Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1907-05-30
MILLIONS OF BOOKS
LIBRARY OF CONGRESS A STORE.
HOUSE OF KNOWLEDGE.
Greatest in World with Exception OF
British Museum-Fascin
Spot for Visitors to Ma
tons Capital.

The library of congress is the most
fascinating spot insthe United States
for tourists. More than 100000 PEG.
pie visit it annually. The vast ma,
iority of these are only sight-seers,
but thousands come seeking informa.
ton, for this institution has grown I'm.
til it has come to be the greatest
storehouse of knowledge in the world
with the exception of the British mu'
scum. Everything that has ever been
printed on any subject may be found
there. 1t is an institution of which
the whole country should be proud,
and evidently is proud. The national
capital makes comparatively small
use of the library, for it has it's own
public hbrary-one of the most COM
plete in the country-from which
books may be taken.
While congress treats the library
with liberality, it does not treat 1t as
literally as Great Britain treats the
British museum. 1t is the ambition OF
Herbert Putnam, the librarian of con.
gress. to make the American library
as great an institution as the British
museum. "Such eminence can only
be reached" says he, provided the
general outlay, shall as in the case of
the British museum, be supplemented
by individuals. Local institutions
have the first claim to private contri-
button for land, for buildings, for the
material for popular education. But
the national library should have the
first claim with any citizen OF the
United States who owns material OF
interest to the highest scholarship,
particularly if it relate to the origin
and progress OF this country.
There is one division of the library
which is distinct in character and has
no parallel in other libraries. This is
the copyright office. 1t is under reg
lister of copyrights who, under the di-
rectiOn of the librarian, performs, with
a special force, all the duties relating
to copyrights The number of entries,
and with them the volume of the
copyright business in general, grows
at the rate of ten per cent. year.
The copyright Office earns a revenue
to the government. 1t is the privilege
of the library proper to make requisi-
ton upon the copyright Office for any
copyrighted material which may be
useful to its purpose as library.
What it does not draw remains in the
files of the copyright office in dis
tinct portion of the building.
The material in the special divisions
of the library is preserved and
handled according to it's special needs.
For the manuscripts there are not
merely specially locked cases, but
steel safes for the collection, which,
while not large one, includes ma
terial of inestimable value. The col
lection of the Marquis De Rocham-
beau, for instance, including 800 man
uscript maps of. the revolution; the
papers of Paul Jones, in II volumes;
the records of the Virginia company,
from 1921 to 1852; the journal of
Washington on the Braddock expedi-
ton, his diary of the federal conven-
ton, his orderly books and military
journals, and various other manu-
scripts, including the original mate
rial for the Force archives, in 365 folio
volumes. Among other manuscripts
of special note are Sc volumes record
ing the testimony as to royalist
claims, taken before the commission
ers at Halifax, after the revolution.
With a few exceptions, the entire
collection relates to the eighteenth
century. A great many of the indi-
vidual manuscripts, being frayed and
delicate, have to be repaired and re-
enforced. Two repairers are constant
ly at work upon these. The material
used is chiefly crepeline, a transpar-
ent silk, which is pasted over the face
of the manuscript, front and back,
stiffening and protecting, without OBJ
securing it.