The St. Charles herald. [volume] (Hahnville, La.) 1873-1993, 1921-03-26
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modating those books For. under the system ~
nteriibrary loan, they are made aValiaDie Y" in
vestigators throughout the United states. lh-'iiA0
respect it differs from national libraries afFoa"
which are purely reference libraries. WHICH 'no''
be consulted on the spot.
Its printed cards represent a service winch IL
also unique the me successful attempt on gem
eral scale TO certralize once for all the eNpehs"
of ~ cataloguif.g books and (2) e mann oidlns
the catalogue entries.
In addition II Is () legislative lbrary for
congress; (2) the main reference library .or Inc
executive departments and bureaus; go she ia"
library of the S:ipreme court; (D the copyright
office Of the United States; and (5l the national
library to give special service for the entire
country.
Its reference readers number as many as those
in the British Museum, or the Bibliotheque Nd
tionale; but the facilities accorded them, for ex-
ample of direct access to the shelves, surpass
those of any other considerable reference library
whatever. Unlike the Bblotheque Rationale ane
British Museum. which close at SHUTDOWN, the Ma
tional Library II open till ten o'clock every eve
ming, and on Sundays from two until ten.
Its building il in cubic about 100000
cnbic feet. euua, to that of the Capitol In floor
area it greatly exceeds it. Its shelving capacity
is sufficient to accommodate 3.500OO0 volumes ana
can be increased to double that number
The total appropriation for the library the
grounds is abous $4,000 per annum. Against
this are receipt. copyright fee, and proceeds OF
sales Of the printed cards, totaling about SOD
GOO so that the net outlay for the library IS
about $4,000 par annhm In addition, there is.
however. the expense for printing and binding,
for which the aDnual allotment has feen aboU
S2OOOOO The amount annually spent for books
and other material for collections is about $685.
OOO This barelz yuffices for the ordinary mate
rial.
The Library is pre-eminent in these respects:
Public (oficiaD documents of all countries. re-
sulting from the international exchanges conduct
ed by the Library itsslf. And in special fields OF
literature for exampis: Americana. including the
results OF copyright :; political sciences law; and
certain (unexpected) groups, for example: Rus
STA. the Yudin collections $4,000 volumes. perhaps
the most thorough outsidv of Russia; China. one
of the largest and In certain respects certainly
the richest, outside Of China.
IT'S collection Of music II probably the argcst
in the world, Developed for the needs of the
serious nvestigstor-c0mpostf. critic. historian
cond,fctor--it is rendering signal service to such
investigators in America. For instance In no
other institution in the world sould the history
Of modern opera Re studied or written as here.
It's collection Of prints developed on its recent
side by copyright, or Its more classical side by
gift is constantly drawn upon for illustration. and
the exhibits from It interest, inform aud influence
thousands OF visitors annually.
In conclusion Mr. Fess said: 1T may not be
known to all members of the house elE@ AE0 e
Washington, connected with the ysaA1z9 tltIIxHElal
divisions OF the government. is located @AWiGktiI
group Of great scholars that can be fod98 b cry
center in all the world. want to emphasize that
statement It is absolutely true. These scholars
are associated with the various governmental de-
partments each of which has special library facil-
ity for its use. The step necessary to make the
largest use OF the capital the worlds greatest
center for scholarship is national university al
research Institution to utilize the vast library
sources and the laboratory facilities connected
with the various departments Of the government
rich beyond those of any other country on the
globe. This would at once give this capital the
first rank OF all capitals as the worlds creates,
intellectual center-a mecca to which the scholars
Of the future viii come to add to the sum total
Of knowledge. This contamination " easily With
In our reach"