The Palatka daily news. (Palatka, Fla.) 1884-1888, 1884-06-20
UNCLE SANS BOOKS
Hundreds OF Thousands of Volumes
Unique Newspaper Collection.

Hundreds of Thousands of Volumes
Unique Newspaper Collection.
Louisville Courier-Journal
The present library, including the law
library, has sheIf-roOm for only 100000
volumes. But it is not only because it is
sufficient to accommodate the books, but
because the space now given to them is
imperatively needed by both houses Of
congress for committae-rooms, that many
congressman forHerly opposed to letting
the collector 80 outside the capitol, now
favor the plan for a separate structure.
Seventy thousand books could be left
in the centre Of the present library where
there is shelf-rOOm for that number, and
the two wings, each of which is four
stories in height, could be converted into
between fifteen and twenty committee
rooms of ample size for the purpose.
There were in 1880 twelve libraries in
Europe outnumbering the library of CON
gress in the number of books upon its
shelves, yet the growth of our national
library has been so rapid as to have twice
doubled the numerical extent in fifteen
years. The Boston public library alone
among American collections, approx
mates it in size, and even a little exceeds
branches in the suburbs of Boston, which,
however, are duplicates of the parent
collection. 1t may be said of the library
of congress, that in the main its stores
have been selected with q view to the
highest utility, and with some general
unity of plan.
In addition to the books it is deemed
necessary to purchase annually, and
those which come to the library through
the exchange system of the Smithsonian
institution, the average number of copy
right entries is not far from $4,000 per
anHum. yielding a revenue in copyright
fees of 100000. AS two copies of each
publication are required to be deposited
in the library as a condition of perfect
ing copyright. the annual receipts under
this head amount to nearly IL 900 arti-
cles. OF this large number, of course
one-half are duplicates, while a very
large share are not books, but musical
compositions, engravings, ChrOmOs, pho
tographs, prints, maps, dramatic compo-
sitions and periodicals. By the con
slant deposit of copyright engravings,
photographs, wood cuts, chrOmos and
other objects of art, the library must in
time accumulate a large and attractive
gallery of fine arts, richly worthy of at
tention az representing the condition and
progress of the arts of design at different
periods in the United States.
Readers and publishers Of newspapers
will be interested to know that the ma
tional library possesses 5000 volumes of
bound newspapers, among which are
some of the rarest and most important
files, both of the old and new world. 1t
has among others a complete set of The
London Gazette (semi-weekIy), from the
nrst issue of that official journal 1865 to
the present year-the only set in the
United States. The London Daily Times
is complete from 1896 to date. The Mon
iteur Universal, so long the official jour
nal Of France, is without break from its
initial number in 1899 to the time of the
French republic, 1870-71, when it was
succeeded by The Journal Otficiel. The
Journal dies Debats is also complete from
the first i'll 1880 to date and still coutin-
ued In German is the set of The Allge-
meme Setting, published at Augsburg,
from 1898 to 1884, the best news journal
in many respects, published on the Con
tinent.
Among important American papers
there are complete sets of The New York
Evening Post, from its foundation in
1901 to date; The National Intelligencer,
from 1900 to its discontinuance in 1869
The Charleston Courier (the office copy
of the paper, from 1903 to date: the
Savannah Republican, from 1907: the
New York Tribune, Times, World, etc.
complete from their origin, and large
share of the most important papers il
each state, especially complete for the
past ten years.
The files of certain rare newspapers
long kept in the United States state de
partment, were within two years turned
over to the congressional library, and be
cause there was no room elsewhere fOl
them, they are now stored in ceIlar-likt
vaults III the subterranean parts of thu
capitol building, where they are almos
inaccessible.
- IT..