REPORT

OF

THE LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS

Washington, D. C., December 4,

SIR: I have the honor to submit herewith my rej Librarian of Congress for the year ending June 30 The report of the Superintendent of the Library B and Grounds (and Disbursing Officer) follows, begin page 153. That of the Register of Copyrights is, as attached as Appendix II.

It had been my purpose to devote the (customary) ductory paragraphs to a consideration of the presen of our collections; i. e., an estimate of our resources terial as compared with the total to which we owe a To be significant, however, and truly instructive, s estimate must involve considerable detail; and the in of it, added to the necessary statements of routine, w was found, add unduly to the bulk of the report. I th reserve it for a later occasion. In its stead I insert a what full analysis of the operations of the Legislativ erence Service, which in completing its second year ha pleted also the period (a long, added to a short, s which seemed necessary as a test of its utility. But gate this to the end of the report, so that the cust statistics of routine may be encountered promptly.

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as so invaluable. Upon his recommendation the work itself was more definitely subdivided, questions involving law, to which he has given particular oversight, being assigned to one group of investigators, and the rest to another. Among the higher assistants in the Division the only important. change has been the substitution of Dr. P. A. Speek for Dr. J. G. Ohsol, who resigned in January to accept a higher salary with the Federal Trade Commission.

I must note, however, as a loss to one branch of the workthe indexing the death, last May, of Mrs. A. M. Munson. She was no longer directly in our service, but the qualities which she had shown in it-the specific work she had done in it had left her in effect a continuing part of its structure. And her interest and good will were such that we should have had recourse to her in any problem requiring outside counsel. The combination in her of a thorough preliminary education, a specialized training, a free and flexible intelligence, a power of close application, and a precision in detail, was notably adapted to work such as this. And her death is a severe deprivation to the scientific treatment of the problems which it presents.

The death in November last of the Chief of our Division of Prints, Mr. A. J. Parsons, was followed within a few weeks by that of one of his three chief assistants, Miss Lucy Ogden, who had been many years in the Division; a woman of cultivation, refined and rendered definite by foreign travel, an intelligent and loyal worker, and with the pleasantest of dispositions toward her associates and the public.

For the conduct of the Division the Library fortunately did not have to go outside to seek a successor to Mr. Parsons, for in Prof. Richard A. Rice it had at hand an expert perfectly equipped who was willing to bridge over the exigency. He is now, therefore, Acting Chief of the Division, and as such extends to its operations as a whole the counsel and direction that for some years past he has rendered to its development in certain branches.

The Chief Cataloguer, referring to resignations, makes appreciative mention of the service of two of his assistants-Mrs. A. F. Stevens and Miss Julia Gregory-who for years have been a main reliance in the higher technical work of that Division. I heartily concur in the appreciation-the more because it is not merely in itself just, but recognizes a type of service little obvious to the general public but, in a research library, fundamental and farreaching in its consequences; for while a question answered at the Issue Desk may have but a single and momentary importance, a specification given in a catalogue contains a direction which is permanent, and in our catalogue cards, which become part of the apparatus of over 2,000 libraries, becomes also widely influential.

The call upon the National Guard for active service at the border drew from our staff at the outset no less than 17 employees. Twelve were retained in active service and their places in the Library are being held for them. Of the twelve, seven were from the Copyright Office.

Among other changes (merely regrading) in the Copyright Office, some were incidental to the departure from our Service, on May 6, of Ernest Bruncken, who, since November 1, 1909, had occupied the position of Assistant Register—except for the period of the second session of the Sixty-third Congress (through June, 1915), when he was temporarily assigned to the Legislative Reference Division. His place has been

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In the ensuing appropriation bill (for the year now current) the recommendation was recognized by the increase of $60 (per annum) each in the salaries from $720 to $900, inclusive. Small as it is, this increase-affecting no less than 110 positions—is a decided encouragement. As shown below, there remain still recommendations for further-or differentadvances, to which I shall ask the attention of Congress at the next opportunity.

NOTE. Since the above was written the resignation has been presented of Dr. E. M. Borchard, who leaves us on November 1 to assume a responsible legal position with the National City Bank of New York. His duties with us will for the present be assumed by Dr. Thompson, who is familiar with them from a previous experience.

I have also to note two significant accessions to our staff, viz, of Mr. Theodore W. Koch, recently librarian of the University of Michigan, who comes to take charge of our Order Division, and of Dr. A. Palmieri, who comes to us from the Harvard Library, to assist in systematizing and perfecting our collection of Slavic literature.

FINANCE

The following table exhibits the appropriations and expenditures of the Library proper and of the Copyright Office for the fiscal year, and the appropriations for the preceding fiscal year and the year now current. Included also are the appropriations for the equipment and care of the building and grounds, expended by the Superintendent.

a Appropriations 1915 includes credits of $1,468.33 on account of sales of cards to Government institutions. Appropriation 1916 includes $1,120.66 credits on account of sales of cards to Government institutions and $89.20 yet to be credited. Expenditures 1916 ($40,302.42) offset by subscriptions covered into the Treasury ($69,504.92).

b Appropriations 1915 includes credits 65 cents on account of sales of photoduplications to Government institutions and credit of $5.30 through return of photostat spools. Appropriations 1916 includes credits of $1.30 on account of sales of photoduplications to Government institutions and a credit of $5.85 through return of photostat spools. Includes also a credit of $0.64 on account of refund of defaulting contractor.

c Allotment 1915 includes credits of $629.24 on account of sales of cards to Government institutions. Allotment 1916 includes credits of $480.26 on account of sales of cards to Government institutions and $38.23 yet to be credited. Allotment 1916 does not include $3,000 provided in deficiency act approved September 8, 1916.

d Includes balance from preceding year in addition to appropriation of $800.

e Expenditures include outstanding indebtedness.

f Offset by fees covered into the Treasury ($112,986.85).

9 Exclusive of $2,000 to be expended by the marshal of the Supreme Court for new books of reference for that body.