EEPOKT OP THE SECRETARY. 37 



history of the progress of any special branch to which he may be de- 

 voted, and to ascertain accurately what has been published on his 

 particular subject previous to commencing his own labors, or at least 

 before he gives the results to the world, in order that he may do justice 

 to those who have preceded him in the same path, and have due re- 

 gard to his own reputation in not publishing facts and principles as 

 new discoveries which have long since been recorded in the annals of 

 Science. 



Principally by means of the system of exchange, which has been 

 so successfully prosecuted by the Institution, the library is now richer 

 in this class of books than perhaps any other in the country, and 

 every year it is increasing in value, not only from the current publica- 

 tions of the various societies of the world, but by almost constant 

 additions of series and of volumes to complete sets which had before 

 been imperfect. 



The value of this library to the country will be much enhanced, 

 first, by the publication of a list or catalogue of the different series 

 of transactions and proceedings of which it is now actually in pos- 

 session ; and secondly, by a general index or list of titles of the various 

 memoirs or papers contained in the whole collection. The first of 

 these objects will soon be accomplished by a complete catalogue of 

 the whole collection, which has been prepared under the direction 

 of Professor W. W. Turner, and is now in the press, and will be 

 distributed to all the correspondents of the Institution in the course 

 of a few months. This catalogue will not only serve to make known 

 to the men of science in this country what the library actually con- 

 tains in the line of transactions, but will also indicate to the foreign 

 contributors its deficiencies, and thus enable them, from their store 

 of duplicates, to complete imperfect sets, as well as to increase the 

 series. 



The second desideratum is one which is felt as such by the whole 

 scientific and literary world, and it will be recollected that in the 

 report for 1855 I mentioned the fact that, in behalf of this Insti- 

 tution, I had addressed a letter to the British Association, setting 

 forth the importance of the publication of a list of the titles of the 

 different memoirs or papers contained in all the transactions of the 

 learned societies of the world, and offering to co-operate in the im- 

 portant enterprise by furnishing a list of the contents of the volumes 

 of transactions and proceedings of the different societies of this country. 

 I am now much gratified in being able to inform the Board of Kegents 

 that this proposition was favorably considered by the Association, and 



