Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-04
THECLOS|NGP PROGRAM
Final Exercises of Columbian
University Commencement.
DEGREES CONFERRED
ADDRESS BY MIR. HERBERT PUT
NAM. LIBRARIAN OF CONGRESS.
List of Awards in Three Department.
Collegiate, Scientific and
Graduate Studies.
DEGREES CONFERRED

| senior classes of the Columbian College,
| the Corcoran Scientific School. and the
| School Of Graduate Studies, and the con-
| ferring of honorary degrees upon four dis
tinguished citizens. The various features
of the evening" including an address by
| Mr.. Herbert Putnam, librarian Of Con-
| gress; selections by the Marine Band. and
| the entertaining comments of President
| Needham, as he distributed the honors
| elected tokens Of great appreciation from
| the characteristic Columbian" audience
AS on preceding evenings, the stage of the
| theater was filled with the officers and fac
| ulty Of the institution, together with the
| classes for graduation. The elaborate deco
| rations remained the same with the excep-
| ton Of being freshened with a Dountl1ui
| supply OF cut flowers. After the overture
| a selection from "F1orodora' and march.
Salute the Flag by William Thomas
Pierson. jr.. one of the graduates. the ex-
ercises were formally opened by an invoca-
ton by Rev. Charles F. Winbigler of the
First Baptist Church. Loves Captive" by
the Marine Band, preceded Mr.. Putnam's
address on THE Library System of Wash
ington.'
Mr.. Putnam's Address.
After leading directly up to a discussion
of his subject by a reference to the many
peculiar advantages of the national capital
for the study of government and men by
the university student, Mr.. Putnam recited
that there are thirty-four governmental Ii
braries in the city Of Washington, which,
under the resolution of Congress approved
April r. 1892, are accessible to students of
| any institution Of higher education These
libraries, he said, now contain in the aggre-
gate over two million books and pamphlets
| and over half a million other articles liter
airy in character-manuScriptS maps, music
and prints IF we add to them" he cons
fbn 70 Of fha RI n r "
and of the libraries of private associations
and inStttutions-the Catholic University
Georgetown College, Columbian itself and
others-we shall have a total not merely
greater than Is to be found in any other
city of this size In the world, but one which
in proportion to population represents sew
eral times as many volumes per capita as
exist for public use in any other city Of the
world.
THE character Of these collections Is still
more significant" continued Mr.. Putnam.
If you will take the catalogue of your
university and will check through the list
of courses you will find not one to the pur-
suit of which some governmental library
cannot contribute: and only one to which
the government fails to furnish a practi-
cally efficient, IL not entirely complete,
working library. The exceptional course is
biblical literature; but even this may not
require literary resources more elaborate
than the needs of Congress have called for
in the Library of Congress.
Most Significant.
THE most significant circumstance is,
however. that of these thirty-four govern
mental libraries thirty-three exist for the
purpose of developing each a collection
within a particular field, while the thirty
fourth (the Library of Congress), as a ma
tional library, is library general In scope,
and has for its field all literature. The
library OF each scientific bureau Is seeking
every book within Its means which will aid
to the work of that bureau. These libra
ries as whole are thus developing in re-
Spouse to the needs of specialists and I'M
der their direction. Now, the scientific
work of the federal government in the bu-
reaus touches almost every branch of the
natural and physical sciences.
The resulting collections of books are
thus coming to be large and efficient spe-
cial libraries. covering most of the sciences
which enter into the curriculum of a uni
Versity. The student Of medicine has ac-
cessible to him the library of the surgeon
generals office. which is not merely the
largest. but the most efficient, medical
library in the world. The student of the
common law has in the library of the Su-
preme Court "a division of the Library of
Congress) collection Of statutes, reports
and commentaries which is one of the larg-
est in the United States, though for lack
efficient. nor even uniformly accessible. The
student of the civil law. of International
law of comparative Jurisprudence, Is not
yet adequately provided for; but he is to
Agriculture, of the State, War and Navy
Departments. of the Department of Justice,
OF the bureau Of education, Of the geologi-
cal survey. of the coast and geodetic sur
vey, OF the patent office, Of the National
Museum. OF the weather bureau of the la
Dor bureau. Of the naval observatory rep
resent each collection specially construct
ed for specific and authoritative service
within the particular field indicate by its
title.
Aids to Investigation.
''Of course, the material accumulated in
these collections will be primarily that
which aids the investigations or bears upon
the operations Of the government. But
even thus it covers pretty nearly every d.
vision of pure science. the natural and
physical sciences. law, medicine and math-
ematics. 1t does not cover the phiIosophi-
cal sciences. theology, philology, the fine
arts or bellies lettres nor in any general
way sociology. 1t touches technology only
in the library of the patent office, and his
tory chiefly in the library of the State De-
partment. But all these subjects for one
reason and another. and in particular be-
cause they are not covered by any other
governmental collection are a particular
obligation upon the Library of Congress-
when the resolution Of Congress took
Nenect eleven years ago the Library of Con-
gresS was huge but undigested mass of
material, partly shelved but In larger part
In heaps. on the floor, in closets, in vaults,
under stairways-7O0O 600 volumes crowded
INTO spaces In the aggregate capable of af-
fording accessible accommodation for less
than half that numcer. 1t was not and
could not be Systematically classified; 1t
had not and could not have complete or
exact catalogues. nor any catalogue ac-
cessible to the public. 1t lay In the Capitol
"a building primarily for legislative uses.
1t was administered by a force Of but
forty-two persons. who we're in addition
charged with the entire copyright business.
and had no adequate facilities for any part
OF their business. much less a margin OF
facilities which could give aid and comfort
to reader The fund for increase was
but $4,000 a year.
To-day the Library Of Congress is
collection. including duplicates. Of over
100000 books and pamphlets and nearly
half million other articles. It Is housed
In building devoted to its sole use, the
largest library building in the world. the
most commodious, the most efficient in
equipment for the work which 1t has to do:
building which provides for ample classi-
hcation and display of the material. for
reasonable growth and for q multitude and
great variety of service; a building which
may accommodate thousand readers at a
time and differentiate them to their best
advantage. AS against forty-two employees
for all purposes there are now in its serv-
Ice including the force caring for the
building. the copyright Office and the
branch bindery and Drintin0 ofice A27 mar