Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1884-08-01
UNCLE SANS BOOKS.
Hundreds of Thousands OF volumes
Unique Newspaper Collection.

Louisville Courier.Journal
The present library, including the
law library, has shelf.room fer only
100000 volumes. But it IN not only
because it is insufficient to accommodate
the books, but because the space now
given to them is imperatively needed
by both houses of congress for com
mlttee- rooms, that many congressman
formerly opposed to letting the collcc.
ton 60 outside the capitol. now favor
the plan for a separate structure.
Seventy thousand books could be left
in the center of the present library
where there is shelf-room for that mum
Der, and the two wings. each of which
is four stories in hight. could he con
ver,ed into between fifteen and twenty
committee-rooms Of ample size for the
purpose.
There were i'll 1880 twelve lbrarics
in Europe outnumbering the library oi
congress in the number of books upon
its shelves, yet the growth Of our ma
tional library has been so rapid as 10
have twice doubled the numerical OK.
tent in fifteen years. The Boston pub
lie library alone among American col
lections, approximate il iD size. and
even little exceeds il. if we count the
books contained in its branches in
the suburbs of Boston, which, however.
are duplicates of the parent collection.
1t may be said of the library OF CON
gres', that in the main its stores have
been selected with view 10 the high
est utility, and with some general unity
of plan.
In addition to the books il 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 copyright entries is not far
from $1,000 per annum, yielding q
revenue in copyright fees OF $4,000.
AS two copies of each publication are
required to be deposited in the library
as condition OF perfecting copyright,
the annual receipts under this head
amount to nearly Al ,cOo articles. OF
this large number, of course one-hali
are duplicates, while very large share
are not books, but musical compost
tion', engravings, chromos. photo.
graphs. prints, maps, dramatic compo.
sitions and periodicals. by the con.
stant deposit of copyright engravings
photographs, wood cuts. chromos and
other objects of art. the library must in
time accumulate large and attractive
gallery of fine arts, ri hly worthy Of at.
tention as representing the condition
end progress of the arts Of design nj
different periods in the United States.
Readers and publishers of newspa.
pers will. be interested to know that
the national 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. It has among others
complete set of The London Gazette
tsemi-v eekly), from the first issue of
ent year the only set in the Unitei
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 1889 to the time OF
the French repub ic. 1901. when il
was succeeded by The Journal Oflicicl
The ,ournal des Debats is also com.
plete from the first in 1889 t. date, and
still ,ontinued. In German is the set
of The Allgeme:ne Zeitung. published
at Augsburg. from 1898 to 1884 the
best news journal, in many respects.
published on the Continent.
Among important American papers
there are complete sets Of The New
York Evening Post, from its founda.
tion in 1901 to date: The. National In
telligencer, from 1900 to its discontinu-
ance 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 in each state. especi-
ally complete for the past ten years.
The files If certain rare newspapers,
long kept in the United States state de-
partment, were within two years turned
over to the congressional library, and
because there was no room elsewhere
for them. they are now stored in cellar.
like vaults in the subterranean parts OF
the capitol building, where they are
almost inaccessible.