A Librarian's Work. 365 



is kind enough to settle a dozen such knotty ques- 

 tions at once. 



Another part of a librarian's work is the order- 

 ing of new books, and this is something which 

 cannot be done carelessly. Once a year a coun- 

 cil of professors, after learning the amount of 

 money that can be expended during the year, de- 

 cides upon the amounts that may be severally ap- 

 propriated to the various departments of litera- 

 ture. Long lists of desiderata are then prepared 

 by different professors, and handed in to the li- 

 brary. Besides this a considerable sum is placed 

 under the control of the librarian, for miscella- 

 neous purchases, and any one who wishes a book 

 bought at any time is expected to leave a written 

 request for it at my desk. As often as we get 

 materials for a list of two or three hundred titles, 

 the list is given, before it is sent off, to one of our 

 most trustworthy assistants, to be compared with 

 the various catalogues as well as with the record 

 of outstanding orders. To ascertain whether a 

 particular work is in the library, or on its way 

 thither, may seem to be a very simple matter ; 

 but it requires careful and intelligent research, 

 and on such a point no one's opinion is worth a 

 groat who is not versed in all the dark and 

 crooked ways of cataloguing. The fact that a 



