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  ANNUAL 
  REPORT 
  SMITHSONIAN 
  INSTITUTION, 
  192*7 
  

  

  continued 
  with 
  excellent 
  results, 
  and 
  thanks 
  are 
  due 
  the 
  Library 
  of 
  

   Congress 
  and 
  hundreds 
  of 
  learned 
  societies 
  and 
  institutions 
  the 
  

   world 
  over 
  for 
  their 
  generous 
  response 
  to 
  requests 
  for 
  numbers 
  

   needed 
  by 
  the 
  library. 
  

  

  Decided 
  progress 
  was 
  made 
  on 
  the 
  union 
  catalogue, 
  especially 
  by 
  

   the 
  splendid 
  work 
  done 
  by 
  two 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  staff 
  toward 
  catalogu- 
  

   ing 
  the 
  library 
  of 
  the 
  Astrophysical 
  Observatory. 
  A 
  beginning 
  was 
  

   also 
  made 
  in 
  cataloguing 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  special 
  collections 
  in 
  the 
  sec- 
  

   tional 
  libraries, 
  but, 
  for 
  lack 
  of 
  help, 
  this 
  work 
  could 
  not 
  be 
  carried 
  

   far. 
  

  

  An 
  important 
  piece 
  of 
  work 
  was 
  the 
  preparation 
  of 
  nearly 
  2,000 
  

   volumes 
  for 
  binding, 
  of 
  which 
  1,439 
  were 
  sent 
  to 
  the 
  bindery 
  for 
  the 
  

   National 
  Museum, 
  and 
  49 
  for 
  the 
  Astrophysical 
  Observatory. 
  The 
  

   rest 
  will 
  be 
  sent 
  early 
  in 
  the 
  next 
  fiscal 
  year. 
  

  

  The 
  work 
  of 
  reorganizing 
  the 
  technological 
  library 
  was 
  continued 
  

   with 
  vigor, 
  but, 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  increasing 
  difficulty 
  of 
  the 
  task 
  and 
  

   the 
  lack 
  of 
  help, 
  was 
  not 
  completed. 
  It 
  will 
  require 
  at 
  least 
  another 
  

   year 
  of 
  special 
  effort. 
  

  

  Thousands 
  of 
  duplicates 
  from 
  the 
  Smithsonian 
  deposit 
  and 
  other 
  

   divisions 
  of 
  the 
  library 
  were 
  taken 
  to 
  the 
  west 
  stacks 
  and 
  fded, 
  

   preparatory 
  to 
  being 
  listed 
  and 
  exchanged. 
  This 
  work 
  of 
  bringing 
  

   together 
  the 
  duplicates 
  in 
  the 
  library 
  is 
  now 
  nearing 
  completion. 
  

  

  Another 
  task 
  that 
  required 
  no 
  little 
  time 
  and 
  care 
  was 
  the 
  final 
  

   checking 
  of 
  the 
  holdings 
  in 
  the 
  various 
  divisions 
  of 
  the 
  library 
  for 
  

   the 
  forthcoming 
  union 
  list 
  of 
  serials. 
  

  

  Still 
  another 
  was 
  the 
  filing 
  of 
  30,866 
  cards 
  in 
  the 
  alphabetic 
  and 
  

   methodical 
  sets 
  of 
  the 
  Bibliographicum 
  Concilium 
  in 
  the 
  Museum 
  

   library. 
  This 
  was 
  almost 
  twice 
  the 
  number 
  filed 
  the 
  year 
  before. 
  

  

  There 
  was 
  increased 
  opportunity 
  during 
  the 
  year 
  for 
  lending 
  

   material 
  on 
  semipermanent 
  charge 
  to 
  institutions 
  where 
  research 
  is 
  

   being 
  conducted. 
  A 
  notable 
  instance 
  of 
  this 
  Avas 
  the 
  loan 
  to 
  the 
  Johns 
  

   Hopkins 
  University 
  of 
  104 
  titles 
  from 
  the 
  Lacoe 
  collection 
  in 
  paleo- 
  

   botany. 
  Other 
  loans 
  of 
  especial 
  interest, 
  as 
  the 
  items 
  were 
  rare 
  in 
  

   this 
  country, 
  were 
  made 
  to 
  the 
  University 
  of 
  Wisconsin 
  and 
  the 
  

   California 
  Academy 
  of 
  Sciences. 
  

  

  Mention 
  might 
  be 
  made, 
  too, 
  that 
  the 
  library 
  prepared 
  an 
  ex- 
  

   hibit 
  of 
  books 
  representing 
  the 
  different 
  interests 
  of 
  the 
  Institution 
  

   and 
  its 
  branches, 
  for 
  the 
  conference 
  on 
  the 
  future 
  held 
  at 
  the 
  Institu- 
  

   tion 
  in 
  February. 
  

  

  CONCLUSION 
  

  

  On 
  the 
  whole, 
  the 
  year 
  was 
  one 
  of 
  progress 
  toward 
  solving 
  the 
  

   problems 
  which 
  have 
  arisen 
  in 
  connection 
  with 
  the 
  work 
  of 
  reor- 
  

   ganizing 
  the 
  library 
  that 
  was 
  begun 
  three 
  years 
  ago. 
  But 
  the 
  prog- 
  

  

  