342 ANITUAL REPORTS OF DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 



ment and later are turned over to the Libraiy to dispose of. While 

 the work of sorting and listing them consumes a large amount of 

 time, in fact the major part of the time of one assistant when the 

 work is kept up to date, it has, nevertheless, been the policy of the 

 Library to encourage the offices of the Department to send to the 

 Library all the publications which they receive, as otherwise the 

 Library is likely to miss many publications which are needed in its 

 files. In order, however, to reduce unnecessary duplications and the 

 consequent unnecessary work and cost of handling them, the Li- 

 brary is continually w^orking tow\ard that ideal state when all publi- 

 cations, both foreign and domestic, w^hich are regularlj^ received by 

 tlie Department will be addressed to the Library Avith the exception 

 of the limited number which, for special reasons, it is an advantage 

 to have sent direct to the offices which use them. 



MAILING LISTS AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF DEPARTMENT PUBLICATIONS. 



There were 1,594 orders issued on the Division of Publications for 

 the mailing of Department publications which were requested by 

 foreign institutions and officials and by societies and private indi- 

 viduals from whom publications are received in exchange. The work 

 in connection with the distribution of Department publications to 

 foreign countries and to libraries in the United States, including the 

 care of various mailing lists, has been described in detail in pre- 

 vious reports. This work is appropriately assigned to the Library 

 because of its close connection Avith the work of obtaining exchanges. 



BINDING DIVISION. 



Miss Ida B. Swakt, Chief, 



During the year only 2,011 volumes Avere sent to the Government 

 Printing Office for binding and 1,612 A'olumes laced into temporary 

 binders. The number of pamphlets stapled into temporary binders 

 Avas 743, about half as many as in the previous year. 



Like other divisions of the Library, the binding division has suf- 

 fered severely from the loss of trained assistants. At the close of the 

 hist fiscal year the former chief of the bindery division, Avho had 

 been in charge of the Avork for ten years, resigned and it Avas neces- 

 sary for her successor, Avho had had no experience in binding, to take 

 up the Avork after only tAvo Aveeks' instruction under the direction of 

 the former chief. The Avork Avas further handicapped by the fact 

 that the tAVO assistants Avho had been in this work for several years 

 liad resigned a feAv months previously, leaving the Avhole division 

 inexperienced in the work. During a part of the jeav it Avas also 

 necessary to have the chief of the division and her assistants attend 

 to other duties. It was therefore especially creditable that in spite of 

 (liesc difficulties there Avas an increase of 345 in the number of books 

 sent to the bindery as compared Avith the previous year. The num- 

 ber of books bound Avas, hoAvever, less than half the number that 

 needed to be bound. In addition to the difficulties in connection Avith 

 the preparation of the books for the bindery, the Library's needs as 

 to binding suffered by reason of the fact that its allotment for bind- 

 ing Avas greatly curtailed. 



