300 The Smithsonian Institution 



To state the number of volumes which this collection rep- 

 resents is now almost impossible, since they have not been 

 counted for a number of years; but it will give some approxi- 

 mate idea of the size of the library to say that, at present, 

 that portion which is known as the " Smithsonian Deposit," in 

 the Library of Congress, numbers 357,000 books, pamphlets, 

 periodicals, and maps; and other collections, independent of 

 the "Smithsonian Deposit," would considerably increase this 

 number. 



Yet this vast collection is not assembled in any one place 

 so as to be visible to the eye and to make an impression by 

 its mass. The greater portion of it is deposited in the 

 Library of Congress, and it is expected that with the com- 

 pletion of the new building for that library a section of it, 

 adequate for the purpose, will be assigned for the use of the 

 Smithsonian Deposit, so that this great body of scientific 

 literature will again become really available. 



The Institution at present maintains a reading-room con- 

 taining 500 bins for periodicals, and a reading-room for the 

 complete sets of transactions of the six or seven great acade- 

 mies of the world. It is collecting such works of reference 

 as are indispensable for the use of its staff, and maintains, in 

 connection with the Museum, a working library, which had 

 its origin in the gift of the library of Professor Baird. This 

 collection now numbers some 25,000 works and about 10,000 

 pamphlets, which, while accessible to scientific men in Wash- 

 ington and elsewhere, are primarily intended for the use of 

 the scientific staff of the Institution. The Museum library 

 is itself divided into twenty-three sections, placed in the 

 work-rooms of the specialists, containing most valuable 

 books and series. These special collections range in number 

 from 200 to 3000 titles. They are all received, accessioned, 

 and catalogued in the central library. Each book or pam- 



