The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1916-12-09
Give CONGRESS-
LIBRARY MANY
VALUED BOOKS
Fifty Frenchmen to Make
Survey of American Meth
DDS in Congress.

many sources have brought more
than %. 600 volumes to the Library OF
Congress during the year, and COM
prised more than one-fourth of the
additions to it's shelves. Retaining its
place as the third greatest library in
the world, and the greatest in the
western world, the library now con-
tains 2,451,974 books, $4,000 maps
and charts, 770,24S volumes and pie
ces of music and 392,9O5 prints.
For large additions to the Chinese,
Japanese and Korean collections the
Library acknowledges debt to DR..
Walter T. Swingle of the Bureau of
Plant Industry, who visited the Far
East in 1915 and purchased on behalf
of the library a total of 1892 volumes,
including early Chinese books printed
from blocks; Chinese historical and
descriptive works covering the period
of first contact with Europeans; ear
ly Chinese dictionaries and encyclope-
dias; works on natural history and
pharmacopoetas; geographical works;
the writings of Confucius and the
works of famous scholars; and a good
copy of the oldest japanese printed
work extant, probably dating from
the beginning of the thirteenth CEN
fury; and a large collection Of the
writings of Kaibara, the Benjamin
Franklin of Japan.
The Lincoln documents which have
been presented to the Library are of
exceptional interest These consist
of the original draft of Lincoln's sec
ond inaugural address, and his two
drafts of the Gettysburg address pre-
sented by Clarence L. Hay, who had
them from his father, the late John
Hay; and a memorandum as to the
improbability of his reelection, pre-
sented by Miss Helen Nicolay.
AS a rule the American composer
and the American music publisher are
beginning to prefer the national to a
local library as the permanent custo-
dian of manuscript scores. The
Chief of the Music Division records
not only gifts of autograph scores of
American composers but promises of
gifts to come.
In the Document Division an effort
was made to complete the files of Of
fetal publications of the Latin Amer
lean countries, and it was exception
ally fruitful through visit to these
countries by the Law Librarian, Dr.
E. M. Borchard. The Library's col
lection of Latin american documents
may now be considered one Of it's i'm
portant features.
A number Of Yiddish books came
to the Library in the two Deinard col
lections. The Yiddish literature in
the United States assumes a respect
~ fn
atures; and even if the predictions Of
some come true that the Yiddish ton
que will be dead before long, the Yid-
dish literature will still offer a wide
and interesting field for historians,
philologists, and students Of compare
tive literature.
The portion of the library now clas-
sifled under the new classification
contains 1,548,500 volumes. Great
progress has been made III eliminat-
ing remnants Of the old classical
ton. Practically all of the old chap
tiers have now been reclassiied, except
such as contain works on religion and
law.
Depository libraries containing COM
plete sets Of the Library Of Congress
catalogue cards now number 48,
while 40 libraries Of the, United States
government have partial depository
sets.
The adoption Of a uniform type
for the use of the blind seems imni-
dent to the Assistant in charge Of the
Reading Room for the Blind. 1t is
anticipated that an agreement may be
arrived at between the British and
American co-workers which will re-
suit in the solution of this problem.
In the forty-f1ve years during which
the copyright work has been part
of the business of the Library of Con-
gress the number Of entries totalled
2.932,397. During the last nineteen
years the net receipts Of the office
above expenses for service, were $780,
$3.50.