﻿APPENDIX 
  9 
  

  

  EEPORT 
  ON 
  THE 
  LIBRARY 
  

  

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

   ties 
  of 
  the 
  library 
  of 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Institution 
  for 
  the 
  fiscal 
  year 
  

   ended 
  June 
  30, 
  1927 
  : 
  

  

  WHAT 
  THE 
  LIBRARY 
  IS 
  

  

  Perhaps 
  it 
  will 
  not 
  be 
  amiss 
  if 
  I 
  explain 
  at 
  the 
  outset 
  what 
  the 
  

   Smithsonian 
  library 
  is. 
  It 
  is 
  the 
  library, 
  now 
  numbering 
  about 
  

   700,000 
  volumes, 
  pamphlets, 
  and 
  charts, 
  to 
  say 
  nothing 
  of 
  many 
  

   thousands 
  of 
  volumes 
  awaiting 
  completion, 
  that 
  has 
  grown 
  up 
  since 
  

   1846 
  around 
  the 
  activities 
  of 
  the 
  Institution, 
  As 
  these 
  activities 
  

   have 
  been 
  various, 
  the 
  library 
  naturally 
  falls 
  into 
  several 
  divisions, 
  

   but 
  all 
  with 
  one 
  central 
  purpose 
  — 
  that 
  of 
  assisting 
  the 
  Institution 
  in 
  

   the 
  increase 
  and 
  diffusion 
  of 
  knowledge. 
  

  

  Chief 
  among 
  these 
  divisions 
  arc 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  deposit 
  in 
  the 
  

   Library 
  of 
  Congress, 
  which 
  is 
  the 
  main 
  library 
  of 
  the 
  Institution, 
  

   and 
  the 
  library 
  of 
  the 
  United 
  States 
  National 
  Museum, 
  which 
  con- 
  

   sists 
  largely 
  of 
  material 
  having 
  to 
  do 
  with 
  the 
  different 
  branches 
  of 
  

   natural 
  science 
  represented 
  in 
  the 
  Museum. 
  The 
  other 
  divisions 
  are 
  

   the 
  office 
  library, 
  the 
  technological 
  library, 
  the 
  Langley 
  aeronautical 
  

   library, 
  and 
  the 
  libraries 
  respectively 
  of 
  the 
  Astrophysical 
  Observa- 
  

   tor}'^, 
  the 
  Bureau 
  of 
  American 
  Ethnology, 
  the 
  National 
  Gallery 
  of 
  

   Art, 
  the 
  Freer 
  Gallery 
  of 
  Art, 
  and 
  the 
  National 
  Zoological 
  Park. 
  

   Together 
  these 
  comprise 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  library. 
  They 
  are, 
  of 
  

   course, 
  distinct 
  working 
  units, 
  each 
  serving 
  its 
  own 
  end 
  in 
  its 
  own 
  

   place, 
  but 
  all 
  contributing 
  toward 
  the 
  realization 
  of 
  a 
  common 
  

   ideal. 
  

  

  For 
  the 
  sake 
  of 
  making 
  the 
  material 
  in 
  these 
  10 
  divisions 
  more 
  

   completely 
  and 
  centrally 
  available, 
  a 
  union 
  catalogue 
  of 
  their 
  collec- 
  

   tions 
  is 
  being 
  prepared, 
  to 
  be 
  kept 
  in 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  Building. 
  

   This 
  will 
  be 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  main 
  pieces 
  of 
  work 
  of 
  the 
  library 
  staff 
  for 
  

   years 
  to 
  come, 
  and 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  most 
  serviceable 
  to 
  the 
  Institution. 
  

  

  CHANGES 
  IN 
  STAFF 
  

  

  Few 
  changes 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  staff 
  during 
  the 
  year. 
  This 
  was 
  most 
  

   gratifying, 
  as 
  permanence 
  of 
  tenure 
  on 
  the 
  part 
  of 
  trained 
  and 
  

   willing 
  employees 
  makes 
  for 
  efficiency, 
  especially 
  in 
  so 
  highly 
  tech- 
  

   nical 
  an 
  organization 
  as 
  a 
  scientific 
  library. 
  

   116 
  

  

  