The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1886-04-22

purchase of new books. The letter of Mr.
Jefferson, conveying to congress the offer
to sell his library, contained the following
characteristic paragraph, copied verba
tim: They may be valued by persons
named by themselves, and the payment
made convenient to the public; it may be,
for instance. in such annual installments
as the laws of congress have left at their
disposal. or in stock of any of their late
loans, or any loan they may institute at
this session, so as to spare the present
calls of the country, and await its days of
peace and prosperity. They may enter,
nevertheless, into immediate use of it, as
eighteen or twenty wagons would place it
in Washington in a single trip of fort
night"
Year by year the needs and necessities
of the library have increased its expenses,
and its rapid growth has outstripped all
other institutions of the kind in the world,
as will be readily seen when it is remem-
bered that in 1852 there was but twenty
thousand volumes to start with, and that
now there are over $4,000 volumes. And
its value and quality are commensurate
with its rapid growth. Like all great gov
eminent libraries its law of increase can
no longer be governed by the require
ments of the national Legislature. 1t has
come to be the representative and custo-
dian of the legislature of the country.
! Through the operations of the copyright
law it receives and preserves copies of all
| the books, periodicals, maps, charts, and
works of art. for which exclusive right of
publication is secured to the authors
or publishers. These entries num-
Der about 10000 year. In addition to
this source of increase, which costs the
government nothing, and brings in every
book of any value produced in the country,
the library is largely recruited from the
following sources: First, from the an
nual deposits of books by the Smithsonian
institution, whose library was incorpo-
rated with the Congressional library in
| 1866. These books are most wholly sclen-
titic, representing the transactions OF
most of the learned societies of the world,
in every department of inquiry, and Ill all
! languages. Second. from deposits or tne
public documents of congress and every
state in the union; the reports OF cham
bers of commerce and boards or trade
and the donations of societies and lndi
tiduals. The works secured under this
head are valuable Tor statistical and com
mercial information. Third, from sys
TEN of international exchanges, through
which fifty sets of tie documents of con
gress and other government publications
are exchanged with foreign governments
whereby the library is being CONSTANT!
enriched with the freshest official docu
ments, as we'll as with many books dealing
with the natural history, resources, explo
rations. surveys and commercial and tinan
cial statistics of all the leading govern
ments of the two hemispheres. Fourth
from the expenditure of an appropriation
of about $4,000 per annum in the pur
chase of valuable books, chiefly publishe
abroad. and useful to congress in its la
pors, as we'll as for public reference
A great many important periodical
and other serials are KEEP
including all the most importan