22 THE UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SUKVEY. [bull. 227. 
memoirs which could be ottered to scientific men and institutions in 
exchange for material needed for the new library. As a nucleus, the 
late Maj. J. W. Powell deposited his private collection of State geolog- 
ical survey reports; some material was received from the Powell and 
Hayden surveys; current material was donated and purchased, and 
soon the library began to fulfill the objects for which it was established. 
The collection was arranged in a room in the northeast pavilion of 
the present United States National Museum building, where the Sur- 
vey office was then located, and remained there until 1885, when the 
office was moved to its present location. As the collection increased 
the quarters were enlarged from time to time and new shelving was 
added. In 1901 a large part of the wooden shelves was replaced by 
metal stacks and shelves. At present there are 30 metal stacks, con- 
taining 1,800 linear feet of metal shelving; and two rooms are neces- 
sary for the maps that have accumulated. Besides the collection in 
the library proper, several thousand books and pamphlets relating to 
paleobotany, physics, and chemistry are deposited in the laboratories 
of these sections. The books are in constant use by the specialists 
who are employed in research in these branches of science, and their 
work is greatty facilitated by having them at hand. 
The growth of the collection has been steady. About 1,300 periodi- 
cals and proceedings of scientific societies are received annually. 
There have been a few gifts, the most notable being that of about a 
thousand volumes of scientific serials, transactions of scientific socie- 
ties, and monographs collected by the late Dr. F. V. Hayden while in 
charge of one of the earlier geologic and geographic surveys and pre- 
sented to the Geological Survey by Mrs. Hayden after her husband's 
death; and that of 576 books and pamphlets, mostly on early American 
geology, presented in 1889 by Miss Frances Lea, of Philadelphia, after 
the death of her father, Dr. Isaac Lea. Several large purchases have 
been made. In 1882 there were bought from the geologic library of 
Mr. Robert Clarke, of Cincinnati, 1,885 volumes. This collection was 
especially rich in reports of early State surve}^s and Federal exploring 
expeditions. In 1888 the sale of the library of M. Jules Desnoyers, 
of Paris, afforded opportunity to purchase 700 books and 2,000 bro- 
chures, and in 1896 chemical dissertations to the number of 6,000 were 
bought. 
For several years Congress has appropriated annually the sum of 
$2,000 for the purchase of periodicals and books. The main source, 
however, of the increase of the library has been exchange, by w T hich 
are acquired the publications of almost every scientific institution, pri- 
vate and governmental, engaged in similar lines of research through- 
out the world, as well as those of authors publishing individually. 
The exchange list, which was established in 1883, has gradually 
increased. At first it was separated into two divisions — one consist- 
ing of those to whom all Survey publications except maps were sent, 
