EDITORIAL. 



THE LIBRARY OF THE BUREAU OF SCIENCE. 



From the very first suggestion of a central laboratory for the several 

 Bureaus and Departments of the Philippine Insular Government, early 

 in 1901, to the latest report of the United States Philippine Commission, 

 the value of the scientific library as a most important part of that institu- 

 tion has been constantly emphasized. 



On the appointment of a Superintendent of Government Laboratories 

 on June 20, 1901, this official was directed, among other tilings, to obtain 

 information not already on hand, to be used for the equipment and 

 library of the Philippine laborator} r . In accordance with these instruc- 

 tions, lists of journals and manuals absolutely necessary for the beginning 

 of a scientific library were compiled before the superintendent sailed from 

 the United States on August 21, 1901. 



On the legislative side, Act No. 156, passed by the United States 

 Philippine Commission July 1, 1901, gave the Superintendent of Gov- 

 ernment Laboratories charge over the purchase of books authorized for 

 use in connection with all Government laboratories for the Philippine 

 Islands. He was also directed to prepare and recommend, as a basis 

 for appropriation by the central legislative body of the Philippines, plans 

 for a suitable building for the laboratories and for a reference library, 

 together with estimates of the cost of properly equipping the said labor- 

 atories and of procuring an adequate reference library. As a result of 

 these recommendations, the governing body agreed to appropriate, from 

 time to time, in amounts best suited to existing conditions, the sum of 

 $46,290.66 United States currency for the establishment of this library. 



On the arrival of the Superintendent of Government Laboratories in 

 Manila on September 25, 1901, considerable time was spent in seeming 

 a temporary building, inaugurating the most urgent lines of work, 

 cabling for bids on books and apparatus, and preparing plans for the 

 permanent building, but notwithstanding this delay, a generous order for 

 subscriptions to serial publications and for the most essential manuals 

 was sent out early in 1902, and before the end of that year a very creditable 

 showing was made on the shelves of the various rooms in the temporary 

 laboratory building. Early in 1903, it was recognized that this material 

 was accumulating so rapidly that a separate room was necessary for it 

 and that more care than the stenographers and laborers of the Bureau 

 could give it, was essential. Accordingly, a room was built and. all books 



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