The following gives a summary of the accessions to the Library during the past fiscal year, and, for convenience in comparison, the corresponding accessions for the year preceding: The accessions of the past two years in detail, classified by source, have been as follows: By transfer from United States Government libraries.. By international exchange (gifts from foreign governments).. Received by exchanges of duplicates..... Gain of volumes by separation in binding and by completion of volumes of periodicals. a Does not include numbers completed into volumes of periodicals, now reported only when bound. ACCESSIONS: Printed books and pamphlets A list of the accessions of the year should of course accompany a complete exhibit of the year's operations. We could not justify the expense of printing it; and I do not feel inclined longer to justify the expense of printing the "Select Lists of Recent Purchases," which have formed appendices to the reports during the past four years. The disposition of the Library in its deliberate development is sufficiently indicated by the three such lists already issued with this very purpose. Hereafter we shall limit the recital of important accessions to general descriptions in the main text, of collections, and to lists (appended) only of such items as may have enriched in a notable way some particular department of literature. Thus the present report includes such particular mention of additions to the Manuscripts, Maps, and Print divisions, and the Law Library, with itemized lists of certain notable additions, particularly in law. Except for the Kellen collection of law and certain collections of manuscripts, there has been no important purchase en bloc. The former is referred to under Law Library, below, and is listed in full in Appendix VI. The latter are Notable gifts described under "Manuscripts," below. More important collections of manuscript than those bought have, however, been received as gifts. These also are described below. The additions to the Orientalia have included 198 works in Chinese, comprising 1,965 volumes, which formed part of the exhibit of China (the Province of Hupeh) at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, and at its conclusion were given to the Library by the Chinese government through its legation at Washington. There have been other gifts of Orientalia, especially 120 volumes from the Fort William College at Calcutta, which bring our collection of Orientalia to a total of 12,400 volumes, as follows: Unclassified-Bugi, Gujeratee, Hindu, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugee, etc.. Total 90 90 245 12, 400 Of these the Chinese (except those from St. Louis) and Japanese have all been catalogued. The catalogue of the Chinese should be printed. It awaits only some revision as to form which Professor Dr. Hirth, of Columbia, has kindly consented to give it. governments of many As appears from the records below of the accessions Gifts from to particular divisions, there have been other notable gifts France and Gerof material special in character; for example, from France and from the Argentine Republic, collections of photographs exhibiting the activities, etc., of learned societies and universities; from Italy the collection of photographs, plans, and maps of Italian railroads-all three of which formed instructive portions of the respective governmental exhibits at St. Louis; from Germany the collection of facsimile reproductions by the "Reichsdruckerei" of engravings by the old masters, entitled "Kupferstiche und Holzschnitte alter Meister in Nachbildungen." This publication represents for Germany a service to the study of prints which for France is rendered by the prints issued by the Chalcographie du Louvre-a set of which was presented to us two years ago by the Government of France. The Library is thus reaping valuable benefit DOCUMENTS: from the comity between our Government and those of foreign countries. The paragraphs which follow, descriptive of the accessions to the several divisions of the Library and their operation, are in the main drawn from the reports to me of their respective chiefs. DIVISION OF DOCUMENTS During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1905, the accessions to the Library through the Division of Documents were as follows: Comparison with the statistics of the previous fiscal year shows a very large increase in the receipts from all sources listed in the above table, except those included under the heading "Gifts of local governments." Transfers of duplicates or documents no longer in use at the Department libraries form the greater part of the 13,019 volumes and pamphlets noted as "gifts of the Government of the United States in all its branches." During the past year the list of countries to which the United States sends its documents regularly in exchange has been increased by the addition of Bolivia, Ceylon, Egypt, Malta, Nicaragua, Orange River Colony, and Salvador, and is now to include the Empire of China; an understanding with the Chinese authorities having been effected through the American Minister at Pekin, Mr. Rockhill. Arrangements have been made by which the Library of Congress now receives the official publications of the Dominion of Canada as issued in paper covers. Heretofore only the bound volumes of the sessional papers were forwarded to the Library, usually a year after the publication of the separate reports. Among the notable additions to the Library received in this Division during the past year were 191 volumes and 50 pamphlets, the gift of the Imperial Free Economic Society, St. Petersburg, consisting of the reports of the Russian local governments, and three important collections from the official exhibits at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, presented by the French, Italian, and Chinese Governments, respectively, viz: the publications of learned societies. and universities of France (840 volumes, 144 pamphlets), together with photographs, lithographs, etc., which formed part of the exhibit of the French Ministry of public instruction; 80 volumes, 36 pamphlets, and a collection of photographs, plans, and maps relating to Italian railroads, from the exhibit of the Italian Ministry of public works; and the collection of Chinese books exhibited from the Province of Hupeh. During the year a special effort has been made to strengthen the collection of foreign law by application to the various Governments for the publications not yet in the Library. Through the cooperation of the diplomatic and consular representatives of the United States valuable additions were made to the collection of codes, statutes, and court reports of the following countries: Bulgaria, Colom DOCUMENTS: Gifts |