Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-16

ture large donations of money and books
are hoped and expected from private
sources, ard the friends of the library are
disposed to leave no stone untufned II! thiS
Dublic-spirited work.
The donations committee of the trustees
has outlined a systematic plan OF canvass
ing for subscriptions to the library, and the
prospects are excellent that the library Will
in the near future enjoy further lars" ana
valuable acCeSSionS.
There is a possibility that legislation may
be secured from Congress which will turn
over to the library the miscellaneous books
rot necessary for reference and official use
in the departmental libraries These rum
Der between 20WD and 10000 volumes.
Their withdrawal from the 3FU,hrt volumes
of the departmental libraries would not m
lure the latter as technical reference col
ections for official use. but would cause
the Washington Public Library to hec"re
general departmental library for the en-
joyment and free circulating use OF all the
employees in all the departments. THESE
books accessible in the main only TO the
clerks in three of the departments, and ac-
cessible to them only so far as the fraction
contained in their own library is concerned,
would. if collected in the Washington Pub
lie Library. be open to all the clerks, ana
a great body of government employees
would enjoy privileges of which they are
now entirely deprived. The establishment
of such a general departmental library.
open also to the public: would save TIE
government the expensive duplication of
books In numerous small collections, and
would also ecOnomze in the room space de-
voted to departmental library purposes
There is also possibility of securing the
use for circulating purposes of some of the
duplicates copyrighted or unC"pyrtShtGd,
in the Library of Congress. The creation
of a circulating department of the latter
library has been forcibly urged III Congress,
but mas also met with determined opposi-
ton. A compromise between these conflict
ing views OF the true functions OF the LII
brary of Congress should result in tue pop
Of oft l1a= l1gA,,l
through their loan to the Washington Pub
lie Library.
Government Institution.
The relations of nation and capital make
the Washington Public Library as much
of A government institution in principle as
the Library of Congress. By continuing to
develop the latter exclusively along its
natural lines as a great reference library
for scholars and students, and by rendering
available for public use its circulating books
through the medium of the Washington
Public Library as the national-local lending
library, the nation will waste no fraction
OF it's library resources, and instead of per-
hitting thousands of miscellaneous vol
umes, copyrighted or uncopyrighted, to de-
cay unused the shelves, they will all
be rendered most fully available, both for
reference and circulating purposes, for the
benefit of the people of the republic.
In planning and preparing for an enlarged
library in the new building on Mount Ner-
non Square to be available perhaps within
two years the existing library in rented
quarters on New York avenue, which is
performing under many disadvantages a
most important and useful function in the
community, IS not to be neglected
AS shown by the librarians report, sub
mitted herewith, it has grown steadily and
satisfactorily in the number of books upon
its shelves and in the degree to which it
has been utilized by the public. The show
ing of its records in the latter respect is
extraordinary and furnishes convincing
evidence of the public demand for and ap