 
all copyright works should be presented to the library of this Institu 
