Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-05-11
UNCLE SAM LOANS
BOOKS TO PEOPLE
Makes 1t Possible for Anyone to
Make Use of Great Congress
sionaI Library.
PURPOSE TO AID RESEARCH
Object ls to Make Unusual Volumes
Which Cannot Be Obtained Else.
where Available to Students
Everywhere.

Comparatively few persons know
that they can take advantage of the
great congressional library maintained
by Uncle Sam at Washington without
going to the national capital.
There are thousands of people oil
over the country who constantly make
use Of the library of congress and yet
have never been within gunshot of the
District of Columbia. The important
and yet little-knOwn branch of the ac-
dvities Of the library Of congress which
makes this possible was explained by
Herbert Putnam, the librarian of con-
gress.
1.-THE library of the British Museum"
he said, lis purely a reference library.
1t is a magnificent collection, but it is
of use only to those who can go to
London to consult it. The library of
congress is, Of course, used as a ref
erence library by thousands of people
every year. But 1t is also lending
library, and therefore it renders to the
American citizen a service which the
British Museum library does not rem
der to the British citizen.
This is work in which the library
of congress Is following the lead of
some OF the great libraries of Europe,
especially of those of Germany. The
great libraries Of the continent have
been surprisingly generous in lending
to scholars throughout Europe, includ-
ing American scholars sOjourning
there. They lend even manuscripts
quite freely. They require, of course,
that the borrower shall be an accred-
tied person, but if he be accredited
they will lend to him, no matter how
great may be the distance between him
and the Library, books and manuscripts
Of rarity and value.
"Of course. there is much to be said
for the purely reference library. Some
Of our material-such as The valuable
documents placed here by their own
ers for safe .keeping-is used only for
reference purposes. Sometimes tran
scripts Of 1t are sent out.
Sent to Local Libraries.
"The system on which books are
sent out to borrowers Is as follows: If
a man engaged in serious research
needs q book which his own local IL
brary lacks, which 1t cannot naturally
be expected to have, he may ask his
local library to get 1t for him from the
library Of congress. This will be done,
and his only expense will be the cost
Of the transportation of the volume.
The loan rests on the theory of q
special service to scholarship which it |
is not within the power or the duty of
the local library to render Its pur-
pose is to aid research calculated to |
advance the boundaries of knowledge,
by the loan of unusual books not read
lily accessible elsewhere.
Therefore, books that should be in |
a local library or that can be borrowed
from library having particular duty
to the community from which the appli-
cation comes Ga state library, for eX-
ample), are not lent by the library Of
congress. Neither are books that are
and can easily be pro-
cured, nor textbooks, nor books for the
general reader, nor to be used for
or self-culture. But unusual
books to satisfy unusual needs-these
he library of congress is glad to lend.
b "And we find that people all over thes
are eager to take advantage of
his service. We are constantly send
ng out books to borrowers sometimes
Is far distant as San Francisco and
Cuba. During the year ended June 80,
l914, we sent out 2,O3O volumes. Dur
ng the year ended June 30, 1915, we
tent out 2,25S volumes, and during the
Tear ended June 80, 1916, we sent out
Is interlibrary loans 3,46O volumes to
1913 different libraries in 4S states and
n Canada.
Music Also Loaned.
"We lend music on the same condi-
ion as books. We do not, however al
Ow musical scores so lent to be used