Oct., 1903. 



Annual Report of the Director. 



173 



report. Special mention is made of the Separata of the late Professor 

 E. D. Cope, presented by Mrs. E. D. Cope; Codex Vaticanus, No. 3773, 

 presented by the Due de Loubat; and the British Museum which 

 presented several of its valuable catalogues. An allusion in the 

 Librarian's report to the increasing use of the facilities of the 

 Library by the general public, and more especially by the school 

 children, is interesting, and the assurance is here given that every 

 encouragement will be offered to those seeking the benefits of the 

 Library. The introduction of compressed air as a means of dusting 

 the books was attended with more or less success, although the 

 method thus employed demands the removal of the books from the 

 shelves. The inventory of the departmental libraries, which in 

 future will be taken annually, showed that all books and pamphlets 

 were on file. Nine installments of the John Crerar Library duplicate 

 catalogue were received and placed in the card cabinet specially con- 

 structed for that purpose. There were written 2,552 catalogue cards, 

 and over 4,000 were revised, rewritten, and distributed among the 

 several catalogues. Four hundred and forty books were received 

 from the bindery. The courtesies which have been extended from 

 year to year by the John Crerar Library and the Chicago Public 

 Library are still made use of, and grateful acknowledgment is here 

 made to these two institutions. 



Departmental Cataloguing, Inventorying and Labeling. — All specimens 

 received in the Department of Geology during the year have been 

 numbered and catalogued as received, and descriptive data regarding 

 them filed. The method of cataloguing and recording specimens 

 employed in this department is as follows: Each specimen is given 

 a serial number which is inscribed upon it in an inconspicuous place 

 • with oil paint. A black or white color is usually used, according as 

 either may be necessary to contrast with the color of the specimen. 

 The numbers so applied are perfectly durable so far as handling of the 

 specimen is concerned, and if it is desired to remove them at any 

 time, this can be readily done without injury to the specimen by the 

 application of a drop or two of a solution of caustic potash. While 

 the serial number is placed upon each specimen, it may be the same 

 for all the specimens of a single lot. A letter is also prefixed to the 

 number of the specimen to indicate in a measure its character. 

 Thus, specimens related to the economic collections have the letter 

 "E" placed before their serial number, those of a paleontological 

 character the letter "P," and so on. A correspondent grouping is 

 made of the record books. Under the serial number of each specimen 



