286 The Smithsonian Institution 



ical form, in the Report for 1850, a complete list of copyright 

 articles (August 10, 1846, to December 31, 1849), the fi rst f 

 the kind, I believe, ever published, and one which has only 

 been followed in recent years by the list issued by the Treas- 

 ury Department. The care of the copyright articles, however, 

 was more burdensome than advantageous to the Institution, 

 and the Secretary and the Librarian repeatedly urged either 

 the repeal or a modification of the law. The charge of the 

 books and other articles, which came by virtue of the copyright 

 act, and which added but little of any real value to the collec- 

 tion, was a serious drain on the funds of the Institution. In 

 1864 Congress had appropriated a considerable sum of money 

 for the enlargement of its own library ; and as the large collec- 

 tion of books, which almost entirely filled the west half of the 

 Institution, had become, both for its preservation and care, 

 too great a charge upon the resources of the Institution, and 

 as the Secretary of the Institution was at this time alarmed 

 by the fire which had recently taken place and had threatened 

 the entire building, Congress, at the request of the Board of 

 Regents, passed an act to provide for the transfer of the 

 custody of the library of the Smithsonian Institution to the 

 Library of Congress. Professor Henry said on this point, 

 in 1865 : 



"The suggestion has been made in previous reports that 

 considerable relief might be afforded to the Institution by the 



transfer of its library, under certain condifftAiA^jjiigriMMKvv 



. 41 Hi^^^ 



and spacious halls which Congress is provramg for its own 



library, and the importance of the proposition has been much 

 enhanced by considerations connected with the recent disas- 

 ter. The west wing of the building, in which the library is 

 now contained, is not fire-proof, and is already filled to over- 

 flowing. To provide another depository for it, which shall 

 render it entirely secure from fire, and be sufficient for its 

 continued increase, will far exceed the means of the Institu- 



