The evening times., 1895-12-21

schools which stated that the whole num-
| Der or documents was q burden too great
for them to bear, willie certain publications
OF scientific and educational nature they
We're desirous to have. Only the documents
they have especially asked for are sent To
ever, u long list, but If the Libraries could
| becarefuily canvassed on this head no Doubt
the list would be- much extended.
An important change IN the distribution
! to libraries. will ybe made by the new law.
| Heretofore 1t had been the custom to hold
the Volumes as received from the printing
Office until enough mad been received to give
each librar a mn sack full. which was from
| twenty-siX To twenty sight volumes. This
| look on the average three months, and
a.l.i Ga,,sed the hooks to be withheld from the
| been printed and bound. As soon as the
distribution came into my hands, began
sending the books forward singly as fast as
| received them. After this had been going
| on for few weeks sent to the libraries Il
| circular OF information as to the document
service, In which, among other things. ]
asked them for an expression OF opinion as
| 70 the change in the method OF distribution
| There was a large number OF replies. ONLY
| two or which expressed preference for the
| old system. and one of these afterwards
Withdrew that preference.
MANY DUPLICATE COPIES.
The number OF duplicates which accu-
| muiates in the libraries is so great-One
| library recently reporting as many as 5000
that one can hardly become conversant
| with the facts without rcflecting whether
| the system or distribution OF public dOcu-
ments TO citizens in general might not he
improved. Suggestions concerning it do
not properly come within my province.
| but one idea that has come to my notice
| seems TO have In il at least the germ of
an improved system. and j am therefore
encouraged 10 mention 1t here. 1t con-
templates doing away with the direct
gratuitous distribution OF books by men-
bers OF Congress and other Officers OF the
government and substituting the distribu-
tion of blank orders for books. 10 be filled
up by the recipients with the names OF
the books desired. and then forwarded to
one OF the document rooms. where the
order would be filled and the book sent TO
the proper address.
AN allotment OF these blank orders
might be made as readily as an allot-
meDt of books, with the advantage that If
they were not used either By the member
or by the constituents 10 whom they We're
sent, then little loss would be incurred.
The plan would have the advantage also
OF enabling the constituent to get the book
he might want. instead OF having sent To
him some volume for which he did not
care. Most constituents would probably
appreciate as highly the compliment inI-
piled in the Gift OF any order good for any
book published by the government which
hey might desire as they now appreciate
the gift OF books which are or no possible
use TO them. There are citizens who
would be glad to receive volume OF the
Chinook texts or the comptroller statistical
report on the national banks. but to the
in the gift of these and similar technical
volumes is dubious.
The question how hest to do away with
the bewildering congeries of volumes, num-
bers and parts that now make the set or
Congressional documents wonder and IA
terror to the Investigation. and what 10
substitute for it, is an inviting subject.
''Of course the present system was not de-
vised by anybody. There was never any
body who coud have devised it. Like
Topsy, il list growcd." In the infancy OF
the government, when its publications Were
few and small and the reports OF its pub
lie servants were meager. single numbers
and single volumes Were sufficient for all
needs. As reports and transactions OF all
kinds became more numerous and more
voluminous, the expedient ofdIviding doCu-
ments and volumes into parts was Datu-
rally enough resorted to by printers aud
bIDdcrs To overcome mechanical difficult
ties The pity is that printers and binders
were permitted To do this without a schol-
arly supervision that might have protected
the English language from such violence
as IL has suffered at their hands Nowhere
else is set or series of hooks called a
volume. Nowhere els. il a separate book
printed in the Enclishf tongue called n
part The terms used in describing the
publications of the government have no
place IN the dictionary, and their meaning
in this iuse is totally different from their
meaning III the general usage of the people
II have been moved to talk OF the subject
OF the catalogung or public documents III
general libraries, the discussion of which is
not strictly within the purview Of my official
duties, hy the communications | have re-
Crivcd relating to II from the librarians or
depository libraries / have not c.nvasscd
the libraries as to the need OF document cat
aicgucs, but many OF them have written to
me concerning it.
The pe,-uliarites of the public documents
make IL difficult tn catalogue them. md IL is
apparent that a collection OF documents un-
caialogued Is about as unwieldy and un-
usaIle a sort OF literature as Il library could
well have in its possessiou. To search for
ANYTHING i'll a set of Documents without the
aid OF a catalogue is II hopeless task except
for the few experts who. by years of famili-
arity with this cia IS of books, and by eNceD-
tional gifts OF memory, have come to know
their contents as a blind man ma come to
know d road over which he travels often.
To the blind man il is a easy TO travel hy
night as 10y day. but people who have ewes
must have a lantern. So the great mass
of people must have a c.lta logue if they
are to get any good out OF public Gocu-
mcnts.
MANY of tie Oldest ard best endowed
libaries in the country, III which one would
suppose everything would bo thoroughly
CataloGued as a matter OF course, report
that their public documents are rot Cata-
logued while many small ana Struggling
libraries. which are not able TO maintain
any sort OF cataloguing staff. report their
documents all catalCgutd. 1t Is my opinion
that. ut the most liberal estimate. there can
not he more than 20 OF the 4l9 depository
Libraries which have the public documents
i'll their possession So well and inteliigiblv
that they can readily find
whatever they wish to find in them. How
many libraries there may be not on the de
pository list which have their pgblic docu-
ments equally well catalogued l lave no
means OF knowing. but think there cannot
be many, for most Of the large libraries
of the country are on the depository list.
The new printing law makes a large
economy by directing that hut little more
than half OF the reserve volumes shall here
after be bound. The remaining part or
the reserve number. which is intended to
supply the needs OF members of Congress
for volumes or sets in special binding, is
to remain unbound until the orders of the
members for the special kinds of binding
desired shall have been received by the
Public Printer.
NO EXPENSIVE BINDINGS.
Formerly these volumes were all bound
in costly full sheep, and when the Con-
gressional order called for something else
the volume was unbound and bound over