Evening star., 1898-12-12
Mr.. Y0UNa'S REPORT
Operations Of Congressional Library
for Last Year.
new B01KS fHA4 HAVE Been ADDED
Necessity fora Complete Catalogue
Clearly Shown.
s L q G E STiON ADE
lew BOJKS fHi4 HAVE Been ADDED
6 L q G E STiON NJ AD F

SIR John Russell Young, librarian of Con-
Eress. supni,,eu mis- annual report to Con
EreSs io',ay. The report deals with ali
branches of The nyrsry service. Regardine
the growth Of ihe Ior ~ II says:
Lines OF Library Growth
The addI,.ons ,u. library during ;ht
fiscal year nave De u u...sI.. upon systematic
lines Tne MS, conzla sr.t.lon was the 'fn-
ing OF the GAPS, ,d.4 G.. .lyclsIlly IN the WAY
OF pe'i"ui,.i.S ,.Hd "r.s- I.. ieTs. The library.
toF Hi>,',ti-t, ..-.a.H .J oman COIu.sIr,,
sets OF ever t.tr.y-.-..l e...b, ,dIcu in Poole i.
index. ana VIII I.I-,, I4oporuon o. III,
oOte rcIeTru,ct pI ..-.r shelves, The au-
uuOnS, wien CynI,4s e., bring the sttt-
gent WttHin ,-t t,.ps-. T,,.At OG peT4OdiCs
literature AnG when . recall the import
ahce now he'd - he periodical 20 IN,
grown of Serle.I wOtk= special theme
and the tendency OF me mas ,ers of moderl.
thought to mus hnd the most convemen
form of expression the value of this VII.
be appreciated.
We 90 no, oyer.oOk the Importance ol
having as lar as possible an authors com
pIeted works II. Tor .ns,anCe, we have one
OF the books of ar B.,neroft or Mr.. Pres
cott. We should have ali Of them. This .
SpmeWh hat d.tlcul-. useful books become
rare and a.e cosby because OF their rarifI
1he catalogues are. however. Carefully
STUDIED. opportunity accepted when foun,
anu eventually We nope - possess Ihe com
pete works OF every writer worthy of
pace IN the library. and more especial,
American authors.
The library Dis a school of research i
Kept IN mind. Thus, when feasible the IL
brary buys Whatever illustrates Shakes
Peafe Dante and o,her Classics or cerlaI:
DrdhcheS or science Our collections il
these and other Departments are cornnrr-
hensfvf and valuable.
The inception and growth of the variou
Poilcal social and religious movement
winch illustrate the ma ,ional life are noted
such' Ter instance, as anti-Masonry tn,
Mormon faith. The Church of the Dis
c:pieS of Christ Know olhincisn anrf-
slavery, the wOman'S suffrage movement
ana so on Whatever We have been able tC
@Dtaln relative to any form of though.
IStlth' impulse or fanatiCiSm developed il
the progress of the republic is of record ir
me library. with a constant effort to add Il
'nS record and make it complete.
IN the sane line of research the library
al the time of the death of Prince His.
marck and Mr.. Gladstone purchased what.
ever IN contemporary literature pertaining
TO their careers In This was embodied ~,
generations OF German and English history
BY taking advantage of the opportunity
tht Hprary obtains at moderate expenS,
unique and priceless collections which Gar
EeVer be replaced. We can understand the
Importance of this. remembering wha
would be the value of similar colIectiorz
nad they been made at the time whc-
Washington. Napoleon and Lincoln passet
away.
The library. for obvious reasons. arfsfne
out or recent events has given attention /.
Spanish publications in history, jurispru
dence and geography. and especially Wh9-
concerns the Antilles and the Philippines
\ bulletin containing what we have gath
cred upon these themes is submitted Ir
addition. some purchases mainly b;stcrica-
and bibiographicaL have been made in Ger
many and Erarce- The library would b.
1uSllned IN spending as much money or
continental literature as upon that of Circa'
Britain.
There are the realms of research ir
ARABIA. India. China and Japan whose
frontiers We are Epw approaching 1t was
with this view thar The librarian after con
SUI, ,atIoa with MIR. Day, the late Secretary
of State commended the work OF the IL
braTE extension to our diplomatic and con-
suIar representatives. The library asked
the advice and assistance of our foreign
representatives. with the view of obtaining
additions by purchase. The response to the
circular which Mr. Secretary Day trans
mttred TO DER foreign representatives was
gratifying. and resulted in many valuable
additions A summary of what was thus
re~rivsI = bodied
Will the librarian is grateful for the re-
cent increased appropriation of $15o"o. il
would he wise to increase this so as to
broaden the library ia every phase of pro-
gress. The department of manuscripts
should be prcpa red 20 purchase some Of the
rare possessions always coming within
music The scores of the masters, so that
with small expense and in a short time our
already noble musical collection would be
the largest in the world and a national
center Of musical study. But while these
departments not to speak of others whose
wants are dweIt on elsewhere are earnestly
commended to bureau, the modest appro-
priatiOnS of Congress narrows our scope
and limits our usefulness.
'Moreover. in thus commencing the Ii
brary 10 the special grace of Congress II
should be kept in mind that money thus set
aside in rEc endowment of an institution
worthy of the republic looking toward its
place with the national libraries of Eng
land and France. is an asset not an ex-
pense. Every dollar given toward its de-
velOpment- in whatever form of law. Inu-
sic. manuscripts, the graphic arts. as well
general literature. mi
money value. The British Museum. repre-
seHtiuS- a. 1t does. the Investment of great
sums is today rrcre asset of national
property worth to the treasury far more
than II cost. The same may be said of the
Library of Congress.
Contents of the Library.
an the librarians report for 1897 written
while the library was in progress of trans
fer from the Capitol to the new building
the collection was estimated at 7s77l5
volumes and 21s3;0 pamphlets. The dupIi-
Gates were estimated at from ~ to 40 per
cent Last year it impossible to give
anything but an estimate of the contents of
the library careful count has been made
up To September 81. lSsS, with the follow
Ing result:
Total. Ggs462; copyright deposits (au
duplicates. l2GJSo, grand total, S1J44S
Pamphiets-CataloEued and on shelves
6oHp, uncatalUgued and duplicates I7G,612
total. 10 9T2.
Prom the beginning Of October, 1897.
Capitol was completed. till November l. the
assistants have been engaged in placing
the books in order on the sneIves. During
this period while the reading room WAS NOT
open To the public. books were freely sup
piled to such students came and all re
quests from senators and those entitled to
the use Of the library were granted
The library was opened to the public No
Nember J, 1897, and has remained open
every day, with the exception of SUNDAYS
and legal holidays. Inc reading hours
have been from am. to i I'M, except on
tew Saturdays IN July and August, when.
II was closed at noon While Congress
was in session, the library was kept open
for its use unul adjournment.
"A dany TecOrd has been kept of the
Readers. as well as the number of books and
magazines requested. Inc daily average
was l55. the total was 54g3 and the num-
Der OF books called for in reading room was
103,7Il
A daily record has also been kept Of the
1850.
The librarian is glad to note that the