Evening star., 1925-12-09
LIBRARY PROGRESS
IS TOLD IN REPORT
Congressional Institutions
Expansion Great, Dr.. Put
nam States.


the past year in the resources and
service of the Library of Congress is
presented in the annual report made
public today. The gift of Mrs. Fred
eric Shurtlef Coolidge-an auditorium
for chamber music-followed by
her endowment to further the pur-
poses of music and musicoloEy in the
library, and the endowment of
james Benjamin Wilbur of Manches
ter. Vt, in the field of American his
tory, begin a new era for the library,
DIR. Putnam. the librarian. states.
The Library of Congress, DIR. Put
take care of the additions to its
rapidly growing collections. Con-
gress has made an initial grant of
$3I5 600 toward construction in the
northeast courtyard of the much
needed hookstack, the total cost of
which may reach S145 coo. The two
upper levels will provide a number
of rooms for research workers.
Auditorium Costs s9i 900.
The auditorium for chamber music
Mrs. CoolidGe's gift, was erected at
IA cost of S94 600, and her endow-
ment will Weld an income of s28, 200
q Year. y Library of Congress trust
luIltl not eSiSlllS Wien y.
Coolidge made her gift, has now been
created under act OF Congress and
is functioninG
The significance of the litrarys
collection of music also has been rec
osnized by the gift of 81 900 voted by
the Beethoven Association of New
York to obtain important autographic
chamber music and orchestra manu-
script scores by classic masters with
i'll the sphere of interest Of the Beeth-
pven Association.
The appropriation OF Congress, DR.
Putnam points out, are substantial.
and allow the acquisition of the ordi
nary material and the maintenance of
4 service competent beyond that of
most libraries. But for material be
yond the ordinary the library must
look to private gifts and to private
endowment to develop the necessary
staff of specialists. What the IL
brary needs is what is usual In the
uaiversities-the endowment or part
endowment of Chairs in the vari-
Gus fields Of specialized literature. as,
for example, one for the fine arts. for
history. for law, for economies. for
political science, for cartography. for
Semitic. Slavic and Oriental Ntera-
ture. to mention only a few Of the
fields" according to the librarian.
Cooperative Enterprize.
A forward step in cooperative en-
terprise also IS reported by DR.. Put
nam. Yale University has granted
4 fellowship in law, the recipient Of
which. for his thesis, Is TO prepare
III the law division OF the Library of
Congress guide to the law of
France, IN continuation of the inn
portant series begun by Prof. Bor-
chard of Yale then law librarian. Such
university fellowships, DR.. Putnam
conceives, might utilize in a similar
way the various other collections and
laboratories Of the Government in
Wa ashinGton, and the research made
III them he credited toward a post
graduate degree.
The books and pamphlets on the
Library shelves now number 3,2S5, T65
Hesides these. the Library contains
939, 1892 maps and views, l.00l .654 vol
umes and pieces Of music. 449 AIS
prints and manuscripts doubtless mum
herring in the millions. During the
' ear the Library added ~ parts of the
Latin and German editions of the ia
NOUS and rare De Bry Voyages.
After IS years Of battling search the
papers of President Arthur were dis
covered and are now in the manu-
script division. That division also re-
Gently acquired certain papers of
Presidents Pierce, Buchanan, Lincoln,
Grant. Garfield. Benjamin Harrison
and Mckinley. Many other notable
editions also We're made
The card division, which sells print
ed catalogue cards to subscribing IL
braries, carries a stock of about 81
514610 cards. and supplies with cards
depository libraries all the way from
Brunswick. Me. to Berkeley. Calf.
or indeed. with wider geographical
range, all the way from Jerusalem to
Toxic.
The legislative reference service
notes that a digest of material relat-
ing to the origins and causes of the
World War is being prepared In the
division of photography a photography
of the same subject is being com
piled. The register of copyrights tells
of the largest years business in the
history of the copyright office. The
administrative assistant reports Wis
itors to the building during the year
were 1,009, ,042.