Report on the Library 
Str: I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi- 
ties of the Smithsonian library for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1958: 
Of the 53,274 publications received in the library, 1,394 were books 
and periodicals that could not be obtained in exchange. Extra funds 
made available during the year for the purchase of books and peri- 
odicals made it possible to fill in gaps in some fields. Back issues of 
periodicals and some of the much-needed out-of-print reference ma- 
terials are being acquired even though in many instances they are 
difficult to locate. 
The backbone of the library’s collection was enriched by the con- 
tinual flow of journals and monographs from scientific, cultural, and 
technical societies and organizations all over the world, which were 
received in exchange for the Smithsonian publications. New ex- 
changes arranged this year totaled 128 and are to be added to the vast 
number already established. There were 788 special requests sent to 
issuing organizations or societies for back issues of publications to fill 
gaps in the library’s collections. 
In addition, the library is greatly indebted to numerous organiza- 
tions and individuals for special gifts. Outstanding among these 
were the 6,659 pieces from the Melville collection on philately re- 
leased by the Library of Congress. From Stack’s in New York 
came 18 volumes on numismatics. From the library of the late Dr. 
Raymond C. Shannon there were received 2,697 books and reprints 
chiefly on Diptera. From Dr. Mason E. Hale, Jr., came 22 parts of 
Rabenhorst’s Kryptogamen Flora. 
There were 11,442 publications sent to the Library of Congress, plus 
5,176 books and periodicals, to be added to the Smithsonian Deposit. 
The others not individually recorded in the library, were documents, 
doctoral dissertations, and miscellaneous publications of no immedi- 
ate concern to the Institution. To the National Library of Medicine 
were sent 1,325 periodicals and dissertations, to the U.S. Book Ex- 
change 3,334 publications, and to other agencies 502 items. 
The circulation of books and periodicals in the reference and cir- 
culation section totaled 11,447. Added to this, 9,526 new publications 
were sent to sectional libraries for intramural circulation and filing. 
Since no record is kept of the use of the library’s collections in the 
sectional libraries, no accurate numerical estimate can be made of the 
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