APPENDIX 7. 



REPORT ON THE LIBRARY. 



Sir : I have the honor to submit the following report on the activi- 

 ties of the library oi the Smithsonian Institution during the fiscal 

 year ended June 30, 1920 : 



The receipts of publications compare most favorably with those 

 of preceding years. Packages withheld from the mails during the 

 war have begun to come in, and war regulations limiting exchanges 

 have been largely removed. Although many societies were forced 

 to limit distribution or to suspend publication during the war, it is 

 expected that the receipts will continue to increase when shipments 

 through the international exchanges may again be made between 

 the United States and the Central Powers. The receipts for the 

 year ended were 23,810 packages, 22,495 of which were received by 

 mail and 1,315 through the international exchanges. Eight hundred 

 and eighty volumes were completed and 14,273 entries were made. 



The library has suffered, however, from a lack of cataloguers to 

 carry on the work. The question of salaries for cataloguers in the 

 library is a serious one, as those doing similar work elsewhere are 

 receiving at least 33 per cent more. One desk has been vacant for 

 practically the entire year and, as the staff already was very small, 

 this has been a serious handicap. 



SMITHSONIAN MAIN LIBRARY. 



Publications for the Main Library, after entry on the records, are 

 forwarded to the Library of Congress for deposit in the Smith- 

 sonian Division. The accession numbers for the year extended from 

 532,003 to 534,618, the accessions including 3,634 volumes, 186 parts, 

 157 pamphlets, and 42 charts." 



The cataloguing covered 23,332 volumes and 32 charts ; 848 volumes 

 were recatalogued ; 2,280 cards were typewritten and 618 cards from 

 the Library of Congress, for publications deposited there by the In- 

 stitution, were filed in the catalogue; 3,756 public documents were 

 presented to the Library of Congress in accordance with the estab- 

 lished practice. 

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